David Weekley (1min) — Urged the board to keep students at the center of this process, ensuring North Star changes if it harms any students and that the focus remains on maximizing the potential of every student in the district.
Lily Milton (1min) — Speaking as a North Star Forward Committee member and Orion parent, she expressed appreciation for the process and presented the subcommittee's key recommendations: changing grade configuration so North Star no longer begins at third grade, and bringing compacted curriculum and enrichment to all schools, while urging the board to act with urgency on broader equity issues.
Unidentified speaker (2min) — Argued that the Bayside access data is misleading since many Bayside families already access North Star via school of choice, that North Star is not broken and serves its community at no extra cost, and urged the board to focus on the 70% of students who are academically behind rather than restructuring a well-designed school.
John Kinsel (2min) — Expressed strong support for North Star as a program that keeps academically advanced students engaged and challenged, and suggested the real focus should be on improving conditions at other schools rather than changing North Star.
Owen Webel (1min) — As a North Star graduate, shared that his previous school left him disengaged due to lack of challenge, while North Star allowed him to make friends at his own level and progress further academically.
Tony Webel (2min) — As a North Star committee member and parent of children at both Roosevelt and North Star, he emphasized that the primary objective should be the best equitable learning environment for all students, and raised concerns that some committee ideas conflict with that goal, also requesting the Jamboard document be removed from materials as rushed and misleading.
Jessica Nodi (1min) — As a Roy Cloud parent and educator, expressed support for starting North Star at kindergarten, bringing the enrichment model to all students at all sites, and offering equal enrollment percentages from all schools.
Katie Morello (1min) — As a Henry Ford parent, described the emotional impact on her daughter losing 15 classmates and suggested that if North Star is a strong accelerated school, middle school might be a more appropriate entry point.
Kaylee Vega (1min) — As a Henry Ford parent who chose the district partly because of North Star, argued that North Star is not the problem and that the other district schools being under-resourced and underperforming is the real issue, urging the board not to dismantle a highly ranked program.
Loan Hin (2min) — As a Henry Ford parent who personally benefited from a magnet school as a child, stated her family would leave the district if North Star is not available at third grade, and argued that equity and access issues can be addressed without eliminating the North Star format.
Elle Kolekar (1min) — As a Bayside family with children attending Hillside schools including North Star, argued that the equity problem is a deeper district-wide issue not caused solely by North Star, and called on the board to invest in and strengthen Bayside community schools.
Alice Harkey (2min) — As North Star's parent club president, described the transformational impact of North Star on her children, expressed support for universal testing and expanded outreach including busing and after-school support for Bayside students, and asked the board to preserve North Star's curriculum and enrichment opportunities.
Shonda Stewart (2min) — As a parent with children at both North Star and Orion, argued that North Star's parent fundraising perpetuates educational inequality, that the school culture is not socioeconomically inclusive, and that outreach to Bayside schools has been inadequate compared to Mandarin immersion community outreach.
Katie Goetz (1min) — As a North Star Forward Committee member focused on third grade attrition, argued that enriched programming should be available to all RCSD students regardless of testing, since no student is more in need of enrichment than any other, and urged the board to pursue equity and justice for all students.
Nicole Kowaki (1min) — Reading a condensed letter co-signed by 20 district parents, cited stark demographic disparities between North Star and the broader district to argue that North Star as currently constituted amounts to publicly funded education for the affluent, and urged the board to support the equitable solutions proposed by the North Star Forward Committee.
Daryl Norcott (2min) — As a Clifford parent, argued that North Star inherently widens the achievement gap, that standardized testing is racially biased, that children who don't get in feel stigmatized, and that the enrichment model should be brought to students at their neighborhood schools rather than concentrating resources at one location.
Heidi von Brielle (2min) — Raised environmental concerns about the carbon footprint of families driving to North Star, argued that the culture of school transfers undermines neighborhood school funding and volunteerism, and urged the board to implement options that would end the 'musical chairs' dynamic, including possibly a Bayside hub.
Mike Beebe (2min) — As a North Star third-grade parent who also has children in the district, urged the board to carefully examine whether the issue is one of admissions process or information and logistics, cautioning against a hard percent-admit model before exhausting outreach and transportation solutions.
Ann Hinesek (2min) — As a North Star Forward Committee member, highlighted bringing the Renzulli method to all schools and equalizing PTO fundraising distribution as key equity recommendations, and expressed personal support for changing the grade configuration, adding Spanish-speaking staff, capping school admittance, and possibly moving North Star to the Bayside.
Item details
Rationale: In early 2020, I formally recommended the formation of the North Star Forward committee to thoroughly study the impact of North Star Academy (NSA) on other schools in our district and on our community at large. On January 15, 2020, you approved to form the committee in order to address questions that were raised during the Planning for Our Future process of fall of 2018 when the community submitted many comments, both positive and negative, about the impact of NSA on other schools in the district. You approved for the District to study the impact of NSA on other schools on November 28, 2018, as one of the recommendations brought forth to you as part of the Planning for Our Future process. The purpose of the North Star Forward committee is to minimize the sense of division between NSA and other schools in the district by addressing and recommending solutions for specific areas where NSA is having an impact on other schools' enrollment, academic performance and school culture, and building understanding for the mission and purpose of the school. Specifically, the committee was charged to focus on the following areas: The exodus of rising third grade students from other schools. Admissions testing that leads to a sense of elitism and the social-emotional impact on students who attend as well as those who do not meet the qualifications. Lack of access from students attending Bayside schools. The committee came together in February 2020 after an application process that began immediately after your approval to form it. All parents and teachers were invited to submit applications to serve, and the district received 50 applications by the January 31, 2020 deadline. The Board Sub-Committee, consisting of Trustee Cecilia Márquez, former Trustee Dennis McBride, and myself, met in early February to review the applications. As discussed during the January 15, 2020 School Board meeting, the composition of the committee includes parents, teachers, and administrators from throughout the District as well as NSA alumni. The committee started working in early February of 2020 and met three times making much progress until March of 2020 when the work came to a halt due to COVID-19. The committee members set norms for their work, they studied the history and data of both NSA and the district as a whole, they looked into the impact of enrollment and School of Choice trends in the school district, learned about the mission and philosophy of NSA, and started on specific sub-committee work. As the committee's work was placed on hold in March 2020 due to COVID-19, the district persevered to guide and support our students and families through new barriers that arose along with the COVID-19 Pandemic. Through the pandemic, the district's commitment toward more equitable practices inspired district and site leadership, staff, parents, and students to keep equity consciousness alive during the most challenging times encountered in recent history in order to address the academic and social emotional needs of our students. This inspired the district to review and adopt its new equity and inclusiveness focused mission, vision, and values, which you approved in March of 2021. Many members, who made much progress on the committee in 2020, agreed to come back in 2022, and new members were added. In addition, Trustee Janet Lawson stepped in to fill Mr. McBride's seat, which was left vacant after his retirement in December of 2020. Parents: Maria Elena Arteaga Roy Cloud School Whitney Glockner Black Roosevelt School Carmie Chan Henry Ford School Katie Goetz Mandarin Immersion at Orion Alternative Michele Harkov North Star Academy Ann Hynecek Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School Colleen Lewcock North Star Academy Veronica Luna North Star Academy Jim Martin North Star Academy Lilli Milton Orion Alternative School Stefan Meyer Clifford School Gerd Stieler Roy Cloud School Lilia Valdez Hoover School Liliana Zaragoza Taft School NSA Alums: Emma Chiu North Star Academy Christian Morales North Star Academy Teachers: Brian Cagle North Star Academy Sandra Covacha Henry Ford Elementary School Mariana Hernández McKinley Institute of Technology Administrators: : John Baker Superintendent Lupe Guzman Assistant Principal, Hoover School Anna Herrera Principal, Taft Community School Katherine Rivera Principal, Orion Alternative Elementary School Sara Shackel Principal, McKinley Institute of Technology and North Star Academy Liz Wolfe Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Board Janet Lawson Trustee Cecilia Márquez Trustee The NSA Forward Committee was divided into 5 groups to make each team an optimum size for group work and input. Besides the three charges from the Board, two groups were assigned to focus on the demand for North Star, and the impact of North Star on the whole district, which provide further depth to the three charges. The newly formed committee met 4 times, including an orientation for new members, sharing of updated data, group work dedicated to providing ideas to solve the charges from the Board, and on April 7, the group evaluated and refined the ideas in 3 sub-groups dedicated to each charge. The group used an application called Jamboard to provide individual feedback on the 25 ideas. A copy of the Jamboard notes is attached. The committee was presented with detailed data on a variety of factors that informed their analysis and the generation of the ideas that follow in this report. Some of the tables are included below. The full set of data used by the committee is attached. In addition, in March 2022 the district conducted a survey at the request of Group #4. The results of that survey are attached. Only one parent from Taft and no parents from Garfield or Hoover took the survey, so RCSD Community Liaison Michelle Remond reached out to families from those schools and identified 6 parents who were willing to be interviewed on the questions in the survey. A report of her findings is attached. Copies of presentations for each of the committee's meetings in 2020 and 2022 are also attached. The attached draft document contains further details on the structure of the committee and the work they have completed to date. Please note: the ideas in the attached document are not recommendations; rather, they are ideas being shared to elicit feedback from the Board and the community so that necessary modifications can be made before recommendations are formed. The Committee will make adjustments, narrow down and/or consolidate ideas and develop recommendations following the board discussion. Financial Impact: None at the moment. Submission for Approval Prepared by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent Approved by: John R. Baker, Ed.D., Superintendent §