Los Altos School District Zeroing in on Land for Tenth School Site
After a diligent, community-driven process, the Los Altos School District is taking steps to acquire land at 5150 El Camino Real in Los Altos on which to build a new school tailored to 21st century learning.
For more than four years, the school district has worked closely with the community to determine the best solution to address growing student enrollment and school overcrowding. These efforts culminated in the development and passage of Measure N, which LASD voters approved in November 2014. Significant input from a 26-member Facilities Master Plan Committee and numerous community meetings, task forces, workshops and forums concluded that pursuing a 10th site—without closing or relocating any existing schools—was the preferred solution to addressing enrollment growth without compromising excellent education in LASD schools.
Under California's new local control funding scheme, all school districts are required to complete a Local Control & Accountability Plan (LCAP) that represents their spending plans on services for students including identified sub groups of students. Each district must engage and involve its constituents (stakeholders) in the development of its LCAP and make a copy of the plan available to the public for review and comment. The LCAP must be adopted by the district's Board of Trustees following a public hearing at the same meeting it adopts its 2016-2017 budget.
Click here for a draft of LASD's LCAP, which is scheduled for adoption on June 13, 2016. If you wish to comment on the LCAP, please send your comments to Superintendent Jeff Baier at jbaier@lasdschools.org.
32nd Annual Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest
2016 Theme: "Traditions and Stories that Celebrate Your Ancestry"
The Los Altos Historical Commission and the Los Altos History Museum are co-sponsoring the 32nd annual Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest, open to third- through sixth-graders who live in the area and/or attend local schools.
The Los Altos History Museum's current exhibit, “Spirits Return: Cultural Traditions Keeping Memories Alive,” highlights how human beings all over the world follow traditions by which they honor and celebrate their ancestors. Traditions and stories help us stay connected and cultivate a sense of identity and nurture values of family loyalty and pride.
The deadline to submit essays is March 4. Public school students should submit their entries to Los Altos School District teachers. For the detailed essay prompt, click here. For general instructions, click here. For the essay rubric, click here. For the cover page, click here.
For more information, visit losaltoshistory.org.
Haiku Learning and Standards Based Grading
Friday, September 11th 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Thursday, September 17th 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Join us to hear from Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Sandra McGonagle as she highlights LASD's new Learning Management System, Haiku Learning. In addition to the features of Haiku, Sandra will also discuss the district shift to standards-based grading and reporting.
Click here for more information and to RSVP for one of these events.
Los Altos School District Presents Enrollment Growth Findings from Community Forums
Residents favor a variety of actions to address enrollment growth challenges facing the Los Altos School District, according to a report presented Monday night to the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees.
"Existing Los Altos School District facilities are not sufficient to address future enrollment," LASD Superintendent Jeff Baier said. "Voters approved Measure N in November for just this reason, but Measure N can only be successful if our plan has wide community buy-in. That is why we are using community input to help inform our decision."
Under California's new local control funding scheme, all school districts are required to complete a Local Control & Accountability Plan (LCAP) that represents their spending plans on services for students including identified sub groups of students. Each district must engage and involve its constituents (stakeholders) in the development of its LCAP and make a copy of the plan available to the public for review and comment. The LCAP must be adopted by the district's Board of Trustees following a public hearing at the same meeting it adopts its 2015-2016 budget.
Click here for a draft of LASD's LCAP, which is scheduled for adoption on June 22, 2015. If you wish to comment on the LCAP, please send your comments to Superintendent Jeff Baier at jbaier@lasdschools.org.
CANCELED - Haiku Learning Management System
Friday, May 8 - 9:00 am
In the LASD we are on a path to revolutionize learning for all students. Building on our history of excellence, our goal is to inspire passion in students for their own learning. We now have a tool at our fingertips to coordinate this teamwork: a learning management system called Haiku.
Click here for more information and to register for this event.
LASD CSTEM SHOWCASE
Thursday, May 28, 2015
3:15 - 5:00 pm
Almond School Multi
Play fun computer games created by sixth graders from all LASD schools, learn about coding and Arduino microcontrollers, and encourage and support computer science in our schools.
With regard to facilities and Measure N, we have been hard at work identifying the best solution for the continued growth of our school district.
LASD is holding a facilitated community forum to collect new ideas and answer questions as it narrows down options and finalizes solutions to address enrollment growth in our schools.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 22, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
WHERE: Los Altos Youth Center, 1 N. San Antonio Road
Click here for more information about this event.
Click here to review the draft Environmental Impact Report for the installation of facilities for Bullis Charter School over the next two years.