LASD Board Highlights

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Sandra McGonagle, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, unveiled the new Portrait of a Learner framework at last night's Board meeting. The Portrait of a Learner materials illustrate the critical skills, mindsets and habits that LASD curriculum and classroom instruction strives to develop in all graduates. "These skills are what all students need to learn and thrive," Mrs. McGonagle explained.

To create the district’s Portrait of a Learner, Mrs. McGonagle worked with a team of parents, teachers and administrators to identify the skills that are required to succeed in our rapidly changing world. After identifying and defining what are called the 6 C's, the team worked with a graphic designer to create the Portrait of a Learner image, reminding our students, teachers and community of the skills our graduates will have developed as they enter high school.

Our educational team will work with students to evaluate their own progress in developing these skills. We will continue to partner with parents to prepare all of our graduates for high school, college and beyond with a strong foundation in the 6C’s..

For more information on the 6C's check out the presentation for item H.1. on our Agenda Online.

Mrs. McGonagle presented an update and progress report regarding the district's English Language Arts curriculum, which we have been implementing in grades K-3 over the past few years.

The result of this focus has been significant gains in student performance in English Language Arts, including on statewide standardized tests. In 2018-19, the most recent year for the exam, LASD was the top performing K-8 district in Santa Clara County.

By using a combination of phonics, direct instruction, and the reading and writing workshop, the district's curriculum allows students to transfer literacy skills to various projects that are of interest to them. "We teach children to immerse themselves in books by teaching phonics, reading and writing together, not at the exclusion of the other. As students learn specific phonics skills, they are at the same time using that in a reading workshop unit and applying it to their writing."

Our talented teachers instill a love of reading and writing in our students, teaching them to always take on the next challenge. This consistent growth empowers children to explore their passions and interests through reading and writing: foundational skills for future success.

To review the full presentation, check out item H.2. on our Agenda Online.

Sandra McGonagle also proposed new LASD Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals for the next three years. The LCAP is a three-year plan that describes the goals, actions, services, and expenditures LASD will use to support positive student outcomes that are specific to our community.

Mrs. McGonagle outlined the district's Draft LCAP goals:

• Ensure all students have access to equitable conditions for learning

• Prepare students for high school and beyond by equipping them with the skills and mindsets aligned to the Portrait of a Learner

• Provide tiered supports and systems that promote and sustain strong academic growth and positive social/emotional development for all students

• Ensure a safe, healthy, and respectful school environment to maintain engagement, involvement, and satisfaction of students, staff, and parents.

Mrs. McGonagle's presentation outlined several actions or initiatives the district will implement in the next three years in order to support each goal. To review the full presentation, check out item H.3. on our Agenda Online.

To receive community input and feedback on the goals, the district will engage in a community engagement effort by visiting with parents and staff over the course of the next few months. With that input, the Board hopes to finalize the LCAP goals in June.

At its meeting on January 27th, the Board of Trustees had selected 13 of the community-generated long term facilities options for accommodating Bullis Charter School for further analysis.Last night, the Board of Trustees reviewed the results of that analysis and discussed how to proceed.

The 13 options the Board had selected included the top 11 options that received support of 30% or more from the Community Engagement Process, plus any additional options which were in the top 5 choices of the three largest respondent groups: LASD parents, BCS parents, and community members without k-8 children.

After discussion, a total of six scenarios were selected by the Board for a deeper review. That review will include a number of factors, including operational costs, construction costs, alignment with long term demographic trends, implementation timelines, and projected student enrollments.

The Board expects to discuss the results of the deeper review and take further public input at a study session currently scheduled for Thursday, March 12th at 6:30pm. At that time, the Board may remove scenarios from consideration, add scenarios to analyze or modify scenarios to re-evaluate. We encourage our community's participation in the study session, where public comment and feedback is welcome.

To review last night's presentation to the Board, check out item H.4 on our Agenda Online. Visit our website to review all materials and information from the Community Engagement Process.

The Board approved the 2020-21 School Year Calendar. The 2020-21 School Calendar is now available online.

Please join us for the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees at 7:00pm in the Board Room located at 201 Covington Road.

Website: www.lasdschools.org
Location: 201 Covington Road
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LASDK8/