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December 17, 2021
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Dates Ahead
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Hello Ross Valley Parents/Guardians and Staff,
It's almost Winter Break...You made it!! May this time of year bring you joy, connection, and peace. As the end of 2021 approaches, we wanted to thank you for your partnership and wish you and your loved ones happy everything and a very merry 2022. May your new year bring renewed hope, new opportunities, new adventures, and new ways to give and love and sustain each other on the journey ahead. Whatever are your plans for the upcoming Winter Break, please be well, stay safe, and take care. And, we look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.
We hope you are able to take the time to review this edition of the Updates and that you find it informative and useful.
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12.20-12.31: Winter Break; NO SCHOOL
Happy 2022! 1.03: Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL 1.04:First Day Back from Winter Break 1.10:Online Registration Begins 1.11:Board of Trustees Meeting 1.12:Hidden Valley K Preview Night 1.13:Wade Thomas TK/K Preview Night 1.17:Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL 1.19:Manor K Preview Night 1.20:Brookside TK/K Preview Night 1.25:Board of Trustees Meeting 1.26:Hidden Valley TK Preview Night 1.27:Manor TK Preview Night 2.02: In-Person Registration Begins
Tour our Schools! Brookside Hidden Valley Manor Wade Thomas White Hill |
Following the Money - RVSD to Become a "Community Funded" District Starting 2022-23
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Throughout its entire history the Ross Valley School District has received over 60% of its funding primarily through the same student enrollment and attendance-based system as about 80% of California's 1,037 school districts. This has meant that even though local property taxes generated insufficient revenues to meet California's minimum per-student funding standards, the State itself backfilled any shortfalls so RVSD always received its proper State revenue allocation.
A few weeks ago, after discovering an error it made in calculating RVSD's assumed ongoing status as a "State Funded" district, the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE) informed us that effective next year (2022-23) we will become a "Community Funded" (or "Basic Aid") school district. The change in funding status is triggered when revenues from local property taxes exceed, by at least one dollar, the State revenue RVSD would otherwise receive as a State Funded district. In other words, the vast majority of RVSD's annual revenue will soon no longer be linked to student enrollment and attendance, but instead to local property taxes.
At Tuesday night’s Board of Trustees Meeting, Chris Carson, our Chief Business Official, presented our 2021-22 First Interim Budget Report which contains revised multi-year projections based on this new information. For the recording of the presentation, click here. The materials presented may also be accessed at the links below:
While becoming Community Funded can result in greater revenue than RVSD would otherwise receive as a State funded district, the impact of this change does not eliminate RVSD’s multi-year funding issues. This becomes clear when looking at the portion of RVSD’s projected State vs. Community Funded revenues over time:
- 2021-22 - $17,397,848 (State Funded based on enrollment and attendance)
- 2022-23 - $17,317,723 (Community Funded based on property taxes)
- 2023-24 - $15,842,046 (Community Funded based on property taxes)
The implications of this shift are significant, and we are in the process of creating an online FAQ to help publicly address them. We will also soon be announcing a series of town halls to provide more information and to answer questions. Please stay tuned!
In the meantime, rest assured that no matter how our RVSD schools are funded, our incredible and talented teachers, staff, administrators, and community will continue providing all RVSD students with amazing, inspiring and inclusive educational opportunities. |
Transitional Kindergarten & Kindergarten Preview Nights
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When we return from Winter Break, each of our elementary schools will hold TK and K Preview Nights. A Preview Night is an informational evening designed for parents/guardians to learn about TK and Kindergarten and to get an overview of each school’s TK-5th program.
For the 2022-23 school year, a child must turn 5 on or before September 1, 2022 to be eligible to attend Kindergarten, and a child must turn 5 between September 2, 2022 and February 2, 2023 (new cut-off date!) to be eligible to attend Transitional Kindergarten.
The Preview Night schedule is as follows:
Brookside |
⚬ TK & Kindergarten |
Thurs, 1.20.22 |
6:30 - 7:30 pm |
Hidden Valley |
⚬ Kindergarten |
Wed, 1.12.22 |
6:30 - 7:30 pm |
⚬ TK |
Wed, 1.26.22 |
6:30 - 7:30 pm |
Manor |
⚬ Kindergarten |
Thurs, 1.19.22 |
6:30 - 8 pm |
⚬ TK |
Thurs, 1.27.22 |
6:30 - 7:30 pm |
Wade Thomas |
⚬ TK & Kindergarten |
Thurs, 1.13.22 |
6:30 - 7:30 pm |
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New Student Registration 2022-23
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If you have a child who will be entering a Ross Valley school in the 2022-23 school year or you know someone who will get ready as online registration begins on January 10, 2022, and in-person registration begins on February 2, 2022.
To learn more, please visit the Student Registration page on our District website.
Currently attending students do not need to re-register.
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Upcoming School Tours
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Will you have an incoming TK-5th grader or is your current 5th grader moving on to White Hill next school year or do you know someone who will? If so or if you are simply interested in visiting any of our schools, sign up for a tour. If the date listed for a site doesn’t work for you, check out each school’s webpage as future dates will be scheduled. Let your friends know!
Brookside: January 19, February 9 and February 16 (all at 11am) Please sign up for a Brookside tour HERE.
Hidden Valley: January 7 (11:15am), January 18 (10:30am), February 1 (9am), February 18 (11:15am) Please sign up for a Hidden Valley tour HERE.
Manor: January 12, January 26, February 9, February 16 (all at 9am) Please sign up for a Manor tour HERE.
Wade Thomas: January 13, January 27, February 11, March 3 (all 9am) Please sign up for a Wade Thomas tour HERE.
White Hill: January 10, January 25, February 11, February 17 (all at 9:30am) Please sign up for a White Hill tour HERE.
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Out-of-State COVID-19 Travel Guidance for TK-12 Students
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We are in the midst of the winter holiday season. If you make plans that will involve travel outside California, please let your child/ren's school know and include the date they will return to California, so specific guidance can be provided. Please also keep the following Marin Health & Human Services COVID-19 guidelines in mind.
Fully vaccinated TK-12th grade students have no restrictions after traveling, testing is not required but is recommended on Day 5 after return, and should monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
As a reminder, a person is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after 2 weeks have passed since receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series (ie. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) or 2 weeks after receipt of a single dose vaccine (ie. J&J’s Janssen).
Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated TK-12th grade students need to be on “modified quarantine” for 10 days after returning from out-of-state travel. They may attend school, ride the bus, and attend before-/after-care programs for in-person instruction and child care as long as they do not develop symptoms, wear a mask, monitor for symptoms for 14 days and get tested for COVID-19 5 days after return from out-of-state travel. During modified quarantine, students should refrain from socializing outside of school and going out in public. Modified Quarantine may be discontinued after 7 days with a negative test completed on Day 5 or later if they remain without symptoms. Without a negative test, unvaccinated students will need to quarantine at home for days 8-10 after which they may return to school as long as they are asymptomatic. If any symptoms develop, students should immediately self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 or be evaluated by a healthcare provider.
Test Results Reporting Please utilize the at-home rapid antigen test kit sent home from school with your child for Day 5 testing as well as prior to returning to school from Winter Break, and report test results in accordance with the instructions provided (which includes registering at Primary Health https://my.primary.health/l/rossvalleyschools). You may also use any other home antigen tests approved by the FDA for emergency use. Please notify your school of a positive result and contact your healthcare provider.
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How to Raise an Antiracist
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We are excited to broaden our RVSD conversation about race by hosting a district-wide virtual parent forum on January 26th titled How to Raise an Antiracist. The event will be facilitated by Charmaine Pattinson, Founder of Plinkit, a leading online child development resource and Misasha Suzuki Graham, Plinkit contributor and Co-Founder of the award-winning Dear White Women podcast and co-Author of Dear White Women: Let's Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism.
By age three, children start forming judgments about others based on racial differences. By Kindergarten, children perceive that different racial groups have different social status and can make friendship choices based on race. So, how are you talking to your child about race? (And if you're not, it's not too late to start.)
We believe that raising an anti-racist child is an evolving and intentional personal journey, fueled by talking, listening and learning. We also believe in the strength of our community, connection and humanity to support and further our collective journey. We're bringing these concepts together in an engaging and dynamic 90-minute speaker event that will be uniquely held in two formats:
- First, Charmaine and Misasha will share a practical approach to helping caregivers better understand the day-to-day impact of raising an anti-racist. They will share practical tips and the fundamental questions caregivers should be asking on an ongoing basis to encourage children to be critical thinkers about what they are learning and how they are learning it. As children continue to wonder and ask questions about what they notice every day, Charmaine and Misasha will share a playbook for how to navigate these essential conversations.
- Then, an interactive community dialogue in small-group discussions. This will be a unique opportunity to practice navigating complex questions and to connect with community members about personal experiences. The magic in this session will be in not only having your personal questions addressed, but in also learning from the questions of community members.
This event is especially helpful if you’ve ever wondered about being too heavy-handed, not saying enough, saying the wrong thing, afraid of making mistakes or don’t know where to start.
Please send any questions you would like particularly addressed in advance to hello@myplinkit.com.
Learn more on Plinkit: How to Talk to Your Child About Race and How to Talk to Your Child About Racism.
We hope you will join us for our January 26th virtual forum from 6:00 - 7:30; more information including a Zoom link will be forthcoming in the new year. |
Pediatric Vaccinations
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SCHOOL COMMUNITY PUBLIC HEALTH UPDATE
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The Marin County Office of Education is hosting a Public Health Update for the School Community with Dr. Matt Willis and Dr. Lisa Santora on Thursday, January 6, 2022 at 4:00PM. This Webinar will be recorded and posted on the Rethinking Schools Website. Spanish Translation will be available, and questions can be sent ahead of time to RapidResponse@marinschools.org.
Zoom Details: 1/6/22 @ 4PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88011134735?pwd=NUoxVUJXUWFlS1cxMG82MUVTK2Fhdz09
Webinar ID: 880 1113 4735
Passcode: 212768
Dial In: 408-638-0968
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WE NEED YOU!
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The Ross Valley School District is also in need of Substitute Teachers. The sub rates are now $190 for a full day ($95 for half day).
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RVSD Updates provide information to our RVSD community from the Departments of Superintendent, Fiscal Services, Curriculum and Instruction, Food Service, Human Resources, Maintenance and Operations, Student Services, and Technology.
www.rossvalleyschools.org | 100 Shaw Dr. San Anselmo, CA 94960 | 415.454.2162
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The Community News section includes non-district/school related activities that may be of interest to parents/guardians and/or students and are shared in accordance with Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 1325 Advertising and Promotion.
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FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS
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Marin County Gun Safety Resources
According to a national nonprofit organization, Brady United Against Gun Violence, research finds that an estimated 4.6 million children live in homes with access to unlocked loaded guns, resulting in eight injuries or deaths of children every single day.
Under California law, parents and guardians are responsible for protecting children through safe firearm storage. Gun owners are criminally liable if they store a loaded gun where a child is likely to gain access to it. Safe gun storage also reduces the risk of suicide by slowing down what is often an impulsive act, providing more time to get help. If you have guns at home, assume children can find them.
Information and Resources:
- The Marin Gun Safety Collaborative was formed to provide education and resources for our community promoting and ensuring gun safety.
- For tips on gun safety including legal responsibilities of gun owners and ideas for how to talk to friends or family about guns before you or your children or grandchildren visit their home, visit the California Attorney General Gun Safety site.
- The Marin County Sheriff’s Office and the Marin County District Attorney have teamed up with Project Childsafe to provide FREE Gun Locks. You can learn more about obtaining a free gun lock HERE.
- Removing a gun can make a home safer. If a gun is no longer wanted, it can be turned in to the local police (anytime) or a gun buyback. Learn more about how to turn in unwanted firearms of ammunition HERE.
- Lastly, if someone is a danger to themselves or others, an option is a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO), a court-ordered civil procedure. Sometimes a child might post threats on social media including images with guns. GVROs also block future purchases to prevent a potentially violent or unstable person from buying weapons. It can help you liaise with the police who remove the guns and store them safely. Learn more about GVROs HERE.
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FOR THE KIDS
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The Road to the Little League World Series Begins in West Marin!
From our Opening Day Parade through downtown Fairfax, to our annual night games under the lights in Fairfax and Nicasio, you can count on WMLL to provide great baseball instruction led by our Director of Instruction Rashid Khalil. With program divisions from T-Ball to Juniors, we provide a first-rate, end-to-end youth baseball experience from preschool all the way to high school. Play with classmates, make friends with kids from other schools, and for sure have a ton of fun learning and playing the great game we love. Register now and come be a part of our amazing WMLL community spirit!
Find more details and register for the Spring 2022 season of WMLL at http://westmarin.website.sportssignup.com/.
New Volleyball Team for Winter
Sparks of Marin is offering girls in 5th and 6th grades a new opportunity to play volleyball competitively, at a level up from CYO but not as intense as club play. Founded by a local mom who is a former Cal volleyball and high jump champ, Sparks offers excellent volleyball instruction in a low key environment. The winter team season runs January to early April.
Additional clinics are available to help beginners learn the fundamentals of the game and intermediate players deepen their skills and volleyball IQ. https://sparksofmarin.com/5th-6th-grade-competition
San Francisco Boys Choir Auditions
Marin Auditions Flyer (English | Spanish)
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