Good evening families,

It’s Assistant Principal Appreciation Week! If you could send a note, flower, or kind gesture this week to Ms. Berrocal, Ms. Morad, or Dr. Cruz, I know the team would appreciate it very much. Their leadership, commitment to the students, and support for the staff make bilingual brilliance possible. Without their personal investment and tireless dedication, Oyster-Adams would not be the extraordinary community that it is. Thank you to Ms. Berrocal for being the guardian and pillar of the Oyster legacy, to Ms. Morad for her deep knowledge of each student and family, and to Dr. Cruz for taking on the impressive challenge of being an interim leader this year with open arms and heart. If you want to send them a note of appreciation that I'll compile into a gift, you can do so virtually here in this link.

Speaking of gratitude, we owe an enormous thank you to the team who revived the OA auction this past weekend. The Viva Oyster Adams crew (Luke, Melissa, Hattie, Tracey, Emily, Mackenzie, Stacia, Eileen & Esther) worked tirelessly to find donations, sponsorships, and turn our cafeteria into a ballroom. As a community we raised $63,835 for OCC, and we are still awaiting the final donations from the auction! As I said on Saturday, we are witnessing a critical moment in the history of our country and our school. Despite uncertainty about the future of public education, our families' support will allow us to continue enacting our mission for all our bilingual students, regardless of their immigration status, the economic situation of their families, or any other challenges we will face together. Your time and monetary donations are acts of solidarity to ensure that excellence is a universal experience. With that, the OCC will help continue purchasing essential materials in classes, providing travel experiences around the world and within the DMV, offering tutoring to students who are furthest from opportunity, and responding to unforeseen changes in the years to come. Thank you for your presence, for every hour invested, and every penny donated so we continue commiting to our community.

Finally, I want to share two important pieces of information with you:

• The OA Budget from DCPS: Thank you to everyone who was able to join the conversation about the budget for the next school year at OCC this month. I shared with OCC and LSAT that this year we were able to protect most of the critical investments and positions in our community, and we added new strategic positions that will help us address urgent academic gaps. Here I share the slides from the meeting (57-68). In the last slide, you will find all the new positions that were added to the budget and are posted in DCPS's recruiting page. Please help us recruit! If you know an excellent candidate, email your assistant principals who will reach out to the candidates.

• Enrollment opened on April 2: Right now we have 5% of the school enrolled for next year. We need your help to reach 60% by May. It is important to complete the process as soon as possible to secure the spot, class, and teacher assignment for your children in the 2025-2026 school year. Read more about the process here.

In solidarity,

Carolina Brito, Principal