St. Peter's Catholic School, nestled in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District, has long been a beacon of education and hope for the Latino community. As one of the oldest Catholic schools in California, it holds historical significance and provides a safe, nurturing environment where countless children have thrived.

While there are no current plans to close it, it now faces an existential crisis and we can’t let it get that far.

When the last principal departed, the school's leadership underwent a hastily implemented change. Instead of appointing a dedicated, full-time principal, Father Moises Agudo chose to have the principal of the St. Anthony Immaculate Conception (SAIC) split her time with St. Peter's. 

This decision has led to confusion and disorder. Many changes have been made without effective communication. This has included:

•  Cutting the children’s lunch time to just 20 minutes.
• Two years ago we had a full-time principal and two part-time administrators. Now we have a half-time principal and one part-time admin who is on leave.
• Many staff members have left since last year and many were never replaced. It now feels that supervision has suffered.
• This has led to the dismissal gate opening up to 20 minutes late and the gate being left open completely unsupervised.
• The gate to let children and families in at arrival has been opened more than ten minutes late, causing crowds and traffic.
• A Parent Teacher Group was promised. When the first meeting was held at SAIC, parents were told it would alternate between sites. The next month, it was again at SAIC and we were told that no one ever said it would alternate. This is not in the same neighborhood and they have different concerns.

When community members share concerns, they often do not feel heard or don’t get a response at all. However, it’s important to remember that the current principal has been given an impossible task.

Being a principal for one school is challenging, how can one person do two schools justice?

We have not been given any way to give feedback in a matter that feels safe.

We were told that this was part of a plan to build community among Mission parishes, while it is clearly a way to save money while giving our school and children fewer and fewer resources and support. The experience at St. Peter’s has suffered from this change.

As a result, many families have started to leave St. Peter's due to the lack of stable leadership, directly threatening the school's future since it cannot be financial sustainable this way.

The Mission District stands to lose more than just an educational institution if St. Peter's closes. It would lose a cherished community pillar that has educated generations and created an enduring impact on lives.

We implore the community, alumni, and anyone valuing the significance of such historical institutions to join us in this vital cause.

Sign this petition asking Father Moises and the Archdiocese to:

• Secure a full-time principal who knows and values our school.
  Why are the two schools with the most Latin American students getting half as much administrative support as all the other schools in the archdiocese? No one would be able to do this well.
• If that is not financially viable, the pastor should be transparent about it.  It would be better to have no principal than to have one who took St. Peter’s on in addition to her long-running principal job. Everyone involved deserves better than that. 

What else can you do?

1. Talk to Father Moises. He has shown willingness to kindly discuss the situation. Call 415-282-1652. You can also send a message here: Contact Mission Parishes
2. If you are an alum, get involved! Get involved!