Dear Presidio Parents, Guardians, and Families, 

We wanted to follow up about the results of the spring community survey and some next steps that Presidio is taking to address some of your concerns. 

We had 424 responses to the survey with fairly good representation of Presidio’s diversity--though families that are primarily English-speaking and who do not identify as BIPOC were somewhat overrepresented. 

A few key findings:

• There is a great deal of concern about students’ experiences with distance learning. Families are worried about both social-emotional impacts on students and potential gaps in learning. 

• The vast majority of families said their students’ confidence and competence with learning technologies had improved this year and most hoped that some of those tools--especially Google Classroom would continue to be used next year. 

• Teachers were named as by far the most important source of support for students during distance learning. 

• Most families are at least somewhat concerned about the safety of returning to school in person. Masks and vaccination stood out as the most important factors for families feeling safer. Families that identify as White were least concerned about safety; Black and Asian families were most concerned about safety.

• Families indicated that social-emotional support, mental health support, and increased time for socializing are among the most important kinds of support for transitioning back to in-person learning. Academic support for students who are struggling is also a strong priority. 

• Families would like to see more programs related to languages, sports, and science. 

To address the concerns raised by families, students, and staff, the plan and budget for next year that has been approved by the School Site Council includes (1) adding an additional member to the Student Support Services team to help meet students’ social-emotional needs; (2) funding for an instructional coach to support with the transition back to in-person school and assisting students who may have fallen behind over the past year; and (3) a commitment to identify and financially support opportunities/resources for student growth in math. 

We want to acknowledge again that this has been a tremendously difficult year for many families (and staff). While it is still not clear exactly what school will look like in the fall, we are confident that Presidio will have the resources to support our students in successfully transitioning back to in-person learning. 

This week, our 8th graders participated in the first of a series of facilitated conversations on race taking place in homerooms. Next week, our 6th graders will have the opportunity to participate in these circle-based conversations on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in homerooms. The questions guiding the conversations are:

• What does race mean to you? Is race an important part of your identity on a daily basis?

• When are you most conscious of your race? Share an experience of being particularly aware of your race.

• When are you most aware of the race of others?

We invite you to engage in these conversations at home if you are ready, we offer this website as one of many resources to support this conversation: https://www.theconsciouskid.org/resources .

Yours in Community. 

Ms. Dunbar

Upcoming Events @ Presidio

4/9                   Registration for 6th & 9th Ends
4/9-4/10           Kasa Indian Eatery Fundraiser
4/11                 Yearbook Photos Due
4/14                 Yearbook Workshop
4/16                 Principal Chat
4/16                 AAPAC Meeting
4/18                 Yearbook Custom Pages Deadline


See below for further details for each upcoming event

• President
• Secretary - filled!
• Treasurer

• Stop AAPI Hate to report any and all instances of anti-Asian hate crimes and violence;
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice to report instances of hate and to read the stories of those who have been impacted by anti-Asian hatred & violence; 
• Asian Mental Health Collective if you are in need of mental health support and/or services;
• Anti-Asian Violence Resources which is a REALLY comprehensive website with links to news updates, report incidents, learn to be a(n better) ally, and/or where to donate; 
• Donate to Asian-Americans Advancing Justice;
• Donate to those affected by yesterday's hate crime.