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Ravenswood City Elementary School District board meeting, Sep 24, 2026

3 h 51 min · 17 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 3 h 51 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Ravenswood board hears Aspire East Palo Alto charter renewal presentation; no vote taken 35:18

  • One motion carried 5⁠-⁠0 and another carried 4⁠-⁠0. 19:32
  • The Ravenswood City School District board heard an informational presentation from Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School on its renewal for 2027 to 2029, followed by trustee questions and public comment. 35:18
  • The chair said there was no vote on the charter item, and a staff member said a recommendation would be presented for the board to consider October 22nd. 1:28:05
  • District staff then presented beginning-of-year vital signs data on language and literacy, attendance and talent, and trustees asked questions about how data reaches parents. 1:45:31
Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 18:24
    • The meeting was called to order at 6:16 PM, and a quorum was reported with all trustees present. 18:24
    • The motion carried 5⁠-⁠0. 19:32
  2. Public comment on non-agenda items 19:34
    • Jenny Varghese Bloom said each speaker would have 2 minutes. 20:09
    • A speaker said the board is not allowed to respond to public comments on items that are not agendized and that people could follow up with the superintendent or email board members. 21:53
    • Speakers at public comment raised the halting of a planned jazz band trip to a Polynesian festival in Hawaii, with one speaker saying the cost appeared to be $50K. 22:43
  3. Board member comments 27:08
    • Samuel Tavera announced a senior prom hosted by the Senior Advisory Committee of the City of East Palo Alto from 5 to 10 PM the following night. 28:27
    • Samuel Tavera also announced a city Coffee with Conversations event tomorrow at Mega Mart at 9:00 AM with the city's new chief building official. 28:27
  4. Superintendent's report 31:43
    • The superintendent described learning walks at Los Robles Ronald McNair Academy and Castaño School of the Arts. 31:48
    • The superintendent said goal-setting meetings with families were scheduled for September 30th, October 1st, and October 2nd. 33:02
  5. Public hearing on textbook sufficiency 33:41
    • A staff member said the hearing let the community comment on the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials, and that Resolution Number 2707 was on the consent agenda. 34:04
    • Asked about a postponement from the last meeting, a staff member said the issues had been resolved. 34:32
    • There were no speakers, and the hearing closed at 6:33 PM. ~34:59
  6. Charter school renewal presentation 35:18
    • The school's presentation said EPACS reduced chronic absenteeism from 47% in 2022 to 25.2% in 2025 and that 13.5% of its students met or exceeded standard in math compared with 7.1% district-wide. 41:33
    • During questions, speakers asked about total enrollment, data on African American students and how the school communicates with parents. 50:54
    • Speakers at public comment asked the board to renew the charter, and a staff member said the charter expires in June 2027. 1:11:12
  7. Vital signs on language and literacy 1:30:25
    • A staff member said 46% of kindergarten to 2nd grade students were at or above benchmark at the beginning of the year, compared with 37% last year and 21% two years ago. 1:48:31
    • Staff said grade 6 ELA blocks were extended from 45 minutes to 80 minutes. 1:54:18
    • Jenny Varghese Bloom asked whether student data and its interpretation could be sent to parents electronically, and a staff member said the district could look into it. 2:11:24
  8. Vital signs on attendance 2:32:23
    • A staff member reported average daily attendance of 93.6% compared with 94% last year, and chronic absenteeism of 29% last year against a goal of under 30%. 2:33:00
    • Samuel Tavera asked how many outreach coordinators the district has, and a staff member said there is one per school site. 2:40:35
  9. Vital signs on talent 2:44:09
    • A staff member said the district had 35 identified teaching vacancies in the spring and 2 remaining this week. 2:44:18
    • Samuel Tavera asked what the fall staff listening process showed, and a staff member said one had not been done this year yet and described themes from last year's staff survey, including consistent supports around student behavior. 2:48:55
  10. Consent agenda 3:10:09
    • The chair called for a motion to approve the consent agenda, and a motion and second were made. 3:10:09
    • The consent agenda was approved 4⁠-⁠0. 3:10:45
  11. Closed session and adjournment 3:10:49
    • The board entered closed session at 9:09 PM and returned at 9:48 PM. 3:10:49
    • The next regular meeting was announced for October 8th, 2026 at 6:00 PM. 3:50:16
    • The chair reported no action on items 7A1 through 7A3 and that direction was given on item 7A4. 3:49:50

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Ravenswood Regular Board Meeting - 9/24/26 - via Zoom Video”