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LCMSD is in the business of learning!
Larkspur-Corte Madera School District |
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Dear LCMSD Community,
We are in the business of learning. This is our passion, our purpose, our “why.” Our goal is to teach students to think critically, collaborate with one another, care for our community and beyond, be curious, and reflect. This doesn’t just happen, it takes our commitment to continuous improvement and modeling of these same practices while acknowledging and celebrating milestones along the way. LCMSD has many bright spots. There is great pride in our community and a core component to our successes is our drive to reflect, revise, and advance.
In order for an organization to advance, clarity of goals is essential. Emerging from the pandemic, we are re-focusing our priorities back to where we started: 1) narrowing the equity gap (achievement and opportunity); 2) improving student outcomes for all with an emphasis on Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) in mathematics and standards-based grading at Hall; and 3) wellness, specifically addressing safety and social-emotional learning.
Below we have district-wide updates on these focus areas that we hope you will find helpful. Thank you for your ongoing support in LCMSD schools!
Dr. Brett Geithman Superintendent
CAASPP Results Released: Coffee Chat on November 3 & Board Presentation on November 16 CAASPP is the California standards test for grades 3-8 and 11. Schools have been required to administer standards assessments for decades, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 being optional. In Marin, LCMSD, Reed, and Ross Valley were the districts that opted in to the 2021 administration. For 2022, all districts were required to resume testing. Yesterday, state-wide results were released and we have created an extensive presentation and analysis of our results, which includes local comparisons. We shared these results with the LCAP Committee yesterday and have scheduled a CAASPP coffee chat on November 3 from 8:30am-9:30am at Neil Cummins - all district families may attend. Additionally, we will be presenting the results during the November 16 Board Meeting at 6:00pm in the Hall Library. We hope to see you there! Below are some of the takeaways from the CAASPP analysis:
Summer School John Christopherson and Chelsea Peterson co-lead LCMSD’s summer school program. Last summer was the second of a four year plan aimed to provide intervention for elementary students in literacy and math and middle school students in math. The summer school program was expanded for 2022 and ran for four weeks, serving 115 students (by invitation only) in ten classrooms. The program also offered extended day activities through a partnership with Corte Madera Recreation scholarships. Student pre and post summer school data were collected and notable student successes were celebrated. Thank you Mr. Christopherson, Mrs. Peterson, as well as the teachers and staff who made this program a great success. Click here for a more detailed report.
Professional Development A recent study out of UC Davis examined the goals and allocation of resources for districts who were exceeding demographically predictable student outcomes. The number one variable that these districts had in common was a significant commitment (resources and time) to professional development. You never “arrive” as a teacher/learner. In LCMSD, we are committed to research-based instructional practices that yield greater student outcomes. We have studied mathematical practices out of Stanford, partnered with UCLA and the Marzano Research Institute, and worked for several years with teachers trained by Columbia University and UCLA to be staff developers. Beginning in October and throughout the year, you will see teams of teachers released periodically to engage in job-embedded professional development, much like rounds that are conducted in other professions. Below are the focus areas:
CGI Math Coffee Chat on October 27 On October 27 at Neil Cummins from 8:30am-9:30am all LCMSD families are invited to attend and engage in a coffee chat aimed to provide you with strategies to support your child in math at home. Specifically, we’ll be looking at how to facilitate mathematical conversations at home that build on your child’s conceptual understanding. This is the second in a series of math parent workshops this year; September attendance isn’t dependent on the October topic. Beth Hawkins, Melanie Harris, Daniel Norbutas, and Brett Geithman will be facilitating the session and we look forward to seeing you! The chat will be in room E2; however, please check in with the main office first.
Emergency Drills Last week all sites engaged in earthquake drills (the Great Shakeout) to practice our procedures including our latest implementation of Share 911, which is a tool that notifies the appropriate first responders, as well as school personnel, in the event of an intruder, wildfire, medical, or other emergency. Additionally, a number of staff attended an after school wildfire evacuation workshop led by Central Marin Fire. |
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Board of Trustees Annie Sherman, President Eric Schmautz, Vice President Monica Cañas, Clerk Amir Movafaghi Sarah Mueller |
