Dear Rosa Parks families,

I hope that you have enjoyed your Spring break and that you are looking forward to the rest of the school year. It was wonderful to head off to break enjoying our very first Rosa Parks musical “Character Matters” that Mrs. Gatts 4th grade language lab group produced. One of the great aspects of our language lab program is that it gives students the opportunity to do a variety of projects in the language arts and to get assistance at their level.

We are almost finished with our budgeting process for our school. Did you know that our PTA gave the school $77,000 of support last year? These funds helped us hire a Playworks coach, pay for counselors through our family resource center, hire after school tutors, purchase planners for students and provided the funds for over 20 field trips. This extra support from our PTA really makes our school a special place and we appreciate the efforts of this group. We will again be asking the PTA to support these programs that have become a key part of Rosa Parks.

Our staff and school governance council are working through the over 165 pages of comments from parents about our school. Over 90% of our parents feel welcome at the school, and feel that they are valued as partners in their child’s education. We work hard to foster strong positive relationships with parents and it is great to see that parents feel welcome here. There were a number of questions about language lab and we will work as a staff to better educate you about what we are doing during this time. Further we will continue to work to provide more academic rigor, especially for students who are above grade level.

A number of people have asked me about the potential changes in the TWI program and what my plans are for the future. As I said two years ago, my commitment to Rosa Parks Elementary is at least six years, if not longer. I really enjoy being the principal here and working with such a diverse and supportive community. I look forward to the rest of this year, and many happy years of learning and growing together in the future.

Best wishes

–Paco Furlan