San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative E.M. Downer Elementary School Profile | Page 1 of 5 Prepared by Public Profit | September 2025 E.M. Downer Elementary School Lead Agency: Bay Area Community Resources (BACR) 2024-25 Community School Demographic Information Number of Youth who benefitted from the SPBSCI: 388 Number of Students enrolled in SPBSCI programs: 3 Number of Students referred through CARE: 60 Community School Highlights At E.M. Downer, the Beacon Director supported high quality youth programming, wellness activities, and led strong schoolwide system coordination. An example of high-quality youth programming was the Youth Leadership team, which supported students in developing leadership skills, collaborating, and participating in schoolwide activities. The Beacon Director also co-facilitated a book club that evolved into a comic book project, allowing students to share their “superpowers” through storytelling. Beyond these youth programs, the Beacon Director supported health and wellness events, including movement sessions, a visit from the Dairy Council, and the re-establishment of their wellness center. Lastly, the Beacon Director coordinated a strong Action Collaborative Team and leveraged empathy interviews to uplift feedback and experiences of historically underrepresented groups. Particularly, they focused on African American student achievement and parent engagement. Finally, they collaborated with community partners to develop a more effective mental health support system for their students. All in all, the Beacon Director supported many programs and initiatives that all supported their school community in meeting their student and family needs. Youth Survey Highlights 100% of youth respondents felt safe. 100% of youth respondents felt like there was an adult who cares about them. 83% of youth respondents care about school.
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative E.M. Downer Elementary School Profile | Page 2 of 5 Prepared by Public Profit | September 2025 Youth Outcomes San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative programs are rooted in positive development practice. Youth survey data suggest programs are helping youth build personal and social competencies. Youth felt empowered and supported. Survey Item My Program I feel safe in this program. 100% This program has helped me to stay away from fights. 83% This program has helped me to try harder in school. 83% I like this program. 83% Youth developed social competencies. Survey Item My Program In this program the adults care about me. 100% In this program I can go to an adult for advice. 100% In this program I learn how to work out my problems. 100% This program has helped me to say 'no' to things I know are wrong. 100% Youth demonstrated commitment to learning. Survey Item My Program In this program I learn how to make goals. 83% This program has helped me to care more about my school. 83% This program has helped me to pay attention in class more. 100% This program has helped me to like school more. 67% I know what college is. 100% I want to go to college. 83% Source: Youth Survey data, n = 6, August 2025. Surveys are from programs directly funded by the SPBCSI or led by a Beacon Director. This represents a subset of the total programs offered at the school. Youth Programming Youth Leadership Group and Book Club • Youth Leadership was a student-led group that works to create an inclusive school environment by planning events and leading projects to improve campus life. Book club was a campus experience where students came together to read, create comic books, and build friendships. • Five students participated San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative E.M. Downer Elementary School Profile | Page 3 of 5 Prepared by Public Profit | September 2025 • “I like how I am able to be a leader and help my community.” – Youth Community School Events The Beacon Director organized a variety of events throughout the school year to improve school culture and climate and engage with parents and families. 3 187 55 Events Average Student Attendance* Average Family Attendance* 2024-25 Downer Events Family Math Night Scientific Adventures hosted a 1.5-hour Family Math Night with hands-on activity stations, food, and raffles to make math fun for students and families. The event was supported by coordinating the partnership, recruiting volunteers, and promoting it to maximize caregiver participation.
Family Movie Night YLD students organized a fun family event featuring a showing of Inside Out. They designed the flyer, invited families, and even set up and ran a concession stand. It was a great opportunity for them to take the lead, welcome families into the school, and create a positive, community-focused experience.
Mobile Dairy Classroom In partnership with the Dairy Council, the school hosted a Mobile Dairy Classroom visit. Each grade level attended a fun and educational assembly where students learned about healthy eating, the food groups, and the role of dairy in a balanced diet. The highlight of the event was a surprise visit from Buttercup the dairy cow, which delighted students and reinforced the day’s lessons. Source: Cityspan Events data, August 2025. *Averages calculated across events that provided attendance data.
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative E.M. Downer Elementary School Profile | Page 4 of 5 Prepared by Public Profit | September 2025 Crisis Assessment and Referral Evaluation (CARE) Team At E.M. Downer, the CARE team was robust and well-rounded. The Beacon Director coordinated the CARE team to support referrals related to academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and family challenges. The CARE team met twice a month to review current and past referrals to identify barriers, strategize interventions, and monitor progress. “[The Beacon Director is] in charge of bridging that [CARE] communication with our partners… We have three therapists this year. We have a restorative justice coach, and we also have a Playworks coach that takes care of our SEL [social emotional learning]. She’s bridging…those different supports. She also hosts different events on campus, for example, we had the mobile health clinic [and] we’ve had the dentist folks from the County also come.” – Principal “I feel like this is one of our better years because it’s well-rounded...Participants show up…and we do the work collectively. I have a school site that’s active. I have my five day a week therapist that’s active. I have community partners, like all of our community partners on site that impact [the] different tiers that we are trying to address within our school. Like our PlayWorks coach, she’s a part of our CARE team. My expanded learning coordinator, she’s a part of our CARE team, my restorative practices coordinator, he’s a part of the CARE team. So they all come with different lenses and different scopes of work within our school community.” – Beacon Director
60 youth referred to E.M. Downer CARE Team
15% of E.M. Downer students were referred to the E.M. Downer CARE Team Sources: Crisis Assessment Referral and Evaluation (CARE) data, August 2025; CDE, DataQuest 2024-25 Enrollment Data, accessed August 2025. Lessons Learned At the close of the interviews, the Principal and Beacon Director reflected on their experience from the past year. “One of those lessons that we learned [was] really understanding what our families need or want and how can we bridge that gap…We are getting great feedback from most of our families…So we want to make sure that we are also addressing that [them].” – Principal “Something for next year I’d like to see [is] continuing to develop and grow my events and schoolwide activities with families and students.” – Beacon Director
San Pablo Beacon Community Schools Initiative E.M. Downer Elementary School Profile | Page 5 of 5 Prepared by Public Profit | September 2025 Plans for Next Year The Principal and Beacon Director also took time to share their plans for the coming school year.1 • Launch the wellness center to expand mental health services. • Improve literacy across all grade levels.
1 During this transitional year, the Childhood Obesity Prevention Grant is discussed in a separate report. In the future, it will be embedded within the school profiles.