Trustees hear school‑climate update as district expands restorative practices and records declines in some discipline incidents

On Nov. 7, 2024, trustees of the San Mateo‑Foster City School District received a school‑climate update from district student services leaders, who described the district's ongoing shift to restorative practices, new training and staffing, and multi‑year reductions in recorded discipline incidents at several campuses.

Dr. Margaria, director of student services, and Dr. Chandro Alawa, assistant superintendent of student services, outlined a tiered approach that deploys counselors, restorative justice TOsAs (teachers on special assignment), student‑support TOsAs and district mental‑health clinicians. The presenters said the district now counts 22 community service specialists and additional staff roles focused on bridging families and sites with student supports. "We're embracing restorative practices," Dr. Margaria said, explaining the focus on repairing harm, teaching skills and centering student voice rather than relying solely on punitive responses.

The presentation described several program elements: restorative circles (which can be welcoming, academic or healing), structured mediations that aim for specific outcomes, student accountability projects that require research or community presentations, and an "Anonymous Alerts" reporting tool in its third year. Staff cited an example in which students investigated repeated 911 calls as part of an accountability project that brought families and local police into the learning process.

District staff reviewed multi‑year discipline totals for individual schools and attributed improvements in part to consistent administrative teams, training and calibrated responses. The presentation cited figures for several sites: Abbot Middle School's recorded infractions moved from about 28 (Aug. 2018) to 16 currently; another site reported declines from 120 (2018) and 143 (2019) to 11 currently. Presenters said some campuses showed fluctuations year to year but that overall trends and other student‑survey measures pointed toward increased safety and fewer fights and incidents.

Trustees asked about resistance to the shift and about family perceptions. A trustee asked whether staff had seen pushback; presenters said acceptance among staff who responded to training was "in the high 80s," and they acknowledged that early and late adopters are expected. The district said collecting family perception data is a next step; a parent‑education session is planned for December and staff plan to add restorative‑practice modules to the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) administration scheduled for early February 2025. "We will share results and trends in early spring," staff said.

On equity, a trustee raised concerns about potential bias and continued over‑identification of Hispanic and Latino students in discipline records. District staff said they disaggregate and circulate monthly data to site administrators, provide implicit‑bias training, and lead state reporting tied to Comprehensive, Coordinated Early Intervening Services (often referenced as part of CCEIS reporting) to address over‑identification. "We keep an equity pause when we see disparities," staff said.

Staff also described site supports: counseling at every campus, wellness/peace rooms at several schools, care teams that convene social workers and counselors, and the availability of mental‑health clinicians by complex. They described a living progressive discipline and intervention matrix developed with principals to calibrate responses and to guide decisions about when police are consulted or suspensions are considered.

Trustees discussed attendance interventions that some districts have used, including walking school buses and bike programs. Presenters flagged a local bike event expecting roughly 80 students and asked for donated bikes and helmets; staff said they would coordinate donations through an identified contact, Susie Riley, and noted Samaritan House is also collecting donations.

Trustees praised the restorative direction and recommended stepped‑up multilingual communications to highlight successes, reduce misinformation and build family buy‑in. The board concluded the study session after a final roll call; trustees voted to adjourn at about 6:41 p.m.

Next procedural steps announced by staff: parent education in December, CHKS administration in early February 2025 with a spring update on results, and continued monthly data reporting to sites. The district said implementation will continue to deepen through further professional development and school‑level walkthroughs.