In this edition ...

• Teacher and staff housing: Most employees qualify
• MVWSD financials get highest rating
• October safety drills coming up
• Supporting your student’s digital citizenship
• High Fives: Lunch with our kinders
  

The staff housing facility under construction now on Shoreline at Middlefield will provide below-market rate rents for district teachers and staff. MVWSD is pioneering this approach to affordable housing to attract and retain staff who can live, teach and work in the community they serve.

123 units will be offered first to District teachers and staff who must qualify based on certain income levels. Most of our MVWSD employees (based on one-person households) have income levels that will qualify them for this housing when it opens in 2024.

Our below market rate projects will address the needs of most teachers. We negotiated a higher Area Median Income (AMI) level of up to 120% for our housing project with the goal that it will assist all of our teaching staff. Most of our new staff fall into the low income range, and all of our teachers and staff fall under the moderate income range (120% of AMI) for a one-person household.

Despite our continued attempts to raise salaries, our starting salaries for most employees still fall under very low and low income categories. Our top-end staff and teacher salaries are under the “moderate income level” or $141,550 (one person household) which is 120% of the AMI and would qualify a one-person household for MVWSD staff housing.

The District will hire an experienced housing management company to handle all administrative, tenant-qualification, operations and management duties for the building. We will update you when we have specifics on rental rates and how you can apply.

For more information and pictures of the project, please see this webpage.

MVWSD was recently upgraded to AAA by S&P, which is the highest rating, for the district’s “extremely strong capacity to meet financial commitments.” As a result, MVWSD will attract more investors when they go to issue bonds.

The district's community-funded status as well as its voter-approved parcel tax means it has decreased reliance on the state for operating revenue. This status has contributed to a trend of strong financial performance and very strong available reserves. The stable outlook reflects Standard & Poor’s view of the District's strong and stable tax base and good financial management practices.

As part of October Safety Month, we are busy training and planning our earthquake and dangerous intruder practices. Students and staff members will practice “duck, cover and hold” on Oct 27 as part of our annual earthquake drill. Sometime during the week of October 24, students and staff will practice what to do in the case of a dangerous intruder. Your principal will let you know your school’s date.

Please see Dr. Rudolph’s letter here for the importance of these practices and how we approach these subjects with sensitivity. For a safety plan overview, please go to this link.

MVWSD is marking the effort to help students take ownership of their online lives and empower parents to guide students in making smart online choices when the annual Digital Citizenship Week starts Monday.

This month, teachers are starting the first lessons of the Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum. These age-appropriate lessons cover concepts in the areas of Media Balance & Well-Being, Privacy & Security, Digital Footprint & Identity, Relationships & Communication, Cyberbullying, Digital Drama & Hate Speech, and News & Media Literacy.

Here’s how parents can help:
   * Ask your student to tell you about what they’ve learned, and talk to them about how their online behavior should follow your family’s expectations and values.

   * Explore and implement suggestions found here (Family Resources) including guidelines on social media, parental controls, screen time, internet safety, and much more.

   * Attend the webinar with My Digital TAT2 about supporting your student’s digital health on Thursday, November 3rd from 6:00 - 7:15 PM. Learn about what young people are doing online and how they are affected, and strategies for how to support responsible, mindful, and healthy use of the internet, social media, and gaming. Hosted by Landels Elementary, but all are welcome. Click here to register.

Forming good habits now will help students be wise and safe consumers of the internet and devices in the future.

Lunch with our kinders: Happy National School Lunch Week, MVWSD! Who better to help Dr. Rudolph get his lunch than our very own kindergarteners? Check out this video here. 

Comienzo Fuerte (Strong Start), part of our new Parent University Seminar Series, is underway, with over 60 families logged on and actively participating! Big thank you to our partners, the Foothill College Family Engagement Institute for their support of this program.