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Message from Superintendent Skelly
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In Praise of Local Government
 One of the many facets I enjoy about being superintendent here is that there are multiple city governments with which we cooperate and interact. It seems that every school/city relationship has unique characteristics where our collaboration can lead to better services than we could do individually.
As examples, we work with the City of Foster City to share the cost of an after-school activities bus that takes students from San Mateo High to Foster City after sports, study, or other activities. This helps reduce traffic and promote full student participation in school life.
The City of San Mateo and its K-12 school districts share the cost of School Resource Officers and joint use of the SMHS gym. Our Adult School partners with San Mateo to create an ESL City Academy that teaches newcomers about how local government works. The City of Burlingame and our District have a long standing relationship with the Burlingame High Aquatic Center to promote community use while they allow us prime time on their baseball fields at Washington Park for our teams. And with Millbrae, the K-12 districts and city officials meet regularly to make sure city/school relationships are as strong as they can be.
For over twenty five years, the District has partnered with the City of San Bruno whereby the City manages the fields at Crestmoor owned by the District. Finally, in Hillsborough, like is true with all our K-8 partner districts, the children of staff are allowed to attend the other Districts' schools.
Through these activities and relationships I have consistently been impressed by the civic leaders and elected officials in our communities. While I don't always agree with everything they propose, I walk away from virtually every encounter with them inspired by their commitment to improving our communities across multiple dimensions.
Keeping up with local politics and policy is more than most of us can do, given all the other demands on our time. For what it's worth, from my experience living in many other areas, we're all very fortunate to have the strong and committed elected officials, city managers and staff of our communities.
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Sustainability Update
 Schools are where the future is prepared. And preparing that future should involve a commitment to leaving our planet as healthy as we can. Thanks to a grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, we will install Electric Vehicle (EV) car charging stations at each of our comprehensive high school sites over the summer. Electric car owners can plug in until their vehicle is charged at which point they receive a text telling them to move their car and allow the next driver the opportunity to charge. We hope charging stations will encourage electric vehicle ownership and reduce carbon emissions. The charging station in place at the District Office is seeing steady use.
In addition, we plan to dramatically reduce the number of gas powered leaf blowers in the 2019-20 school year by switching to battery operated units as often as it is feasible. Gas powered leaf blowers are big sources of noise and air pollution. Reducing their usage will improve air quality and the distraction these machines cause for students, staff and visitors.
Finally, we have knowledgeable management teams on staff who help the District to make greener choices that reduce our chemical footprint. We have a goal to use fewer harmful chemicals moving forward to lessen potential adverse impacts on students, staff and the environment.
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Piano Accompanists Help Students Reach New Heights
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Paul Zawilski has worked as a Piano Accompanist with the District for three years. He says,"Choir gives a voice to all students."
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For over 20 years, SMUHSD has employed piano accompanists for each of our choirs. Currently four of these talented musicians work alongside choir teachers with small groups and soloists bringing expertise and knowledge from Brahms to jazz into the classroom. Fifty-two of our choir students from Burlingame and San Mateo High Schools recently traveled to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall.
I spoke with Shawn Reifschneider one of our dedicated choir teachers who traveled with these students. Shawn told me, "Arts education helps students develop a better appreciation for and understanding of human creation. It gives our students a well-rounded understanding of the world." I've watched countless students over the years benefit from the close support network the arts education community provides. Choir classes are yearlong arts elective courses offered at each of our comprehensive high schools.
For more information about enrolling see your student's counselor or choir teacher.
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Summer Census
By July 15, all SMUHSD families will receive a letter (one of the few times we'll reach out to you by snail mail) about the Summer Census. The letter will ask you to log into our platform called Aeries to complete the Summer Census and access our Parent Portal. This will help to confirm and finalize your student's enrollment in their school, but they also allow parents to opt in or out of a number of important programs or services.
For example, one new question we included allows families who do not meet the requirements for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program, but who could benefit from financial assistance, to learn more about the programs and services we can provide.
Aeries allows parents to log in more easily and access the Parent Portal. After an account is created by parents, the Parent Portal can be accessed by computer or by an app on your smartphone to see a variety of student information at your fingertips throughout the school year.
Completing the Summer Census is quick, easy and an essential final step to annual re-enrollment of your student in school. If you have any questions please call (650) 558-2251 or email
enrollment@smuhsd.org.
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SMUHSD to Broaden Access
Our Board of Trustees recently received a report on work we are doing as a District to support access for all students. As part of our 2018-19 District Goals we aim to build staff cultural responsiveness and identify systemic obstacles for students with fewer resources. The District has a number of programs and services already in place including the
Stanford Teen Mobile Health Van
, the Vision to Learn program, and changes to the
Free and Reduced Lunch Program
which we expanded to provide free meals to students qualifying for reduced meals.
 The District also is providing over 100 families previously without internet access a free "hotspot" through the
1million Project Foundation
and Sprint telecommunications. For the last few years, the District has provided loaner chromebooks to students who do not have this technology at home and backpacks, school supplies, hygiene products and bus passes to our most vulnerable students.
Our team collaborated with colleagues across the District along with a number of dedicated parents to prioritize some new areas for expanding access next year. In the 2019-2020 school year, the District will expand free access to events we think of as rites of passage like football and basketball games as well as musicals and plays (we will provide free admission to all SMUHSD students to these events). We will also be providing free academic transcripts to all current students and provide sports physicals to students who do not have medical insurance.
If you have reasonable financial security, it's easy to forget how hard it is when you are literally living paycheck to paycheck -- and many in our community are. Our school staff are the District's eyes and ears. They are often the first to know when a student is in need. If you or your family is experiencing a hardship, financial or otherwise, please reach out to your child's counselor, health aide or family engagement coordinator who can put you in touch with the resources that may help your family.
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Burlingame High School Pool Update
 Following approval from the Division of the State Architect (DSA) which approves all school construction in the state, construction began late last month on a rebuilding of the aquatic center at Burlingame High School. The pool will feature a new shell, deck and water and energy saving upgrades to the mechanical room.
The District is grateful to the City of Burlingame for their collaborative contributions in helping to fund construction for this important asset for the community at large providing both an educational and athletic component for the District and Burlingame High as well as recreational use through the Burlingame Aquatics Club.
Pool construction is anticipated to be completed by December 2019.
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Feeling "Hangry?"...Food Options Abound at Summer School and through Summer Feeding Stations
 School will soon be out for summer, but for any of our students attending summer school, which will be held at San Mateo High School, brunch will be available for purchase and FREE to any student qualifying for a free or reduced lunch. Menus include a variety of enticing options including: muffins, breakfast sandwiches, bagels with cream cheese, cereal, fresh fruit, cookies, chips and frozen fruit bars. All food served meets federal nutrition guidelines providing healthy options to give students energy to face the day's challenges.
Alternatively, U.S. Department of Agriculture provides FREE, nutritious lunches Monday-Friday throughout the summer to anyone under the age of 18 at a number of sites across the country, state and San Mateo County. There are no income requirements in order to participate in this program.
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Burlingame and Mills Dominate at Global Robotics Championships
The Burlingame High School Iron Panthers were recently named GLOBAL Champions at the annual FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in Houston, Texas. Mills High School's team - the Boba Bots - also attended and were ranked in the top half in their division (31 out of 67 teams).
The four-day event included more than 15,000 students from around the world in the competition which is widely considered the
world's largest celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for students
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Each year, teams compete to tackle a different challenge building alliances with three other teams. This year's challenge "Destination: Deep Space" involved building robots to load objects into a spacecraft. The Iron Panthers who had never made it beyond the quarterfinals advanced to the top this year by beating other alliances until there were just two left. The Iron Panthers' alliance emerged victorious!
The Mills High School Boba Bots advanced through their division with five wins and five narrow losses (two by a single point). While the team was not picked for its Division Final they enjoyed success this year at San Francisco Regional and Monterey Regional where the team finished third.
I couldn't be more proud of both teams who tackled their challenges with gusto and represented their schools and our District honorably! Congratulations Iron Panthers and Boba Bots!
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346:
The number of students who received a free cardiac screening through Via Heart on April 14
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2,156: the number of students who will walk across our eight stages (including Middle College) to receive their diplomas this month
CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!
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|  924: Number of graduates earning a Golden State Seal Merit Diploma. These students are being recognized by the State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Public Instruction for mastery in English-language arts, math, science or U.S. history |
27%: The percent of students in the class of 2019 who applied for the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) and qualified for a Cal Grant
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Closing Thoughts -
Hang in there - It's (mostly) not you!
When my four kids were teenagers, it seemed that there was always conflict. Moods were mercurial. Dinners were monosyllabic or hanging on an edge. My children seemed consistently angry or exhausted or both. Everyone seemed to be a brooding cauldron, ready to boil over with the slightest provocation.
Now they are better, thank goodness! My wife and I are both wiser and more sensitive in our children's eyes.
A wise person said that we fight most passionately and frequently with the people we love the most because we can. Teenagers (and perhaps all of us) sometimes put on a public veneer of pleasantness and positivity while saving our worst selves for those we know and care about the most.
Now that I am on the other side of this period of conflict, may I gently suggest that you consider this the next time you are confronted with the irrationality that sometimes comes with being a high school student? If you are extremely fortunate and patient, you might even gain the gift of insight into what is really going on for your student!
Here's to a restful, homework-free summer. On we go!
-KS
Dr. Kevin Skelly, Superintendent
San Mateo Union High School District
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