Burlingame High School has started the year with a new principal, major campus construction and a districtwide cell phone ban, while the San Mateo Union High School District board prepares to hear Start of School reports Thursday, Aug. 27.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the district office, 650 N. Delaware St., San Mateo. Families can also join by Zoom using Webinar ID 955 8452 1141 and passcode 995656.
Start of School reports
According to the meeting agenda, administrators will deliver Start of School reports to the board. The district has not published details about what those reports will cover.
Lauren Kelly became Burlingame High School principal July 1. The $106 million Classroom Transformation Project, funded by the voter-approved Measure L bond, also began work at Burlingame and Capuchino high schools this summer. The board unanimously approved a districtwide bell-to-bell cell phone ban in March for the 2026-27 school year.
The district also held a public hearing on declining enrollment at its Aug. 13 meeting. It is not clear whether updated enrollment figures will be part of the Aug. 27 reports.
Multilingual Learner PLC Fellows
The board will also hear a presentation on the Multilingual Learner Professional Learning Community Fellows Program.
The district serves about 1,000 students currently classified as multilingual learners and another 2,000 former multilingual learners, according to its program page. About 30% of district students are bilingual.
The agenda does not provide details about what the PLC Fellows presentation will cover.
Griffin Leadership Award
The board will also present the Robert H. Griffin Leadership Award.
The award is named for longtime trustee Robert H. Griffin, who has served on the board since January 1996. The San Mateo Daily Journal reported that the inaugural award went to Dr. Samia Shoman, principal of Bridge Academy, in December 2025. The district has not named the Aug. 27 recipient in the available agenda material.
Other business
The board will also consider a memorandum of understanding with Santa Clara Unified School District, personnel actions and an updated AVID Adult Tutor job description. It will also review Board Policy 3100.05 on the district's contra account reserve.
Residents can submit public comment by emailing [email protected].
