July 21, 2023

PFS 2023 Highlights From Week 5

Dear Partnership for Success Students, Families, and Friends, 

What an epic summer! Our 2023 summer program has quickly come to an end. We are so proud of our PFS Scholars and all they have accomplished in the last five weeks! We are especially proud of our PFS Undergrads who completed their 9th summer with the program. They are now officially PFS Alumni. Today they received their $1,000 scholarship during a very emotional morning meeting at Poly. We are happy to also share that 100% of our graduates are going off to college! We wish them all the best and we look forward to hearing about all the great things they accomplish. 

We are also incredibly thankful for our amazing teachers, interns, site directors, and partners like Calibrate Connections who work hard to make each summer a success. As this summer comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on why we do all that we do. It’s a big undertaking to host nearly 400 students across four different campuses for 5 weeks. It requires a great amount of planning and coordinating of space, calendars, materials, staff, meals, trips, and experiences. Our site directors are busy from January through June getting everything ready for our students and teachers. Beginning in early spring, if not sooner, teachers are also busily thinking about their curriculum and how they can make it relevant, meaningful, and engaging for their students. The question about how we can best support our PFS Scholars is constantly looming in all our minds, even when PFS is not in session. All this work and planning for five short weeks. We do this all because we work to support some of the best students in Pasadena, our PFS Scholars. They are truly special and we are committed to seeing them succeed. It is no wonder that our teachers, students, and site directors say that this is their favorite part of the year. At least three times this summer I heard an intern or a teacher tell me that summer at PFS “doesn't feel like work” because they enjoy the students and the program so much. Summer presents this special moment in space and time where we all join together from our different schools and we gather like a family to learn, laugh, bond, play, and explore. There really is nothing quite like it. That is why we have teachers who keep coming back to teach, year after year, and interns who come back for a 10th, 11th, and sometimes 12th summer after they have already been with the program as students for nine summers. It is truly MAGICAL and no one really understands it unless they see it in action.

PFS would not be such a success without the commitment of our families. THANK YOU, families, for your unwavering support during the entire summer and for being present during the Family Night events that were hosted at each site this week. I hope that as you walked through classrooms and met with teachers and interns that you were filled with inspiration and excitement about everything students were able to learn and enjoy in just five short weeks. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure that your child makes the most of the program by being present each day AND each summer! Our PFS families are an integral component of our partnership. This reminds me of part of a “This I Believe” speech shared this year by senior Bryant P. He talked about the importance of making sacrifices and shared his personal story of sacrificing an annual summer trip to Thailand to visit his grandparents so that he could be present each summer for PFS. Why? Because he and his family understand the value of education and unique opportunities like Partnership for Success. Like Bryant and his family, so many of you also see the value of this partnership and each and every summer you support your child with their attendance and you plan your family time around the program dates. We cannot thank you enough for your continued support! 

We look forward to welcoming students back for our summer 2024 session. Our program begins on Monday, June 17th and ends on Friday, July 19th (holidays on June 19th and July 4th). Each site will host an orientation and family event on Friday, June 14th. Please mark your calendars! In the meantime, please stay connected with us through social media and look out for information about our fall PFS Puentes parent workshop, college process workshops for seniors, and PFS Mentor Program events. Registration for summer 2024 will open in December 2023. We can’t wait to reconnect with all our PFS Scholars and their families in the coming months. We wish our PFS Scholars a fantastic new school year. Thank you all for your continued support!

Warmly,