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Dear School District of Philadelphia Community,

In light of recent events, I want to again reaffirm the School District of Philadelphia’s commitment to creating safe, welcoming spaces for all students and families, no matter their race, ethnicity, immigration status, national origin, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, familial status, religion, or person’s abilities.

In alignment with that commitment, I am happy to announce that the School District of Philadelphia has developed an Immigrant & Refugee toolkit that describes our positions and protocols on providing Safe & Welcoming Schools, and provides resources for immigrant and refugee families. You can find this toolkit on our immigrant resources website.

In addition, this week all School District of Philadelphia employees were assigned a Safe and Welcoming Schools training course that they are required to complete by April 30, 2025. This course will provide all employees with the expectations and protocols for creating safe, welcoming spaces for our students and families. Our practices will align with both the Board of Education’s policies and all necessary legal requirements. And our school leaders have been provided guidance about how to protect our immigrant students’ rights.

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to us using our two-way communication platform, Let’s Talk. We will continue working to provide meaningful information, actionable resources, and robust training to enable school and District staff to foster educational environments where all our students can learn, thrive, and realize any future they desire.

In partnership,

Tony B. Watlington Sr., Ed.D.
Superintendent
The School District of Philadelphia