Principal's Welcome Letter
Dear Grant Families,
It is my honor and a pleasure to welcome you to the 2026–2027 school year! I hope you all have had a relaxing and fun Summer break. I am incredibly proud to serve as the Principal of this remarkable learning community for the 9th year and to continue supporting the students of Sunset Park! Our entire staff is excited to be back and looks forward to supporting your children in meaningful educational activities, guiding their growth both academically and socially, and providing them with a rigorous yet fun school experience. In addition, we will continue to foster an environment of curiosity, empower students to challenge themselves, and instill a sense of belonging by nurturing authentic connections among them, their peers, and their school. Our staff will focus on integrating these concepts into everything we do. We are ready to kick the year off in true Gecko style!
I want to welcome all of our new families, whether you are joining us from another school in the district or have relocated from another city, state, or country. We are excited to share with you all that Grant has to offer, and I firmly believe you will soon feel, as we do, that Grant School is a special place for all children. Our educators, support staff, families, and other education partners are ready to welcome you into the Gecko Nation.
As many of you know, the Grant campus has been undergoing a major facilities transformation over the last few years. I am very excited to share that we have completed the next phase of our modernization plan! Our new Library Media Center, Innovation Lab, and adjoining courtyards have been completed and are ready to welcome our students on the first day of school. The building is stunning and is exactly what our students and community deserve. The final large-scale project in our modernization plan, the new classroom building, Grant STEAM Deck and Learning Gardens, continues and is making quick progress. This building is, so far, on schedule and slated for completion this December. If the progress and schedule hold, students will be in the new building when we return from Winter Break. I collaborate daily with the contractors and their team members, as well as our Facilities Improvement Projects leads, on planning, construction, safety, and campus cleanliness. By the time we welcome our students back to school on Thursday, August 20th, all safety protocols will have been reviewed and implemented, and the campus will have undergone a thorough cleaning. As I mentioned previously, while an active construction site may be seen as a disruption to learning, our staff will continue to take this unique opportunity to incorporate building engineering and design concepts into our Project-Based Learning instructional plan! Additionally, we will continue to leverage our partnership with our contractors at Erickson Hall by having them visit classrooms to teach our students about construction management, from design through project completion.
Our teachers and staff are eager to meet their new students and begin this year's journey with them. The dedicated staff at Grant has been working tirelessly to finalize classes and schedules, engaging in professional development specific to our school and District goals, and honing our instructional strategies, class routines, and expectations. Our primary goal is to ensure student proficiency in core academic subjects, so we will continue to refine our core classroom instruction by analyzing data, conducting classroom observations, and reviewing student work to guide instruction and inform effective interventions.
We are beginning our fourth year of a Project-Based Learning instructional model with the continued goal of engaging ALL of our students in grades TK-5. Our students’ competency in project design and collaboration has evolved greatly over this time, and we are excited for them to expand on these skills. This year, SMMUSD has adopted the Envision Math curriculum for all students in the District. Our teachers have already been trained on the concepts, pacing, and implementation plan for these new materials, and will receive ongoing training and workshops throughout this school year. Additionally, this curriculum has been created to align with Common Core State Standards and the most recent California Mathematics Framework. Another exciting addition is the implementation of UFLI in Kindergarten through second grade classrooms. Developed by the University of Florida Literacy Institute, UFLI is an explicit, systematic phonics and foundational reading program designed to teach students the crucial decoding and spelling skills required for literacy. It is research-based, explicitly systematic, grounded in the Science of Reading, and designed for K–2 core instruction; it is also used as an intervention for at-promise students. UFLI has been used by some of our primary classes for the last couple of years with great success, but it will now be implemented in all Kindergarten through second-grade classrooms. The effort to increase student proficiency and close the achievement and opportunity gaps will continue.
Along with our continued evolution toward a deeply ingrained and sustainable PBL instructional model and our mission to increase proficiency, we will continue to focus on integrating the Social Justice Standards, Responsive Classroom community-building strategies, Restorative Justice practices, and social and emotional supports into our students' daily school experience. We will work together to create a solid foundation for our students so they can become self-directed learners, collaborative teammates, critical thinkers, and responsible citizens. We will continue to offer intervention services for neurodiverse learners through specialized, research-based programs, counseling when appropriate, and the implementation of intervention strategies and programs for students. We ask that you play an active role in your child's journey this year, whatever their path may be!
Please be sure to read the Gecko Gazette each Sunday night, as it contains essential information from the school, the Grant PTA, the Santa Monica Education Foundation, the City of Santa Monica, and other community partners. Links to each week's Gazette are posted on our website.
We will be holding our annual New Family Orientation on Monday, August 17th at 4:00 PM in the Grant Auditorium. Additionally, the Back-to-School Night presentations are scheduled for Tuesday, August 25th, for Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade, and Tuesday, September 1st, for grades 3, 4, and 5. Both nights' programs will begin with a short presentation in the Auditorium where you will meet our teachers, support staff, Assistant Principal Belsky, and me. In the classroom, your child's teacher will present an overview of the year's instructional program, schedules, activities, digital resources, and expectations. Please refer to the school's website for additional information on upcoming events: GRANT SCHOOL CALENDAR
As I have always said, Grant's outstanding educators create the foundation for your child's academic success. Still, a large part of the Grant Learning Community's success can be attributed to its active and engaged parents who are involved in the PTA, Education Foundation, and various committees. Please consider contributing to the Grant PTA so we can continue funding engaging enrichment programs and assemblies, as well as much-needed supplemental equipment, materials, and supplies to support teaching and learning this year. Your donations directly affect your child's education. Last year, your contributions enabled us to provide digital learning resources in literacy, math, and science; musical instruments; field trips; supplemental materials and supplies; a variety of outdoor equipment; and brand new Reggio-inspired furniture for all three of our Kindergarten classrooms! Please visit the Grant PTA website at https://www.grantpta.org/ to become a PTA member and to learn about the many opportunities available to volunteer at Grant. In addition, we hope you consider donating to the Santa Monica Education Foundation. Donations to SMEF enable us to provide all of our students with a well-rounded and world-class education through supplemental science and engineering programs, music, dance, visual arts, and Instructional Assistant support in the primary grades. Please visit https://smedfoundation.org/ways-to-give/ to donate today! A few years ago, a majority of voters approved Proposition 28, which advocated increased funding for public school arts programs. Last year, Grant School received generous state funding that enabled us to provide our students with an additional semester of visual and performing arts, an engaging dance program, and a lunchtime STEAM cardboard playground program. This year, we will add a new podcasting studio to serve as another PBL project stream! These programs help to develop the creativity and collaborative skills that are crucial for success in today's world. Thank you for your support! Please know that no child will be denied the right to fully and meaningfully participate in any activity because they have not donated money or supplies.
Finally, we will release class assignments on Sunday, August 16th at 3:30 PM through the Aeries Parent Portal. While you are in the portal, we ask that you complete your child’s data confirmation. This task must be completed for each of your children. We will send a message via ParentSquare on how to access the portal prior to August 16th.
I look forward to the start of the new school year and to continuing our collaboration in providing your children with an effective and engaging educational experience. We will look to our families to be positive partners in their children's educational journey. The Grant staff has always made it a priority to work together as a caring and compassionate learning community, with professionalism, teamwork, action, and expertise. We will always put the best interests of our students at the center of our purpose. Join us in ensuring the success of all Grant's students. Stay healthy, stay positive, and stay connected.
As always, my door is open, and our team welcomes your input. Please feel free to contact me via email at the address below or call to schedule a meeting to discuss any ideas you think will make this the best year yet!
GO GECKOS!
With maximum respect,
Christian Fuhrer
Principal
Grant School
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Instagram: @grantgeckos_smmusd