Click here for the agenda of the LASD-BCS Sub-Committee Joint Meeting on 2013-2014 FUA and Long Term Agreements.  The meeting is Thursday, September 12 at 7:00 pm, Town Hall Council Chambers, Los Altos Hills.

The Superintendent's Enrollment Growth Task Force has been studying the student enrollment growth within the public schools in Los Altos School District.  The Task Force has identified a set of findings and is investigating approaches to address the enrollment growth.

The Task Force will present its work thus far and take public comment on that work at it's meeting on Tuesday, April 2, at 6:30p in the Covington School Multipurpose Room (205 Covington Road, Los Altos).

Additional information on the work of the task force is available at the following web address: www.lasdschools.org/District/5353-Enrollment-Growth-Task-Force.html.

The LASD Student Film Festival is back for its second year in a row!  We have had almost 100 films submitted to us. All of these films will be shown at the festival on March 29.  The festival is being held at Covington Elementary  from 4-6pm.  There will be a gallery walk from 4-5pm, where you can view all the videos. They will be shown in four different rooms. Then from 5-6pm, there will be an awards ceremony to announce and celebrate the winners.  Be sure to show up for lots of fun, food and great films! Remember to mark your calendars for March 29, 2013.  See you there!

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community Members-

Last night at a Special Board Meeting, the LASD Board of Trustees instructed staff to deliver a preliminary facilities offer to BCS for the 2013-14 school year.  The Prop 39 process provides for the District to make the preliminary offer, for BCS to respond with objections by March 1, and for the District to provide a final offer by April 1.  This is the same process we follow every year.

Prop 39 requires the District Trustees to balance the needs of all students.  Our offer to BCS this year proposes that their K-5 students be located at Egan, and their 6-8 students would be at Blach.  In practical terms BCS would have about 40% of the students on the Egan campus, and about 40% of the land.  Similarly, they would have about 20% of the students at Blach, and 20% of the land.  However, Blach will also be impacted further because we are required to provide specialized teaching space to Jr High students.  Principal Sandra McGonagle and her staff have worked with the administration to rework the Blach schedule to ensure reasonably equivalent access to the Specialized Teaching Space for BCS students while trying to minimize the impact on our own students.  We have asked Principal McGonagle to reach out to BCS Principal Wanny Hersey to have a tactical discussion to review the sharing arrangemetns as proposed in the offer.  We will consider that feedback as part of the final offer we present on April 1.

BCS held a PR event last week where they announced their willingness to accept a split between Egan and Blach.  We are pleased that they are demonstrating an understanding of the need to balance the needs of all students.  They have also acknowledged our requirement that all board-level discussions of the facilities offer be held in public, so that the community can observe the process.  The LASD Board remains committed to transparency of this process, as we have done throughout the year.  They also requested a whole series of Board-level meetings to discuss the offer.  At this time, the LASD Board is planning to hold a Special Meeting on Feb 25th, and we may consider a further meeting in March. 

The District cannot afford to spend as much time as BCS requests in meetings since we already are spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with the multiple lawsuits brought by BCS.  BCS continues to litigate every issue and sub-issue within the 2012-13 offer, despite having lost every action they've brought in the past year.  The courts have consistently recognized that the LASD Board is properly balancing the needs of all students.  There are only so many hours in the day.  LASD runs one of the leanest administrations in California.  We rightly focus our resources in the classroom where they belong.  In order to prepare the Prop 39 offer, we already divert tremendous resources to analyze possible scenarios and weigh the impacts.  Couple that with the need to perform basic functions to continue to run a district that educates 4,500 students, and there simply isn't any additional time in the week to add another series of meetings.  Said another way, we are already meeting with BCS several times per week to discuss facilities issues.  It is unfortunate that BCS has decided that those meetings should be managed by the attorneys and held within the framework of the judicial process.  I continue to call upon BCS to put a freeze on the litigation so that the hundreds of hours we spend each week on BCS issues can be spent more constructively engaged in a more respectful, solutions based dialogue. 
 

I look forward to your continued input at the Board meetings.
Best Wishes,
DJS

 

Letter to Bullis Charter School dated January 31, 2013

Interested in learning more about the incredible educational program LASD provides to all students?

Join Jeffrey Baier, Superintendent and Alyssa Gallagher, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction to hear a presentation about ways the district is revolutionizing learning for all students.  Among the topics will be how innovation in LASD schools is changing the learning experiences for our students beginning in Kindergarten.  These sessions will be held in our iLearn Studio where we work with LASD teachers on learning new strategies to help students actively discover the curriculum. Using various methods of digital storytelling, design thinking, and project-based learning, teachers are igniting their students with a passion for learning and helping them become creative problem-solvers and collaborative learners. Come and discover how these various strategies are enriching and empowering students in LASD.

Register today!

Visit our EDtalks page to see a list of all upcoming events.

Information Session on the Lyceum of Santa Clara
February 7, 2013, 7:00 pm, iLearn Studio, District Office

LASD's Gifted Learners Parent Advisory Group invites everyone to attend an Information Session on the Lyceum of Santa Clara.  This parent participation organization provides enrichment and social opportunities for gifted children grades 2 through 8.  Stephanie Rocha and DIane Durbeck, Co-directors of Membership, will provide an overview of the organization and answer questions.  Children are welcome to attend with their parents.

Junior High Information Sessions & Parent Tours 

For more information, contact Blach at 650-934-3800 or Egan at 650-917-2200.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Patricia Lucas has ruled in favor of the District on three issues brought to her by the Bullis Charter School with regards to the 2012-13 facilities offer.  In addition, the Court ruled in favor of LASD on an additional issue related to the BCS attempt to recover $1.3 million in attorney's fees from the District.  Included here are links to the full press release which contains additional information on these rulings as well as the court decisions from each case.

In preparing the facilities offer each year for the charter school, the District is diligent in weighing the needs and the limited facilities for all public school children residing within the district boundaries.  As our student population continues to grow, the District is addressing future facility needs through the Superintendent's Enrollment Task Force.  The Board is also interested in receiving public input on the 2013-14 facilities offer at the Study Session on Monday, December 3 at 7:00p in the Covington School Multipurpose Room.

Bullis Charter School (BCS) has submitted its facilities request for the 2013-14 school year.  The school projects an enrollment of 615 in-district students (644 total students)—140 more in-district students than currently enrolled (a 29.5% 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.