Esteemed colleagues,
I am a new employee of this school but have worked in a public high school for fourteen years. Something is going on here that needs to be brought to your attention.
Students are thriving here. There are very few acts of aggression, very few thefts, and very few emotional outbursts. Students smile and walk with purpose through these halls, on their way from and to someplace they are proud to be. Their requests in the front often involve replacement IDs and inquiries about where to sign up for community service. I hear please and thank you all the time.
Attention is paid to these students and it clearly shows. You've witnessed a tiny bit of it at the Board Meetings. It's pretty great to watch parents and grandparents stand up alongside their students, teachers and principals and take time from their busy lives so you can hear first hand what a difference this school has made. Community business people and church leaders have joined the refrain: this school matters. Enthusiasm is high as we embrace the new concept of community culture and personal accountability.
I hope you see with unbiased eyes what is going on here. Teachers work hard and thrive. There is a depth of commitment here among the support staff. We work late and attend weekend events because we realize it isn't just teachers in the front of the room who carry the torch and it doesn't stop with the 4:00 bell.
I define success in terms of developing intelligent, independent thinkers who conduct themselves with integrity and honor. We are walking the walk, right here in the midst of a community where getting a hand up is rare. We listen and learn and dream and do. Isn't that really what Sacramento City Unified wants for all of its students?
Thank you for your time.
(The Charter was renewed for five years by a unanimous vote at the board meeting on Thursday, December 20, 2007.)
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