Dear SFUSD Families,

Happy Women's History Month! Around the world, millions of people celebrate Women’s History Month in March. SFUSD continues to celebrate and uplift women, and gender diversity-- by ensuring that our students learn about and celebrate women, and by striving to have inclusive school communities. For instance, Bal EmpowHER is a group of young women at Balboa High School who stand up for themselves and others. They promote conversations about women’s health and rights in their community. Keep reading this month’s newsletter for more information.

National School Social Work Week 2023 is celebrated this year from March 5 - 11. San Francisco public schools are fortunate to have many different types of staff who support students and create a welcoming school environment. Here are a few examples:

• Sarah Aldama, the School Social Worker at Malcolm X Academy, is leading MXA’s first-ever Student Council. Their goal is to support students by creating opportunities of leadership, community, and representation. 
• At Paul Revere, one of the great features of a K-8 school is the opportunity for mentorship and connection between older and younger students. Hannah Epstein supports their Peer Mediation program which empowers a group of 8th grade students to mediate conflicts between younger students, typically grades 3-5. 
• At John O'Connell High School, Lizbett Calleros brings fun and positivity to students while promoting messages of wellness, self-care and healthy love. 
• Juliana Baptista, the School Social Worker at El Camino Alternativo, supports newcomer students who recently entered the country. Through the strong personal relationship she develops with each student, she is able to support their high school education while helping them secure basic needs for themselves and their families.
• In SFUSD, we have 40 site-based school social workers and four central school social workers who supervise and support social work and clinical mental health interns that are under the Student Internship Team program (SIT).
• At the central office, the new Middle School Clinical team provides confidential, brief individual and group counseling services to middle school students in six schools. 

Please join me in sharing appreciations for the work of School Social Workers not just this week, but all year long.

Learn more about the latest SFUSD resources, opportunities, and bright spots in this month's family and community newsletter.

In community,

Dr. Wayne