Planning for more kids!
You will see later on in the E.News a short report on our soaring kindergarten registration numbers.  We also are seeing more registrations at other grade levels in preparation for the 2009-2010 school year.  With this growth, we will evaluate our facility possibilities and will most likely need to lease more portable classrooms to provide learning spaces.  With the growth will come the need for more teachers and the support staff needed to round out a great learning environment.  All of this will be taken into consideration as we head into the heart of the budget development season.
 
Planning in a troubling economy!
Your support of Measure A this past November will make life a little less painful for our budget planning, but as a basic aid district, we will need to plan very carefully.  While we may not encounter painful and difficult teacher layoffs, we know that we will have to continue on even a more rigorous level of fiscal prudence.  Measure A ran on the theme, "Keep Mill Valley Schools Great".  We won't be adding to our programs, but we will make every effort to preserve our programs.  We, along with our partner districts throughout Marin, will have some tough times as we ride through the economic crisis our state and nation encounters.  The good news is that the log jam in Sacramento has been cleared.  As of this writing, we don't have specific details of the budget agreement.  As soon as we know, we will pass that information along to you.  March 25 is our annual finance study session.  I hope you will join us.
 
Planning our schools for the future!
We are blessed to have an active and engaged committee of staff, parents and citizens working on a long range strategic plan for our facilities.  This plan defines the physical learning environment for the long term.  We will soon be posting information on our web site for you to follow just as we did when we were providing fiscal information last spring and fall.  This facilities master plan will be approved in June by the Board of Trustees; and will eventually lead to a bond measure.  On April 7, the Board will conduct a study session where the District Facilities Master Plan Committee will present specific information about the future of our facilities.  I hope you will attend.  Stay tuned for more Facilities Master Plan news posted on our website.
 
Planning for continued student success!
The Mill Valley Teaching and Learning Collaborative (MVTLC) was established four years ago to guide the direction of our student learning programs.   These teacher and principal leaders have continued to work and implement quality strategies used in our schools and across our district.  Key standards of learning have been established in math and are underway in reading.  Formative assessments have been implemented for our K-3 classes and are now being researched for the rest of our 4-8 classes.  Ongoing professional development occurs on a weekly basis through minimum days and four times per year on full-day professional development days.  This work is not about 'one-shot' learning experiences, but more about getting better at the work done everyday in the classroom.  Our Intervention Team is conducting research into best practices so as to better provide specific instruction to students in need of additional academic support.  Response To Intervention is a term used to describe a systematic, school-wide approach to intervention that is being mandated in the state of California.  It shows great promise for better coordinated programs across general and special education.
 
Planning for the best staff on the planet!
At this mid-year point, I look back on our new teacher institute last August where we greeted about twenty new teachers.  Hats off to all of them for coming to Mill Valley and enriching our already excellent staff.  I am very fortunate to call these new folks, our veterans, and all of our support staff my colleagues.