Dear MTUESD Community,
Oh my goodness, there’s an old famous Broadway musical song with the line that “March came in like a lion”, and here it is only February, but the storms of last week were truly epic. I don’t think in my whole entire life I’ve experienced rain, snow, sunshine, and hail ROTATIONALLY within an eight-hour window. Truly a challenge and thoughts are with all of the families in the region that have been so deeply affected.
That said, I also did not love seeing kids come to school soaking wet, and I am working with our Transportation Manager Billy Sundling, who always tries to make the impossible possible, on some form of rainy day pick up for our in-town Mark Twain kids. We have had a route out by Copello Drive that is infrequently used, but I think we need to rethink service on inclement weather days. This would not be a permanent daily Mark Twain service and would not be available to kids in the immediate neighborhood, but something we would run on particularly wet days, and we would notice the route in a dialer the day before. I’m not going to do it if no one‘s going to use it and Sara Tutthill sent out a dialer asking about interest last week. If you are interested, it is imperative you call the Mark Twain office. The three possible stops could be Copello Drive, Gardner Lane, and a stop near the blue domed Orthodox Church. This might be a van, or it might be a bus. I’m not sure yet. As I said, I’m not going to do it if we don’t have interest, so speak up or forever hold your peace!
In other news, I am wildly excited about this big bike giveaway. I still have about 20 brand new beautiful bikes for preschoolers through highschoolers ready and waiting to go for kids, IF you let me know their name. Folks don’t be bashful. Part of my job is to connect people with resources, and this truly gives the donor a huge pleasure. Help me, help this family see their dreams come true by giving the gift of cycling with a free bike, lock, and helmet. Please call me at 650-996-3290 or email me lsimson@mtwain.k12.ca.us.
On a somber note. It’s that hard time of year where I have to issue layoff notices. I want to explain again that we are funded differently than up the hill. We rely on State funding, and it is based on our enrollment and attendance. Our enrollment is declining. I have to take proportionate layoffs to that decline. That is just a reality like in your home checkbook when you don’t get as many hours to work if you’re an hourly employee or no overtime. These things are hard. I’m required to give a first notice in March and a final notice in May. It’s based on seniority and job type. Just bear with me, as we shake this out. It’s terrible and I wish I could change the system, but until somebody in Sacramento figures out this is UNFAIR and bad for kids and cares this is how we live.
In that same vein, we are starting to really look at our middle school program. Right now, the class sizes in the elementary band are really big because that’s where the layoffs have been in the past. We can’t continue to shift the burden to the elementary schools when our middle school is declining in enrollment as well. There are a whole bunch of ideas that we are considering right now. The easy one is to just reduce the FTE in middle school, but that brings one host of problems. Another idea is do we bring all sixth graders together across the district, and fold that into the middle school and keep essentially the same amazing program with PE and art and all that good stuff. Lots of discussions here for the staff and families and so much more to come. I don’t look at this as a crisis. I look at it as an opportunity. Change is hard, but change can be really magnificent when it’s done well. Lots of chances to participate in this process and nothing will happen until the 27/28 school year, but as always, I’ll let you know early and in detail.
I’d like to thank everyone that pushed hard to get to work last week. Adriana Hatfield and Tamsen Lenior journeyed down the mountain for an hour with a tree down in the middle of the road, Tina Wolters spent the night at Jessy Lax’s house for several nights to make sure she could be here for the kids and other staff bunked in with friends and family. Folks, that doesn't happen in other districts, but it happens here and I am grateful.
Last thing, register for summer school NOW. Lots of places in the Bay Area you’d be paying $2,000 bucks for a summer camp with Jujutsu, ceramics, makerspace, PE, art, swimming, and academics. At MTUESD, we do it for free and with a good heart and soul. We’re waiting for you. Fire camp reservations are coming up too, and you need to sign up for our ELOP program to make sure you qualify. Forms are in the office. PLEASE DO IT TODAY.
Be safe and well.
Sincerely yours,
Louise Simson
Superintendent
Cell: 650-996-3290
Every Student. Every Day. Every Possibility.