|
|
This month we celebrate harvests of all kinds. Family members, students and teachers will be gathering in November to look at student essays, drawings and other examples of what students and teachers have been growing since school began. Please take part in the most important gathering this November—your parent teacher conference.
—Dr. Vincent Matthews, Superintendent
|
|
|
How are your children doing at school? Get an update from their teachers and ask your questions during Family Teacher Conference Week, from Nov. 26 to Nov. 30 for elementary and middle schools—check with your school for a schedule. We have tips on how to make the most of your time.
|
|
|
November is National Family Literacy Month! It’s a great time to recommit to your child’s learning and literacy development while spending quality time together. Here are some resources to help you keep a family-focused approach to education for this month and beyond.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking for preschool options in your neighborhood? Interested in learning more about financial aid for preschool? Join us on Nov. 7 for the City of San Francisco Preschool Fair to meet a variety of child care and center-based preschool providers.
|
|
|
|
Join us on Dec. 5 for an interactive public forum to see how SFUSD students are doing, ways that schools are supporting success, and how you can participate in the process. Light dinner, interpretation and child care will be provided.
|
|
|
Have you pledged to join the movement? In October, we celebrated the nationally-recognized Digital Citizenship Week to encourage students to exercise appropriate online behavior when using digital tools. Check out these resources to ensure your family is safe and responsible while online.
|
|
|
SFUSD celebrates a history of creating safe and supportive learning environments for all students, including our Lesbian and Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ) students. Read more about how we are committed to protecting our transgender and gender-expansive students.
|
|
|
|
|
Go vote on Nov. 6! Three positions on SFUSD's Board of Education will be decided in this election. You can look up your sample ballot and polling place at San Francisco's Department of Elections.
|
|
|
|
SFUSD is planning to develop a new school in the Mission Bay neighborhood. We hosted a community briefing on Oct. 17 to share recommendations and collect input. If you couldn't make it, you can still learn about the proposed school and provide input online.
|
|
|
Get a head start on National Family Literacy Month by going to the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library's Big Book Sale from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4. Books will be restocked daily with new and exciting finds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discovery Day
Meet local scientists and engineers, take part in hands-on activities and explore science at Discovery Day on Saturday, Nov. 3.
|
|
|
Veterans Day
All SFUSD schools and offices will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12, in observance of Veterans Day.
|
|
|
Thanksgiving Recess
All SFUSD schools will be closed for Thanksgiving Recess from Nov. 19-23. Offices will be closed from Nov. 22-23.
|
|
|
|
SFUSD in the News
|
|
|
|
|
A district CTO talks about her district's winding path to interoperability
The San Francisco Unified School District is trying to make its way through the data maze. For years, much of the school system’s data on attendance, academic performance, and student behavior has been stuck in silos, where few teachers and administrators could access it, much less make practical use of it. Now, San Francisco district officials have set out to end those disconnects through the pursuit of “interoperability,” a strategy for making data more useful and accessible—and a driver of classroom improvements, rather than an impediment.
|
| |
|
|
How cultural costumes help San Francisco kindergartners learn about inclusion
Every Halloween for the last 17 years, Monica Lun has made Chinese-themed group costumes for her classes to promote inclusion. The idea for making costumes first came when Lun was teaching Chinese to a bilingual kindergarten class that included a lot of immigrant students. She said many of them were unfamiliar with some of the popular Halloween costumes. She added that other students would dress in nicer costumes, which made the class feel less unified.
|
| |
|
|
Great Shakeout a reminder to drop, cover and hold
It was a hands-on reminder of what to do in an earthquake: drop, cover and hold on. KCBS Radio’s Jenna Lane reports on the annual Great Shakeout drill from Bryant Elementary School in San Francisco.
|
| |
|
|
California test scores improve in elementary and middle schools, fall in high schools
California students performed slightly better on the state's standardized test, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress tests (CAASPP), this year than in 2017, and substantially better than in 2015.
|
| |
|
|
Walk & Roll to School Day goes big in 2018
This year’s Walk & Roll to School Day marked a decade of the city’s Safe Routes to Schools program to help kids get to school in a safe, healthy, active way. Over 90 schools participated, with students accompanied by city leaders at several schools.
|
| |
|
|
Conflict resolution to support kids’ learning: The San Francisco Unified School District partners with the Bar Association of San Francisco
Beginning in the fall of 2014, and under the initial leadership of retired San Francisco Judge Patrick Mahoney and former SFUSD assistant superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco, representatives from BASF’s Mediation Services Program and key personnel at the SFUSD’s special education department started a conversation about bringing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods into the schools.
|
| |
|
|
Grantees bring 'Losing Earth' to San Francisco's Lincoln High School
On September 12, 2018 at Lincoln High School in San Francisco, California, Pulitzer Center grantees Nathaniel Rich and George Steinmetz presented "Losing Earth," their groundbreaking New York Times Magazine reporting on how political and business leaders agreed on the causes of climate change, but failed to act.
|
| |
|
|
San Francisco ups its drain game, starting with schools
An elementary school in San Francisco’s Sunset District just celebrated the completion of a project that will help it better manage its stormwater. KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi says it’s part of a larger effort to upgrade drainage systems throughout the city.
|
| |
|
|
How one city got math right
Gains are being made by the full range of students in San Francisco Unified. Students who’ve traditionally underachieved in math or not participated at high levels—for example, students of color, female students, students of low socioeconomic status, bilingual students and students with special needs—have all experienced increases in achievement.
|
| |
|
|
America's teacher shortage
On the first day of the 2016–17 school year, the San Francisco Unified School District was short 38 teachers. Since then, SFUSD has turbo-charged its recruitment and retainment efforts, working to attract existing teachers and launching a number of new programs to establish a robust, predictable pipeline of qualified teachers. Thanks to the district's two-pronged approach, SFUSD schools opened this fall with 99 percent of the district's classroom vacancies filled.
|
| |
|
|
Hundreds of students at HBCU Fair gain sense of hope and head start for college admissions
More than 500 high school juniors and seniors from around the Bay Area convened at San Francisco’s Mission High School for the Seventh Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities Recruitment Fair. Dozens of students were admitted to schools on the spot while many walked away with merit-based scholarships.
|
| |
|
|
SFUSD plans Bullying Prevention Month events
In San Francisco, SFUSD has put a lot of effort into anti-bullying lessons, resources and programs. SFUSD believes in inclusive schools. Through their health education curriculum, social-emotional learning (SEL) framework and support services, they aim to build a supportive and inclusive school environment in the classroom and school community. Throughout National Bullying Prevention Month in October and the school year, there are a number of school-wide events planned that include bullying prevention efforts.
|
|