Issue: #50

September 2014

In This Issue

Featured Article

The School Smarts program engages and educates parents.

SMCOE Event to Feature Lucy Calkins

In October 2014 renowned educator, author and founder of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) Lucy Calkins is coming to San Mateo County for an exciting two-day professional development event open to administrators from across the Bay Area.

On October 27, Calkins will lead a reading/writing workshop based on the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

Lucy Calkins will lead a two-day PD event at SMCOE.

from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) for Region IV superintendents, assistant superintendents and principals. (Assistant principals may also register if attending with their principal.) The event is geared specifically for administrators to learn more about the Teachers College Readers' and Writers' Workshop (TCRWP) approach, widely acknowledged to be the gold standard in teaching reading and writing.

Several districts in San Mateo County have been early adopters in using the program's rigorous and specific strategies with great results. This October event is designed to help administrators provide instructional leadership and improved support for teachers using the program in their classrooms.

On the following day, Calkins, along with invited administrators from schools in partnership with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, will visit a school site that has been implementing the program with Lucy Calkins. Together they'll do a walkthrough of classrooms and discuss their observations and implementation specific to those already engaged in the work of Readers' and Writers' Workshop.

"Lucy and the TCRWP is in huge demand as a consequence of the deep quality of this work and the impact that it has for students. We have been in communication with Lucy and her team for months in making this event a reality and it is a real coup to have her come to San Mateo County - it's terribly exciting and a great thing for our schools," notes San Mateo County Deputy Superintendent Gary Waddell. "Our goal is to create a San Mateo (and larger Bay Area) community of leaders engaged in this rigorous, quality work around reading and writing. We are hopeful that our partnership with Teachers College will continue to grow beyond this event in the service of our teachers and schools and, ultimately, the students that they serve."

The fee for the October 27 event is $40 per participant, which includes breakfast, lunch and materials. For more information contact Edna Letran at elantran@smcoe.org or call (650) 802-5310. To register, check here.

SM County Schools Find Success With Shift to Common Core State Standards

In the Belmont-Redwood Shores and Pacifica school districts, the focus is on professional development as teachers make the necessary instructional shifts to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Both districts have been working on CCSS implementation for several years now, and the key to success, district leaders say, has been to make small changes over time and to help teachers become confident with new strategies for instruction.

These districts have been working with the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE), the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative to provide that training both through intensive summer institutes and follow-up work throughout the school year. Pacifica has also been working with the North County Math Collaborative.

"It's a challenge but it's exciting. Our mantra right now is 'Focus on teaching and learning and we'll be okay,'" says Wendy Tukloff, Pacifica superintendent. The district has already started to see results. A year ago many of the district's grade levels were below average on MARS math tasks. Now they've surpassed the average for all districts working with the Silicon Valley Math Initiative, and surpassed SMCOE and state proficiency levels for balanced literacy.

"It's new but not totally new,"acknowledges Marc Lorenzen, principal at Ortega Elementary in Pacifica whose school has been working with the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative for 10 years. This work aligns well with the Common Core, he says. "It can be stressful but we know what we need to do and it's working."

Michael Millliken, who has been Belmont-Redwood Shores superintendent for a little over a year, has focused on supporting instructional strategies first and promoting shared practices across the district. "Common Core gives us permission to try new things," he notes. "A year ago it was overwhelming but now we're trying to make it simpler by making small changes every day."

The district has relied on teacher leaders at each school, trained by SMCOE Curriculum and Instruction Services staff, to train their peers in a train-the-trainer model. "It becomes authentic and credible when teachers lead teachers and own the change," he says. Claire Coney, second grade teacher at Central Elementary in Belmont agrees, "The SMCOE training has helped me put the pieces together. It's exciting to try out new things in my classroom."

Districts on Their Way With New Local Control Funding Formula

For the past year, each school district in San Mateo County and throughout California has been working on creating a new Local Accountability Plan (LCAP) and accompanying budget to comply with the new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). After engaging their school communities in the LCAP development process, all 23 school districts in San Mateo County submitted their plans and budgets to the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) this past summer. All were approved by the San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools and forwarded on to the state.

"School green money stack districts should be applauded for their thoughtful plans," says Brian Simmons, Director, Accountability, Innovation and Results at SMCOE. "We talked about needs-based budgeting in the past but it was difficult to do. Now planning comes first. It takes time to do this kind of budget, especially in a way that engages the community in the process, but it's an amazing opportunity for districts to engage their communities in sharing their vision for educating students."

In the past, school districts received a set amount of funding per student accompanied by categorically restricted funds for particular programs. Now, with the new LCFF funding model, school districts receive funding based on the demographic profile of the students they serve and can exercise greater flexibility in using these funds to improve student outcomes. Supplemental grants are given to school districts to improve or increase services for low-income students, English language learners, and foster youth, and districts with more than 55 percent high-needs students will receive additional money through a concentration grant. The LCAP requires districts to engage their communities in creating the plan and in documenting their goals, actions and use of resources to meet the needs of high priority students.

For Priscilla Aquino-Dichoso, Administrator, District Business Services at SMCOE, working with districts on their LCAP and budget has been a valuable learning experience. Because the budget must clearly align with academic goals, Aquino-Dichoso says she has in turn adjusted her focus and learned a lot about curriculum and instruction, whereas before she was primarily concerned with each district's fiscal stability and solvency.

School districts are required to track their plans, monitor how they are working, and modify them accordingly over the course of the year. SMCOE will continue to provide training to districts on the LCFF and LCAP this year. The first in a series of workshops for school district business officials and curriculum leaders was held at SMCOE in September. The SMCOE LCAP team will also be providing one-to-one support for districts as the school year unfolds.

Educating and Involving Parents Essence of School Smarts Program

School Smarts, an innovative parent engagement program created in partnership with the California State PTA and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, is helping educate parents about the public school system and the benefits of being an involved parent.

The operating principle of School Smarts is inclusion--as their brochure states:

Parents in South San Francisco learn how to help their children at school with the School Smarts program.

"reaching across all parent groups, bringing them together in support of their common interest in helping their child succeed." Through a two-hour per week class over seven weeks parents come together with a trained facilitator (often a teacher at the school) to learn how the school system operates and how to help their children come to school ready to learn. Together the class creates an action plan, such as creating a school garden or after-school program, which they work on at the school. Childcare, food, and language translation for those who need it are all provided.

This past year, information about school funding, the new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) were also included. "The idea is also to build a community of parents who get comfortable being at school," adds Collette Rudd, past 17th District PTA president in San Mateo County and now member of the California state board of the PTA and chair of the School Smarts committee.

The program, designed for elementary school parents, began five years ago as a pilot in the South San Francisco Unified School District and three other districts across the state, and this year is open to any school and PTA that wishes to sign up and pay a small fee. Last year 50 schools across California participated. "Our hope is to get to 100 schools this year," says Rudd.

When Melissa Kohlmeister, a self-described involved parent and this year's president of the Buri Buri Elementary School PTA in South San Francisco, reluctantly entered the program last year, she was pleasantly surprised. "I came out a total believer. There was a huge amount of information and I learned so much," she says. She notes that a few from each class have gone on to become PTA board members at the school and she has been delighted to see non-native English speaking parents join the class and become more involved.

For more information about School Smarts, contact Collette Rudd at cjrudd@pacbell.net or Deanna Fernandes, School Smarts Director, California State PTA, at schoolsmarts@capta.org.

Check Us Out on Facebook

The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) now has a page on Facebook. We'll be providing frequent upd facebook logo

ates on SMCOE events and education news of interest, adding groups of interest, and linking to other education organizations. Check us out and "like" us today on Facebook!

About the San Mateo County Office of Education

The San Mateo County Office of Education provides a variety of instructional, business and consulting services to the County's 23 public school districts, charter schools, the Community College District and County Office of Education staff.

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