District says nearly 1,000 responses shaped draft vision; board to review final language in May

District staff updated the board on the community‑driven process to produce a draft vision statement for the San Mateo‑Foster City School District.

Lisa (staff member leading the process) said the district collected nearly 1,000 survey responses — roughly 40% from students — and held a community meeting that drew about 250 participants. A 44‑member vision design team representing every school drafted and revised proposed language, then debated themes such as whether statements were aspirational enough and how to reference technology and specific student subgroups.

"What was really great to see is that this vision resonated with the majority of people," Lisa said, describing a majority in the 60–80% range who found the draft aspirational and worth supporting. The team identified eight qualitative themes in the feedback and is prioritizing edits that make the language more aspirational and clearer on topics such as age‑appropriate use of technology.

Staff described a two‑step review process: a 13‑member vision leadership team will parse last night’s meeting notes and produce revised language for a May 6 meeting; the full 44‑member group will then review the leadership’s draft. The board is scheduled to consider a final draft at the end of May. The superintendent said the process will feed into the district’s strategic planning and implementation teams.

Board members asked about representation in the survey responses and whether the next draft would be significantly different. Staff said they would provide disaggregated response data on request and expected the next submission to be a refined, near‑final draft informed by community comments.

Ending

District staff asked the board to expect a near‑final draft at the May meeting and outlined the next steps for community engagement and implementation planning.