Dear Friends,
​                               
                  Clear eyes  *  Full hearts  *  Can't lose
  
This is the battle cry of Coach Taylor, on
Friday Night Lights, one of our family's favorite TV shows. As I transition from REF Executive Director to a board member role, these words are especially resonant and powerful.

Clear eyes
As you know, the challenges facing the Ravenswood community remain, and in many ways have grown worse despite the success of Silicon Valley. Today almost half of our students are in precarious housing situations such as sharing a small home with multiple families or living in a shelter. Also, the District grapples with serious budget challenges as it faces declining enrollment due to an increasing variety of educational options and families moving to less expensive areas. While I view this backdrop with clear eyes, I am more hopeful than ever about the future and want to tell you why.

Full hearts
As I reflect on where we've been and where we are going, I am both thankful and optimistic. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude to the generous, talented, and dedicated people I have come to know in Ravenswood - school principals, teachers, volunteers, donors, board members, administrators, and yard duty staff. Also, I believe we're at a point where we have the required ingredients for a true transformation of the educational experience of Ravenswood students.

REF's solid foundation of long-term stability, commitment to the District, and vision for the future:

• Because of supporters like you, we have grown into an organization with an annual budget of $5 million that directly and measurably improves the school day for every child in Ravenswood, through program investments in literacy, teacher support, the arts, mental health, STEM, high school transition, and summer school.
• We have over 600 community volunteers devoting precious time to adopt a teacher, keep libraries open, enhance science labs, and plant gardens.
• By partnering with the District over the past 12 years, we have developed a deep understanding of both the challenges and opportunities, and are poised to support transformational change.

 
Collaborative and visionary District leadership:

• We have a dynamic new Superintendent - Gina Sudaria. As a Stanford graduate and incredible teacher and leader in Ravenswood for two decades, Gina's roots in the community go deep. Just as importantly, she also brings to this new role a fresh energy, inspiring vision, clear wisdom, and an openness to strategically partnering with outside experts.   
• Already this year, under Gina's leadership, over two years of negotiations have culminated in a tentative new collective bargaining agreement. This new and improved relationship between District leadership and teachers will be necessary as we face difficult decisions such as the need to consolidate elementary schools. Gina is tackling the budget issues head-on, with a spirit of collaboration and transparency.
  

 
Dynamic new leadership for REF's next phase:

• I love REF and Ravenswood. You know that. When I first considered moving to a board role, there was one person I hoped would take REF into our next phase, and I couldn't be more thrilled that she was equally excited about the opportunities ahead. Jenna Wachtel Pronovost, REF's new Executive Director, has deep experience with Ravenswood and in the field of education. She's been a teacher in Ravenswood and Palo Alto, and a coach at the New Teacher Center. For her, coming to Ravenswood is like coming full circle, and her intelligence, warmth, and commitment will guide us well.
• We also have a dynamic and growing board, and donor and volunteer base that brings varied talents, experience, expertise and passion for REF and Ravenswood.
• As we set our sights higher, in the 2019-2020 school year, REF will maintain our initiatives that directly impact students, but we will expand our efforts to help transform the District, funding an analysis of teacher compensation augmentation, leadership support for principals and District leaders, and instructional coaching for teachers.
  
  

Can't lose
This is the point in Friday Night Lights when the team rallies together to go win the football game in dramatic fashion. Of course we all know that success in real life is never guaranteed. However, unlike a game of football, this effort we've embarked on together is about children's lives and futures.
 
Thank you for supporting REF. I hope you will join us with a renewed determination that together we WILL succeed in ensuring that every child in our community has the opportunity for an excellent education and the hope that brings.

Warmly,
  
Renu Nanda
Executive Director, REF
Rnanda@ravenswoodef.org

Dear Friends,

As important members of the REF community, I wanted to let you know that I intend to step down as Executive Director of the Ravenswood Education Foundation this summer. I will remain on the REF board and stay deeply involved in the community. I look forward to having a little more time to travel and visit family, improve my Spanish, and maybe perfect an omelet.

Being the ED of REF for the past eight years has been my dream job. REF has been an all-consuming passion and I've approached the role with the utmost sense of commitment and responsibility to the children, families, teachers and staff of the District. When I began, I was uncertain that I was up to the task. I had never run an organization, fundraised, managed a board, or worked in education. My overriding objective was to build a bridge in our community and create a shared sense of responsibility for educating all of our children. I am ever so grateful for volunteers, who lead with their hearts, donors, who open new opportunities for our students, Ravenswood educators, whose commitment and skill blow me away every day, and the families and students who deserve a quality education.

My transition is made easier by how much progress REF has made over the years and how much new hope and promise there is for the future in the District. Over the next few months, I hope to connect with you and thank you for your support of our community. I hope we can count on your continued commitment to REF, as your involvement has made a difference in the lives of thousands of children, and will continue to do so. Gina Sudaria, Interim Superintendent, is infusing everyone with her optimism and urgency to make improvements in our District. I am excited for the next chapter for Ravenswood.

The REF board has formed a Transition Committee to find a new Executive Director. As the board conducts its search in the coming months, it welcomes your input in identifying candidates. For more information please email here.

I know that together we will not only continue to do good work, but we can do transformative work. Please don't hesitate to reach out at any time.

Warmly,

Renu Nanda
650-380-0902
Rnanda@ravenswoodef.org
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Homelessness is the brutal reality for many Ravenswood school district students in eastern Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. 

"Maddie told her friends what was happening when her family was staying in the garage and how it made her feel. Since many of them had been homeless themselves, they took it in stride. 'They told me it was fine,' she says. 'They said nobody has it easy.' In their world, homelessness is not a crisis. It’s part of life." -Mercury News Article

Read More...www.mercurynews.com​

Thank you to Oracle for inviting the Ravenswood Education Foundation to be a part of its Focus on Education showcase! Oracle employees were happy to learn about REF and our exciting volunteer opportunities. 

If you're interested in volunteering with REF, please check out upcoming volunteer opportunities at our Volunteer page.

May 2017 CASSPP test scores reveal that 15% of Ravenswood 3rd graders read at grade level. Why are so many children not reaching this milestone? Ravenswood students face greater challenges than students in surrounding communities that make it hard for them to perform at their best in school.
 
In partnership with the Ravenswood City School District, REF is investing in reading intervention teachers. In 2016, REF introduced reading intervention teachers for third through fifth grade students. REF committed $200,000 to support two reading intervention teachers for the 2017-18 school year. The school district matched this investment with two additional teachers.

The teachers spend 50% of their time working with small groups of 3rd - 5th graders - about 50 students per year per teacher - to pinpoint problems and provide interventions for struggling readers, with the specific goal of raising their reading levels to meet grade level standards. The other 50% of their time, they coach English teachers to improve instruction the first time around to all students in a school.

​Thus far in the 2017-18 school year, results are promising. The reading levels of students who received small group instruction grew at a faster rate than students who did not participate in small group instruction. These results demonstrate a step in the right direction!

For the upcoming 2018-2019 school year, REF will support an additional three reading intervention teachers, for a total of seven in the district.

Join us on this important mission to ensure that our students are prepared for high school and beyond with a strong foundation in reading. Contact us at info@ravenswoodef.org. 
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