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This weekend, hundreds of school leadership teams will convene to focus on our priorities for the upcoming school year: addressing the needs of historically underserved student populations and recruiting, retaining and developing teachers, principals and other staff.
In order to fund these priorities, we are in the process of identifying possible trade-offs, since our revenue increases are slowing and our expenses are growing. Talk to your principal if you'd like to join us on March 4 to share your suggestions with your school leadership team.
—Myong Leigh, Interim Superintendent
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Spread the word to end the word on March 1 as a part of R-word's campaign to raise awareness about the R-word and people with intellectual disabilities. Make a pledge online and tell us how you'll commit to using respectful, people-first language.
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We are committed to protecting our transgender and gender-expansive students. Read more about the policies in SFUSD and California that support students' rights and prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression.
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The Smarter Balanced Assessment looks at student progress in English language arts and mathematics and will take place between March 6 and May 26 this year—check with your school for specific dates. Get tips on how to help your child prepare.
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We're excited to be switching from School Loop to Synergy Gradebook for All in August 2017 to give families real-time access to student attendance, grades and assignments. The new system will also have improved translation options and accessibility. Family workshops will be announced in the fall.
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The recent deluge of rain didn't just fill reservoirs around the state, it also filled the 28 cisterns at SFUSD schools. These cisterns play a role in students' environmental education, teach them about the water cycle, and keep schoolyard gardens going.
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This year's Summer Resource Fair will be bigger than ever, with over 200 exhibitors lined up with information on programs, camps, classes, and more for children and youth of all age groups. There will also be a book giveaway, play stations, and more. Check it out on Saturday, March 11.
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If you're between 16-24 years old and want to jump start your job search, come to the Youth Jobs+ Resource Fair on March 18 to practice interviewing, get your resume reviewed, and even get an on-the-spot job offer! Come in business clothes if you can, but if not, there will be a limited supply at the fair.
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Have a happy spring break!
All schools will be closed from Monday, March 27, to Friday, March 31, for spring break and César Chávez Day. SFUSD offices will remain open.
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Placement letters mailed March 17
Round 1 enrollment applicants, your placement letters will be mailed on March 17. Find out what to do next after getting your placement offer.
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Library cards for all!
San Francisco Public Library is teaming up with SFUSD to provide every student with a public library card: the Scholar Card. Students can activate their account in April and connect to millions of free resources.
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SFUSD in the News
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Science sparks excitement for middle school investigators
Anyone who thinks of science as a narrow, arid realm had their hypothesis disproved on Saturday morning at the San Francisco Zoo. That’s where a morning-long event honored the 171 winners of middle school science fairs in San Francisco. The students represented 24 schools in the city, public and private. The range of topics ranged even wider—from the likes and dislikes of twins to the effect of cigarette butts on ocean acidification or whether people of different ages respond differently to shocks and if video games affect depth perception.
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San Francisco's Rooftop School uses art to engage students
Art is the focal point in Rooftop’s Pre-K to 8th grade classrooms, being used as way to engage students into the learning process. “Artwork gives them the freedom to express themselves which is really wonderful while maybe academically they are having a little problem,” said first grade teacher Joyce Woo. “Through their art, they can really access any kind of work that we are doing.”
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Why group work could be the key to English learner success
“It is easy for English learners to become marginalized or for their needs not to be taken into account,” said SFIHS principal Julie Kessler. “We have the luxury of having designed our entire program around the needs of this group that is often forgotten about or underserved in schools where multiple priorities exist.”
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SF leaders call Trump reversal of transgender bathroom directive ‘misguided’
Public schools in San Francisco will continue to allow students to use restrooms matching their gender identity despite the Trump administration reversing a federal policy on transgender bathrooms Wednesday. Mayor Ed Lee joined San Francisco Unified School District leaders to condemn the “misguided act” from President Donald Trump in a joint statement Wednesday.
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How to pay off Bay Area kids' student lunch debt
One little tweet last December went viral and set off random acts of kindness nationwide. Brooklyn writer Ashley C. Ford tweeted, “A cool thing you can do today is try to find out which of your local schools have kids with overdue lunch accounts and pay them off.” That post was retweeted more than 10,000 times, was covered on the Today show, and raised more than $100,000 in donations for kids’ lunches.
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In unusual school club, SF kids knit scarves for the homeless
It was a cold November day and San Francisco fifth-grader Mariah Bess was riding the bus home from school, past homeless people on the street. She was just learning how to knit and had an idea. “She said, ‘I want to knit scarves for homeless people, can I start a knitting club?’” recalled her John Muir Elementary School teacher, Joe Mannarino.
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Why I choose to raise my family in San Francisco
Becoming part of Daniel Webster Elementary School has only strengthened our belief in the positive effects of raising a city kid; on both her and on us. Getting engaged with our school community has been personally rewarding, and helps us see outside our little family bubble. On our daily walk to school we see neighbors and friends, and pet their dogs. Our daughter knows everyone from the librarians at our local branch to chefs at local restaurants, business owners, and of course all the friends that populate our wonderful hill.
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Contract negotiations begin for SF school teachers
In the last three years, the district has boosted the average salaries of UESF members—including teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors and nurses—by 15 percent, according to SFUSD spokesperson Gentle Blythe. While SFUSD leaders would like to increase teacher salaries again, Blythe said state funding for the district is not growing as rapidly as before and has not even returned to 2007 levels—when the recession hit and California began to lay off hundreds of teachers.
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How are Trump's executive orders affecting SF's immigrant families?
A recent conversation with Julia Kessler, principal of San Francisco International High School (SFIHS), quickly revealed that while shaken by the executive orders, the Mission District school’s focus remains on carrying on. A member of San Francisco Unified School District, SFIHS was established in 2009 with a focus on serving the children of newly arrived immigrant and refugee populations.
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San Francisco school cisterns full thanks to recent storms
San Francisco public schools began installing cisterns back in 2007 as a way to conserve water and maintain their gardens. Schools collect rain from their roofs. "When I started this summer it was right around here, the plastic would give and right before Christmas break it moved a little and when I got back from the Christmas break it was all the way completely full and it's actually been leaking out of the sides too," educator A.J. Cucalon said.
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How reading aloud to therapy dogs can help struggling kids
Principal Diane Lau-Yee wanted to equip her students with emotional tools that could help students manage overwhelming feelings. So, she decided to enlist the help of a furry friend named Stanley, a therapeutic dog who is beloved by many children in the community. She hoped that Stanley could teach the kids about empathy, as well as nourish a deeper love of literacy among the students, too.
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Looking at numbers in a whole new way
Last week, I was at the elementary school once again, squished into a short desk and chair, attending a parent education math night. Though the twins are only in kindergarten, they’re already getting an introduction to Common Core, a set of benchmarks in math and language arts, developed by state leaders—including governors and education commissioners—and passed by the Legislature.
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The school board’s rising star—Stevon Cook
Sometimes when you are talking to Stevon Cook, you can literally feel how he could be San Francisco “next big thing”. A third-generation San Franciscan that rose from a difficult childhood to a successful career in politics, Cook has a story that City voters just want to hear. This isn’t to say he’s not sincere. He’s paid his dues at SFUSD and the San Francisco Education Fund as an educator and policy analyst.
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SF school leaders ‘troubled’ with DeVos confirmation
Public school leaders in San Francisco are concerned over the potential loss of federal funding after the U.S. Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as secretary of education with a tie-breaking vote Tuesday. “I’m troubled and upset,” said Board of Education President Shamann Walton. “Not only does she not have insight or expertise in public education, she is out to destroy public education.”
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School districts step up protections for immigrant students
As fears mount about a federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants, a growing number of California school districts are trying to reassure students they will be able to attend school without the intrusion of federal authorities. San Francisco Unified has issued seven resolutions and public statements supporting immigrants’ rights since 2007, describing itself as a “sanctuary” on its website.
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Why teaching civics in America's classrooms must be a Trump-era priority
I spent four years observing classes at San Francisco's Mission High School, a destination for immigrants from more than 40 countries. There, civics is an integral part of instruction not only in history, economics, and ethnic studies classes, but also in literature classes, where students are asked to consider how people from different eras and cultures interpreted the meaning of empathy, courage, and collective responsibility.
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SF school leaders dive into details of building teacher housing
School leaders shed light Monday on plans to build affordable housing for educators who are struggling to afford the exorbitant cost-of-living in San Francisco. The San Francisco Unified School District could begin to look for a nonprofit developer as early as this summer to build 100 to 150 units of affordable housing in San Francisco, according to Interim Superintendent Myong Leigh.
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