Two Los Altos School District Schools Receive National Blue Ribbon Nominations
The California Department of Education has nominated two Los Altos School District schools to receive a prestigious National Blue Ribbon from the United States Department of Education: Blach and Egan Junior High Schools. There are more than 12,000 public, charter and private schools in California, and only 35 were nominated for this highly-esteemed award. Los Altos School District is honored to have both of our junior high schools nominated for the sustained exemplary achievement of their students and school communities.
Read the full press release here.
HOT LUNCH: Beef Hot Dog, Pasta w/butter, Pasta w/Marinara Sauce, Shredded Chicken Burrito.
The WINTER WONDERLAND DANCE tickets will be sold at lunch. Don’t miss out.... see you Friday night.
Congratulations to yesterday's NOON LEAGUE winner and overall champion LEWIS!!!!! They will go up against the teacher's team at lunch today in a highly anticipated game. Be sure to come out and watch. Everyone should be ready to go by 1:15.
The Blach Running Club will NOT be meeting today but will start up again right after the break.
Have you ordered your 2013-2014 Falcon yearbook yet? If you didn't order in December, it's not too late! Turn in your order by the end of January to the office or Mrs. Hickman's room, D-2. Order forms were emailed home to parents; extras are available in the office. The price of the yearbook is now $40. Don't delay- the only way to guarantee that you'll have a yearbook in June is if you order one NOW!
The library will be closed again today. It WILL, however, be open the entire week for Think Tank.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
IN SPORTS NEWS:
The 7th grade girls defeated Egan yesterday 5 to 0.
Great offense by: AMBER, ALYSSIA, AND MELISSA
GREAT DEFENSE BY: ANNIKA, NOA, MADI, GG, ALYSSA AND ALI.
Blach's 7th grade boys basketball team defeated Egan yesterday 48-29 behind strong defense and driving to the basket. Both Sebastian and Ian were high scorer with 12 points apiece. Basketball practice for 7th grade only today.
Effective December 11, 2013, the Santa Clara County Department of Health has revised its requirements for TB screening of students entering schools. Click here for more information.
LASD board sends notice of Facilities Use Agreement (FUA) violations and invites BCS representatives to its November 12 board meeting where it will consider potential remedies.
Click here for the agenda of the LASD-BCS Sub-Committee Joint Meeting on 2013-2014 FUA and Long Term Agreements. The meeting is Wednesday, November 6 at 7:00 pm, Town Hall Council Chambers, Los Altos Hills.
Bullis Charter School (BCS) has submitted its facilities request for the 2014-15 school year. The school projects an enrollment of 678 in-district students (711 total students)—95 more in-district students than currently enrolled (a 16.3% increase). As part of the facilities request BCS states that its location preference is the Covington School site. Details are contained in the request letter submitted to the district.
Here is the draft agreement LASD presented to BCS at the joint meeting on Monday. It is important to note that this document is the beginning of a process of capturing a possible agreement between the parties. It does not reflect agreed terms, and in fact hasn't been vetted by either board. It simply represents a starting point. Mayor Waldeck invited both parties to draft a document, so that is what we have done. We have our next meeting Wednesday, September 18, at 7pm in the Los Altos Hills town hall again. We look forward to continuing this discussion with BCS and developing a set of mutually agreeable points to include, and evolving that into the working language in a final document.
This document also contains my personal "talking points" - thoughts I prepared in advance of the meeting. I've included them so that folks who may read this document without the context of the broader discussion will also have visibility into the District's thinking. None of this replaces formal Board action, but it is a way for folks to understand what is driving the positions we've laid out.
- Doug Smith
President, LASD Board of Trustees
The long-term facilities subcommittees from the Los Altos School District and Bullis Charter School met on September 12, September 16, September 18, October 30 and November 6. The videos from these meetings are available below:
- September 12 - Video Link
- September 16 (Part One) - Video Link
- September 16 (Part Two) - Video Link
- September 18 (Part One) - Video Link
- September 18 (Part Two) - Video Link
- October 30 - Video Link
- November 6 (Part One) - Video Link
- November 6 (Part Two) - Video Link
The short-term facilities subcommittees from the Los Altos School District and Bullis Charter School met on August 27 and August 29. Links to the videos and flip chart notes from these meetings are available below:
- August 27 - Video Link ; Flip Chart Notes
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August 29 - Video Link ; Flip Chart Notes
Bullis Charter School signs 2013-14 Facilities Use Agreement - but under protest. BCS & LASD boards to hold sub-committee meetings in attempt to work out differences. See below for links to recent letters between BCS and LASD.
Email to BCS dated August 12, 2013
LASD Letter to BCS Leadership dated August 12, 2013
BCS Letter to LASD Board of Trustees dated August 14, 2013
LASD Letter to Ken Moore dated August 16, 2013
BCS Letter to Doug Smith dated August 19, 2013
BCS Letter to Doug Smith and Signed Facility Use Agreement dated August 19, 2013
BCS Letter to LASD Board of Trustees dated September 6, 2013
LASD Letter to Joe Hurd dated September 7, 2013
BCS Letter to Doug Smith dated September 9, 2013
LASD Letter, Resolution and Path Forward Agreement to BCS Board dated September 28, 2013
Below is the draft agreement LASD presented to BCS at the joint meeting on Monday. It is important to note that this document is the beginning of a process of capturing a possible agreement between the parties. It does not reflect agreed terms, and in fact hasn't been vetted by either board. It simply represents a starting point. Mayor Waldeck invited both parties to draft a document, so that is what we have done. We have our next meeting Wednesday, September 18, at 7pm in the Los Altos Hills town hall again. We look forward to continuing this discussion with BCS and developing a set of mutually agreeable points to include, and evolving that into the working language in a final document.
This document also contains my personal "talking points" - thoughts I prepared in advance of the meeting. I've included them so that folks who may read this document without the context of the broader discussion will also have visibility into the District's thinking. None of this replaces formal Board action, but it is a way for folks to understand what is driving the positions we've laid out.
- Doug Smith
President, LASD Board of Trustees
September 16, 2013 Supplemental Facilities Use Agreement with Talking Points
Los Altos School District Continues To Wait For Bullis Charter School To Accept Offered Facilities
The Los Altos School District continues to make available to Bullis Charter School (BCS) the school facilities that the District previously has offered, but BCS has refused to accept the offered facilities. Specifically, BCS has repeatedly refused to sign and return the Facilities Use Agreement, a legal document covering the terms of BCS' use of the facilities, that the District needs before it can provide BCS the keys to the facilities. Under applicable law, BCS has the choice whether to accept District facilities on the terms offered, or it may refuse the facilities and find facilities elsewhere. BCS’s refusal to sign the Facilities Use Agreement is the legal equivalent of BCS refusing the facilities offer and electing to self-provide facilities.
To read the full press release, click here.
Links to the complete Facility Use Agreement document:
2013-14 Facility Use Agreement