June 17, 2022
Dear Yu Ming Community,
Our final week of school has been a whirlwind of emotions as we said goodbye to our fourth class of Yu Ming graduates and also celebrated the return of beloved annual Yu Ming traditions like our Spring Concert, Field Days and Spirit Week.
We also took time to reflect and look back at a year like no other–a year that we began with uncertainty and even fear, and both our personal challenges and the challenges of the world felt heavy and often overwhelming. Our community would have been excused for turning inward, forgiven for giving up hope, but we didn’t. We continued to do things both big and small to care for one another, care for our world, and center joy and learning:
- Increasing access to a Yu Ming education, growing our impact, and ensuring our future sustainability by welcoming 6 classes of Kindergarten across two schools
- Meeting our end-of-year goals for almost all grades in core academic areas assessed so far, including 92% in grades 1-8 meeting/exceeding targets in English reading and 87% in Chinese reading
- Keeping our community safe with 2 on-site vaccination clinics, twice-weekly testing of all students and staff, 100% of staff vaccinated, 90% of students vaccinated, and significantly fewer COVID cases reported than surrounding school systems
- Securing a larger third campus with the pivotal partnership of our FSO Community Organizing and Advocacy committee volunteers who continued building relationships with electeds and in the community
- Exceeding our overall annual fundraising goal across our 3 community fundraisers (Fall Giving, Readathon, and Spring Auction & Benefit) thanks to your generosity and commitment
- Gathering virtually when in-person was not possible for annual celebrations like Winterfest, Lunar New Year, and Spring Concert, as well as our Readathon and Middle School Exhibitions of Learning
- Hosting in-person community-building events like Halloween, “Yu Ming Day” (November 18th in Oakland) for our National Blue Ribbon School award, and a highly attended Night Market
- Offering week-long middle school intersession expeditions in the Fall and Spring with deep dive social justice and experiential learning projects on and off campus
- Resuming overnight trips to Yosemite, Catalina Island, Sly Park, and NatureBridge for grades 5-8
- Honoring the stories, history, and art of our communities with our annual cultural celebrations of LatinX Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, AAPI Heritage Month, and LGBTQ+ Pride Month
- Graduating our fourth class of eighth graders after 100% passed their Graduate Profile Defenses and matriculating them to many high-quality high schools–charter, district, and private
We have each and every member of our school community to thank for helping to make all of these successes possible this year: our incredible teachers and staff, and families who supported their students at home, volunteered at school, and led with our FSO in critical advocacy, fundraising, and facilities work to strengthen Yu Ming today and for years to come. Thank you also to our Board of Directors who tirelessly serve Yu Ming so well.
Have a fantastic summer!
With gratitude,
