January 11, 2023 - Regular Session
REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Redwood City, California
APPROVED MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
January 11, 2023
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
1. Call to Order
President Márquez called the Regular Session to order at 7:00 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call
Present at the Regular Board Meeting: President Cecilia I. Márquez, Vice-President Janet Lawson, Trustees Mike Wells, Alisa MacAvoy, and David Weekly; and Superintendent Baker.
Others present during the Regular Board meeting: Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly, CBO Rick Edson, Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe, Will Robertson, Jenny Tran, and many others.
2. Welcome
President Márquez welcomed those present.
3. Changes to the Agenda
Trustee MacAvoy requested to move action item 9.1 to consent.
4. Approval of the Agenda
The School Board approved the agenda as amended, (Wells, MacAvoy; 5-0).
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Vice-President Lawson (Ayes)
President Márquez (Ayes)
5. Oral Communication
None.
6. Bond Program Consent Items
The School Board approved the Bond Program Consent Items (Lawson, Wells; 5-0), taking the following action:
6.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Bond Program Consent Items
6.2 Recommendation re: Approval of Measure T Bond Program Tracking List of Items Under $20k
6.3 Recommendation re: Approval of New Buildings, Modernization and Sitework, Bid Package G, Change Order #14 to the Agreement with Rodan Builders for Garfield Community School
6.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Proposal for Asphalt Replacement with Dryco for Orion Alternative School (Formerly John Gill School)
6.5 Recommendation re: Approval of Proposal for New Asphalt and Storage Container Replacement with Dryco for Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Vice-President Lawson (Ayes)
President Márquez (Ayes)
7. Discussion Items
7.1 Data Update
Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe and Jenny Tran, Coordinator - Data Analysis and Accountability, presented the School Board with a PowerPoint presentation that reported on information regarding a variety of recent data results which included data results from California School Dashboard, Panorama Climate Survey, iReady growth (September through December) in Math and English Language Arts (ELA), and the Mini Mira (math assessment given to 5th and 8th-grade students).
Vice-President Lawson inquired about the questions asked for the cultural awareness category. Jenny Tran will get the questions to share with the trustees.
Trustee Weekly and Jenny Tran discussed whether the survey results were interpreted with statistical confidence, given the number of families answering the survey. Liz Wolfe commented there is information on how many parents at each school site answered the survey. Trustee MacAvoy added that some schools have higher groups that find the questions on the survey more relevant. Trustee MacAvoy shared she hopes that schools who feel that the data gathered by the Panorama survey is not an accurate representation of the school climate are using different methods to collect data on school climate.
Trustee MacAvoy expressed her concern over RCSD’s climate survey results being lower in comparison to other school districts. It appears that the results are slowly ticking up, and it would be good to continue to monitor for another couple of cycles.
Trustee Weekly suggested aggregating the Asian ethnicities categories. He believes it will make it more helpful to see how the Asian community is doing overall.
Trustee MacAvoy commented she appreciated seeing the response by the student groups on the climate survey.
Kendall Klein presented the School Board with a PowerPoint presentation. She gave an overview of what is being used as a classroom research cohort to look into different math assessments that will provide evidence about student thinking and math problem-solving that will help guide instructional planning.
Trustee MacAvoy expressed excitement because this resource will allow teachers to understand the student’s thought processes in answering a question and see why the answer is either right or wrong.
Trustee Weekly asked if the calibrating process was labor intensive. Kendall responded Math ANEX had many scores, which they calibrate, and the turnaround time is around two weeks to receive the data.
Vice-President Lawson asked how many sites are participating in Mini-Mira. Kendall responded that 3rd-7th grade participates in the Mini-Mira, and 8th graders participate in the Mira. Currently, four school sites are participating in the Mini-Mira.
Board President Márquez asked if current teachers piloting the assessment program will collaborate with other teachers to expand the program in the future. Kendall responded that the goal is to empower the teachers to try it out, see the data, and present their thoughts on it first, before moving forward with other choices.
Trustee Weekly asked for an estimate of how much the program would cost. Kendall answered it costs $5 per student.
Liz Wolfe emphasized that to meet student needs, it is important to talk to them.
Superintendent Baker asked the board members to acknowledge the overall district data when reviewing the individual school data reports that will be presented at future board meetings.
Trustee MacAvoy commented that she would like for the school principals to talk about the street data during school presentations.
Trustee Wells expressed gratitude for the data. He communicated how powerful it was to see the different levels of student data. He asked if there's been an opportunity to do a root-cause analysis. Liz Wolfe answered that yes, that is the focus of the MTSS work.
The Board Trustees and Liz Wolfe discussed the Panorama survey and the questions the survey contains.
Trustee MacAvoy stated chronic absenteeism is very high and needs to be worked on because if students are not in school, they are not learning. In response, Liz commented that there is an opportunity for TOSAs, Office Managers, and other district staff to attend four learning sessions provided by Everyday Labs to develop incentives and additional outreach to target chronic absenteeism. The trustees and Superintendent Baker discussed chronic absentee rates and suggested other options that have been taken into account in the past to mitigate student absentee rates. Trustee David pointed out that the data from the CA Dashboard is from 6 months ago, and he is curious to know what the current data is. Vice-President Lawson requested that the principals share information on current attendance data during the school reports.
President Márquez asked if there was a correlation between attendance in the winter and the iReady results. Liz Wolfe responded that this level of analysis had not taken place.
President Márquez expressed curiosity about the type of communication shared with parents regarding their child(s) academic performance and whether it is enough for the parent to understand where their child stands academically. Liz Wolfe reported there is no consistent practice across the district for how schools communicate to parents the students' academic performance besides report cards and parent-teacher conferences. Superintendent Baker added that maybe there will be a discussion on how conferences in October/November will shift to be about goal-setting with the parents. That way, parents are fully aware of where their students are academically. In response to Superintendent Baker’s comment, Trustee Weekly commented that it might be an appropriate time to encourage parents to have high levels of expectations for their children. Additionally, Trustee MacAvoy expressed concern over the iReady results of students who are two to three levels behind and agrees there needs to be serious conversations with the students and parents, to work together and get the students to where they need to be.
Trustee Weekly questioned if there was a current practice of meetings in which students, parents, and teachers come together. Superintendent Baker reported that not all schools practice those types of meetings, but some do.
7.2 First Reading and Discussion of Board Policy 6158 - Independent Study
Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly reported on Board Policy 6158 - Independent Study. There is a new version that includes a strategic plan on how to reengage students. It also serves as a support plan for families to move back and forth quickly between in-person and distance learning.
8. Consent Items
The School Board approved the Consent Items (MacAvoy, Weekly; 5-0), taking the following action:
8.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Consent Items
8.2 Recommendation re: Approval of December 7th Board Minutes
8.3 Recommendation re: Approval of December 14th Board Minutes
8.4 Recommendation re: Approval of December 15th Board Minutes
8.5 Recommendation re: Approval of School Assignments and School Committee Assignments for Board Members for the remainder of the 2022-23 School Year
8.6 Recommendation re: Ratification of Warrant Registers, December 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022
9.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Addendum to 2022-23 Measure U Application for Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Vice-President Lawson (Ayes)
President Márquez (Ayes)
9. Action Items
9.2 Recommendation re: Approval of Governing Board's Initial Proposal for Negotiations with The California School Employees Association, Chapter V, for 2022-2023
No questions or comments.
The School Board approved the Governing Board's Initial Proposal for Negotiations with The California School Employees Association, Chapter V, for 2022-2023 (Wells, MacAvoy; 5-0).
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Vice-President Lawson (Ayes)
President Márquez (Ayes)
9.3 Recommendation re: Third Reading and Final Approval of Board Bylaw 9100 – Organization
No questions or comments.
The School Board approved the third reading and final approval of Board Bylaw 9100 – Organization (MacAvoy, Lawson; 5-0).
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Vice-President Lawson (Ayes)
President Márquez (Ayes)
9.4 Recommendation re: Acceptance of California School Employees Association Chapter V Sunshine Proposal for 2022-2023
No questions or comments.
The School Board accepted the California School Employees Association Chapter V Sunshine Proposal for 2022-2023 (Lawson, Wells; 5-0).
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Vice-President Lawson (Ayes)
President Márquez (Ayes)
9.5 Recommendation re: Approval of Retirement Notification Incentive
Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly requested approval to offer an early retirement notification incentive to facilitate planning for the upcoming school year.
Trustee Weekly inquired if there was any data on the percentage of employees who retire early. In response, Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly answered that about 30 staff retire at the end of each year. Trustee MacAvoy added that without the incentive, most employees do not notify of their retirement promptly, thus making it difficult to plan around filling vacancies.
The School Board approved the retirement notification incentive (MacAvoy, Weekly; 5-0).
Trustee Weekly (Ayes)
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Vice-President Lawson (Ayes)
President Márquez (Ayes)
9.6 Recommendation re: Approval of Personnel Changes for 2022-2023
No questions or comments.
The School Board approved the personnel changes for 2022-23 (Wells, MacAvoy; 5-0).
9.7 Recommendation re: Approval of Local Interagency Agreement(s) to Provide Education and Training to Credential Candidates
No questions or comments.
The School Board approved the local interagency agreement(s) to provide education and training to credential candidates (MacAvoy, Weekly; 5-0).
9.8 Recommendation re: Approval of Update on planned expenditures for the Effective Educator Grant
No questions or comments.
The School Board approved the update on planned expenditures for the Effective Educator Grant (MacAvoy, Wells; 5-0).
10. Board and Superintendent Reports
10.1 Report from Board Members and Superintendent
Trustee MacAvoy reported attending a board policy committee meeting with Vice-President Lawson and Wendy Kelly. She also attended the BGCP speech prep for Youth of the Year. Lastly, she was also present at the morning session of professional development.
Vice-President Lawson reported attending the policy committee.
Trustee Wells reported attending the logo committee along with Vice-President Lawson. He also reported attending the SEPTAR meeting where he met Dr. Mulholland.
Trustee Weekly reported doing a tour of Roosevelt School.
President Márquez had nothing to report.
Superintendent Baker reported on the power outages at the schools. Trustee Weekly asked if there was a contingency plan for prolonged power outages. Superintendent Baker answered the district does not have a generator large enough to power a school but will speak to Martin, the Director of Facilities and Transportation, and the business department to plan for future weather emergencies.
11. Correspondence
Trustee MacAvoy received correspondence from members of the NSA Forward committee asking the Board to do more thinking about what can be done there.
President Márquez received correspondence from two district parents asking to speak about North Star.
12. Other Business/Suggested Items for Future Agenda
None.
Superintendent Baker reminded the School Board about the Special Board Meeting taking place on Friday, January 20th from 11:30 am to 4:00 pm in the district office boardroom.
Trustee MacAvoy suggested talking about updating the emergency plans in preparation for weather emergencies.
13. Board Meetings Calendar
13.1 Changes to the Board Meetings Calendar
None.
14. Adjournment
The School Board adjourned the meeting at 9:41 p.m. (Weekly, MacAvoy; 5-0).