Starting Monday, November 5, the LASD school board will be holding two special meetings to receive public input regarding the facilities request and options for the district.  The first will be held November 5 at 7:00 pm in the Covington School multi-purpose room.  The second public meeting will be held Monday, December 3 also at 7:00 pm in the Covington School multi-purpose room.  The district is required by law to make a preliminary facilities offer by February 1.

We have invited a representative from BCS to present their plans at the first meeting (November 5).

To frame the public input, we have developed the set of guiding questions listed below.  The public is invited to use these questions as a starting point to provide useful input to the process of facilities allocation.  By no means are these guiding questions intended to limit the scope of public input.

Premise

BCS is a school in our community for which LASD is required to determine a facilities solution.

Guiding Questions:

1. How does LASD best accommodate BCS growth?


2. What should the LASD Board consider when evaluating the impact of sharing arrangements with BCS co-locating on an existing LASD campus?


3. Assuming meeting Prop 39 will require expenditure of District resources, where do we prioritize?
   1. Providing reasonably equivalent facilities at existing school site on shared basis?
   2. Finding a new, non-District site for BCS?
   3. Reconfiguring district schools to open more space for BCS?
4. Is there a less divisive process by which to address facilities issues each year?

United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced that Oak Avenue
Elementary School, in the Los Altos School District, has been named one of 219 National
Blue Ribbon public schools. A total of 269 public and private schools have been
recognized. Only twenty-four schools in California were honored with this prestigious
award this year. Oak School was one of only three elementary schools to be recognized in
Santa Clara County.

Click here to read the full press release.

Expanding Horizons with Innovative Strategies, Thursday, October 11 at 9:00 am, Santa Rita Multi

What is LASD doing this year to creatively engage students in learning?  Join Kami Thordarson, the LASD Innovative Strategies Coach, to learn how teachers are helping students discover curriculum, rather than just delivering 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.

We are excited to share information on current learning initiatives that will help us revolutionize learning for all students with the LASD parent community.   Once a month, we will host an “iLearn Parent Education” event at one of the schools.  Presentation content will be available on the district website following each presentation.  All parents and community members welcome.

• Gifted Education - Gifted vs. High Achieving Students, 9/28 at 9:00 am Oak Multi

What are the characteristics of high achieving and gifted students?  Come learn more about how LASD is meeting the needs of your child in the classroom. Amy Romem, Principal of Oak, has expertise in working with Gifted Students and lots of information to share. You will walk away with strategies and resources that are beneficial to parents of both high-achieving and gifted students.

• Expanding Horizons with Innovative Strategies, 10/11 at 9:00 am, Santa Rita Multi

What is LASD doing this year to creatively engage students in learning? Join Kami Thordarson, the LASD Innovative Strategies Coach, to learn how teachers are helping students discover curriculum, rather than just delivering 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.

• Edtech with Ellen Kraska 11/15  at 9:00 am,  Loyola Elementary.

Edtech is all the craze these days! Join Ellen Kraska, Technology Integration Teacher, to hear how Los Altos teachers are using technology as a tool to engage and inspire students in the learning experience. You will hear about the successful improvements teachers are making to their curriculum as a result of our iLearn Summer Academy 2012, iLearn courses the utilization of instructional coaches. Hear about cool tech  projects, use of Google tools, implementation of Edmodo and more tech resources in classrooms across our district

• STEM Education in LASD & Beyond 12/6, 9:00 am, Location to be determined

Interested in learning more about STEM (Science - Technology - Engineering - Math) instruction in LASD?  Curious about how parents can support their student’s STEM education at home?  Join LASD’s STEM Instructional Coach, Courtney Cadwell, as she provides participants with a vision for STEM instruction in LASD and beyond.

• Upgrading the Curriculum with Common Core Standards 1/17, 9:00 am Covington Multi

All LASD teachers have committed to upgrading units of instruction this school year.  Come learn more from Alyssa Gallagher, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction, about what it means to upgrade curriculum and how Los Altos School District is aligning instruction to the Common Core Standards.

Los Altos School District students continue to perform extremely well as measured by the 2012 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) test results.  Ninety-three percent of all students in grades 2 through 8 scored at the proficient or advanced range in both English Language Arts and Math.  This is a sustained increase in each content area over the past five years.  Our students continue to excel academically.  We are particularly proud of our students’ performance on the writing test:  97% of all students in Grade 4 scored proficient or advanced and 99% of all students in Grade 7 scored proficient or advanced.  District, school and grade level results can be found at the California Department of Education website.  AYP and API reports will be released in October.   LASD District Staff will share a more detailed analysis with the LASD Board of Trustees at the September 10 board meeting. 

In our continuing effort to increase communication in the Los Altos School District, follow us (@LASDK8) on Twitter for current district news, calendar events and other useful information.  Follow along with our twitter feed on the homepage or just click the link below to get started.

Follow @lasdk8

Click here for the presentation from EMC Research regarding the feasibility of a bond measure that was shared with the Board of Trustees on July 23, 2012.

On July 24, LASD filed court papers opposing Bullis Charter School's July 3 request that a judge order the DIstrict to close one of its high-performing schools and hand a campus over to BCS.  Judge Patricia M. Lucas will conduct a hearing on BCS' motion on August 15.  See links below to read the district's full press release as well as documents filed with the court.

LASD Press Release

Respondents Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Motion to Compel

Request for Judicial Notice ISO Opposition

Respondents Objection to Jurisdication Regarding Motion to Compel Compliance

Respondents Notice of Motion & Motion for Declaratory Relief

Respondents Memo of Points & Authorities ISO Cross-Motion for Declaratory Relief

Proposed Order

Declaration of Jeffrey Baier

Declaration of Alyssa Gallagher

Declaration of Randy Kenyon

Declaration of Thomas Campbell

Declaration of Adam M. Forest

Declaration of Mark Goines

Declaration of Michele Huntoon

Declaration of Steve Korovesis

Declaration of Eric D. Lundberg

Declaration of Roberto Rivera

Declaration of Lawrence Schadt

Declaration of Douglas J. Smith

Declarations of Parents and Community Members

Proof of Service

BCS Notice of Motion to Compel Compliance with Judgement and Writ

BCS's Motion to Compel Compliance with Judgement and Writ

BCS: Eyring Declaration

BCS: Eyring Declaration - Exhibit A

LASD Teachers Attend Google Apps Summit, Stanford d. School Design Thinking Training & More!

School may be out for students but many teachers in the Los Altos School District have committed to attending a variety of educational conferences and trainings that will have a positive impact on next year's instructional program.  This summer LASD has had teachers involved in the following trainings:

• iLearn LASD - 20+ teachers attend a week-long training focused on the integration of technology into the classroom.  Two-three teachers from each school site attended and will be Lead Learners on their school site.  This training was coordinated by LASD teachers and funded by LAEF.
• Google Apps for Education Summit - 25+ teachers and administrators attend the first ever Google Apps for Education Summit held in Santa Clara, CA.  Participants spend two full days learning how best to incorporate Google Apps into the instructional program.
• K-12 Design Thinking Boot Camp, Stanford d. School - The d.school offers a three day free K-12 Design Thinking Boot Camp that educators must apply to attend.  Two LASD teachers/administrators were selected to participate in this professional development.  This program is designed for teachers or administrators who want to bring innovation into their classrooms or districts.
• The Nueva Design Institute - Two LASD teachers will be attending Nueva's world-renowned Innovation Lab (I-Lab), created in partnership with IDEO and Stanford's d.school to better understand how to incorporate design thinking into the educational program.  This institute will enable teachers to efficiently create projects that will foster our students' Design Thinking skills, preparing them for the future.  Teachers will experience Design Thinking in action through an introductory, hands-on activity.  Then, they will move into an extended real-life project, going into each aspect of the Design Thinking process in depth.
• Curriculum 21: Common Core Standards Implementation - Principals and teachers from each site will be attending a four day training at SCCOE to understand how best to implement Common Core Standards with the lends of 21st Century Instruction.  Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, a national expert in 21st Century Instruction will lead this professional development.  Teachers who attend this summer have also agreed to four follow-up days next school year and will participate on the District Curriculum Council to assist with our district wide implementation of Common Core Standards.
• International Society of Technology in Education Conference - A team of teachers and administrators will attend the ISTE Conference this summer to continue professional development in technology integration.  The theme of this year's conference is "Expanding Horizons."  We are honored to have LASD teachers and administrators attend this conference.
• Transitional Kindergarten - A lead kindergarten teacher will attend a four day training hosted by SCCOE to understand how best to incorporate transitional kindergarten into our instructional program.  During this training, teachers will learn how to effectively: create developmentally appropriate TK Curriculum with the Kindergarten Common Core Standards, support individual students with their social emotional development and plan for English Learner strategies that support young learners.  Information from this four day training will be used to develop a plan to be shared with all Kindergarten teachers prior to the start of the school year.

Dear LASD Community,

I am sorry to have to inform you that the Bullis Charter School has decided not to accept our interim offer to keep their K-8 program at Egan for the next two years while we work out a long term agreement and have instead chosen to return to court.  There was a hearing today on the issues and the court has set a schedule for yet more discovery and hearings.  Click here for the press release and LASD court filing in response to the BCS filing.

I am deeply disappointed, but we feel that our offer was more than generous and put BCS in a position to continue its success while we worked together to attempt to identify a long term solution that was both good for BCS and good for our community.

Now we will work with the courts and the outcome will be in the hands of lawyers and Judge Lucas.

For the next school year we will be implementing our original plan to put BCS at Egan and Blach schools.  The Board of Trustees will independently seek a long term location for BCS and seek your support in accomplishing that as soon as practical.

We appreciate your continued support and will do our best to keep you informed as events unfold.

Regards,

Mark Goines, President

Los Altos School District Board of Trustees