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I am thrilled to be here in San Francisco after several decades away and to officially begin serving as the superintendent of San Francisco’s public schools. Upon returning to SFUSD, my first responsibility is to listen and learn so that I can help us build on the good work that is happening. In addition to visiting dozens of schools, I’m holding four community meetings this month because I want to hear from you. Please come out to share your thoughts with me.
—Dr. Vincent Matthews, Superintendent
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Student Advisory Council leader Salvador Lopez Barr says it’s all about encouraging teens to do their best while creating a safe space for them to work. He was recently recognized as Mentor of the Year.
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Meet the new SFUSD superintendent, Dr. Vincent Matthews! Superintendent Matthews will be at four community forums throughout May, and you can share your ideas and suggestions about what is working for your children, what challenges you observe, and what are the best opportunities to positively impact students.
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You may not have heard of the Quality Teacher and Education Act, but funds from this parcel tax passed in 2008 are invaluable to our efforts to attract and retain teachers. Learn more about what QTEA contributes, from teacher salaries to classroom innovation.
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Have you checked out SFkids, a one-stop shop for resources and activities for families and teens from the Department of Children, Youth and Families? Visit their website for events, summer camps, afterschool programs, and more!
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San Francisco Public Library is encouraging summer learning with Summer Stride. Readers of all ages can join by picking up a game board to track reading and learning starting May 13. Anyone who reaches 20 hours wins a free tote bag!
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This newsletter will be going on break for the summer, but you'll hear from us again when the new school year starts. Thanks for reading!
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Have a great summer vacation!
The last day of school is on Friday, May 26, and the 2017-18 school year begins on Monday, August 21. Enjoy the summer!
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Round 2 placement letters
Round 2 enrollment applicants, your placement letters will be mailed on May 12. Find out what to do next after getting your letter.
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Recommendations for the LCAP
Community organizations will report on recommendations for the 2017-18 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) on May 23.
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SFUSD in the News
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New Mission Bay elementary school approved by San Francisco school board
San Francisco Unified School Board Members gave a green light Tuesday for a long overdue school project. The board voted to build an elementary school in the Mission Bay neighborhood. An upcoming vibrant part of San Francisco with a lot of new buildings, construction underway and the soon to be home of the Golden State Warriors arena, but one thing lacking in this community, a place for families to send their children to school.
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10th annual DogFest raises $105K for McKinley Elementary School
There was no shortage of wagging tails and big smiles at the 10th Annual DogFest in Duboce Park last Saturday. The event raised nearly $125,000, which means $105,000 went to McKinley Elementary School, slightly less than the $108,000 raised in 2016.
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My policy objectives for San Francisco Public Schools
The past several months have been a great learning experience serving as Commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education. We recently selected Dr. Vincent Matthews as our finalist for Superintendent. We sat down a few weeks back to have a one-on-one conversation as part of his onboarding. I shared my priorities of advancing STEM education for our girls and students of color, local hiring initiatives to ensure our classified positions are filled, and addressing our affordability crisis through equitable housing and salary policy for our staff and educators.
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The green effect: Teaching students to build a sustainable world
In many respects, Nik Kaestner, Director of Sustainability at SFUSD, is heading up a testing ground for environmental policies that will eventually make their way across the country. San Francisco has built a reputation for its environmentally friendly approach, but it takes leadership like Kaestner to make it succeed and become nationally influential.
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"This is what I need to do the rest of my life": San Francisco science educator celebrates 25 years of hands-on instruction
There is treasure hidden under San Francisco's Mission High School. Not the traditional type of gold and silver but a treasure trove of bones, crystals, and hands-on science experiments. It's the home of Mission Science Workshop, celebrating its 25th year of teaching the city's school children about science.
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Dine and Dish: Pizza school at Alamo Elementary
What kid doesn’t like pizza? Students at Alamo Elementary School in San Francisco’s outer Richmond neighborhood were given a hands-on lesson in the art of pizza making from a real life chef. Dante Cecchini from the Cal-Italian restaurant Fiorella spent an afternoon with the students, teaching them how to make the pie from scratch.
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San Francisco boy honored for saving uncle's life after calling 911
A 12-year-old boy was honored by his school and by the city of San Francisco for calling 911 and saving his uncle's life. On Wednesday, Adrian Perez met the dispatcher who helped him along the way. "I want you to put one hand on his forehead and the other under his chin and tilt his head back," she said during the 911 call.
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For Mission High coach victory is sweet, but it's all about the kids
Winning it all is what every coach dreams of—leading a team to victory, breaking records, making history. But for Arnold Zelaya, coach of the state champion Mission High School Bears, it’s much more than that. It’s about dedicating his time, effort, passion and love to his basketball team, and if they happen to win something along the way, so much the better.
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A school district that's starting gender diversity conversations early
It’s a Tuesday after school and 25 elementary school personnel are gathered at the Office of School Health of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). They are there to learn about gender diversity and how to bring this conversation into the elementary schools. The District is breaking new ground by giving educators tools and resources to make their classrooms, curriculum, and health services inclusive of children of all gender identities and expressions.
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Spearheads of sustainability: SF Unified School District takes action
Darya Soofi is the Conservation Manager at San Francisco Unified School District and a lead team member bringing green initiatives to schools. The multi-faceted office concentrates on a number of initiatives including; waste, energy-reduction, water-conservation and zero-carbon goals.
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San Francisco International High School moving to Enola Maxwell campus
Principal Julia Kessler is delighted with her school’s relocation to the Maxwell campus. The facility features an additional six classrooms, cafeteria, physical education area, study rooms, library and possibly a dance studio.
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US history comes alive for SF students attending ‘Hamilton’
When 17-year-old Nathan Lam started listening to the cast recording of “Hamilton” at the beginning of his junior year at San Francisco’s Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, he quickly found he was hooked. “I couldn’t stop thinking about ‘Hamilton.’ I’m sure my grades plummeted,” he joked. But on Wednesday, he was among a group of lucky high school students who got to experience the show for free as part of the educational program #EduHam that first launched in New York.
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San Francisco students help save bees after population declines
The bee population is declining around the world, threatening food crops and our ecosystem, so some students at Visitacion Valley Middle School in San Francisco are trying to help save them. The school recently installed two beehives on its roof and are now learning about the life cycle of bees, and how they pollinate crops.
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High schools turning to student portfolios to assess academic progress
On the final Friday of the fall semester, San Francisco International High School seniors Yoselin Aplicano, Brenda Cortez and Yoselin Boyuin stood in front of about 30 of their classmates. The trio previously turned in individual research papers on the topic of “stereotype threat,” a concept developed by Claude Steele, now at the University of California Berkeley, on the social impact of conforming to misconceptions about one’s race, gender or sexual orientation.
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San Francisco Unified School District graduation rates on the rise
Graduation rates for San Francisco’s public high school students have continued to increase overall, according to state data released this week. The overall graduation rate for students in 2015 was 86.5 percent, higher than the state rate of 82.7 percent, according to the California Department of Education’s 2015-2016 Cohort Outcome Data, which was released Tuesday.
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Students from different cultures collaborate to communicate with each other
At San Francisco International High School, students speak some 18 different languages from around the world. While there are many ways to teach students whose first language is not English, a classroom full of so many different languages calls for some special techniques.
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LGBTQ+ history as a road map
As the teacher of Mission High School’s first LGBTQ+ class, I often feel a pang of jealousy. I think about what it would have been like for myself, as a young questioning queer student, to be exposed to LGBTQ history and gender studies in high school.
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Q&A: Melissa Dodd on filling in the access to tech gap
As CTO of San Franciso Unified School District, Melissa Dodd has spent many hours trying ensure that all of their 57,000 students have equal access to the tech tools needed to innovate. We talked with Dodd about this process.
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San Francisco high schoolers tap AR to tackle environmental issues
In San Francisco, a city that has been leading the fight to slow climate change, high school students will soon spend class time using augmented reality (AR) to figure out how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Lincoln High School recently received EduCycle, an AR gaming platform that challenges students to reduce the United States’ carbon dioxide emissions to the level specified in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
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Radio Poets 2017
For National Poetry Month, KALW and America SCORES Bay Area have teamed up to bring you the voices of young poets from San Francisco’s public schools. America SCORES helps young “poet-athletes” discover the benefits of working together as a team, the joy of physical activity, and the fun in reading and writing. Throughout April 2017, you can hear these young people read their poems on KALW.
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San Francisco's Mission High basketball team treated to special night at Oracle Arena
Mission High School's boys' basketball team is still enjoying the spotlight, more than one week since capturing the state championship, the first time ever for a San Francisco public school. The team was treated to special seats at the Warriors game, where they were recognized for their historic run.
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