10:13Call to Order
1.1Roll CallProcedural
2Oral Communication on Closed Session Items Only If you have public comment related to a Closed Session item, please post it on: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3rKbPfVCTpOsK5ILqjnU2u-h-NuNx-vUq4OZxYNVR8lc4aQ/viewform?usp=sf_link) prior to the Closed Session Meeting or immediately upon the meeting opening.
3Closed Session 5:15-6:00pm
3.1Closed Session Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 Conference with Legal Counsel – Existing Litigation. Gov. Code Section 54956.9(d)(1) – Name of Case: Student v. Redwood City School District, OAH Case Number 2020060307Information
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40:13Reconvene to Regular Session at Approximately 6:00pm
4.1Roll CallProcedural
4.2Report Out on Closed Session from 7.22.20Procedural
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50:29Welcome
5.1Welcome by the School Board PresidentProcedural
5.2Pledge of AllegianceProcedural
60:29Changes to the Agenda
6.1Changes to the AgendaDiscussion
70:29Approval of Agenda (Action Required)
7.1Approval of AgendaAction
82:44Oral Communication - If you have public comment related to a Regular Board Meeting item, please post it on: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3rKbPfVCTpOsK5ILqjnU2u-h-NuNx-vUq4OZxYNVR8lc4aQ/viewform?usp=sf_link) prior to the Regular Board Meeting or immediately upon the meeting opening.
John Langbein (3min) — Requested that the board allow bicycle and pedestrian access through Selby Lane School grounds, which has been blocked by chain-link fencing since the shelter-in-place order, depriving his neighborhood of a safe commute route.
97:23Public Hearing
Matt Collier (1min) — Requested that the board restore both sides of Alameda de las Pulgas to the Roy Cloud boundary in Scenario 3, as the change would split his children between two different schools.
William Paxton (1min) — Expressed support for Scenario 3, particularly for keeping the Kentwood/Atherwood neighborhood assigned to Henry Ford School given the lack of pedestrian access to Garfield.
Anna Fonseca Janoff (2min) — Asked whether the redistricting goal was to move away from neighborhood schools to larger comprehensive campuses, and questioned how Scenarios 1 and 3 would improve socioeconomic diversity at Roy Cloud compared to Scenario 2.
Michael Bergeron (2min) — Representing the Woodside Hills HOA, requested that Woodside Hills be reassigned to Roy Cloud (K–8) to encourage families currently in private schools to return to public school and build community.
Brian Varese (2min) — Leaned toward Scenario 2 as better for long-term balance and diversity, questioned whether the school-of-choice lottery is truly promoting diversity by design, and asked that whichever scenario is chosen address schools pushed to 80% or above capacity.
Selena Holder (1min) — Supported Scenario 2, arguing that changing Roy Cloud's boundaries would encourage Selby Lane neighborhood families currently in private schools to return to public school and improve diversity.
Keely Vega (2min) — Strongly supported Scenario 2 for long-term district balance, challenged the notion that school-of-choice seats promote intentional diversity, questioned the use of walkability as a boundary criterion, and asked how the board plans to weigh the survey showing 88% support for Scenario 2.
Patricia Boers (2min) — Supported Scenario 2 to foster community among Woodside Hills children, noted her family's ethnic diversity and Spanish-speaking home as factors relevant to the diversity discussion, and pointed out that only about 30 students from Woodside Hills would be affected.
Colleen Voss (1min) — Co-signer of the Selby Lane community letter supporting Scenario 2, argued it was unfair that the community-input Scenario 3 resembles Scenario 1 rather than the survey-preferred Scenario 2, and asked why Scenario 2 wasn't also refined with minor tweaks.
Frank Hanig (2min) — Supported Scenario 2 or a minor tweak to Scenario 3 to include Woodside Hills in Roy Cloud, citing Fernside and Alameda as geographic barriers to Henry Ford and noting it would allow walkable K–8 attendance without significantly raising Roy Cloud's capacity percentage.
David Eicher (1min) — Supported Scenario 2 to move Woodside Hills from Henry Ford/Kennedy to Roy Cloud, emphasizing the K–8 continuity that would help build community bonds and might bring private-school families back to public school.
Lindsay Semple (1min) — Supported Scenario 2 or a Scenario 3 tweak assigning Woodside Hills to Roy Cloud, stating it would help build sub-community and move families away from private school or school-of-choice options.
Abraham Fraley (2min) — Supported Scenario 2 for the Selby Lane area, citing dangerous crossing conditions on the state highway to Henry Ford, argued for boundary/demographic alignment with the Roy Cloud census area, and raised concerns about inherent bias when school-of-choice is prioritized over rezoned neighborhood students.
Lisa Carr (1min) — Longtime Redwood City public school supporter living in Woodside Hills urged the board to listen to the strong community support for Scenario 2 or a Scenario 3 tweak including Woodside Hills in Roy Cloud, noting that neighborhood children are not currently attending public school.
Katha Hall (1min) — Woodside Hills resident of 23 years supported having the neighborhood assigned to Roy Cloud to build community and bring children out of private schools, citing the 88% survey support for Scenario 2 as deserving respect.
9.1Second Public Hearing: Neighborhood Schools Attendance Boundary Change StudyInformation
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Rationale: On June 17, 2020, Redwood City School District (RCSD) held the first of two public hearings to hear our community's feedback regarding our Neighborhood Schools Attendance Boundary Change Study. The school boundary change study to shift the attendance boundaries of the seven RCSD neighborhood schools comes after the moves and mergers of programs and consolidation of schools approved in late 2018. The School Board action on November 28, 2018, took place due to an independent financial consultant's conclusion that with declining enrollment, RCSD could not sustain 16 schools with the then 7,500 student enrollment. Today, the school district operates 12 schools with an enrollment of close to 7,200 students as Bay Area families continue to move out of the region. The result from the process to restructure the organization means that families within four attendance areas within the school district are in need of a neighborhood school--the former Fair Oaks Neighborhood, the Former John Gill Neighborhood, the former Hawes Neighborhood, and the former Selby Lane Neighborhood. These four attendance areas will now need to be absorbed by the current seven attendance areas of Clifford, Roy Cloud, Henry Ford, Garfield, Hoover, Roosevelt, and Taft neighborhood schools. The district's demographer is using Board Policy 5116, the Board of Trustees' policy on school attendance boundaries, to guide the school district with creating new attendance areas for each neighborhood school. Since June 17, the RCSD community had the opportunity to review a third scenario/map and provide written feedback. The district's demographer created the third map using the input we first received regarding scenarios/maps one and two. This evening we have another opportunity to hear from our community. Financial Impact: There is no financial impact at the moment. Submission for Approval Prepared by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent §
101:22:10Consent Items (Action Required)
10.1Approval of Measure U Application for 2020-21, Connect Community Charter SchoolAction (Consent)
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Rationale: Connect Community Charter School's Site Council, composed of Teachers, Parents and Administrators, met on March 22, 2020 to formulate and approve a proposal for the 2020-2021 Measure U Funds. The Council voted to use Measure U funds to fund a support staff to help with reading, math, writing, and behavior support. The addition of support staff in the classrooms helps with the retention and attraction of qualified teachers, as it distributes responsibilities inside the classroom. The additional support also helps with strengthening reading, writing, math, and science skills, as it allows for students to get individualized and small group support to target specific needs. Financial Impact: Reduction to general and categorical funds to be determined. Submission for Approval Prepared by: Claudia Reyes, Director of Operations, Connect Community Charter School Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent Our adopted rules of Parliamentary Procedure, Robert’s Rules, provide for a consent agenda listing several items for approval of the Board by a single motion. Most of the items listed under the consent agenda have gone through Board subcommittee review and recommendation. Documentation concerning these items has been provided to all board members and the public in advance to assure an extensive and thorough review. Items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member. §
10.2Approval of Agreement to Provide Meal Services to Connect Community Charter School and KIPP Excelencia Community Prep Charter SchoolAction (Consent)
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Rationale: RCSD has provided meal service to both CCC and KIPP since their charters were granted. The California Department of Education must approve the attached agreements for school year 2020-21. Financial Impact: These agreements are estimated to provide $228,600 or 6% of total revenue and are cost neutral. Submission for Approval Prepared by: Anna Lague, Child Nutrition Consultant; Priscilla Aquino-Dichoso, Chief Business Official Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent Our adopted rules of Parliamentary Procedure, Robert’s Rules, provide for a consent agenda listing several items for approval of the Board by a single motion. Most of the items listed under the consent agenda have gone through Board subcommittee review and recommendation. Documentation concerning these items has been provided to all board members and the public in advance to assure an extensive and thorough review. Items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member. §
10.3Approval of Purchase of I-Ready Assessment Program for 2020-21 School YearAction (Consent)
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Rationale: The i-Ready assessment will be used as both a diagnostic assessment, and for progress monitoring, to determine student skill and knowledge levels in the grade level standards for which they are enrolled. Students will be assessed in English Language Arts, Spanish Language Arts (as needed), and Math (both in English and Spanish (as needed)). The i-Ready assessment is an adaptive online assessment that will be administered 3 times during the school year (September, December and March). Extensive data from the assessment will be made available to teachers to use in planning for acceleration and small group instruction. Parent letters are also available that give information about student results. Online lessons are available to each student, based on their exam results, for additional practice and support. Professional Development for teachers will be provided ongoing throughout the school year (how to administer the assessment, how to use the results, and how to determine if the students are on track for mastery of their grade level standards). Financial Impact: $125,136 from the COVID 19 Emergency Fund account. Submission for Approval Prepared by: Liz Wolfe, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services PreK-8 Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent Our adopted rules of Parliamentary Procedure, Robert’s Rules, provide for a consent agenda listing several items for approval of the Board by a single motion. Most of the items listed under the consent agenda have gone through Board subcommittee review and recommendation. Documentation concerning these items has been provided to all board members and the public in advance to assure an extensive and thorough review. Items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member. §
11Action Items (Action Required)
11.11:22:45Adoption of Roadmap to Reopening my School PlanAction
Kathryn Stewart (2min) — Asked for specific hours of live Mandarin-immersion instruction per day and cautioned against encouraging small-group playdates as a safety risk.
Brian Cagle (1min) — Advocated for continuing PE instruction during distance learning and cautioned that outdoor learning would frequently be uncomfortably hot, cold, or wet.
Christy Herrera (2min) — Asked for testing and contact-tracing protocols before return to campus, requested teachers be given the option to teach from home or classroom, and recommended waiting at least 14 days after holiday breaks before any in-person reopening.
Michelle Torit (2min) — Supported the distance-learning decision and recommended postponing any school reopening until at least 14 days after winter break (January 19) to reduce exposure from holiday gatherings.
Sandy Hoover (1min) — Stressed that timely testing, tracking, and tracing protocols must be in place before any return to campus, and expressed hope to meet her TK students in person this year.
Jamie Guiena (1min) — Echoed support for keeping PE in the daily distance-learning curriculum to address students' physical, social, and mental health needs during sedentary remote schooling.
Julia Feng (2min) — Thanked the board for including special-needs students in planning and asked what tools and strategies could help parents support very young learners who struggle or refuse to engage with screen-based learning.
Kayla Kamley (2min) — As a first-grade teacher, urged the district to distribute technology and hotspots early, provide physical books and school supplies to students, and communicate class assignments and daily schedules to families well before the school year begins.
Sarah La Torre (1min) — Proposed that the GATE program adopt a materials-pickup-plus-virtual-class model similar to the public library's art program to provide enrichment and a sense of normalcy during distance learning.
Michelle Smith (2min) — Asked when child care options would be announced and which highest-need students would be prioritized, requested home supply kits for students, and urged that technology be distributed before the start of school to avoid loss of instructional time.
Teresita Carlos (2min) — Thanked the board and staff, shared that she is keeping her own preschool child home to avoid exposure, praised a Henry Ford teacher for excellent distance-learning that combined online and paper-based activities, and supported waiting until after winter break to consider returning.
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Rationale: During the July 15, 2020, Board of Trustees public meeting, district staff presented to the School Board the Roadmap to Reopening My School plan for the 2020-21 school year. A districtwide steering committee, made up of several subcommittees, started working on this plan in May and engaged parents and RCSD employees throughout the process. The subcommittees used guidance from both the San Mateo County Office of Education as outlined in the San Mateo County Pandemic Recovery Framework for Schools as well as the California Department of Education's Stronger Together: A Guidebook for the Safer Opening of California's Public Schools to build the plan. Both documents provide California school districts with the health, education, and legal guidance needed to develop local plans for the safe reopening of school. The committee came up with two models--the Hybrid and the Distance Learning models. The models include the implementation of safety protocols according to the Step by Step Approach and the Four Pillars from the San Mateo County Office of Education: Health & Hygiene, Face Coverings, Physical Distancing, and Limiting Gatherings . Due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases across California, with Redwood City currently as the second city with the most cases in San Mateo County, the Board of Trustees reached consensus to start the 2020-21 school year with the full Distance Learning Model up until at least the end of the first trimester, which is in November before the Thanksgiving break. While we know that children benefit from in-person instruction, the School Board prioritized the health and safety of students, staff, parents, and the community at-large by offering a virtual teaching and learning experience until science and data shows that it's safe to return to our school campuses. Between now and the first day of school on August 19, the steering committee and district staff will develop agreements, processes, and plans for the following: Instructional practices: The programs, assessments, and pacing guide. Expectations for students, teachers, and families: The teacher-parent relationship as they work together under a new format--oversight of instruction, teacher schedule, grading, and parent engagement and support. Additional support for target groups: Providing the services needed and additional academic support for populations in need--foster and homeless youth, students on free and reduced lunch, English language learners, and children with special needs. Child care and after school programs: Collaborating with our community and San Mateo County partners. Teacher access to classrooms: Allowing teachers to teach virtually from their classrooms. The teachers will be practicing social distancing by being alone in their classrooms and will have access to the tools and materials to teach students virtually. Professional development for staff and families : Staff: Additional training for staff on developing units of instruction for distance learning to be implemented during this first trimester. Families: Many of our parents are not well-versed in the technology and the number of applications and tools that students use for learning. We will look into how to introduce the tools to help them understand what their child uses to do their schoolwork. Parent check-ins: We plan to develop a system to seek feedback from parents on the progress of their children under this new model. Independent study: Some of our parents have requested for independent study. We will seek further information on this option to share it with interested parents. Our plan will include a process and timeline for how we will evaluate the Distance Learning Model before the end of the first trimester. Financial Impact: There is no financial impact at this moment. Submission for Approval Prepared by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent §
11.22:32:32Recommendation for Review and Approval of the 2020 Uniform Complaint Procedures Meeting Federal RequirementsAction
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Rationale: The California Department of Education provides guidance to Local Education Agencies to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations in regards to policies, procedures and forms for Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP). The Redwood City School Board is required to review and approve the Board Policy and Procedures. As we are under a Federal Monitoring Review and it has moved into the 2020-21 School year, the UCP Procedures must be aligned with the most current CDE recommendations. Financial Impact: None. Submission for Approval Prepared by: Linda Montes, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Equity Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent §
12Information
12.12:33:29Quarterly Williams Report, 4th Quarter, April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020Information
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Rationale: As per Education Code 35186 and the Williams legislation, AB831, districts are required to adopt and use uniform complaint procedures to identify and resolve complaints regarding deficiencies related to instructional materials, emergency or urgent facilities conditions that pose a threat to the health and safety of students or staff, and teacher vacancy or misassignment. The Superintendent or designee shall report summarized data on the nature and resolution of all complaints to the Board and the County Superintendent of Schools on a quarterly basis. As per AB831, on October 12, 2005, the Redwood City School Board approved the revisions to Board Policy 1312.5, Williams Uniform Complaint Procedures Notice to Parents/Guardians: Complaint Rights. Submission of Quarterly Reports on Williams Uniform Complaints were required beginning April 2005. The Redwood City School District has not received any complaints and continues to remain in compliance by submitting the required reports to the Redwood City School Board and the County Superintendent of Schools on a quarterly basis. No complaints were filed with the district during the quarter comprising the period of April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. Financial Impact: None when the School District remains in compliance. Submission for Approval Prepared by: Eliana García, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent §
132:33:29Adjournment (Action Required)