San Mateo-Foster City School District eyes North Central San Mateo campus

“We’ve needed something that goes this in depth for a long time and it’s going to make our district better for every single kid,” Trustee Noelia Corzo said during Thursday’s meeting. 

Trustees unanimously supported a recommendation from Superintendent Diego Ochoa to enter into a contract with PAN Ltd. for the design and implementation of a districtwide Equity Review and to develop a community-based school design for North Central San Mateo. 

Through their consulting work, PAN would assist in developing a work plan for the next phase of school design, including a campus vision and mission statement, program details for wraparound services and leads on school partners. 

Ochoa said the new campus is intended to better serve families in the North Central community. To do so, the district would invest $23 million into building new facilities at College Park Elementary School, a Mandarin immersion school. 

“If the design of the school is built around the concept of a community-based wraparound services school then the current facility at College Park is not going to facilitate that. The physical environment does not yet have the elements and the buildings and the components needed,” Ochoa said of the investment. 

While in support of the proposals, board Vice President Alison Proctor questioned whether the district had begun conversions around the changes with families of children at College Park. Ochoa has been meeting with the school community over the past few months and most recently last week. 

Families have appeared interested in better understanding what the change will mean for their students, Ochoa said, noting he intends on continuing conversations and is open to engaging directly with students on the issue. 

As for the Equity Review, the consultants would help facilitate community engagement to better understand what issues the district faces and to identify solutions, ultimately developing a series of priorities to address. 

“This consultative work will provide that external eye, that external expertise to be able to assist our efforts in making the San Mateo-Foster City School District more equitable for all students and certainly for the families whose feedback brought this issue to our attention,” Ochoa said. 

Trustee Shara Watkins shared her support for both proposals but also highlighted the importance of the Equity Review aligning with the district’s Strategic Plan currently being developed. 

District officials began the Strategic Plan process this September and have scheduled five meetings with the last slated to occur in December. Meanwhile, the Equity Review will begin this month and continue through next June. 

Once the review is completed, Watkins said the district would need to consider how to implement the findings into the Strategic Plan. Board President Kenneth Chin agreed, sharing his hope that the review would complement the Strategic Plan. 

“I hope this can get off the ground quickly so that it can actually help impact and provide some input,” Chin said. 

Looking toward future community dialogue, Trustee Lisa Warren encouraged the district to ensure it expands outreach efforts beyond Spanish speakers to include families who speak indigenous languages. 

Corzo also said the public engagement around equity may force the district into difficult conversations and encouraged the board and public to remain open-minded to challenging dialogue. 

“It might now always be comfortable work,” Corzo said. “It shouldn’t be comfortable work, not for anyone us included.” 

sierra@smdailyjournal.com 

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