Headline News - Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Dear RUSD Community,

The Reed Board of Trustees met last night for their monthly meeting. Topics included the food services program, math education in the district, and student enrollment projections for the next school year. As someone who has attended more than my share of Board meetings over the years, I so appreciated the professionalism and student-centered approach of the Board. While Board meetings can go late into the night, they are a powerful symbol of community ownership and responsibility for the educational experiences of its students. My congratulations on the leadership culture you enjoy here in Reed.

I continue to relish this chance to visit classrooms, meet with parents and staff, and help make sure great things continue to happen in the district. Thank you for your role in making sure students here have a distinctive, transformative experience in our schools.

RUSD 2023-2024 School Year Calendar
The Board voted 5-0 to approve the 2023-2024 School Year Calendar and it was also approved by the Reed District Teachers Association (RDTA). In addition a "DRAFT" copy of the 2024-2025 school calendar can be found on the district website here.

Personal Reflections During Black History Month

There are times when I talk with my children about when I grew up and they are incredulous. For example, they can scarcely imagine a world without computers or a time when the only phone a family had was shared and tethered to a wall.

They have the same reaction when I describe my days growing up in Southwest Virginia. Roanoke was one of the most segregated cities in the country in terms of housing patterns, and the schools were rigidly divided by race. While Brown v. Board of Education became the law of the land in 1954, the schools in Roanoke were not integrated until 1970, when I was in fifth-grade. Integration created an environment wherein I was given life lessons and the inspiration to become an educator.

I remember the three buses filled with my new classmates coming down the hill to “our” elementary school. I recall being afraid, but I can only imagine how fearful it was for those on the bus. The staff, too, was thrust together and, while I don’t know what the conversations were in the staff lounge, I felt that the adults were looking out for students so they could help us make sense of our new reality.

When I went to Woodrow Wilson Junior High two years later, I met one of the most influential people in my life, Mr. John Harris. As a math teacher, he single-handedly destroyed all the stereotypes my friends and I had developed in our bigoted, white world. He was the hardest working, smartest, most caring and involved teacher in the school. After winning Teacher of the Year for multiple years, the administration instituted a rule that no teacher could win the award in consecutive years.

Between classes, the halls were clogged as students tried to get some acknowledgment from him as they walked by his classroom. Even though I scored exactly four points on his basketball team, I would have run through a wall for Mr. Harris, and so would all of my teammates. I am quite sure I wouldn't have played basketball in high school, or become a math teacher myself, were it not for him.

And he wasn’t alone. There were other teachers, black and white, who, despite the fits and starts, made the experience better for all students. There is something hopeful and optimistic in almost every educator, and it seemed they all brought this to the fore at Woodrow Wilson Junior High.

Americans place great hope in their public schools as an agent of societal improvement. One would be hard-pressed to find a social problem where schools are not called upon to be part of the solution. So it was, and is, with segregation and racism, and with the multiple issues we face as a nation.

As I think about how I am a product of these experiences, I remember how, just a decade ago, I was talking to Mr. Harris and thanking him for what he did for me so many years ago. He smiled and said, “You don’t have to thank me, you just have to go and do something for someone else.”

Good advice for all of us during Black History Month.

On we go!

Kevin Skelly, Ph.D.
Interim Superintendent

From Brian Lynch, Director of Student Services: Health, Safety and Wellness

RUSD continues to collaborate with Marin County Public Health Department (MCPH) in our prioritization of the health and safety of our community. MCPH has communicated that flu, respiratory illness and COVID-19 has impacted our community for the last couple months. MCPH states that the COVID-19 Community Levels for Marin County is rated “Low” and that wastewater surveillance data indicates that it is still present in our community. MCPH shared that illness has now decreased and is downward trending across the state and our hospitals remain in good standing to serve the community.

MCPH encourages the community to continue to individually assess their own family’s personal risk of illness and take preventative actions according to that personal risk. The COVID-19 mitigation actions, such as masking, frequent handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, routine cleaning and improved indoor air quality, help prevent transmission of other illnesses as well. RUSD stocks our schools with supplies and implements routines that support these mitigations. If your family needs facecoverings and/or a COVID-19 at-home tests, RUSD makes these available at no cost through our school’s front offices.

State and local Public Health acknowledge that there is a mental health crisis and attribute the COVID-19 Pandemic for exacerbating impacts on students. Public Health encourages students to attend school in support of positive connections with staff and their peers, as well as to continue to access their education. Public Health officials have acknowledged that maintained connections in school cannot be replicated virtually and are essential to supporting mental health and wellness. As such, Public Health reminds schools that students who do not have a communicable disease or evidence of significant illness (fever, vomit, diarrhea, etc.) can, and should, be at school.

RUSD echoes the desire and encouragement for students to be with us and their peers in-person at school for full-days. While we understand that students will need to be home when sick, we seek the help of families in assessing the degree of illness and testing for COVID-19 so that healthy students remain in school for optimal access to learning, fostering of positive connections and continued social-emotional growth in a safe, structured environment.

We celebrate the time we spend with your children and thank you for your continued dedication to their development. We work in education because we care about children and are invested in their success. We know you share in the commitment to students’ health, safety, wellness and knowledge.

At the RUSD Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 8, 2023, the following topics were reviewed:

Introduction of New Tiburon Police Chief – The New Tiburon Police Chief, Michelle Jean, was introduced to the Board and the RUSD community. Chief Jean is looking forward to serving Tiburon and continuing the initiatives started by our former Chief Monahan, including policy and procedural updates, as well as a community advisory panel. She welcomes visitors to the Tiburon Police Station.
Reed School Presentation on CGI Math – Students from Reed School participated in a Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) Math activity, led by Principal Dr. Mary Niesyn, Melissa Daymond, Nathan Grebil and Paul DeVoto. The Board was thrilled to watch Reed students in action as they independently applied their own mathematical thinking to a complex word problem.
Reports from the Foundation and PTA – Foundation Director, Annie Defesche, shared that the Foundation Spring Events have been scheduled – Spring Boutique (April 28th) and Spring Gala (May 6th). Michelle Wilson announced the PTA Nominating Committee has been selected to develop the slate of PTA officers for the 2023-24 school year. She also shared activities that the PTA is leading, including the Yearbook, Reed Book Fair, Read Across Reed, the Aegis Valentine’s Project and ongoing activities promoting acts of kindness across all campuses.
Superintendent Update – Dr. Kevin Skelly, Interim Superintendent, provided an update on the process to evaluate a new student information system, welcoming new students to our district, reports on negotiations, and honoring Black History Month.
Universal Lunch Update – Chief Business Official Mr. Carlos Estrella shared an update on the Universal Lunch Program which began this year. He voiced a special thank you to the PTA for facilitating the lunch program across each of the three schools. RUSD is a recognized School Food Authority (SFA) and is successfully being reimbursed by the state in full for breakfast and lunches.
Math Task Force Action Plan – The Board voted 5-0 to approve the Math Task Force Action-Plan that has been in the works since March 2022 and was drafted by a collaborative committee of RUSD staff, administrators and parents from all three schools, as well as Trustee representatives.
The Board voted 5-0 to approve the 2023-2024 School Year Calendar presented by Interim Superintendent Skelly and approved by the Reed District Teachers Association (RDTA). The Board also approved the 2023-2024 Regular Board Meeting Calendar.

The next Regular Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

RUSD Mission & Vision: Each student will be challenged and inspired to reach their fullest intellectual, social-emotional and creative potential to positively impact the world.

Dr. Kevin Skelly, Interim Superintendent