Dr. Hart’s 2024-25 year-end note

As we close the 2024-2025 school year, I would like to extend my gratitude to every member of the Garfield community. Your commitment, partnership, and care helped us stay focused on what matters most: safety, learning, and student connection.

We are grateful that there were no incidents of gun violence on campus this year. Still, our school community has felt the impact of violence in the broader community, including the loss of students. We continue to mourn those we lost and recognize the lasting effect on their families, peers, and staff. These losses underscore the importance of maintaining our focus on safety, support, and connection for every student.

This year, with the support of our district and city, we strengthened several key safety measures:

• Alarms were installed on all side doors to ensure the main entrance is the only access point
• A secured vestibule was added to monitor building entry more effectively
• The number of campus safety specialists increased from two to four, providing more consistent supervision throughout the day
• On-site mental health services were expanded to support student well-being
• Our partnership with Community Passageways continued, including:
  1. Safe Passage staff stationed outside during lunch and after school
  2. Three full-time violence interrupters and case managers working directly with students

We look forward to continuing these safety measures next school year and building on the progress we’ve made.

Last week, the district provided updated staffing allocations based on revised enrollment projections. These changes included reductions in both general and special education staffing. As a result, we will revise the master schedule this summer. Our priority is to preserve strong academic programming and maintain as much consistency as possible for staff and families.

What We’re Focused on Next Year

Based on the feedback we’ve heard from staff, students, and families, our work next year will focus on:

• Aligning common classroom expectations and routines across the school
• Listening to students to better understand their experiences, elevate their ideas and solutions, celebrate their successes, and build a more unified Garfield culture
• Expanding opportunities to engage our diverse families and community members, with a focus on listening, partnership, and better understanding of the unique needs across our school community

We will work to strengthen our engagement with Razas Unidas, our student-led Latinx affinity group, by creating more intentional opportunities to hear from students and build relationships with their families. We will also work to establish new outreach and partnership efforts with East African students and families through collaboration with the Department of Neighborhoods. This engagement is essential to building trust and fostering partnerships that support student success across our entire school community.

On August 16, we will host Reclaiming the Village, our inaugural school-based summit focused on strengthening support for Black students and their families. This event will bring together students, families, staff, and community partners to build stronger school–home partnerships, identify shared goals, and strengthen trust. Families will also have the opportunity to meet community-based organizations that support Garfield students through mentoring, advocacy, and direct services.

The Garfield Student Senate will also expand next year. Students will play a more active role in identifying schoolwide priorities, naming challenges, and developing solutions. Centering student voices will be a core part of our ongoing improvement efforts.

Thank you for your continued partnership throughout this year. Together, we’ve laid the necessary groundwork for where we’re headed next. I hope your summer is safe and restful. We look forward to welcoming students back on Wednesday, September 3, and continuing this work with clarity, purpose, and a shared commitment to our students and community.