The San Carlos School District
San Carlos has gained a deserved reputation of having very strong schools due to high
quality teachers, a strong administration, and the commitment of the parents and the
larger community. However, our school, like all schools in California, faces a number of
structural challenges that require us to work extra hard for our kids to achieve the goals
for any elementary school education:
San Carlos has gained a deserved reputation of having very strong schools due to high
quality teachers, a strong administration, and the commitment of the parents and the
larger community. However, our school, like all schools in California, faces a number of
structural challenges that require us to work extra hard for our kids to achieve the goals
for any elementary school education:
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 | Teaching kids to learn how to learn | |
| Promoting a passion for life-long learning | |
| Allowing every child to reach his/her potential | |
These structural challenges stem from the chronic under-funding
of education in California along with the need to balance Federal
and State mandates with local needs. So, although nothing in
San Carlos schools is "broken," over the next few years we
need to focus on a number of issues to continue to promote
excellence in our schools and to achieve an "inspired" education
for our children:
of education in California along with the need to balance Federal
and State mandates with local needs. So, although nothing in
San Carlos schools is "broken," over the next few years we
need to focus on a number of issues to continue to promote
excellence in our schools and to achieve an "inspired" education
for our children:
| Resources and Programs -- As Trustees, we need to always maximize the | |
| amount of resources available as well as best utilize the resources we already have. This means looking at renewing and/or increasing the school parcel tax, promoting the activities of the San Carlos Educational Foundation, and considering other ways to increase funding for the District. In addition, there are certainly further ways to tap into existing resources (like parents and even other students) to build more and better programs for all students. | ||
| Differentiation -- The District recently promoted a number of "differentiation" | |
| initiatives -- teaching individual children differently depending on need. I believe we need to expand this approach significantly, with additional training, new programs, and additional resources to help all children be challenged appropriately and to reach their potential. | ||
| Capacity Management -- Demographics inevitably shift, causing uneven | |
| enrolment among the schools, with some schools having slack while others, particularly the Middle Schools, reaching physical capacity. We need to begin serious discussions about how to use such school sites, and I realize this may include some contentious issues such as boundary changes, etc. | ||
| Governance and Communications -- The entire school district, and the Trustees | |
| in particular, can do a much better job communicating to parents, teachers, and the community at large. This relates to how Board meetings are conducted and to how information is shared. | ||
| Technology Leadership -- Being in the heart of Silicon Valley, we all know that | |
| good technology well managed is one of the best ways to give teachers and administrators the tools to provide a rich educational experience for children, help provide "differentiated" instruction, and better communicate with parents. We need to establish a vision for technology leadership in four areas: (a) classroom tools -- the "digital classroom", (b) curriculum tools and programs, (c) administrative systems, both for better student assessment as well as for better communication among parents and staff, and (d) better management of support and maintenance of those systems around the District. |
