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With Super Bowl LX spotlight on Santa Clara, we explore how winning organizations build leadership and what that means for RCSD.
New Head Coaches should always come from a Winning Team
Playoffs are where new cycles of success will begin. Right after the football season ends, bottom-dwelling teams start firing their hapless coaches left and right. Any coach who misses the playoffs might be on the chopping block. These head coaches are gone and the search for a new head coach can begin. But where should they turn? Should they tap from the high school sidelines? How about the college ranks? How about a reverse Ted Lasso by hiring Pep Guardiola or Jürgen Klopp?
Now, would it surprise you to learn that most new head coaches are picked from teams that actually made the playoffs? Every season, those playoff powerhouses lose their offensive and defensive coordinators – and often several assistants – to the bottom-feeding franchises hoping to import some of that winning culture.
These struggling teams cross their fingers that the new hire soaked up a little of their old head coach’s magic by:
- Copying a few pages out of their playbooks
- Building a process of constant improvement
- Recognizing raw talent
- Inspiring their players to give 110%
The key is to find the assistants that embraced at least some commitment to excellence not just rely on locker room zingers like “Bear Down” (Chicago Bears), “Keep Pounding” (Carolina Panthers), “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (Liverpool), “Just Win, Baby” (Raiders), or “No Dickheads” (New Zealand All Blacks).
Has RCSD ever made the Playoffs?
According to Superintendent John Baker and his trustees, RCSD is among the bottom performers in education. Their go-to play has always been that they’d win more games if “only we had more funding.” But after 30 seasons of missing the education playoffs, it’s clearly time for a new playbook and a new head coach coming from a better coaching tree. It’s time to find a winner.
Let’s see if Trustees Cecilia I. Márquez (Area 5), Mike Wells (Area 4), David Li (Area 3), David Weekly (Area 2), Jennifer Ng Kwing King (Area 1) found a winner – someone who can move the chains in the areas of education, finance, and above all equity – because that leadership group can’t stop talking about it.
“The Only Way is UP”
After spending four decades in the basement, RCSD finally has the chance to go out and recruit a rising assistant from a top-performing team. The five trustees believe that Dr. Christian J. Rubalcaba is the coach.
Congratulations, Coach Rubalcaba – time to suit up!
“Dr. Rubalcaba brings deep Bay Area experience, having served San José Unified School District, Franklin-McKinley School District, and San Mateo-Foster City School District.” [rcsdk8.net]
His previous stops include three nearby school districts:
- San José Unified School District (SJUSD)
- Franklin-McKinley School District (FMSD)
- San Mateo Foster City School District (SMFCSD)
Can these districts be considered playoff-caliber programs with winning coaching trees? Time to take the field and find out.
Let’s play a game over four quarters to compare these school districts.
Category “Education”
This quarter, we are assessing the quality of Education across the four districts. For stats, we are turning to the California Reading Coalition and its 2022 Rankings.
“Reading is the most fundamental skill children must learn to succeed in school and in life.” [CAReads.org]
CA Reads published “Reading Report Cards,” ranking 285 of California’s largest and most diverse school districts – this is the education big leagues.
2022 California Reading Coalition Rankings
| Reading Ranking 2022 | School District | Reading Percentage |
| Rank 162 | Redwood City Elementary (RCSD) | 23% |
| Rank 170 | Franklin-McKinley Elementary (FMSD) | 22% |
| Rank 227 | San Jose Unified (SJUSD) | 18% |
| Rank 279 | San Mateo Foster City Elementary (SFFCSD) | 12% |
| Rank 285 | Ravenswood City Elementary (RCSD) | 4% |
Our new head coach comes from three programs that, statistically, performed worse than RCSD in the education rankings. It doesn’t exactly look like we recruited from a dynasty program with a championship-caliber Education Playbook.
But maybe Superintendent John Baker was right after all – maybe it really is RCSD’s superior funding that puts them at the top of this particular bracket.
Conclusion
Maybe calling Rank 162 a reason to take a victory lap might not be the Commitment to Excellence we are looking for. RCSD, FMSD, SJUSD, and SMFCSD all appear to be stuck near the bottom of those rankings.
Still, maybe it’s time to channel the Carolina Panthers and Keep Pounding. When your coaching tree comes from the league’s basement, you’re in the perfect position for a comeback drive. After all, when you’re pinned at your own goal line, there’s only one direction you can go:
The Only Way Is Up, Baby (Yes, you’ve been Yazzed).
To be continued …
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.
