Redwood City 2020 News
March 13, 2018 Tuesday Tidbits
February 27, 2018 Tuesday Tidbits
February 13, 2018 Tuesday Tidbits
January 30, 2018 Tuesday Tidbits
January 16, 2018 Tuesday Tidbits
December 26, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
December 12, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
October 31, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
October 17, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
September 26, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
September 19, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
September 12, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
August 15, 2017 Tuesday Tidbits
April 19, 2016 Tuesday Tidbits
March 15, 2016 Tuesday Tidbits
Redwood City 2020 Leadership Council
Redwood City 2020 is governed by the Leadership Council, which is the policy-making and vision-setting body of the collaborative. Each core member organization has up to two representatives who sit on the Leadership Council. The Executive Team, comprised of chief executive staff from each partner organization, offers partnership and guidance for the work set forth by the Leadership Council’s vision.
Meeting Agendas and Minutes
August 2016 Joint Meeting Agenda
August 2016 Joint Meeting Minutes
August 2015 Joint Meeting Agenda
August 2015 Joint Meeting Minutes
Redwood City 2020 Visuals
Community Schools Expansion and Sustainability Workgroup
Redwood City 2020 2014 Environmental Scan of Redwood City and North Fair Oaks
Redwood City 2020 Environmental Scan of Redwood City and North Fair Oaks
This document details the current health, academic success, and other markers of strengths and challenges for the Redwood City and North Fair Oaks communities. It is a compilation of county and city-wide data, research of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, and more.
Practices that Promote Middle School Students’ Motivation and Achievement
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_Motivation2010.pdf
Takeaways:
- Students’ motivational beliefs are significant predictors of their achievement.
- Classroom practices that encourage effort and understanding and create a caring learning environment potentially yield higher achievement by increasing students’ motivation to learn.
- Changes in classroom practices are associated with changes in students’ motivation
Caring and Motivating Middle School Classrooms
http://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/resources/publications/Motivation%20-%20Feb%202012.pdf
Takeaways:
- Students’ motivational beliefs are predictors of their math achievement.
- Caring classroom practices are associated with increases in students’ motivational beliefs.
- Perceptions of caring classroom practices differ according to students’ grade and math proficiency level (7th graders have a dip in perception of care).
Truancy and Chronic Absence
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/Absence_IB_final.pdf
Takeaways:
- Kindergarteners had highest rates of chronic absences.
- Students who were chronically absent were more likely to repeat their chronically absent behavior in subsequent grades.
- Missing school had a significant negative effect on CST percentiles in math and ELA for 3rd-8th graders, and GPA in high school students.
- For 3rd-12th graders, middle- and higher-achieving students are at greatest risk of academic decline due to chronic absence.
Examining Students' Perceptions of the School Environment: Sequoia High School's School Climate Survey
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/SHSS_IB_7.2013.pdf
Takeaways:
- Students’ grades were positively associated with high average scores on three school climate measures: Academic Care, Academic Expectations, and Overall Sense of Care at School.
- All else equal, females had a greater likelihood than males of reporting positive ratings on their perceptions of Academic Expectations and Overall Sense of Care at School.
- Compared to seniors and those without disciplinary infractions, students enrolled in the 11th grade and those with at least one suspension were less likely to report that they experienced a sense of care at school or perceived opportunities to exercise their autonomy.
- The transition from 8th grade to Sequoia High School had a positive influence on those 8th grade students who reported low average perceptions of overall care at their middle school.
The Academic Progress of Alternative School Students Transitioning into Comprehensive High Schools
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_AlternativeSchoolStudentsTransition2010.pdf
Takeaway:
- Data helps predict the likelihood that a student exiting a community school finishes the school year after entering a comprehensive or continuation high school. Key predictors of student success can be used to monitor and support students/use predictors to tag students for additional support.
Educational Outcomes for Court-Dependent Youth in San Mateo County
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_CourtDependentYouth2009.pdf
Takeaways:
- Dependent youth were more likely to receive special education services, more likely to qualify for FRPL, more likely to be African American, and less likely to be English learners.
- Compared with other youth, dependent youth had lower CST scores and credits earned; had much higher rates of absence, mobility, and grade retention; and were much more likely to be suspended or expelled.
- Educational outcomes were generally better among youth in involuntary family maintenance, compared to youth in out-of-home placements.
- Long time in dependency was not necessarily associated with poorer educational outcomes. Educational outcomes were generally better for youth who have been in dependency for 6 months to 2 years, compared with those who were newer to dependency and those who had spent longer periods of time in dependency.
A Longitudinal View of Educational Outcomes for Preschool For All Participants in Redwood City School District
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/PFA_IssueBrief_2014.pdf
Takeaways:
- PFA students were just as likely to be persistently proficient (3-4 years of proficiency) on report cards as non-PFA students in listening/speaking and work study skills, but less likely to be persistently proficient in reading, writing, and math than students who did not attend PFA.
- Among students in traditionally underserved subgroups—in particular Latino students, low income students, and students with a parent who did not complete a high school diploma—PFA students were more likely than their non-PFA peers to be persistently proficient in many report card subjects, depending on the subgroup.
- Two-year PFA participants were more likely to be persistently proficient (3-4 years) and less likely to have never been proficient compared to one-year PFA participants. They were just as likely as non-PFA students to be persistently proficient on all report card subjects.
- When compared to each other, half- and full-day PFA participants were performing similarly on report card subjects, except in work-study skills where half-day participants were more likely to be persistently proficient between kindergarten and third grade.
- PFA students attending a community school for their first four years in elementary were more likely to be persistently proficient in listening/speaking and work study skills than PFA students attending traditional schools, and just as likely to be proficient on other report card subjects.
- “Overall, our analysis suggests that participating in a high-quality preschool program was associated with positive academic outcomes for children once they entered the K-12 school system.”
Graduation Rates for East Palo Alto students in the Sequoia Unified High School District
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/OEPAGradRates2013.pdf
Takeaways:
- The lack of data on students enrolled in charter or private schools and the high number of students who left the district and returned show the need for enhanced data systems that go beyond district boundaries (e.g., improved data-sharing initiatives and more robust student databases like CALPADS).
Healthy Schools Initiative: Implementation Study in Four San Mateo County School Districts
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/reports/HealthySchoolsInitiativeStudy42013.pdf
Takeaways:
- Nearly 100% of study participants valued health and wellness in schools.
- Study participants familiar with HSI believe that the initiative positively influenced awareness of health and wellness in schools, but just 25% of those interviewed were knowledgeable about the initiative.
- All study schools coordinated health and wellness programs and activities prior to the implementation of HSI; where wellness coordinators became involved, coordination was more strategic and intentional. Teachers and other staff committed to student wellness played an important role in increasing access to health and wellness info, programs, activities, and resources.
- Effective and purposeful coordination was associated with increased integration of health and wellness programs within and across schools and districts, reaching more students equitably and leveraging resources
Exploring the Link between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_PhysicalFitnessAcademicAchievement2009.pdf
Takeaways:
- There is a strong link between a student’s health and academic performance.
- Students who are consistently physically fit are already doing better academically in fourth grade than those who are consistently unfit.
- Those who improved fitness saw slight improvements in test scores compared to those whose fitness has declined, but being consistently physically fit is more of an advantage.
- Higher SES can be a buffer in fitness-achievement.
The Stanford healthy neighborhood discovery tool: a computerized tool to assess active living environments.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23498112
Takeaways:
- The tool seems to complement other assessments and assist decision-makers in consensus-building processes for environmental change.
Boys and Girls Club Participation and English Language Development Among English Learner Students
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_BGCELLs2009.pdf
Takeaways:
- Boys and Girls Club attendance is associated with gains in English proficiency from one academic year to the next, particularly in students’ listening and speaking skills.
Positive Youth Development in Redwood City
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/reports/Youth_Development_in_RWC_Full_Report.pdf
Takeaways:
- Youth reported overall physical safety but many also expressed concerns about specific physical safety issues (e.g., bullying, gang violence).
- Most elementary school students in after-school programs felt that peers and adult leaders cared about them. Fewer middle school students reported feeling this way in after-school programs.
- Most elementary school students in after-school programs felt they were in respectful environments where students did not make fun of each other/didn’t say mean things. Fewer middle school students reported feeling this way in after-school programs.
- Many reported opportunities to stretch and deepen thinking in school; fewer reported those same opportunities in after-school settings.
- Many reported having voice and choice in activities; youth leaders engaged in youth-adult partnerships felt efficacious in making a change. All ages noted that in successful youth-adult partnerships, adults needed to be accessible and genuinely interested in connecting with youth, and youth needed to feel respected by adults. Trusting relationships, shared leadership, mutual recognition of experiences and skills, and a focus on community issues were very important.
- SHS students identified drug and alcohol prevention and education, suicide and depression, bullying and homophobia, and sexual and reproductive health as key issues in the school.
- Most partners aimed to provide opportunities for collaborative projects, engage adults as mentors, and facilitate youth-adult dialogue. Adult partners reported challenges to engaging youth as leaders, including a lack of necessary staff skill to engage youth in meaningful ways, difficulty recruiting youth who have enough free time and leadership skills, and a lack of appropriate opportunities to engage youth as partners.
Community-Based After School Programs and Youth Physical Fitness
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/publications/JGC_IB_AfterSchoolPhysicalFitness2011.pdf
Takeaways:
- Participation in primarily fitness-focused programs after school is associated with a 10% increase in the likelihood of being fit over time.
- For the highest risk groups—lower income and Latino students—lower levels of participation in fitness-focused programs and smaller effects of participation on fitness outcomes were found.
- Activities primarily focused on sports, fitness, or physical activity were shown to have the strongest positive effects on youth physical fitness outcomes.
- Latino and initially unfit students had lower rates of participation.
A Study of Family Engagement in Redwood City Community Schools
http://jgc.stanford.edu/resources/reports/FamilyEngagementIssueBrief2013
Takeaways:
- All study participants agreed that the goal of family engagement is to improve students’ academic success and emotional well-being. Staff identified benefits to families and schools.
- Community school staff and families envisioned three main approaches to family engagement:
- Participation in school activities and events,
- Strong communication and positive relationships, and
- Mutually beneficial partnerships between schools and families with shared responsibility for student and school outcomes.
- Schools implemented lots of family engagement activities that were rarely aligned with a school-wide shared vision or specific goals.
- Parents and students most often described family engagement as support for children’s schoolwork and general wellbeing at home. School staff most often described family engagement in the context of the school setting.
- Staff and parents identified obstacles to family engagement: perceived cultural barriers, parents’ lack of confidence in ability to support student learning and contribute to school community.
Critical Civic Engagement Among Urban Youth (Community Youth Research)
Takeaways:
- This study suggests that participatory action research has potential as an educational strategy for promoting skills and dispositions of citizenship.