Spectrum June 2013 Issue - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood ...

Community Interest
Redwood City Residents Take Public Safety
Into Their Own Hands
Redwood City residents are banding together and hitting the streets after
recent burglaries near their homes have left them feeling unsafe.
About 40 people hand-delivered fliers to their neighbors that detail tips
from the Redwood City Police Department on how to prevent burglaries.
Foster Kinney walked through the neighborhood near John Gill School. “I
did this because I want to meet more people in my area,” Kinney told Patch.
com. “I will concentrate on late afternoons, when more people are home, so I
can deliver the message directly,” Kinney said.
People were generally friendly and receptive, according to the block walkers.
As residents went door to door, they shared stories about their experiences
with burglaries. Kinney was told tales of burglars entering through open windows
and tools disappearing from construction sites.
Many of the volunteers who patrolled their neighborhoods said they were
inspired to take to the streets by “the LKs,” Larry and Loretta Knight.
Loretta Knight said she was very worried about how bold criminals are
becoming in her community. “There was a man going door to door, shaking
door knobs on James Street to see if anyone was home,” Knight said. “He was
obviously not selling anything,” she said.
Although she was not able to join her neighbors because of an injury,
Knight said that volunteers would be walking through Eagle Hill and the
Roosevelt neighborhoods each weekend through the month of June. The
plan is to get many Redwood City residents involved, so neighbors can get to
know each other and create a neighborhood watch.
Knight said she got the idea from Ernie Schmidt, chair of the Redwood
City Planning Commission.
On May 10, Schmidt shared a message with his neighbors on Nextdoor,
a private social network, asking them if they wanted to watch out for one
another. People immediately replied en masse. Schmidt gave 800 fliers to
volunteers to distribute.
“We had neighbors volunteering from Woodside Plaza, the Farm Hill area
and even San Carlos,” Schmidt said. “We are going to be hitting as many
neighborhoods as we can; we are not limiting it to our own neighborhoods.
Reason being is that we hope that we can inspire more neighbors to walk as
the weekends go by,” he said.
Some residents, such as Doraine Couillard, said they were able to do only
half of their planned routes because they ran out of fliers.
“I found that the people I actually got to speak with were both gracious and
receptive, and very happy to see that people are being proactive in this effort
to build a more secure community,” Couillard said. “I also found along the
way that many people have installed security systems, although it remains to
be seen if they are actually effective to deter thieves,” Couillard said.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared on www.redwoodcity-woodside.patch.com.
RCSD schools, including:
• Three RCSD schools — Hawes, Henry Ford and Taft — have been
removed from the state’s Program Improvement list.
• Three RCSD schools were named California Distinguished Schools:
Adelante, Orion and North Star Academy.
• North Star Academy was awarded a National Blue Ribbon Award.
• The district’s Academic Performance Index (API) score rose 24 points in
2012, the highest one-year gain since 2003.
• Several schools, including Kennedy and Roosevelt, made dramatic API
gains in 2012 of 81 and 62 points, respectively.
• Adelante, Clifford, Henry Ford, Hoover, Kennedy, North Star, Orion and
Roosevelt have received Kent Awards from the San Mateo County School
Boards Association for innovative practices.
• The entire RCSD K–3 teaching staff won a San Mateo County Literacy
Award for their work in using assessments to improve reading.
• The Redwood City School District was one of 11 districts statewide to win
a “Champion for Fitness” Spotlight Award from the California Governor’s
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Christensen has developed and strengthened partnerships between RCSD and
local government, businesses and nonprofit organizations, including Stanford
University, that have resulted in the district’s ability to continue providing
strong support services to students during a time of declining state revenue.
Christensen has been an active member of the Redwood City community,
serving as president of the San Mateo County Superintendent’s Association,
chair of the San Mateo County of Education SELPA Board, vice chair of
the Redwood City–San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce and on the
Sequoia Hospital Community Advisory Council. She was born and raised
outside of Detroit, Mich.
Christensen began her work in education in 1978 in Plymouth, Mich., as a
middle school teacher, teaching grades 6–8. In 1981 she moved to Alaska and served
in teaching and administrative positions, eventually serving as assistant
superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Anchorage School District.
She graduated from Eastern Michigan University, where she earned a bachelor’s
degree in history and minored in English. She also earned a master’s degree from
Eastern Michigan University in educational leadership. She has completed
postgraduate course work in leadership, curriculum and instruction at Gonzaga
University in their doctoral program. She has also been an adjunct professor
at University of Alaska, Anchorage, where she taught courses in curriculum
and leadership, organizational development and leadership, and politics and education.
Christensen was honored on April 29 at the Grosvenor Hotel in South San Francisco.
Redwood City School District Superintendent Jan
Christensen Named Superiendentent of the Year
Redwood City PAL Blues, Music, Arts and Bar-B-Que
Festival on July 27 & 28
Jan Christensen, superintendent of the
Redwood City School District, has been The Redwood City PAL Blues, Music, Arts and Bar-B-Que Festival on July
named Superintendent of the Year for Region 27 and July 28 features blues musicians from the Bay Area and beyond.
5 by the Association of California School This year, for the first time, the festival is going to two days of music! There
Administrators (ACSA). Region 5 includes will be a full range of blues musicians on Saturday. On Sunday, the stage
San Mateo and San Francisco counties. will include gospel, R&B and much more. The festival offers wonderful live
Board president Shelly Masur said, “As music, a family area with an arcade for children, and delicious food, and
board members we are proud of Jan. She is showcases Redwood City’s Courthouse Square, along with Redwood City’s
a recognized leader across the state and is downtown merchants and restaurants. Thank you to San Mateo Credit Union
consistently sought after for her input and for being a major sponsor this year!
thoughts. We know that our district’s children In its eighth year, the festival will feature a Bar-B-Que Cook-off Competition
directly benefit from all her hard work and are so grateful for her leadership.” sponsored by the Redwood City Downtown Business Group, where amateur
Christensen joined the Redwood City School District as superintendent and professional chefs compete for fun, plaques and barbecue glory. Plus, the
in May 2006. Under her leadership, the Redwood City School District has unique artist booths of Art on the Square will fill the square with stunning art
embraced educational reforms and new instructional strategies that have all day on Saturday and Sunday. Proceeds from this fun and exciting family
resulted in significant academic gains, a narrowing of the achievement gap
among its diverse student population, and numerous awards and honors by (continues on page 23)
The Spectrum 17