November 9, 2022
REDWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Redwood City, California
APPROVED MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
November 9, 2022
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
1. Call to Order
President Díaz-Slocum called the Regular Session to order at 7:00 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call
Present at the Regular Board Meeting: President María Díaz-Slocum, Vice-President Cecilia I. Márquez; Trustees Janet Lawson, Mike Wells, and Alisa MacAvoy; and Superintendent Baker.
Others Present: Deputy Superintendent Wendy Kelly, Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe, CBO Rick Edson, Kendall Klein, Robyn Stone, Bronia Whipp, Gonzalo Cordova, Laura Pulido, and others.
2. Welcome
2.1 Welcome
President Díaz-Slocum welcomed those present.
3. Changes to the Agenda
Trustee Wells requested to move Action Items 8.1 - 8.4 to under Consent.
CBO Rick Edson requested to pull Agenda Item 7.6.
4. Approval of Agenda
The School Board approved the agenda as amended, (MacAvoy, Wells; 5-0).
5. Oral Communication
Speaker’s Card:
Brie Hannie, a parent of a Redwood City School District student, addressed the School Board. She thanked the Board for serving the RCSD students. Brie expressed her concern over the 3rd-grade class at her child’s school listening to the book True You: A Gender Journey. Brie believes the book to be offensive because she feels the book presents gender theory as fact. She thanked the Board for listening and hopes to hear back to have an ongoing conversation.
Lisbeth Estrada, a Hoover parent, expressed her concern over the safety at Hoover. She would like to request to have a security guard near the pre-school area, by Hoover Park. As a parent, she is worried for the well-being of all the teachers and students at Hoover School. She expressed gratitude to Dr. Baker for providing support by working to get more cameras and more security at Hoover School.
6. Bond Program Consent Items
The School Board approved the Bond Program Consent Items (Wells, MacAvoy; 5-0) taking the following action:
6.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Consent Items
6.2 Recommendation re: Approval of Measure T Bond Program Tracking List of Items Under $20k
6.3 Recommendation re: Approval of Rear Parking Lot Project, Change Order #3 to the Agreement with Galeb Paving, Inc., for Garfield Community School
6.4 Recommendation re: Approval of New Buildings, Modernization and Sitework, Bid Package G, Change Order #11 to the Agreement with Rodan Builders for Garfield Community School
6.5 Recommendation re: Approval of New Buildings, Modernization and Sitework, Bid Package G, Change Order #27 to the Agreement with Beals Martin for Taft Community School
6.6 Recommendation re: Approval of Proposal for Additional Services to the Turnkey Security Upgrade Agreement with Siemens Industry, Inc. for Roosevelt and Henry Ford Schools
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)
President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
7. Consent Items
The board approved the Consent Items (Lawson, MacAvoy; 5-0), taking the following action:
7.1 Recommendation re: Approval of Consent Items
7.2 Recommendation re: Approval of October 21st Board Minutes
7.3 Recommendation re: Approval of October 26th Board Minutes
7.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Amendment to the August 24th Board Minutes
7.5 Recommendation re: Ratification of Warrant Registers, October 1, 2022 - October 31, 2022
8.1 Recommendation re: Second Reading and Approval of Board Policy 3320 - Claims and Actions Against the District
8.2 Recommendation re: Second Reading and Approval of Board Policy 3516.5 - Emergency Schedules
8.3 Recommendation re: Second Reading and Approval of Board Policy 5141 - Health Care and Emergencies
8.4 Recommendation re: Approval of Addendum to 2022-23 Measure U Application for Clifford School
Trustee MacAvoy (Ayes)
Trustee Wells (Ayes)
Trustee Lawson (Ayes)
Vice-President Márquez (Ayes)
President Díaz-Slocum (Ayes)
9. Board and Superintendent Reports
9.1 Report from Board Members and Superintendent
Trustee MacAvoy reported attending the Orion Ribbon cutting ceremony, Día de los Muertos at Adelante Selby, a Halloween Party and an Author and Illustrator Fair at Orion. Trustee MacAvoy also reported speaking to Susie Peyton, an art consultant, regarding the feasibility of a community art center. She also attended Peter Fortenbaugh’s Celebration of Life. Lastly, Trustee MacAvoy shared a journal made by the Mandarin Immersion (MI) students. It is a compilation of their work.
Superintendent Baker commented Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe had the opportunity to substitute at one of the MI’s classrooms.
Trustee Wells reported attending the Chamber San Mateo County Education Committee meeting. There was a discussion from Kevin Mullin’s office regarding state test scores. Trustee Wells also attended the Citizen Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) meeting. Lastly, he reported attending the RCSD logo redesign meeting.
Trustee Lawson reported attending the Orion Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, the Chamber SMC Education Committee meeting, and a Policy Committee meeting with Trustee MacAvoy.
Vice-President Márquez reported attending the Superintendent’s Advisory Council meeting with Trustee MacAvoy. At the meeting there was a discussion about Special Education (SPED), the enrollment process, and registration.
President Díaz-Slocum mentioned all of the meetings she attended had been covered by the other Trustees. She added, the Orion Ribbon Cutting ceremony was really special because it was great to see the project coming together.
Superintendent Baker also commented a lot of the meetings he attended had been mentioned by the trustees. He reported he has been working with the San Mateo County in regards to a grant related to mental health. He informed the School Board that 40% of the dollars would be going to RCSD to be utilized for the wellness center and the community at large. Dr. Baker reported visiting Clifford along with SMC Superintendent of Schools Magee to look at the NUA strategies that are being used in the classrooms. Additionally, he visited and worked at North Star and Roy Cloud. He helped out as a principal in the office, while Sara and Melissa conducted observations in the classrooms. He also visited the classrooms. He reported visiting Hoover. The reason for the Hoover visit was to talk about North Star and the testing for all 2nd-graders. Lastly, Dr. Baker reported meeting with Don Mattei, San Mateo County Emergency Manager, and Lieutenant Conover to discuss what safety measures can be done to improve the safety at Hoover. Some safety suggestions were to provide more walkie-talkies, install cameras, and make improvements to the fence.
10. Information
10.1 San Mateo County Office of Education Review of 2021-22 Unaudited Actuals for Redwood City School District and Connect, KIPP, and Rocketship Charter Schools
Trustee MacAvoy asked a question regarding page 2 of the letter and the 4th column labeled unaudited actuals. She stated the numbers did not seem to reflect the full amount of the budget.
CBO Rick Edson agreed and said he will reach out to the SMC Office of Education to make the needed corrections.
10.2 Empowered Math and Reading Teachers Presentation
Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe, along with Staff Development leaders, presented part two of the Empowered Learning Professional Development series and how it looks working on the content areas in Math and Reading.
Kendall Klein and Robyn Stone presented on their work with the Math Lead Learners program. Bronia Whipp and Laura Pulido presented on their Empowered Literacy Learning Leaders (EL3) program. The goal of both programs is to build district-wide collaboration among the teachers.
Trustee Wells stated the presentation was inspiring. He asked a clarifying question to find out if everyone at the school attends the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)?
In response to Trustee Wells question, Kendall answered that all teachers that teach math, which are mostly K-5, and middle school math teachers attend.
Robyn Stone added that at Hoover they have a unique opportunity to work with the Special Day class pre-school teachers, the Transitional Kinder teachers through 8th grade teachers, and the CDC teachers.
Trustee MacAvoy asked when and how often do teachers work outside of their instructional hours. Do the teachers receive stipends?
In response to Trustee MacAvoy’s question, Kendall answered that for PLC, the teachers meet during their site meetings.
Robyn Stone added that they meet with the site-level PLCs, which include the pre-schools, the CDC, Hoover, and Taft, once per month during their faculty staff meeting time.
Kendall added, for the Empowered Learners group, they receive a stipend by the hour by calculating the meeting time, asynchronous work time, and extra coaching time.
Robyn added she was very grateful to Anna Herrera, Taft Principal, for providing a stipend for her teachers to collaborate with herself on Thursdays after school.
Trustee MacAvoy noted time is so precious to educators so it is very wonderful to see the Staff Development team is making all of it work. She thanked Kendall, Robyn, Laura, and Bronia for putting all of the work together and she also expressed her appreciation for all the teachers who signed up and chose to do the extra work. She loves that the work is teacher-driven and individual-goal setting because it is very meaningful for the teachers to know where they are at and what they need.
Trustee Wells asked what outcomes should be expected, and directed the question toward Superintendent Baker and Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe.
Superintendent Baker responded he is looking to see a difference in instruction in the classroom. He added, he hopes to see an improvement in test scores. Dr. Baker addressed Kendall, Robyn, Laura, and Bronia, and commented it would be great if, down the line, these teachers also became mentors to other teachers in the district. He praised the team for their work.
Trustee MacAvoy added the district has been very fortunate to have outside funding from individual donors, and grants to be able to make professional development a priority in our district.
Assistant Superintendent Liz Wolfe responded to Trustee Wells’s questions. She agrees with Dr. Baker’s response that there will be an impact on content learning. Additionally, she expects to see positive effects on student attendance, student behavior, classroom climate, and improved relationship between the teachers and other students. The overarching goal is to develop teacher leadership.
Trustee Wells appreciates hearing about the positive healthy environment that is created through the programs.
Trustee Lawson expressed she was thankful for the presentation. She commented that as the School Board, they were very thoughtful and mindful when putting together the mission, vision, and values. This was something that was worked hard on, and it is great to see how much everyone has taken the mission, vision, and values very seriously. The work can be seen, for example, when teachers are vulnerable, they are vulnerable because the team has created a safe and supportive environment that allows them to be vulnerable. She thanked the team for the very important work they are doing.
Vice-President Márquez also thanked the team and all the teachers. She appreciates the hard work and collaboration. She also appreciates how the teachers are opting in to join and collaborate in this program. Trustee Márquez mentioned she would like to see the lower grades involved, especially when it comes to literacy. Math becomes more difficult to understand when literacy skills are not there.
President Díaz-Slocum agreed with Trustee Márquez’s sentiment regarding reading. She commented reading is at the forefront and if a student cannot read the question, the student cannot solve the math problem. Trustee Díaz-Slocum likes the inclusivity of the program and that teachers feel that they can join. She thanked the team for doing the work and providing the teachers with the needed support.
Superintendent Baker expressed his appreciation for all of Staff Development and thanked them for all that they do.
11. Correspondence
President Díaz-Slocum reported on behalf of the School Board that they received email correspondence.
Trustee MacAvoy added a community member also reached out with questions regarding CBOC, and Dr. Baker is working on providing answers.
12. Other Business/Suggested Items for Future Agenda
None.
13. Board Meetings Calendar
13.1 Changes to the Board Meetings calendar
Superintendent Baker reported there are no changes to the calendar, but did inform the School Board that the focus of the 11/16 Board Meeting will be the SPSA’s. The principals will attend virtually.
Trustee MacAvoy asked what the Closed Session for November 16th was going to be about.
Superintendent Baker answered the meeting would be regarding HR matters.
President Díaz-Slocum requested a Closed Session for 12/07 to finalize Superintendent Baker’s employee evaluation.
14. Adjournment
President Díaz-Slocum adjourned the meeting in memory of Grace and Greg Ammen, two RCSD parents, who tragically passed away.
The School Board adjourned the meeting at 8:32 p.m. (MacAvoy, Wells; 5-0).