Happy New Year

and an exciting start to 2025

Charles DiFazio
January 14, 2025

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and were able to spend quality time with friends, family, and loved ones! Now that we’re back, on Thursday, January 16, we have the first regular board meeting of 2025.

During our organizational meeting, I was elected Vice President, along with Trustee Lambert as our President, and Trustee Henry as the Clerk. As Vice President, I will be working with the President and the Superintendent to craft the agenda for the board meetings and will perform the President’s duties if they are absent. Additionally, I will be serving on the Health and Wellness and Staff Housing Oversight committees.

During this last weekend, we had a Study Session to build our norms and protocols for board operations. It was a relatively informal session where we could have open discussions about how we hope to conduct the business of the district. We had some great conversations about how we wanted to work together, and I left the session feeling optimistic and excited about the team we have. We have an agenda item on the Thursday meeting that reviews the study session.

Office Hours

I have had the opportunity to meet with many of you over the last several months, and I’ve generally been scheduling these meetings on an ad hoc basis. To provide more structure and predictable availability, I have set up regular office hours. I’m starting out with a handful of slots on Fridays, but I will likely adjust this over the coming months.

If you have questions, comments, or feedback, please sign up for a slot on the booking page.

Board Meeting

The meeting on Thursday, January 16 begins at 4:30 PM with closed session until 6:00 PM. Here are a few notable items we’ll be discussing:

2024 California Dashboard and i-Ready Diagnostic 2 Report

Based on the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which was passed in 2013, California has an accountability system that is based on multiple measures. These measures are used to determine Local Educational Agency (LEA) and school progress toward meeting the needs of their students. The measures are based on factors that contribute to a quality education, including high school graduation rates, college/career readiness, student test scores, English learner (EL) progress, suspension rates, chronic absenteeism, and parent engagement.

Item X.A

The first two items after the consent agenda are reviewing some of the important outcomes in the district: student achievement and our district’s performance. The California School Dashboard and i-Ready Diagnostics present complementary information about the strengths and areas for improvement for our schools. These results are an important part in developing our understanding of how to make sure each and every kid in our schools receives a world-class education.

Selection of Superintendent Search Firms to Interview

The Board of Trustees will select firms to interview for the search for a new MVWSD Superintendent. Search firm finalists will present their qualifications in person to the Board of Trustees at a meeting on January 23, 2025 Special Meeting.

Item X.C

This is the next step in the process for hiring our new Superintendent. Previously, we approved the Request for Proposals (RFP) for superintendent search firms. Having received several proposals, the Board will choose which ones we want to interview as finalists.

Board Bylaws and Board Policy Updates

These were continued from the previous board meeting due to the unfortunate incident we experienced. We placed some of these on the consent agenda, while selecting a few specific policy updates for deeper discussion.

Upcoming Events

On January 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM, the Mountain View City Council is having their first meeting of the new year. This is a ceremonial meeting where they will bid farewell to the outgoing councilmembers, welcome the incoming ones, and choose the new Mayor and Vice Mayor.

Student enrollment for the 2025 - 2026 school year starts on January 21, 2025 and runs until February 7, 2025. Schools are offering information nights over the coming weeks where you can learn more about your local school. We also have Registration Help Nights and meetings focused on helping transition to sixth grade.