To the SVUSD School Board: We, the faculty and staff of Valley View, Hillside, and Sinaloa, are requesting of the Board to immediately provide a number of important modifications to our mandated Second Step program. This program is highly outdated and ineffective, taking thousands of hours of critical instructional hours from our students, at a time when we can least afford to waste this important time. We are asking the board to allow individual teachers to modify the Second Step curriculum as we see fit and as would best serve our students. We believe that the wide variety of more modern programs in place in our district, particularly our underused Rachel's Challenge programs, are far more effective and are looked upon much more favorably by students. The Board has stated that they will be much more open to the wishes and input of district teachers and faculty. Second Step has been a sore spot in our schools for years. We ask you to take immediate action to help us do what's best for our students.