Dear CUSD Board of Education, My name is Kyuri Kim and I am a parent of a 5-year old who attends De Vargas Elementary School and 2-year old twins. I'm writing this letter to express my hopes and reasons for keeping De Vargas open. First of all, I deeply appreciate each member in the Board for taking time to carefully review and consider which CUSD schools should be closed. I do understand that it might be inevitable at this point and no one is doing it with a light heart. While I understand that the sample plan was not a representative of the actual consideration for schools chosen to close, it was still heartbreaking to see our De Vargas' name on the map, and brought worries to the community. Among several criteria that was presented by the CAC for school closure considerations, the primary criteria presented was the enrollment rate and financial implications undoubtedly. Although almost every school in the district is experiencing the declining enrollment, there are a few unique reasons that might be contributing to the situation at De Vargas (and in fact De Vargas was NOT within the top five most declining schools per the 2019 Annual Enrollment Projection Report by Decisioninsite). One of the main reasons I hear is that the arbitrary school rating for DV from Greatschools.org (which is tied to a *commercial real-estate* company) is lower than other neighborhood schools along with higher free-lunch students and English learners ratio, and that some parents preferred to move their children to alternative schools for these particular reasons. As much as this sounds like not particularly an edifying motive, I would also like to offer my personal experience and thoughts on this issue. It did cross my mind that some may think perhaps choosing to close a school that seems to be generally less popular might meet with less resistance from the community, but MAKE NO MISTAKE. I was, in fact, one of those parents who toured other schools before choosing DV for my first child. As a person who grew up in one of the most competitive school districts myself, I'm not unfamiliar with the obsession with school ratings etc., but I also do know that *there are so much more to a healthy and thriving education environment than just a flock of highly-pressured and adequately-equipped students/families who are able to drive up those "scores", as all educators must be well aware of.* I was deeply moved when I attended DV's orientation session with Mr. Prychodko, listening to the compassion and inclusion that the DV school has shown to all students coming from a wide range of backgrounds socioeconomically and culturally, and *how this DV community is nurturing all children coming from diverse backgrounds*, in an environment that represents the real world beyond school boundaries. Especially regarding the current state of the nation, *the inclusion and promotion of diversity became more vital and urgent than ever*, and I feel very blessed to have DV as my home school where my children would grow up learning and living such fundamentally important values in their most tender years. DV is one of few schools in the district that offers programs for special-need children and English Learners. DV is one of few schools in the district that serves a large number of free-lunch kids. Those who suffer from racial/socioeconomic discriminations are not faraway, but they are our very own neighbors. *DV has been serving and nurturing and trying to close the gaps for these vulnerable community members via implementing many creative programs, and is proud of the community members it serves*. Yes, students will eventually have a new school to go to in the event DV closes. But will there be a system and adequately trained staff set up right away for the students who need a specifically catered support? I believe it could be done after some time, but also without a doubt, there also will be a lost time and skills as setting up a functional support system and training doesn't happen overnight, and some may not even be recouped. *We can only imagine how much set back the already underprivileged children might face and potentially lasting negative effects in their future, if these successful programs from DV are gone overnight*. Right now we talk about systemic racism and unconscious bias more than ever in US history - many wonder what can we do, how can we change it. I say if we could see beyond the dollar values, and instead, really take into account what makes a certain school/community unique and outstanding that we could NOT afford to lose, it just might be how we can help establish a healthier society for our next generation. *If a school that is exceptional, intentional, and inspirational in serving the under-served population was penalized for the exact same reason that made it invaluable, we wouldn't be talking the talk and walking the walk we all try to show to our children.* Sincerely, Kyuri Kim