The 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.

Student Performance and Contest Highlights

We are so very proud of all of our RVSD students and would like to highlight recent accomplishments of some of them.

Music
The first weekend in May, our White Hill Band, Orchestra, and Chorus groups performed at Great America’s Music in the Parks festival and did a wonderful job. Our Advanced Chorus (7th/8th grades) received the top rating of Superior, and our Band and Orchestra students also performed well.

Art
Students in White Hill’s Graphic Design class (7th/8th grades) recently submitted their social justice artwork posters to Riley Street Art supply store for the Marin Youth Poster Contest. The mission is to provide a messaging platform for youth to express their hopes and concerns about social justice, health, climate change, women's rights, firearms regulation, immigration, discrimination, and other vital issues. Esme Charles, Tess Davis, and Keira Boatwright won in the Middle School category. Their art will be part of a traveling show going to various locations over the next six months.

Students from Digital Art & Photo classes had their art chosen for posters for the Safe Routes to School event "May the 4th Be With You". The piece selected is by Sofia Lopez and Claire Cochrane.

4th Grade Statewide Writing Contest
Each year our fourth graders are invited to participate in a statewide writing contest. Wyatt Savage in Mrs. Hirsch’s class at Hidden Valley School had his essay chosen as the winner for our region and again as the overall winner in the State of California. You can find Wyatt’s essay here.

State History Day
Some of our 8th grade students recently participated in the State History Day competition and two students were recognized for their website titled “The Road to Her Rights: The Seneca Falls Convention.” Masie Ferner and Zara Prime were recognized in the awards ceremony as 4th place finishers and they were the only winners in the middle and high school division from Marin County.

Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP)

The LCAP is a three-year, district-level plan that is updated annually. The plan describes the school district’s key goals for students as well as the specific actions (with expenditures) the district will take to achieve the goals and the means (metrics) used to measure progress. The LCAP addresses the needs of all students, including specific student groups, and all districts must specifically address English learners, foster youth, and low-income students.

Our continued 2022-23 LCAP goals are:

1. Assess student learning in mathematics and English language arts/ ELD and provide interventions and supports as needed.
2. Create a safe, equitable, and inclusive learning environment in which all students feel a sense of belonging, are respected and celebrated for their individual differences, and are empowered to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.
3. Engage in a continuous cycle of collaborative input and feedback involving colleagues, students and parents on the climate and learning experience of all students.

Equity Update

SURE (Stand Up for Racial Equity - RVSD) is built for parents and by parents who want to promote racial equity awareness and practices in the RVSD community. We had a great meeting last night (5/18/22), and many exciting projects are underway!

• Educate: Crafting and scheduling educational events. Drafting our "why" to highlight the reasons this work is essential for our kids, schools, and community.
• Support: Creating an affinity group for parents of color and an affinity group for white parents who are invested in antiracism. Advocate: Supporting RVSD efforts to bring racial equity into the classroom.
• Outreach: Developing tools to update and educate the community (Ex: Designing newsletters, using social media, and parent surveys).

Our next meeting will be in the beginning of September. Stay tuned for details and please join us! We always welcome anyone who is interested in racial equity work within our community. Email sure@rossvalleyschools.org for more information.

May 2022 Board of Trustees Regular Meetings

• For the May 3 meeting recording, click here, and for the meeting agenda, click here.
• For the May 10 meeting recording, click here, and for the meeting agenda, click here.
• For past meeting recordings, click here, and for past meeting agendas, click here.

Employment Opportunities in RVSD

Current and 2022-23 Openings

Do you enjoy working with and supporting students while maintaining a flexible schedule that aligns with your child’s? Then RVSD has the job for you! We have the following part-time and full-time positions available:

• School Counselor/Social Worker (all elementary sites)
• Speech and Language Pathologist
• Math Teacher (White Hill)
• Music Teacher (all sites)
• EL Coordinator/Teacher (Manor)
• Occupational Therapist
• Clerk Typist/Campus Supervisor (White Hill)
• Building Manager (Wade Thomas)
• Night Custodians (White Hill)
• Campus Supervisors (all sites)
• Food Service Workers (all sites)
• Instructional Aide positions (all elementary sites)
• Library Specialist (Brookside)
• Office Assistants (Hidden Valley and Manor)
• Paraprofessional 1:1 Aide (Hidden Valley)
• Special Education Instructional Assistant (Brookside and White Hill)

For more information about all open positions and how to apply as well as how to register as a certificated substitute, visit RVSD’s Human Resources webpage and/or contact Lori Ross, HR Coordinator, at 415-451-4063 or lross@rossvalleyschools.org.

COVID-19 Information and Resources

More School-Provided COVID Tests Coming Home

Due to the recent surge in Marin County, your students will be bringing home a box of two COVID tests. Within two days of receipt, please use one test on your child and report positive or negative results to Primary Health. You should be hearing from your child’s principal, if you haven’t already, about when those tests will be coming home as well as details for reporting results. Please use the extra test in accordance with the instructions on the box.

Third Round of In-Home Test Kits Now Available from the US Government

Every home in the U.S. is now eligible for a third round of free COVID-19 at-home test kits. Earlier this year, the U.S. government began a campaign to make at-home COVID-19 tests more accessible to the public. They mailed four sets of rapid antigen tests, free of charge, to any household who ordered them. This third round offers 8 free testing kits, doubling the number of kits offered in the previous two rounds.

• Place your order for eight free COVID-19 tests by visiting COVIDtests.gov. You’ll receive them in mail. If you need help placing an order for your at-⁠home tests, please call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) for assistance in over 150 languages, 5:00 a.m. to 9:00p.m. PDT, 7 days a week).
• If you use the tests, don’t forget to report the results using MHHS’s online self-test reporting form (note this is a different reporting site than what students and staff use when they receive tests from their school).

Symptoms and Isolation/Quarantine Guidelines

Please remember that if any symptoms develop, even if mild:

• Stay home and follow the Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines to help prevent the virus from spreading to our schools.

Helpful Resources

• Find a vaccine/booster appointment
• Free Testing Sites (under Community Sites)
• Free at-home COVID tests from the Federal Government
• CDPH Safe Schools for All Hub 
• CDPH Parent information page
• CDC Data Tracker (metric used by MCPH to determine current mask recommendations)
• RVSD COVID-19 Resources for the 2021-22 School Year
• Marin County’s Isolation, Quarantine, and Travel guidance for schools

Mark Your Calendars

• 5.30 : Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL
• 5.31 : Board of Trustees Meeting
• 6.9 : Last Day of School

In addition to the direct links above, this section includes information about events, training, and resources offered in Marin County to support students and families.

Marin County Gun Buy Back event – June 4, 2022 9am-1pm outside the Marin County Sheriff’s office

Help reduce the risk of suicide, accidental discharge, domestic violence, and guns getting into the wrong hands.

The 2020 Marin County Civil Grand Jury estimated that there are 100,000 firearms in Marin homes and vehicles. As a community, we want to do all that we can to provide the opportunity to remove unwanted guns from our homes. Two upcoming actions are planned:

•  Gun Buy Back
  The Gun Buy Back event is co-organized by Marin County DA’s office, Marin County Sheriff, San Rafael Police Department and San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin and Fairfax Mayor Stephanie Hellman. Participants can bring in functional firearms and receive cash in exchange. The funding that supports the event comes from government, business, education, foundations, hospitals, and individuals.
  See attached flyer or click here (English | Spanish)

•  Gun Buy Back Fund
  Please consider donating to the Gun Buy Back Fund and helping make our community even safer. The City of San Rafael is managing the fund and to participate, please send checks to: City of San Rafael, 1400 Fifth Street, Attn: Finance Rm 204, San Rafael 94901. Specify that the donation is for “Gun Buy Back”. Donations are tax deductible (City EIN number is 94-6000424) and with the participation of people in our community, enough funds will be raised to have a successful event.

Questions? Call 415 485-3070 or email Mayor Kate Colin at kate.colin@cityofsanrafael.org.

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. 

FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

Raising the Bar

As we get ready for summer, please join Raising the Bar, Keep Youth Events Substance Free, a Marin County-Wide Initiative, by promoting healthy modeling. This campaign aims to elevate kids’ experience in youth-oriented programs by changing the social norms around the consumption of alcohol and other substances. Parents, schools, program directors and community members work together to promote healthy choices and keep youth events substance-free. This program is not focused on eliminating adult alcohol use from our community, rather to be mindful of our substance use and behavior at youth gatherings. Let's work together to keep our youths safe and help reduce underage substance use in Marin. Visit Raising The Bar for more information.

FOR THE KIDS

St. Anselm CYO Girls Volleyball

5th through 8th graders for Fall 2022. Registration is open! Please see attached flyer or click here.