I’m thrilled to announce that last night’s final school board meeting of the school year was extremely productive. It included an excellent superintendent evaluation, key appointments in preparation for school starting this fall, adoption of the LCAP and budget, and appointment of our next student trustee, as well as unanimously approved resolutions on “Excused Absences for Mental Health” and “Inclusive School Messaging, Names, and Imagery.”

Congratulations to Michelle Alas for completing her term as the 1st ever official student trustee on the Mt Diablo School Board! She laid a strong foundation for student leadership in our district, including last night’s approval of bylaws for a districtwide Student Advisory Committee. Student leadership is truly growing in our district and helping us to improve education for all.

Read on for:

1. Student Trustee Appointment for 2021-22
2. Superintendent Evaluation
3. Resolution on Messaging, Names and Imagery
4. Mt Diablo Peace & Justice Awards for Mt Diablo Students
5. Next School Board meeting August 11th

Student Trustee Appointment for 2021-22

Welcome newly elected student trustee, Kaleena Fowler to the MDUSD School Board!  Trustee Fowler is an incoming senior at College Park High School and President of the Black Student Union.  She is passionate about the importance of student voice, student clubs, and improving communication between the student body and the school board.

Superintendent Evaluation

Congratulations to Dr Adam Clark on a successful first year as Superintendent of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District! Last night our school board unanimously decided on a Satisfactory evaluation (the choices being satisfactory or unsatisfactory), and added this public statement:

“We, the Mt Diablo School Board, voted unanimously to give Dr Clark a Satisfactory rating on his superintendent evaluation for the 2020-21 school year. Dr. Clark skillfully guided our district through the most difficult of times. He kept a laser focus on providing excellent education to all our students, and balanced many considerations, interests and partnerships in pursuit of that goal.  He consistently demonstrated grace under pressure, patience and persistence, and has begun to build a foundation to successfully create a more welcoming environment for all. We wholeheartedly support Dr Clark and look forward to our continued work together in the coming year.”

Resolution on Messaging, Names and Imagery

This resolution is grounded in research, state law and a Systemic Instructional Review and clearly states our board’s values and vision. It provides a framework not just for any one school decision, but for how every school site team can proactively create welcoming environments and together address any barriers to student learning. 

Here is an excerpt:

BE IT RESOLVED that the Mt. Diablo Unified School District Board sees an urgent need to establish a welcoming and safe environment for all students in our schools and community; and if necessary, schools shall choose a non-human mascot/name replacement within 1 year, and the district budget shall bear the costs of the transition rather than the school site budget.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Mt. Diablo Unified School District Board encourages all schools to utilize proven, high quality tools to create welcoming environments such as: 

1. registering as an Anti-Defamation League No Place for Hate School, 
2. teaching the four domains of Social Justice Standards to all students (identity, diversity, justice and action), 
3. teaching lessons from the approved California Ethnic studies model curriculum;

Many thanks to the students, teachers, and community members at multiple school sites who have worked to educate their colleagues, community, and this school board on these issues. It is your persistence, research, and workshops that led to this unanimously supported resolution. 

Mt Diablo Peace & Justice Awards for Mt Diablo Students

The Mt Diablo Peace & Justice Center is recognizing some Mt Diablo student leaders this Saturday!  The event is June 26th at 10AM, in-person and outdoors at the Peace Center, located at 1035 Carol Lane, Lafayette. Click here to register.

They will be presenting awards at both the High School and Middle School level, in areas of visual art, creative writing, and essay. Plus they also selected two activist award winners: 

1. an 11th grader from Ygnacio Valley High School - Alex Hagerstrand - who led brave work at their school around LGBTQ issues - through raising awareness, organizing actions, and facilitating teach-ins for the community. 
2. the Ygnacio Valley Racist Mascot Removal Committee - a group of six Mt Diablo students who campaigned throughout the year to educate around the harmful stereotypes and indigenous imagery used by their school. They organized a number of educational workshops and connected with local indigenous groups to educate the community on why this imagery is harmful. 

School Board Meeting August 11th

Our board takes off the month of July for a much needed break!  See you all in August. Find the agenda and viewing/participation information here: https://mdusd.org/boardmeetings  

Thank you to my colleagues on the School Board for your hard work and constant study, and for always bravely sharing your perspective. Now let’s all get offline as much as possible to rejuvenate this July and be ready to get back to work in August!