About

The District Office will temporarily relocate to Beach Park Elementary School this summer while the roof is replaced and HVAC upgrades are completed at the Chess Drive facility.

Where to Find US?

Administration Office: Beach Park Elementary, 1058 Shell Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404

When Will the District Office Reopen?

We anticipate returning to the Chess Drive facility in August. Thank you for your patience during this temporary relocation!

This June, we're proud to raise the Progress Pride Flag at all of our school sites and district facilities. A visible reminder that every student, staff member, and family member belongs here.

Supporting our LGBTQIA+ community is year-round work. Through our GSA and Rainbow Clubs at every comprehensive middle school and several elementary sites, dedicated counseling support from our LGBTQ+ Counselor on Special Assignment, Israel Cruz, and Gender Support Plans for students who need them, we're committed to making sure every student feels safe, seen, and celebrated.

You belong here. 

Learn more about our LGBTQ+ support

"It has been one of the more original programs where I have been able to actually talk to parents, and see what their input is vs my input about schools and the school system," shared Caden C., Bayside Academy student who has been there from the beginning. Our students didn't just participate in a process; they helped write a promise. Every student in SMFCSD deserves to belong, to be challenged, and to leave school ready to shape a more just world. Now, for the first time, that belief is written down, and it belongs to you, our community.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the SMFCSD Community Vision, built over nine months by the families, educators, students, and community partners who live and work in San Mateo and Foster City.

The process behind this vision was as intentional as the vision itself. From a September 2025 kickoff through community meetings, surveys, and student-led conversations, thousands of members of the San Mateo and Foster City community leaned in:

• 2,300 community survey responses from families, staff, and residents
• 600 participants at Community Vision Meetings in September and December 2025
• 200 students, staff, and community members in the Imagine School Project
• 100 participants on inspiring field trips to Lindsay Unified, Design Tech High School, and Parkside Montessori
• 25 hours of collaborative sessions by the Vision Design Team

“This feels like a really inclusive process that really pulls from every voice that we are looking to hear from, wanting to hear from, and particularly with students,” shared Board Trustee Alison Proctor. And each time the community spoke, the vision changed. Families asked for language that was collective rather than individualistic. So "every learner" became "all learners.” 

Community members asked to see themselves in the vision, so a section was added defining the responsibility of all adults, not just educators. 

Parents asked whether students were being taught to be kind and to contribute to others, so the vision now explicitly commits all adults to model respect, empathy, and kindness, and to support learners in understanding and communicating their emotions. “It goes beyond our core principles and who we are now, but also captures where we want to go from here,” shares Board Vice President Gene Kim.

At its heart, this vision is a promise to every child in SMFCSD.

It promises that all learners will belong to a safe and inclusive community that prioritizes their well-being and mental health. It promises that learning will be challenging and collaborative, that students will grow from their mistakes, and that they will apply what they learn far beyond the classroom walls.

It promises that every adult in a school community will hold high expectations and foster a culture of confidence, a growth mindset, and independence. That physical spaces will be designed to support inclusive learning and whole-learner wellness. That technology will be used with purpose, not habit.

And it promises that educators will do the work that great teaching requires: designing multiple pathways for every learner to access grade-level instruction, connecting learning to real-world experiences and future pathways, and regularly using data and research-based practices to make sure all students are seen and supported.

Beginning in summer 2026, SMFCSD moves into Strategic Plan Development. The Strategic Planning Leadership Committee, drawing from Vision Design Team members and district leaders, will build the actionable roadmap that brings this vision to life across every school and every classroom in the district.

Read the journey to date:

• Kicking Off Our Community Strategic Plan: A Shared Vision for 2027–2032
• Superintendent Letter: Shared Commitments for a Stronger Future
• Learning without Limits: SMFCSD Visits Lindsay Unified to Reimagine Student-Centered Learning
• Superintendent Letter: From Imagination to Inspiration
• Celebrating Community Voices in Our District Vision
• Our Schools, Our Vision | Community Strategic Plan

Thank you to everyone who joined us at last week's Community Town Hall on the district facilities and potential bond. The staff, principals, parents, and community members who showed up asked great questions and helped make it a meaningful conversation. Your engagement and investment in the future of our schools drive this work forward.

For those who were unable to attend, we have a second opportunity to get informed and be part of the conversation.

Join us for a Virtual Community Town Hall: Thursday, June 4, 2026 | 5:30 – 6:30 PM

https://meet.google.com/pon-otgi-mbh

Come ready to ask questions and learn more about the 2026 Facilities Master Plan and a potential bond measure. Whether you are joining for the first time or continuing the conversation from last week, we want to hear from you.

We hope to see you there!

Questions? Contact us at facilitiesplanning@smfcsd.net.

Read the 2026 Facilities Master Plan

"When I first ran for the school board, I heard from pretty much every Foster City resident saying something needs to be done about Bowditch. Bowditch is a multi-generational school; moms, dads, teachers, and principals who attended decades ago all said the same thing: the build,” shares Alison Proctor, Board Trustee for the San Mateo-Foster City School District. On the evening of Wednesday, May 20, 2026, the Bowditch Middle School community celebrated a milestone decades in the making. The grand opening of Bowditch Middle School's new Academic Core and Gymnasium was more than a celebration; it was a community coming together to honor its students, its history, and its shared belief that every child deserves a space as bright as their potential.

The majority of the existing Bowditch campus was built in 1968. The iconic buildings had become part of Bowditch's identity, but they no longer reflected the kind of learning environment today's students deserve. Thanks to the passage of Measure T in 2020, combined with earlier Measure X funding, voters made an $86.7 million investment in Bowditch students. Truly a shared vision, backed by the community, to transform students' experiences in school.

In collaboration with the design firm HED Architects and construction by Rodan Builders, students at Bowditch now have 59,027 square feet of brand-new, daylight-filled buildings. This includes 26 classrooms, 6 state-of-the-art science labs, a black box drama room, a full gymnasium and locker rooms, a new library, a Counseling and Wellness Center, a staff lounge, and vibrant outdoor quads and gathering spaces. "This campus has undergone an extreme home makeover. What you're going to see today, the gymnasium, the wellness center, the library, classrooms, drama room, science classrooms, it's going to power the educational experience for kids in this community for the next 50 years. And that is truly something to celebrate," shared Superintendent Diego Ochoa, welcoming our community that evening.

Adding a uniquely personal layer to the evening was Principal Dr. Amanda Goll, who stood before the crowd not only as Bowditch's proud principal but as a Bowditch alumna herself. "Having the ability to come back now and have the privilege to be the principal here, knowing that this isn't only an experience for our current generation of students, but for generations to come, that means everything." She thanked her teachers and staff for their patience and grace throughout years of active construction, and the broader community for never losing faith in the vision.

Four Bowditch students, Carter L., Ismael G., Aiden R., and Nicole U., took the stage, and their words became the heart of the evening. Each spoke from their own experience, whether as an orchestra student eager to perform in the new gym, a multi-sport athlete who finally has the facility his team deserves, or an eighth grader who had the rare privilege of experiencing both the old and new campus firsthand. But it was eighth grader Ismael Gomez who perhaps said it best, with a grin and a grateful heart: "The only sad part is that I only get to experience it for three more weeks. But I'm just really grateful that future generations,  like my brother here in the crowd, will get to experience it for years to come." That single moment captured everything: the impact of this investment reaching not just today's students but every child who will walk through these doors for generations to come.

Trustee Proctor said it directly and from the heart: "Thank you to the voters and taxpayers who made Measure T a success. Because of you, Bowditch students now have facilities that match their talent, potential, and promise." But she was equally clear that a shared vision does not end at a ribbon cutting, because even as the community celebrated, windowless classrooms remain in use at Bowditch and across the district, a powerful reminder that there is still so much more to do.

The next phase, funded by Measure T, will complete this transformation by demolishing 2/3rds of the original structures, installing a new U14 turf field, and adding outdoor basketball, volleyball, and pickleball courts. Even as we celebrate today, windowless classrooms remain in use at Bowditch and at other sites across the district. T In collaboration with our community, we developed the 2026 Facilities Master Plan, which will continue to drive this work forward. 

From 1969 to today, this is what a community investing in its students looks like. And the best is still yet to come.

Learn more:

• 2026 Facilities Master Plan
• School Construction Projects
• Spaces That Bring Us Together: New Learning Spaces at Bowditch and Parkside
• SMFCSD Celebrates Milestones on Facilities Projects
• Building for the Future - June 2025 Construction Update
• Bowditch Middle School Groundbreaking - New Science and Drama Facilities Projects Commence!
• Questions? Email facilitiesplanning@smfc.k12.ca.us