It was a year of change and challenges for local schools as several longtime administrators left their posts, a new school opened and others expanded, and administrators began to face the vaping health crisis.

TIDE Academy, a new public high school in Menlo Park, opened for classes in August, but construction was ongoing because of project setbacks, according to school and construction officials.

The school also made some staffing changes during the year. In June, before the school even opened, Allison Silvestri replaced Shamar Edwards, who had been principal since July 2018. Edwards, who had also served as the district's executive director of small-school innovation and alternative programs, said she was surprised by her dismissal from her post. The district asserted that it had always planned to hire a new principal once the school was open.

Several other teachers and an administrator also left during the summer and early fall.

The district did not provide explanations for the other staffers' departures.

The Early Learning Center preschool in the Menlo Park City School District, which opened in 2018, added about 30 students during the 2019-20 school year. And officials from All Five preschool in Menlo Park's Belle Haven neighborhood announced they were raising funds to expand the preschool to infants and toddlers in fall 2020.

Board member, administrator news

In the Las Lomitas School District, Beth Polito, who most recently headed the Woodside Elementary School District, replaced Lisa Cesario, who announced her retirement in February.

After nearly two decades with the Woodside district, Steve Frank filled the district's top management post when Polito left.

Portola Valley School District Superintendent Eric Hartwig resigned at the end of the 2018-19 school year. Roberta Zarea filled that post on July 1.

After 13 years as the Menlo Park district's chief business and operations officer, Ahmad Sheikholeslami left at the end of October for a role in Pleasanton Unified School District.

Two local school boards welcomed new board members this year.

The Menlo Park district's board chose former member Mark Box as its new member in the fall. Box took the seat left vacant by Caroline Lucas, who resigned in August to teach in the district.

When Portola Valley district board member Michael Maffia stepped down from his post in the spring, the board chose Kimberley Morris Rosen to fill the seat. In August, Gulliver La Valle also resigned from the Portola Valley board.

The county canceled the district's school board election in November because the number of qualified candidates in the race was equal to the number of open seats. The candidates for the two open seats -- incumbent Brooke Day and Anne Fazioli-Khiari -- were appointed by the board.

Enrollment, tax measure

Enrollment dipped again this year in local elementary school districts, which is mostly attributable to families moving away from the area because they can't afford to live here, district officials say. For example, the Woodside district saw an enrollment decrease of about 6.8% -- from 411 students this time last year to 376 students as of Sept. 19.

The Portola Valley School District board passed a resolution this fall to put renewal of the district's parcel tax on the March 3 ballot. Measure O, which passed in 2013 with 69% of the vote and generates about $1.2 million annually, is set to expire in June 2021. Property owners pay about $581 per parcel annually, according to the district.Two-thirds of voters must approve the tax for it to be renewed.

Vaping crisis

School districts are grappling with what local officials are calling a national epidemic of teens using electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices. The Sequoia Union High School District reinstated student alcohol and tobacco use surveys because of the health crisis.

While the cigarette smoking rate is 3.1% among youth ages 14 to 18 in San Mateo and San Francisco counties, 20.8% of teens in those counties vaped in 2018, up from 11.7% in 2017, according to the San Mateo County health department's Tobacco Prevention Program. The 2018 rate of teens vaping in the county is "alarmingly high" compared with the statewide rate of 10.9%, county officials said.

Teacher pay, test scores

Teachers in the Menlo Park district received a 5% raise for the 2019-20 school year following the school board's passage of a "teacher compensation philosophy" that emphasizes giving teachers pay increases that are higher than what neighboring districts offer. As a result, teachers received a higher raise than they have in recent years.

The Sequoia district raised teachers' salaries by 3.35% for the 2019-20 school year.

Portola Valley district teachers and other certificated staff received pay hikes, including the potential for a bonus and a boost to overtime pay. District teachers, unlike other local educators, since 2013 have received raises based on their performance and their students' performance, and not on the number of years they have been in the district. The new contract established a $1,500 bonus for teachers who receive a positive annual evaluation. Under the previous agreement, teachers received a 1% raise for a positive evaluation.

San Mateo County students' standardized test scores remained stagnant during the 2018-19 testing period, but local students still outperformed their peers statewide.

Countywide, 61.3% of students met or exceeded English language arts standards, while 53.4% met or exceeded math standards. The numbers are within half a percentage point of last year's results. Schools in the The Almanac's coverage area maintained test scores consistent with the previous year's testing period.

Power shutoffs

In the fall, Portola Valley schools closed during PG&E's planned power shutoffs. The fire danger-related blackouts lasted several days.

Officials decided to reopen schools before the power was turned back on. Classes took place by lantern light and teachers conducted lessons on whiteboards, sans technology devices.

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