I did not attend Superintendent Rudolph's "State of the Schools" address - anymore than I would have wanted to get a ticket to President Trump's "State of the Union"address in Washington DC. Why - it's much closer and easier to get in? Why - you helped hire the guy when you were on the Board?

Because actions speak louder than words. Dr. Rudolph will only have so many of these 'I forgot to tell you before hand' moments before he looses the respect and trust of this community. And when that happens, neither Trustee Ellen Wheeler, President Blakley or any group will be able to save him (from himself). Ellen Wheeler was wise to talk to her trustee-friend former Cupertino USD Trustee Lacey (former California School Board Association President) . Like Cupertino's last Superintendent, Gudalewicz, even the seemingly 'well protected' administrator can fall before an electorate that throws out a Board majority. The last Cupertino board president, Lacey, came in 4th of 4, in a race for 2 seats (Nov 2016).

As usually the case - the Voice has pretty much reported this 'as it is' (I supported the effort in 2013? to continue this program when it was suggested to my Board to close it).

As one of the few local districts in the heart of Silicon Valley who offer an Independent Study Program (ISP), MVWSD is ahead of the curve by understanding homeschooling as a growing trend in education.

The ISP is a hidden gem that the district should be proud of and that could easily grow as the other two successful district choice programs (Stevenson PACT and Mistral Dual immersion) if given the chance.

The beauty of the MVWSD ISP is that it combines the benefits of the traditional classroom with the flexibility of homeschooling creating an environment where children can interact with peers and teachers and develop a feeling of belonging to a community that values and celebrates diversity.

To quote the MVWSD Strategic Plan 2021 Vision Statement: “Every student, family, staff and community member is engaged and committed to learning in a collaborative, diverse and innovative partnership.”

As a current ISP parent, I can assure you this is the very essence of our wonderful program.

Our schools can't afford this because of all the double dippers, like the school former superintendent Barry Grove, picking up a huge pension while picking up a huge salary. No wonder our schools are always begging for money.

The declining enrollment of the ISP is actually an artifact of the district funding model. Years ago, before I came on board, the ISP was able to serve students outside of the district, and ISP was actually a money maker for the district.
Students outside of the district are no longer allowed to enroll, so it is capped at 15 students.

Since I have been here in 2013, we have maintained a population of 15 students, each year finishing the year with more students than we start out with- because each year at least one or two students come into our program mid year in need of an alternative.

Again, I think the district should be praised for offering such an innovative community minded program for our children who homeschool for a variety of reasons. These reasons include(but are not limited to) - the classroom being a poor match for a child's or family's needs, family medical problems at home-where children need extra emotional and academic support that can be better met through homeschooling, or a deep belief in homeschooling.

So, this program costs about $4000 per student. How does that compare with students at regular neighborhood schools? (a quick Google search seems to indicate it's probably less than half) If it's less, wouldn't it make sense to expand the program, not eliminate it?

I'm glad to see the ISP go. I work on the campuses from time to time, and I often wonder if ISP parents have any idea about how much is offered to students, experiences that they can't possibly provide. The thought of a child's social isolation is beyond sad to me.

[Post removed due to disrespectful comment or offensive language]

I'm glad the neighborhood school is working out for you, Harvard Mom.

It doesn't work out for everyone. My son has extreme noise sensitivity following a concussion. I can't imagine a class of 30 kids that is quiet enough to not give him massive headaches.

Closing the ISP, or restricting enrollment, just means we have to home school with less support. The alternative is daily headaches for my son.

Just for clarification.
The MVWSD Homeschool Program is a parent choice program in the district. It is a public school. Just like Mistral or Stevenson are public schools.
We have a wonderfully diverse population and are not “afraid of children with darker skin.” ( My own children are half African.)
The beauty of an ISP program within a district is that it does provide social opportunities for children for whom the classrooom does not work. I work hard to foster a sweet community. One of the most endearing aspects of our community is that the children play across age groups— 7th and 8th graders with young children - under the watchful eyes of me and parents. And they are very kind to each other. Bullying does not happen.

The District doesn't want the competition.

Give'em hell home schoolers! You're the embodiment of F R E E D O M.

Yes because every parent deserves to go see Aladdin on the districts dime. How is that related to standards? Maybe all 5200 students and their parents should have been offered the chance to go.

The math of one of the above parents is correct. It currently costs less than half the dollars to educate Our District's Students in ISP than to put them in a regular classroom. Which makes perfect common sense - there is much less direct (paid) teaching staff time because parents provide most of it!

Which no "out of district kids" there is therefore no logical reason, no financial reason, to limit this program to 15 kids. That is an artificial constraint (sorry - I did not realize that when I was on the Board).

I do not think the district administrator - overseeing this program has any background AT ALL in home schooling - I wonder if it is contra to her personal emphasis and experience in Special Education. Or is this an effort to nickel and dime? These kids and parents OUT: $57,000 more for another place? (MVWSD is "community funded", if it looses students supported by GENERAL FUND property taxers, it does not loose any GENERAL FUND revenue.

At about $500,000 for 5 school days at Yousemite nature camp, for all 8th graders - how comparatively expensive is ISP? District Insider - what is the math in your estimation? How does Nature Bridge directly relate to the state science standards? NGSS. 8th enrollment 487, $1,000 for one week (+ school staff overhead).

Insider, there are much better ways IMO to save $50,000 or $500,000 in MVWSD!

The comments here are a great example of the type of thing we'd love to have face to face discussions about. There's a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to homeschooling in general, but there's a huge misunderstanding about this ISP program.

I'm especially curious about this comment from District Insider: "Yes because every parent deserves to go see Aladdin on the districts dime. How is that related to standards? Maybe all 5200 students and their parents should have been offered the chance to go."

As a district insider, you must know that the district approves the field trips, and that we use our allotted budget to plan the field trips each year. We come in under budget every year, at least for the last 2.5 years I've been in the program. We aren't taking any money away from anyone else, we are using a very inexpensive field trip budget that is built into the program cost.

Not every parent gets to attend, only one parent per student is allowed. This makes sense since I, as a parent, am the one who teaches my child about the subject matter. We had weeks of conversations leading up to, and after, the performance. We checked out every Aladdin book from the library, even visiting other local libraries to make sure we had as wide of an assortment as possible so we could compare and contrast the stories. My daughter even learned about how Disney's Aladdin has been (rightfully) criticized for perpetuating stereotypes, something that feels crucial to discuss in our current political climate. Live theater absolutely is related to the standards, and our teacher even submitted each grade level's standards that applied when asking for approval for this particular field trip. But again, as an insider you probably already know that.

Did you know that when the tickets were purchased (at the deeply discounted school group rate) we were provided with an official study guide from the Disney Theatrical Group Education Department? It's 37 pages long and filled with various worksheets for written assignments, specifically for Social Studies and Language Arts. It's amazing that they designed such a well developed resource for the students who see the show.

I think every single student in the district, all 5,200 of them and their teachers, should absolutely be given the opportunity to experience such a fabulous performance! It really was spectacular. As a homeschooling parent I am doing the schooling that would've otherwise taken place in a classroom, hence why it doesn't make sense for every parent of typical classroom students to be included in every field trip, but as chaperones for a field trip they should totally jump on such an opportunity to join their child. I'm a huge proponent of continuing education at home after the final school bell, as I believe as parents we are our children's first and most important teachers. So yes, I would really love for more students to have such experiences, and it would be even better if more parents were able to join in the learning! I don't know how classroom teachers do their field trips, but it would be great if they can fit something like this in their budget for next year. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is coming to SF next spring, and that would be such a great show to tie in for any classes who read that book.

I hope that clears up some of the questions anyone might have about the validity of taking such a field trip.

An earlier commenter wrote, "Yes because every parent deserves to go see Aladdin on the districts dime. How is that related to standards? Maybe all 5200 students and their parents should have been offered the chance to go."

Yes, one would hope so! I would rather aspire everyone to have such enrichments than to take away it from those who do.

We will rob the very soul of elementary and middle school education if we didn't encourage more students across all school settings to experience real life culture. The moment education becomes nothing but state standards, it would be a sad day for education.

RE: ALADDIN on the districts (district's) dime
Lying between pages 82-115 of this document, Web Link is a detailed answer to the question “How is that related to standards?” You will find listed here the 'Theatre Content Standards', part of the "Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools." The content students need to master by the end of each grade level, Pre-K through 12, is listed, divided into the following five strands: ARTISTIC PERCEPTION; CREATIVE EXPRESSION; HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT; AESTHETIC VALUING; and finally CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS, APPLICATIONS.
Disney provided a wonderful assortment of assignments for kids which align to the CC Standards. The "Study Guide for ALADDIN Broadway’s New Musical Comedy" includes the following standards: CCRA.R.1–R.4 and R.6–R.8; CCRA.W.1–W.4, W.7 & W.9; CCRA.SL.1, SL.2, SL.4–SL.6; CCRA.L.1–L.3 & L.6; RH.1, RH.2 & RH.6-8.2; and WHST.6–WHST.8.7 & WHST.9.

On a personal note: Using the encouragement from this CA.gov document to “take the standards and design curricular and instructional strategies” my son and I read the story of Aladdin before attending the play (RL.7). Interestingly, he was Chinese in the original story; we never knew that! Since the theater, we have read other tales from 1001 Arabian Nights; good stuff albeit a tad violent. Did you know the most popular stories from this book were not even part of the original book of tales? Do you know why the collection of stories uses that title? Sorry, I get off-track as I get very excited about learning and teaching. He completed three of the imaginative assignments from the above-referenced Study Guide. During the assignment “Musical Roots” we visited videos of some famous old jazz artists. (MUSIC 1.0, 3.0, 4.0) He was completely impressed and gained respect for them, along with some dancers. Have you seen Jumpin’ Jive by Cab Calloway and The Nicholas Brothers? (DANCE 1.0, 3.0, 4.0) He then used his classroom textbooks and other literature to research and learn about the Silk Road, where these stories are said to have been collected (RL.9).

From the “Introduction” of the CA.gov document: “Dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts have endured in all cultures throughout the ages as a universal basic language. The arts convey knowledge and meaning not learned through the study of other subjects. Study in and through the arts employs a form of thinking and a way of knowing based on human judgment, invention, and imagination. Arts education offers students the opportunity to envision, set goals, determine a method to reach a goal and try it out, identify alternatives, evaluate, revise, solve problems, imagine, work collaboratively, and apply self-discipline. As they study and create in the arts, students use the potential of the human mind to its full and unique capacity. The visual and performing arts are a vital part of a well-rounded educational program for all students.”

Regardless of how you feel about the merits of the homeschooling program, I find it extremely troubling that no one at the district office thought it worth a few moments of time to inform the families in the program, and the teacher who was running it and depending on that salary, that they were considering discontinuing the program.

Sadly, this is a pattern that shows up again and again with our current supe and his staff. Don't we pay a communications officer a generous salary to communicate with the families paying taxes and passing bonds? I find the high-handed attitude really off-putting.

@troubling disrespect:
another proper/official venue for expressing your opinions on "Employee Evaluation: Superintendent", is the formal CLOSED SESSION community comment time before Superintendent Rudolph's quarterly(?) evaluation by the Board. The Board has (as C. Chiang intones) One Employee: The Superintendent.

Is the Board giving enough attention to this particular facet of Rudolph's employee performance? After all, the Board represents the community, and 'the super' is obligated to respect community values, or board members will pay for it at election time (Trustee Wheeler - please pay close attention to what happen to former Trustee/President Lucey at Cupertino USD in Nov. '16's election)

Send a letter to the Trustees (Trustees@mvwsd) before the evaluation closed-session meeting, and show up in-person if possible, to make the importance of your opinion clear.

I think this makes a more effective process than just posting (but I don't have any skin-in-the-game at present)

SN

For the Board to address why they have voted to close the program. It just makes no sense as it costs less to educate students in this program than it does in regular classes at MVWSD. Some students and families really depend on this program and cannot send their kids to a regular class.

Seems pretty heartless to just close the program down.