In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Borel Middle School Teacher and Drama Director Alyssa Goldrath and the cast of Goosebumps The Musical!

This episode spotlights the very unique journeys each student had during the making of the musical. Regardless of your background, the arts play a pivotal role in nurturing students' creativity, and we take immense pride in our district's thriving theater program, providing a platform for students to explore their artistic potential.

Get your tickets now: https://ow.ly/b3ZB50QJrLp

In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by two rock star teachers, Ms. Lang and Ms. Dixon, and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Elementary Schools, Pam Bartfield.

Our educators dive into the spirit of collaboration that's reshaping our approach to teaching by highlighting how our teachers have been revolutionizing the way our students learn how to read.

 Our conversation is an intimate look at the supportive teaching environment we cherish, highlighting the resilience required to foster educational triumphs that aren't always immediately measurable, but with the right systems, can see the results we expect. 

In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by two Teachers on Special Assignments for Literacy, Ms. Nicole Habeeb and Ms. Larissa Kenny,   and the Director of Curriculum Instruction for Elementary Schools Pam Bartfield. 

The three discuss our focus in early literacy at the San Mateo-Foster City School District, highlighting system changes, professional development, and an upcoming 1st Grade Literacy Summit by teachers, for teachers!

In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by the Principal of College Park, Angienette Estonina, Teacher Yaou Liu, student Quincey and parent Helen. This culturally rich episode highlights the various events College Park holds to foster global citizens at their school. As a Mandarin immersion program, College Park embraces not just Mandarin as both the language and a culture, but makes time and space to include the diverse student body and the cultures they bring.

Meet the wonderful Principal at the annual Fiesta de Opciones | Festival of Options on Saturday, December 2, 2023! Our College Park team as well as our other magnet programs will be ready to welcome our community from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm at the College Park campus, 715 Indian Ave. San Mateo!

In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Coordinator of Enrollment Stephanie Gibson and Administrative Assistant at Meadow Heights, Robyn Holmes. The three shed light on the district's intentional approach to our enrollment season. Through the shared experiences and insights from district staff, we aim to share how all actions, like knowing a student's name, can make a world of difference in making families feel welcome.

We'd like to welcome all families to attend our annual Fiesta de Opciones | Festival of Options! The district's innovative approach to welcoming families to meet our district magnet programs and providing on-the-spot registration and transfer requests!

Our magnet programs include our language immersion programs such as College Park Elementary (Mandarin) and Fiesta Gardens International School (Spanish). We also have two public Montessori programs, North Shoreview Montessori and Parkside Montessori.

What if you could influence the structure of your child's school, ensure they receive a quality education, and foster a vibrant community while doing so?  In this podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Dr. Christian Rubalcaba, Director of School Leadership, Anavela Calderon, a student from San Mateo Park School, and Tania Toala, a parent with children in the district. The four discuss the community schools project and the impact our community makes to create a school that serves their needs.

Together they paint an inspiring picture of parent empowerment and community engagement in the school district, demonstrating the potential for a better school environment through collaboration and open dialogue.

Learn more by visiting the Community Schools webpage on the district website.

In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Dennis Hills and Teacher on Special Assignment for LGBTQ+, Israel Cruz. The heartwarming episode provides our community with a journey into the world of educators who go above and beyond in their commitment to fostering inclusivity and acceptance.

The LGBTQ+ ToSA position was created from the district's strategic plan. To provide ALL students with a support system that fosters inclusivity and acceptance for who they are, as they are.

In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast,  Superintendent Ochoa is joined by a top Footsteps2Brilliance user, Beatriz Oliveira Lima, and Mrs. Sandra Oliveita Lima. Beatriz Oliveira Lima is becoming a strong multilingual student who has learned to speak English within 30 days of using the F2B program. Their family arrived from Brazil in February 2023. This early literacy program gives our community a great example of how parents can create a strong routine and strong reading habits that make literacy fun!

Congratulations to Beatriz for all of her hard work in being able to learn English and beginning to speak Spanish, "pocito."

In this episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by student Yuito, a top Footsteps2Brilliance reader in the district, and his mom, Mrs.  Akiko Motomura.  The three discuss the usage of F2B and its power to provide Yuito with the tools to learn English since his move from Tokyo, Japan, in 2022. With barely a year and a half in Foster City, Yuito conducted the podcast entirely in English.

We are so proud of the fantastic work Yuito has accomplished here in the San Mateo-Foster City School District.

In this special episode of the oneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by three Empowering Student Voices Council members from Parkside Montessori, North Shoreview Montessori, and Abbott Middle School. The three decompress on the student panel led by Sueprintendent for the 2023 - 2024 Admin Launch in July 2023.

Learn more about the Empowering Student Voices Council.

In this episode of the OneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Restorative Solutions' very own President and co-founder, Randy Compton,  and principal, Lead Trainer, and Consultant, Catherine Childs. The three discuss the How, the Why, and the What regarding to restorative practice and restorative justice.

The district is excited about this partnership and for the nearly 600 district staff and employees trained in this field.

Learn more about Restorative Solutions.

In this episode of the OneSMFC podcast Superintendent Ochoa is joined by the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Elementary Schools, Pam Bartfield, and the Principal on Special Assignment for the Annex Afterschool program Tiffany Kiniris. In this episode, the three discuss all things Annex Academic Enrichment Camp! The third installment of our initial Turkey Camp during the fall break in 2022.
 
The district thanks the County of San Mateo for the generous summer program grant that has enabled us to give more support to students throughout the year!

In this episode of the OneSMFC podcast Superintendent is joined by Coordinator of Special Education Dr. Kristin Vogel-Campbell and Beach Park Elementary's Moderate/Severe Special Day Class Teacher Jeremy Jarvie! The three discuss what Extended School Year (ESY) is and how it is different than a regular school year for our students with special needs.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent is joined by the Director of Multilingual Learner Services, Aleyda Barrera-Cruz, the Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation, Mark Herrera, and the Principal on Special Assignment, Dr. Ryan Haven. The four discuss cross-departmental collaboration to create a safe, welcoming, and fun summer school experience for our students.

Visit our Summer School page to learn more about other summer offerings.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Executive Director for the San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation, Sonja Tappan, and Beach Park Elementary student Zach Thorpe. This student feature podcast highlights the strong community and equitable focus Zach brings to life in our district.

Zach highlights the impact of shoe waste on the environment and how GotSneakers has helped to reduce this waste and also provides shoes for many across the globe. Zach is inspiring and provides a crucial student-centered point of view as to how we can all make a difference toward sustainability.

From Zach: Our current sneaker drive will be at Foster City Elementary School from April 4-27, 2023. Please drop off your closed-toed shoes, in any condition, in our Got Sneaker? bins. All donations of shoes help support the sneaker drive and raise money to benefit all students in our district!"
 
Learn more about GotSneakers? fundraising program,
Learn about the San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Librarians Barbara Sibley and Jennifer Alfonso-Punzalan, and the Instructional Material Center Technician Joanna O'Brien. The four have a conversation about the strategies at play to increase diverse content in our libraries and broaden access.

Our school librarians have always provided an incredible service to our students, helping to expand their views of the world, through the books they read aloud during class visits, and by helping each student find books to check out that are just right for them!  

This year, an additional focus of our librarians has been collaboration on improving our school library collections, to make them more inclusive and culturally relevant.  This work includes researching and finding the best books, creating monthly cultural heritage library displays, and a complete audit of all our library collections.  We appreciate all their hard work!

Learn more about what our school libraries do!

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Assistant Superintendent of Education Services Davis Chambliss and Coordinator of Data, Evaluation, and Assessments Kiela Jimenez. The three discuss how the district is currently ranked on the new CA Dashboard.

The San Mateo-Foster City School District published the California Dashboard L3 Update document to walk families through how the district is doing overall and in the county.

Learn more about the L3 Report.
Read the California Dashboard L3 Update.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Director of Multilingual Learner Services Aleyda Barrera-Cruz, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Elementary Pam Bartfield, and Principal on Special Assignment for the Annex Afterschool program Tiffany Kiniris. The four discuss the upcoming Spring Break "Sunshine Camp" and Summer School programs, all made possible through a grant from the County of San Mateo. The district is strategically inviting students with academic need and economic need, to increase learning opportunities district-wide for all students.

Read the full press release on the district website.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by the Coordinator of Math, Amy Burke, and two 3rd-grade teachers, Kimberly Amoroso from San Mateo Park Elementary and Dawn Presse from Foster City Elementary. The four discuss instruction in 3rd-grade math classrooms and how engaged students have become with the new approach to math instruction—reinforcing students to understand concepts and procedures, problem-solving and data analysis, and communicating reasoning.

To learn about the district fall math internal Common Formative Assessment test scores, visit the District Math Gall Test Scores: Celebrating Gains and Strong 8th Grade Math CFA Scores.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Director of Special Education Heather Morgan, Assistant Director of Special Education Kira Walsh Nazario, and Coordinator of Special Education Monique Arbuckle. The four discuss the recent updates in the Special Education department, which includes a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst and Registered Behavior Technician teams. These teams collaborate with site leaders and our district special education coordinators to provide teachers and students with the necessary resources.

To learn more about this structure, visit our Special Education page.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by the Principal at Parkside Montessori, Nima Tahai, Parkside Montessori teacher Rebecca Castiglia and North Shoreview teacher Jason Humphrey. The four discuss the district's public Montessori programs, highlighting the unique and wholesome approach to teaching our kiddos.

Meet both Parkside and North Shoreview's administrators and PTA by joining us for the Fiesta de Opciones | Festival of Options on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at College Park Elementary School, 715 Indian Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401. The event will begin at 10 am - 2 pm in the Multi-Purpose Room. Learn more by visiting the Fiesta de Opciones page.
 
To learn more about our Montessori Programs and other magnet school programs, visit Our Magnet Schools page.

To learn about our Montessori Schools, visit Parkside Montessori's and North Shoreview Montessori's websites.

In this episode of the OneSMFC podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Dennis Hills and Coordinator of Enrollment Stephanie Gibson. The three discuss important dates that are upcoming for the 2023 - 2024 new student registration and transfer process. They also bring up an important event the San Mateo-Foster City School district holds for current and prospective families called Fiesta de Opciones | Festival of Options! This event provides our community with early on-the-spot registration assitance and transfer requests!

Learn more about Fiesta de Opciones by visiting our website.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by two Teacher's on Special Assignments (TOSAs), Peter Limata and Eleni Maynard, and the district's Math Coordinator Amy Burke. The four discuss the recent Math Fall Test Scores and explains further the district's strategies to achieve these results.

View the District Math Fall Test Scores: Celebrating Gains.
Learn more about the L3 Report.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by the Principal at Borel Middle School, Jessica Notte, Science Program Specialist Ian Kastelic, and one of our amazing educators teaching one of our College and Career Exploration (CCE) class, Mark Drumm. The four discuss the newly implemented Paxton|Patterson College & Career Ready Labs and how the students at SMFCSD have been engaging with the new curriculum.

Learn more about the Paxton|Patterson College & Career Ready Labs in SMFCSD.

In this episode of the OneSMFC Podcast, Superintendent Ochoa is joined by three dedicated and passionate individuals who help provide funds for students in the San Mateo-Foster City School District. Our excellent San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation partners are board president Annie Tsai, vice president Marianne Wallace, and executive director Sonja Tappan. The four discuss the upcoming SMFC Education Foundation Night at the Museum benefit gala! This year, funds will go towards the arts!

Learn more by visiting the San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation website.