Menlo Park City School District

Providing professional development opportunities for teachers: During these days, teachers and leaders dive into the data from multiple measures using a strengths-based approach to better understand their learners. After analyzing the data, they create action inquiry plans in grade-level teams for their focal students.

Developing a personalized learning initiative for teachers: i3 (imagine + inspire + innovate) is a K-8 initiative to engage teachers in a more intensive innovation journey. Just as students thrive when instruction is personalized to address learner variability, teachers also thrive when they are provided personalized opportunities to learn and innovate in their practice. The cohort explores how to leverage technology to more effectively differentiate for students, document mastery, and build student agency. Teachers are supported with professional development, collaborative release time, and coaching.

Building relationships with families: The district hosts three bilingual Parent Cafes each year to better engage and partner with their College Bound families. Each Cafe is facilitated by a Parent Engagement Coordinator, with conversations in Spanish led by bilingual parents at each table group. Parents themselves identify the discussion topics, related to parenting and education.