Good afternoon, dear colleagues. Here we are at the end of another school year. As we’re thinking more and more about how and why inequity plays out in our school (and so many other schools), I wanted to point out a few things about the phenomenon of summer vacation and how we might think about our last week with our beloved students.

If ever asked about summer vacation and why it exists, I might have said that it had something to do with the farm calendar without really knowing if that was true. I also might recall my own happy memories of summer—taking a break from school in a suburban environment where summer days were filled with raspberries, swimming, and lots of time with my grandparents. It turns out that this story about why we have summer vacations each year isn’t true and my memories as a white person growing up in the upper-middle class are not reflective of many other people’s memories or realities.

Here’s what happened. According to several recent articles, including one from PBS Newshour, in the 19^th century, there were two calendars—those used by rural districts in which students were on break during the spring and fall for planting and harvest, and those used by urban districts, where schools were open more or less year-round and school wasn’t mandatory—kids came when they could. In the days before air-conditioning, school buildings were very hot. Many wealthy families took vacations from the summer heat. When reformers in the late 19^th century decided that it was best to have a standard school calendar, they landed on the calendar that we still use today. You can hopefully see from this story that this decision was influenced by circumstances that are largely no longer relevant (i.e. lack of air conditioning in urban areas with hot summer temperatures) and by the interests of our moneyed classes (i.e. the desire to take substantial family vacations to avoid the heat.)

What we know now is that summer vacation isn’t actually helpful for the overall achievement and well-being of most children, especially our children from low-income homes. Most of our students will lose about two months of grade-level equivalency in math—our students from low-income homes will also lose about 3 months of grade-level equivalency in literacy, while middle income and upper-income students actually make slight gains. Most kids, especially those who are at high risks for obesity, will gain weight more rapidly during out-of-school months. Fifty-seven percent of kids of parents who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher participate in organized summer activities—12% of kids of parents without a high school diploma participate in organized summer activities. All this to say that this phenomenon of summer vacation plays out well if you live in a middle or upper middle class home where literacy is a regular part of life and your parent, who may or may not work outside of the home, has planned a summer schedule of organized activities. This is not true for many of our students. Remember that here at our school ___% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch—a family of four in San Francisco that lives on less than $36,000 per year.

So what happens? For our students living in poverty, which in San Francisco, disproportionately includes our African American and Latino students, there may be hungry days, days while mom(s) and/or dad(s) are working all day, days with a lot of television, time at our Boys’ and Girls’ clubs or other drop-in programs, scant support for navigating social and/or physical conflicts. I raise all of this to provide some context for behaviors you might witness this week as our students prepare to leave us for the summer. We do a great job here of providing a very predictable, loving, safe, highly structured environment where kids mostly focus on learning and socializing or playing with peers. The unknown of the summer or memories of difficulties or boredom or hunger from last summer can impact how some students feel about the last week of school.

Part of our work as educators for equity is to interrupt ways in which oppression plays out in our systems. This is an example of a very old system that largely benefits those with economic privilege in our country. While interrupting this system is going to take more than our awareness of it here at our school, holding an awareness about it can help us interact meaningfully and helpfully and with great care and love with our students this week.

Here are some things that I want you to think about this week and offer up to families as much as you can:

• Embrace your students with your loving hearts—leave them for the summer with memories of you as someone who deeply cares about them, their learning, and their families. Build in some time this week to check in with students individually to remind them of your love and care for them as unique and special humans.
• Remind families—all of them—that there are 65 sites that will be offering daily snacks and lunch throughout the summer for free to anyone 18 and under. We have the map of free meal sites posted outside of the main office. Tell them to pick up some extra snacks in case they feel hungry in the afternoon or evening!
• Many of our city partners offer free summer programs or activities that families can still sign up for. Our mayor, Ed Lee, just announced that the city will devote $1.8 million to fund summer programs so that all children on wait lists will have access. In conversations with kids or families, suggest that there are a variety of ways to find summer programs. They can call 2-1-1 and talk to someone who can provide options for summer activities in a variety of languages. They can stop by the public library where there are brochures about summer activities. They can use a computer to check out sfkids.org to see many options.

I know you have a busy week of activities, assessments, and closing procedures. Please find time among those responsibilities to be present with our students, to remind them of your love, and to hold in your heart the complexity of each of their situations. Here’s to our ongoing work together to make our school and our society a place where our beloved children truly have equal and abundant opportunity!

Related Data

• To qualify for free/reduced lunch in San Francisco, a family of four lives on less than $36,000 per year. (SF Gate, September 30, 2013)
• “Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income students also lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains (Cooper, 1996).” (The National Summer Learning Association)
• “Children lose more than academic knowledge over the summer. Most children—particularly children at high risk of obesity—gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school during summer break (Von Hippel et al, 2007)” (The National Summer Learning Association)
• 2% percent of students ages 6-20 who were enrolled in grades 1-12 who’s parents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher were enrolled in organized summer activities. 12.1% of students who’s parents don’t hold a high school diploma were enrolled in those programs. (National Center for Education Statistics, May 1999)
• In the 19^th century, there were two calendars—those used by rural districts in which students were on break during the spring and fall for planting and harvest, and those used by urban districts, where schools were open more or less year-round and school wasn’t mandatory—kids came when they could. In the days before air-conditioning, school buildings were very hot. Many wealthy families took vacations from the summer heat. When reformers in the late 19^th century decided that it was best to have a standard school calendar, they landed on the calendar that we still use today. (“Agrarian Roots? Think Again. Debunking the myth of summer vacation’s origins,” Saskia de Melker and Sam Weber, PBS Newshour, September 7, 2014
• Mayor Ed Lee announced on Thursday, May 21 that the city will spend $1.8 million to eliminate the wait lists for summer programs. (www.sfmayor.org)

It was a difficult day and night yesterday in Baltimore. I want to talk to you about it because our students may resonate with the anger that is driving the violence in Baltimore and because the issues that are plaguing Baltimore are not terribly different than issues that we and the rest of the United States are facing.

I’m sure you’re aware by now that Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man died in police custody last week. He had made eye contact with a police officer and had taken off running. The police ran him down and, while shackled in cuffs, he suffered a spinal cord injury and crushing of his voicebox that ultimately killed him.

Yesterday was his funeral. When school let out at 3pm, riots began in Baltimore. By the end of the day yesterday, at least seven police officers were injured, and there was violence around the community in the form of fires and looting that lasted well into the evening. There is now a curfew in place and many adults taking to the streets to protect young people from doing and experiencing harm. Schools are closed in Baltimore tomorrow.

What does this have to do with us? Many of our students, and in fact, many of us, are carrying accumulated sorrow and anger about the seemingly never-ending news about unarmed men of color being killed by police officers. Many of our students are unarmed Black males! The ongoing news makes them scared and us scared for them! Freddie Gray made eye contact with police and took off running. That was the offense that led to his death. There is tremendous anxiety among our Black men about behaviors that could be perceived as threatening or dangerous. For those of us old enough to remember or to have read history books, there are echoes back to Emmett Till, the young Black man who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 in 1955 for talking with a white woman. Sixty years later, we are still living in a time when Black men are quickly perceived to be dangerous and the consequences for even the most benign actions can be deadly.

Part of what young people are so angry about in Baltimore is the lack of communication from the police department about what happened to Freddie Gray—what his autopsy revealed, who was involved, and what, if any, charges are bring brought. The police department’s silence is feeding the fire, so to speak, of anger and fear that no one will be held accountable for this young man’s death.

The situation in Baltimore is still unfolding as we talk now, but I want to remind us that our young people may share the anger of the young people in Baltimore because they are young and, hopefully, their entire lives are still before them. That our students with dark skin face a future with so much fear and caution, with such different conditions than our light skinned students, is WRONG.

Please be open to listening to our students today—create space for them to talk about what’s going on—give them space to talk about their fear, their anger, and their hopes. We know that learning is difficult when fear and anger are at the forefront. Rationally, we know that burning buildings and turning over police cars doesn’t change the conditions that are affecting our young people, but give our students space to think about what’s happening in Baltimore—with your guidance. There are no easy or right answers—don’t preach—hold space, ask questions, and listen as authentically and thoughtfully as you can. Our young people deserve to be heard—their futures are at stake.