We have wrapped up the 2023-24 school year and summer is here. While we continue to address the challenges before us as a school district, it’s also important to celebrate bright spots, reflect on our progress, and express gratitude for one another. To that end, I want to thank you for all of your dedication and commitment to our students and families during the school year. I hope you are taking time to relax and refresh during the summer break. 

 

One of our successes this past school year where your contributions made a significant impact is our new Each and Every Name Initiative for our historically underserved students: African American and Pacific Islander kindergarten students. Under this initiative, we made sure we understood the needs of every African American and Pacific Islander kindergartener and supported their journey to become readers. More than half of African American and Pacific Islander kindergarteners ended the school year meeting or exceeding standards for literacy. I want to thank all of our educators, who worked tirelessly with our families and students, to achieve these amazing results. Watch this video to learn more about the initiative.

 

We have started our monthly informational meetings about the upcoming transition to Frontline, our new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and Red Rover, our new Human Capital Management Suite (HCM). We encourage you to attend these meetings to get the latest updates on the transition and to get your questions answered. You can learn more about these meetings and the latest information on the implementation on the Frontline and Red Rover Implementation Updates website. 

 

We also recently published two sets of Frequently Asked Questions FAQs) related to our budget, including a set focused on the budget development for the 2024-25 fiscal year. These FAQs are intended to address questions about district funding and the corrective actions we are taking on our budget. 

 

Please keep reading this month’s newsletter for updates on these topics and more. 

 

In Community,

Dr. Wayne

SFUSD is transitioning from our current payroll, finance, and human resources systems – including EMPowerSF – to a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, called Frontline and a Human Capital Management Suite (HCM) called Red Rover. The target date for fully implementing these new systems is July 2025. Learn more about the transition.

 

SFUSD will go live with one feature of Red Rover, substitute management, at the start of the upcoming 2024-25 school year. 

SFUSD is engaged in a process to align our resources to our goals for student outcomes. This includes planning for school mergers, co-locations, and closures in the 2025-26 school year.

 

At the Board of Education regular meeting on June 25, SFUSD leadership will present recommendations on the criteria, categories, weights, and metrics to create composite scores for each school. These scores will be among multiple factors in our recommendations for changes to SFUSD’s school portfolio for the 2025-26 school year.

 
Read weekly updates on the Resource Alignment Initiative, or go to the website to find out more.

The Human Resources department congratulates all SFUSD staff for the incredible work that has been done this school year. We hope that our continued efforts to partner with supervisors, labor partners, and employees have made an improvement in your experience as an employee of the district.

This year, we successfully filled 90% of our vacancies and hit a 98% absence coverage rate for classroom staff— ensuring continuity in our mission to provide our students with high-quality education. We also received and resolved over 20,000 support requests across staffing, credentials, benefits, leaves, salary, employment verification, labor, and work restrictions, while fulfilling an increased volume of contractual obligations that granted historic raises to our employees. 

These milestones represent not just numbers, but our commitment to making an impact on our students and the mission of our organization. We hope to carry forward the spirit of collaboration and commitment to excellence this upcoming year. Thank you for your dedication to the students and families of San Francisco!

 

Learn more about SFUSD's Bond Program.

Superintendent's 21st Century Award Winners

Six graduating seniors who exemplify the characteristics of SFUSD’s Graduate Profile were awarded with scholarships and honored at a ceremony during Ignite Potential 2024. Congratulations to the winning students!

New Student Arts Exhibition at    555 Franklin 

In June, San Francisco International High School teacher Dominico Nguyen (right) and Vicki Araiza (left) from SFUSD's Arts Department curated artwork from SF International students for a new arts exhibition near the Enrollment Center at the 555 Franklin St. office. Stop by to check out the incredible student work! 

Each and Every Name Initiative

 

In 2023-24, SFUSD tried a new systemic approach to supporting its most historically underserved students by making it a point to know each and every African American and Pacific Islander kindergarten student by name and provide the necessary support and resources to help them thrive. Thanks to this approach, we have surpassed our interim goal with Kindergarten grade-level reading proficiency! 

 

Learn more about the initiative. 

Summer Literacy Fairs

 

SFUSD District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) organized two Summer Literacy Fairs for PK-5 graders and their families to celebrate literacy and encourage students to develop their literacy skills over the summer break. 

14th Annual Gail Sadalla Rising Peacemaker Award Recipient

 

Oscar Rojas Lopez, an 18-year-old Mission High School graduate, was honored at the City Club of San Francisco on June 7. He was a peer mediator at his school and helped create a more peaceful school environment and community. Oscar led mediations in over 20 disputes at his school.

 

Learn more about the 2024 SF Peacemaker Awards.

#WeAreSFUSD

 

“I love connecting with families and students and supporting them in learning how to navigate the world and each other.”

 

-Naroth Than, James Denman Middle School, Head Counselor

 

Read more #WeAreSFUSD stories or submit your own #WeAreSFUSD story for a chance to be featured on SFUSD’s website and social media pages.

Budget Updates

 

SFUSD is actively working on implementing budget-balancing solutions. Read FAQs about how the budget works as well as FAQs about budget development for the 2024-25 school year.

 

For instance, you can find the answers to these questions:

March with SFUSD in the Pride Parade

SFUSD has been a leader in providing LGBTQ+ student services and inclusive curriculum for nearly 35 years. Celebrate our collective commitment to all students and families by being part of our official contingent in SF's Pride Parade on Saturday, June 30. Sign up by June 27 to save a spot.

Juneteenth

 

Juneteenth was on Wednesday, June 19 this year. Happy Juneteenth!