District News

Superintendent Schott, pictured outside.

Dear Kentfield Community,

California’s new educational accountability tool, the California School Dashboard, provides metrics on an interactive website that help schools and districts evaluate their progress toward LCAP goals and communicate with their stakeholders about that work.

The Dashboard shifts the focus of previous accountability measures from compliance to one that supports continuous improvement. There are four reports that evaluate this progress: equity report, status and change report, detailed reports, and student group report. The sheer amount of information can be daunting, but graphic aids such as the 5 x 5 placement grids help make sense of a whole lot of data.

Measures of many types of performance go into the Dashboard. Academic gains as assessed by the CAASPP results combine with data on suspensions/expulsions, chronic absenteeism, and English Learner progress to give a holistic picture of our district’s efficacy.

Our most recent Dashboard results provide very useful information about efforts identified in our LCAP, which focused on the underperformance of our socioeconomically disadvantaged students, English Learners, and students with disabilities. In those student groups, gains were made at both schools in Language Arts, but in Math, gains were only posted for Kent students with disabilities. White students posted gains in Math and Language Arts at both schools, and students of two or more races improved in all but Language Arts at Bacich.

The administrative team is working on plans to get Math results to trend in the positive direction of Language Arts, and to ensure continued growth in all areas assessed.

The Dashboard is available at www.caschooldashboard.org.

Liz Schott

Superintendent

YouthTruth Student Survey - Third-Eighth Grade Families

The Kentfield School District is asking your child in third through eighth grade to participate in the YouthTruth Student Survey in the coming weeks. The YouthTruth Student Survey is a nationally recognized survey used in hundreds of schools and districts across the country, surveying hundreds of thousands of students. The anonymous survey asks students about their experiences in the school and with their teachers, including how engaged they are at school, the rigor of their coursework, and their preparedness for the future. For information about this survey, please visit youthtruthsurvey.org and our district's website on the survey.

  • Although we would like to hear from all students in third through eighth grade, participation in this survey is voluntary.
  • Your child’s ratings will not be identified in any reports because results are shared at the group level. Personally identifiable information will not be released to any third party.

Please be aware that under federal law, you have the right to review a copy of the questions asked of your child. A copy of the survey has been attached. Please note the attachment includes questions for elementary, middle, and high school students. Third, fourth, and fifth graders will be given the elementary age questions and sixth, seventh, and eighth graders will receive the middle school questions.

  • Please note: the newsletter on 1/24/2019 incorrectly stated that fifth graders would be given the middle school survey. These students will receive the elementary school survey.

Please complete the attached form if you would like your child to be excluded from the survey. This exclusion form is also available in the Bacich School office.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Superintendent Liz School, Bacich Assistant Principal Methinee Bozeman, or Kent Assistant Principal Jenny Walsh.

School Board

Board of Trustees Open Seat Information

  • Interviews will be during open session of a special board meeting on February 7, 2019 at 4 p.m. at the District Office.

School Board Information

Special Board Meeting for Board of Trustees Open Seat Interviews : February 7, 2019, 4-5:30 p.m.

Next Regular Meeting: February 12, 2019

Technology and Innovation Programs highlighted at February Board Meeting - 4-5 p.m.

  • Join the Board of Trustees to learn more about technology and innovation in our district from 4-5 p.m.
  • Regular meeting: 5 p.m. in the District Office.
  • The Agenda will be posted by 5 p.m. the Friday before the meeting.

District Committees

Parent Partners Meeting

  • Tuesday, February 5, 2019 9–11 a.m., District Office

Communications Committee Meeting

  • Monday, February 11, 2019, 1-2 p.m., District Office

English Language Learners

February 6, 2019: Bacich ELAC meeting, 8-9 a.m., Bacich Portable 1. The meeting will cover an Aeries tour, Kindergarten registration, and other topics.

March 21, 2019: DELAC meeting, 5:45-7 p.m., District Office. We will cover topics such as roles of DELAC and ELAC, next year's meeting dates, and agenda items.

English Language Learner Resources and English Learners Website