Friday, July 10, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Open forum: Summer!
I'll be traveling for a few weeks so here's an open forum post where you can bring up various topics. I will check email and the site periodically but not daily. Thanks! Best, Kate
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Hot topic: Would a formal complaint system improve our district?
An SF K Files visitor asked me to post the following:
Here's an article I would suggest you to link to. Think SFUSD would look different if it adopted this policy?
http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=11482&snItemNumber=9
For some reason, in the school business we don’t much like to hear the negatives of our practice. It might be we have this problem with criticism because our output is such an indefinable, ambiguous product.
We like to point fingers at those who come before us. But if we took blame out of the equation, then maybe we would look at the problems we face in education with a perspective of resolution instead of helpless blaming.
Inviting complaints, acknowledging the problem and then seeking answers in an expeditious manner not only improves practice but also builds loyalty and appreciation from those we serve. And when parents are loyal and appreciative, the things we can accomplish are simply awe-inspiring.
Resolution Advice
Here are a few tips on do-it-yourself complaint resolution. Or consider this advice that will help to avoid hiring an expensive consultant to tell you what is wrong in your school or district.
• Seek complaints. Ask for the compliments and the bad stuff. Don’t become defensive when you hear bad news. Instead, probe for the exact nature of the problem, the resolution sought and ideas for how to accomplish this. A well-stated problem in operational terms can really help get a resolution under way.
• Let the person closest to the problem attempt to resolve the problem prior to your intervention. I always tell the educators with whom I work that I support them. However, I also let them know if they have made a mistake they need to get on top of fixing it or apprise me of the situation so I can attempt to resolve it (or at least get into damage-control mode).
I advise educators that if a school constituent calls me with a complaint, the first thing I will do is ask if he or she has contacted the educator in question. If not, then I probe for further information and ask the constituent if I can have the educator call him or her. If a resolution is not reached, the constituent is to call me back. In 99 percent of the issues, I never hear from the constituent again.
At the same time, the educator feels supported because I have allowed him or her to resolve the problem. The educator understands if he or she doesn’t resolve the problem, then I will do so because if I don’t, the problem will go over my head and someone on the school board or in the local news media will resolve it — and probably not to our satisfaction.
• Do something. It’s not good enough to hear a complaint and then agree with the complaint. If you can’t do anything, chances are the complainant will find someone who will.
The most effective job you can do is to listen dispassionately and objectively. Is the complaint reasonable? Is it coming from a reasonable person who has not gone off the deep end because his or her child has ADHD or SAB (simply annoying behavior)? You must be the professional who provides advice on dealing with a difficult child or educator instead of throwing up your hands and blaming someone else.
Find resources, find help, find solutions. You won’t have just one ADHD or SAB student in your schools nor will you have just one difficult employee so find help for the parents, and you will find help for your employees and yourself at the same time.
• When you don’t know how to solve the complainer’s problem, simply ask, “How can we make this right?” Not only will you get a solution that the constituent will agree with since he or she is suggesting it, but there’s a good chance this idea of how to make things right will require less work or worry on your part than what you would have come up with minus the input.
Systemic Answers
• If there’s a pattern to the complaints, then address the pattern. A systemic problem needs a systemic approach to resolution. You are the one to be able to see a recurring complaint that your team and you can address. Adopt the attitude of fixing the problem rather than living with it.
• Find ways to have your employees adopt a schoolwide culture of using complaints as a way to improve practice. State it in your mission or school district goals, but constantly press for this way of seeing school operations from everyone in the system (from central office to principals, teachers, custodians, etc.). Constantly model an appreciation for complaints and resolving them by using this same approach with your employees, and point out what you are doing. Do not make problems your problems but our problems, and remember to get the complainers to help resolve the problem.
When you start to look at complaints as an opportunity to improve your organization rather than an attack on your organization, then you will (after a brief moment of regret and irritation) take your organization to a new level of performance. Wouldn’t it be nice if when community members left your schools they remembered their experience with schools as one of the best of their lives?
Embracing complaints will help you to make a positive difference in the lives of our students. And that is, after all, why we are all here.
Jan Borelli, a former superintendent, is principal of Westwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City, Okla. E-mail: janborelli@gmail.com
Here's an article I would suggest you to link to. Think SFUSD would look different if it adopted this policy?
http://www.aasa.org/
For some reason, in the school business we don’t much like to hear the negatives of our practice. It might be we have this problem with criticism because our output is such an indefinable, ambiguous product.
We like to point fingers at those who come before us. But if we took blame out of the equation, then maybe we would look at the problems we face in education with a perspective of resolution instead of helpless blaming.
Inviting complaints, acknowledging the problem and then seeking answers in an expeditious manner not only improves practice but also builds loyalty and appreciation from those we serve. And when parents are loyal and appreciative, the things we can accomplish are simply awe-inspiring.
Resolution Advice
Here are a few tips on do-it-yourself complaint resolution. Or consider this advice that will help to avoid hiring an expensive consultant to tell you what is wrong in your school or district.
• Seek complaints. Ask for the compliments and the bad stuff. Don’t become defensive when you hear bad news. Instead, probe for the exact nature of the problem, the resolution sought and ideas for how to accomplish this. A well-stated problem in operational terms can really help get a resolution under way.
• Let the person closest to the problem attempt to resolve the problem prior to your intervention. I always tell the educators with whom I work that I support them. However, I also let them know if they have made a mistake they need to get on top of fixing it or apprise me of the situation so I can attempt to resolve it (or at least get into damage-control mode).
I advise educators that if a school constituent calls me with a complaint, the first thing I will do is ask if he or she has contacted the educator in question. If not, then I probe for further information and ask the constituent if I can have the educator call him or her. If a resolution is not reached, the constituent is to call me back. In 99 percent of the issues, I never hear from the constituent again.
At the same time, the educator feels supported because I have allowed him or her to resolve the problem. The educator understands if he or she doesn’t resolve the problem, then I will do so because if I don’t, the problem will go over my head and someone on the school board or in the local news media will resolve it — and probably not to our satisfaction.
• Do something. It’s not good enough to hear a complaint and then agree with the complaint. If you can’t do anything, chances are the complainant will find someone who will.
The most effective job you can do is to listen dispassionately and objectively. Is the complaint reasonable? Is it coming from a reasonable person who has not gone off the deep end because his or her child has ADHD or SAB (simply annoying behavior)? You must be the professional who provides advice on dealing with a difficult child or educator instead of throwing up your hands and blaming someone else.
Find resources, find help, find solutions. You won’t have just one ADHD or SAB student in your schools nor will you have just one difficult employee so find help for the parents, and you will find help for your employees and yourself at the same time.
• When you don’t know how to solve the complainer’s problem, simply ask, “How can we make this right?” Not only will you get a solution that the constituent will agree with since he or she is suggesting it, but there’s a good chance this idea of how to make things right will require less work or worry on your part than what you would have come up with minus the input.
Systemic Answers
• If there’s a pattern to the complaints, then address the pattern. A systemic problem needs a systemic approach to resolution. You are the one to be able to see a recurring complaint that your team and you can address. Adopt the attitude of fixing the problem rather than living with it.
• Find ways to have your employees adopt a schoolwide culture of using complaints as a way to improve practice. State it in your mission or school district goals, but constantly press for this way of seeing school operations from everyone in the system (from central office to principals, teachers, custodians, etc.). Constantly model an appreciation for complaints and resolving them by using this same approach with your employees, and point out what you are doing. Do not make problems your problems but our problems, and remember to get the complainers to help resolve the problem.
When you start to look at complaints as an opportunity to improve your organization rather than an attack on your organization, then you will (after a brief moment of regret and irritation) take your organization to a new level of performance. Wouldn’t it be nice if when community members left your schools they remembered their experience with schools as one of the best of their lives?
Embracing complaints will help you to make a positive difference in the lives of our students. And that is, after all, why we are all here.
Jan Borelli, a former superintendent, is principal of Westwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City, Okla. E-mail: janborelli@gmail.com
Hot topic: San Francisco Unified Expulsion, Suspension, and Truancy Information for 2007-08
An SF K Files visitor asked me to post the following:
When I looked for a Kindergarten, this is the type of data I looked at:
San Francisco Unified Expulsion, Suspension, and Truancy Information for 2007-08
sobering numbers:
http://tinyurl.com/m976tp
It's hard to imagine elementary-aged children being expelled ...
When I looked for a Kindergarten, this is the type of data I looked at:
San Francisco Unified Expulsion, Suspension, and Truancy Information for 2007-08
sobering numbers:
http://tinyurl.com/m976tp
It's hard to imagine elementary-aged children being expelled ...
Friday, June 5, 2009
Hot topic: How did this year go?
An SF K Files asked me to start the following thread:
If you've had a child in school this past year, take a moment to tell the (excited, eager, frantic, depressed, hysteria or just plain exhausted) folks waiting to start Kindergarten how it went. What did your child learn? What surprised you in a good way? What surprised you in a bad way? What do you wish you knew then that you know now? And if the school your child got into wasn't the school of your dreams, are you okay with it now or still mourning?
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A letter from Paul Revere parents
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited San Francisco in May as part of his "Listening and Learning" tour through 15 states.
Early in his visit the Secretary expressed grave concerns about California schools, colleges, and universities ("U.S. schools chief: State longshot for stimulus," The Chronicle, May 23) saying that "California has lost its way."
"Your state once had the best education system in the country," Duncan told educators and executives. "I ask you, is California going to lead the race to the top or are you going to lead the retreat?"
His remarks were undoubtedly driven by a desire to trigger the state to take innovative approaches and make serious reforms in education. As part of the federal government's stimulus package, more than $4 billion is available for states that exceed their peers in improving test scores at the worst-performing schools. The money is to be used in part to improve development opportunities for teachers and other educationstaff.
However, as California looks to slash education funding in the face of a budget crisis, it seems clear that it will in no way increase its chances of getting those federal funds. Furthermore, as Duncan told San Francisco Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia, individual school districts cannot apply for such funds independently.
The Secretary then spent the afternoon on the ground, at the University of California San Francisco and Paul Revere Elementary School in Bernal Heights. Paul Revere is the city's only pre-K-through-8th-grade public school and it offers a Spanish Immersion program as well as English language curriculum while serving a largely low-income, mostly minority population.
At Paul Revere the Secretary should have learned some lessons to spur the Obama administration and Congress into reconsidering whether to give individual school districts access to federal stimulus money. At Paul Revere and other schools, the San Francisco school district is taking exactly those steps that the federal government seems to be looking for.
Principal Lance Tagomori and his staff are focusing on teacher development, on ensuring a path to success for each and every student, and on involving the community in the process.
Such efforts are not unique to San Francisco, but they are repeated across this city and are part of a turnaround in education that is starting to show results. At Paul Revere, for example, some 20 percent of this year's 39 8th graders have been accepted to Lowell High School in San Francisco, which is ranked by Newsweek one of the top 100 schools in the country.
Back in Washington, Duncan should look back on what he has seen and understand that budgetary failure at the state level should not undermine our tremendous strides, creative initiatives and community-driven gains on the local level. Individual districts are working hard to make the changes envisioned by the federalgovernment, but their hands may be tied by the state's refusal to support education. San Francisco seems unique in that this city is helping to fund schools with its own rainy day fund.
Our city leaders are willing to walk the walk of making education a top priority. That should be recognized and rewarded by allowing individual districts like San Francisco to qualify for stimulus money. San Francisco and schools like Paul Revere are ready to lead the race to the top, even if the state is in retreat.
Sincerely,
Paul Revere parents
Carel van Panthaleon van Eck
Anabel Ibañez
Margie Pollock
Charlotte Allen
Joy DiPaola
Lorraine Orlandi
Early in his visit the Secretary expressed grave concerns about California schools, colleges, and universities ("U.S. schools chief: State longshot for stimulus," The Chronicle, May 23) saying that "California has lost its way."
"Your state once had the best education system in the country," Duncan told educators and executives. "I ask you, is California going to lead the race to the top or are you going to lead the retreat?"
His remarks were undoubtedly driven by a desire to trigger the state to take innovative approaches and make serious reforms in education. As part of the federal government's stimulus package, more than $4 billion is available for states that exceed their peers in improving test scores at the worst-performing schools. The money is to be used in part to improve development opportunities for teachers and other educationstaff.
However, as California looks to slash education funding in the face of a budget crisis, it seems clear that it will in no way increase its chances of getting those federal funds. Furthermore, as Duncan told San Francisco Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia, individual school districts cannot apply for such funds independently.
The Secretary then spent the afternoon on the ground, at the University of California San Francisco and Paul Revere Elementary School in Bernal Heights. Paul Revere is the city's only pre-K-through-8th-grade public school and it offers a Spanish Immersion program as well as English language curriculum while serving a largely low-income, mostly minority population.
At Paul Revere the Secretary should have learned some lessons to spur the Obama administration and Congress into reconsidering whether to give individual school districts access to federal stimulus money. At Paul Revere and other schools, the San Francisco school district is taking exactly those steps that the federal government seems to be looking for.
Principal Lance Tagomori and his staff are focusing on teacher development, on ensuring a path to success for each and every student, and on involving the community in the process.
Such efforts are not unique to San Francisco, but they are repeated across this city and are part of a turnaround in education that is starting to show results. At Paul Revere, for example, some 20 percent of this year's 39 8th graders have been accepted to Lowell High School in San Francisco, which is ranked by Newsweek one of the top 100 schools in the country.
Back in Washington, Duncan should look back on what he has seen and understand that budgetary failure at the state level should not undermine our tremendous strides, creative initiatives and community-driven gains on the local level. Individual districts are working hard to make the changes envisioned by the federalgovernment, but their hands may be tied by the state's refusal to support education. San Francisco seems unique in that this city is helping to fund schools with its own rainy day fund.
Our city leaders are willing to walk the walk of making education a top priority. That should be recognized and rewarded by allowing individual districts like San Francisco to qualify for stimulus money. San Francisco and schools like Paul Revere are ready to lead the race to the top, even if the state is in retreat.
Sincerely,
Paul Revere parents
Carel van Panthaleon van Eck
Anabel Ibañez
Margie Pollock
Charlotte Allen
Joy DiPaola
Lorraine Orlandi
SFUSD budget meeting
There will be a Community Meeting held on Wednesday, June 17, from 6:30 to 8pm at James Lick Middle School to discuss the SFUSD budget for the upcoming year. To be covered:
Interpretation in Spanish and Chinese available. Contact 241-6081.
For more information, please contact budget@sfusd.edu.
- Raise awareness of the state’s budget and its implications for SFUSD
- Share information about SFUSD’s budget outlook, including
- the impact of federal stimulus funds, Prop A parcel tax, Prop H, and rainy day funds
- outlook for school budgets
- -Gather feedback (overall impressions and specific ideas) from participants about what SFUSD should consider in difficult budgetary planning
- Let SFUSD community members know what they can do to advocate on behalf of San Francisco’s schools
Interpretation in Spanish and Chinese available. Contact 241-6081.
For more information, please contact budget@sfusd.edu.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Mission High School Students beat the odds
Last week, I had the opportunity to spend some time with four Mission High School students who are graduating this week and going to college in the fall. They all overcome tremendous obstacles--mainly rough home lives--to get to where they are. I wrote up their stories in the following SFGate post: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?&entry_id=40827.
Hot topic: Budget cuts
An SF K Files readers asked me to post the following:
I was wondering if you might start a thread or post some information or links regarding the implications of the state budget cuts for K-12.
Chanes to 2010-11 calendar
The Board of Education discussed proposed changes to the 2010-11 calendar at their regular meeting on Tuesday, May 26th, with a second reading and vote scheduled for Tuesday, June 9th.
The proposed changes are designed to end the first semester before the Winter Break, which would mean that the school year would start earlier in August and end at the end of May.
1st semester starts Monday, August 16 and ends Friday, December 17.
2nd semester starts Monday, January 3 and ends Friday, May 27.
See Draft A (29kb,pdf)
There would be a year before the proposed changes go into effect, allowing the district time to assure that summer programming remains intact. If you wish to speak to the BOE about the proposal, please call the Board office at 241-6493. If you wish to email your comments, feel free to contact Deena Zacharin, Director of the Office of School/Family Partnership at zacharind@sfusd.edu.
Hot topic: Lakeshore Inclusion Program
An SF K Files reader asked me to post the following:
Since you have so many viewers I was hoping you'd post a question: "Does anyone out there have feedback/information on the inclusion program at Lakeshore?"
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Hot topic: Important upcoming dates
An SF K Files readers asked me to post the following:
I just got off the phone with EPC and they informed me of the following:
July 6, 2009:SFUSD mails letters to families where waitpool choice can be assigned.
Aug 18, 2009: SFUSD mails letters to families where waitpool choice can be assigned
Aug 28, 2009: SFUSD CALLS families where waitpool choice can be assigned.
Sept 18, 2009: SFUSD CALLS families where waitpool choice can be assigned.
Afterwards, the waitpool gets dissolved.
I just got off the phone with EPC and they informed me of the following:
July 6, 2009:SFUSD mails letters to families where waitpool choice can be assigned.
Aug 18, 2009: SFUSD mails letters to families where waitpool choice can be assigned
Aug 28, 2009: SFUSD CALLS families where waitpool choice can be assigned.
Sept 18, 2009: SFUSD CALLS families where waitpool choice can be assigned.
Afterwards, the waitpool gets dissolved.
Hot topic: middle schools
An SF K Files reader asked me to post the following:
Hi, I know that there have been mentions in passing of middle schools on various threads on your blog in the past, but I was wondering if you could start a thread talking about different middle schools in SF. I think there are lots of your readers who are now starting to think (worry?) about middle school -- I know I am! I also get anecdotal information suggesting that there have been recent major changes at some middle schools -- some for the better, some for worse. Any chance of setting up a thread?
Parents wants to get in touch with new Flynn families
An SF K Files reader asked me to post the following:
Hi:
I'd like to get in touch with parents of new kindergarteners who will be starting in the Flynn School Gen Ed program this fall. My daughter Elizabeth will be starting this coming fall, and it would be great if she had the chance to meet with other new Flynn kindergarteners before school starts up. (And, I'd enjoy meeting parents of kids starting up at Flynn!)
I'd like to arrange an informal get-together for the kids some afternoon at the Precita Park playground.
Please email me (sjholcombe@mindspring.com) if you'd like to get together, or feel free to pass on my email to other parents with kids starting kindergarten in Flynn's Gen Ed program.
Thanks, Sarah
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Hot topic: Open enrollment
Open enrollment starts on Monday. Feel free to ask questions and discuss your concerns in the comments. Parents for Public Schools will be monitoring the comments.
Hot topic: Everyday Math
An SF K Files visitor suggested that I post the following:
I followed the discussion on your blog concerning Everyday Math in the SFUSD. I left some comments and a link to an article I wrote that generally talked about the problems of math education in the US. Because it appeared in a journal published by Hoover Institution, I was instantly branded as right wing, so of course I would have such opinions.I'm used to this at this point. There are many parents--liberals included--across many school districts who do not like what passes for math courses. You may be interested in an article that I wrote about my experience tutoring my daughter using Singapore math to escapte the train wreck of Everyday Math. It was just published a little over a week ago. It can be found here:I suggest you look into using Singapore Math for tutoring your children at home, as many parents have done. I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have about this.
Hot topic: Homeschooling
An SF K Files visitor suggested that I start the following thread:
Could you please start a new thread on online school/home school? We are out 0/15 and as the school year approaches, I was looking at some other options and stumbled on this website http://www.k12.com/cava/ essentially an online public school program which gives materials out so there is more guidance if anyone chooses to homeschool. Both of us work so we had not considered homeschool at all, but I was wondering if there are other parents who are looking into it as well and if there was an interest in a small co-op where working parents could help in other ways. Do other working parents have any ideas? I dont think we will want to homeschool past KG, but this might be something to do as a back-up as the public school enrollment plays out. People who do know about homeschooling, any ideas/suggestions?
Children's Rally
Join the California Children's Rally
June 23, 2009
Capitol Steps, Sacramento, CA
Organized by Burning Moms, a grassroots group of parents rallying to change education funding in California. Sandra Tsing Loh presented her documentary, "Burning Mom," about last year's rally at the PPS-SF Annual Meeting.
For more information and to sign up to join go to their website at californiachildrensrally.com
June 23, 2009
Capitol Steps, Sacramento, CA
Organized by Burning Moms, a grassroots group of parents rallying to change education funding in California. Sandra Tsing Loh presented her documentary, "Burning Mom," about last year's rally at the PPS-SF Annual Meeting.
For more information and to sign up to join go to their website at californiachildrensrally.com
Hot topic: School search blogs
An SF K Files visitor suggested that I post the following. Also, please feel free to post links to your own school blogs in the comments:
hey I was thinking - I bet there are tens if not hundreds of people who you have prompted to start their own blog re: their "search for school" experiences. I would love to read those other blogs. Is there a way you could have a place for people to post links to their own blogs?
Rosa Parks Fund-raiser
Come to our Family FUNdraiser: June 6th from 4:30-10:30
Stern Grove Clubhouse
Sorry for my absence
I'm sorry. I neglected the site over the past two weeks. If you have topic suggestions or want me to post info regarding an event, feel free to send them to thesfkfiles@gmail.com. Thanks! Best, Kate
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Upcoming Parent Meeting about School Food!
Current, Prospective and Soon-to-be SFUSD Parents,
Are you interested in learning more about the food in SFUSD schools, and how to improve it? Do you want to see more fresh fruits and vegetables served with school meals? Perhaps you have heard about the food in Berkeley schools and wonder why San Francisco is different? Are you dreaming about locally-grown foods in our cafeterias?
If you answered yes to any of the above, this is your chance to learn about SFUSD’s food program, and discuss options for change.
Please join us for an evening of information, conversation and brainstorming!
Where: Mission High School
3750 18th St. (at Dolores) 94114
Cafeteria, 1st Floor
Accessible by MUNI (J Church; 22, 33 buses)
Parking available via Dolores Street
When: Thursday, May 21, 2009
7pm – 9pm
Light refreshments will be served
To RSVP and for more information, contact:
Lena Brook, Parent, Grattan Elementary
lenabrook@yahoo.com <mailto:lenabrook@yahoo.com>
Are you interested in learning more about the food in SFUSD schools, and how to improve it? Do you want to see more fresh fruits and vegetables served with school meals? Perhaps you have heard about the food in Berkeley schools and wonder why San Francisco is different? Are you dreaming about locally-grown foods in our cafeterias?
If you answered yes to any of the above, this is your chance to learn about SFUSD’s food program, and discuss options for change.
Please join us for an evening of information, conversation and brainstorming!
Where: Mission High School
3750 18th St. (at Dolores) 94114
Cafeteria, 1st Floor
Accessible by MUNI (J Church; 22, 33 buses)
Parking available via Dolores Street
When: Thursday, May 21, 2009
7pm – 9pm
Light refreshments will be served
To RSVP and for more information, contact:
Lena Brook, Parent, Grattan Elementary
lenabrook@yahoo.com <mailto:lenabrook@yahoo.com>
Thursday, May 7, 2009
4th Annual Grattan Fun Fest!
Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 11-5 pm. A fun-filled event for the entire family featuring live music by great local bands including The Cottontails, Gaucho, GG Amos and more! Kids' carnival with food, games and prizes, plus a silent auction and wine cellar raffle! Check out our website for more information: www.grattanschool.org.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Claire Lilienthal Mayfair
Please join Claire Lilienthal's students, teachers and families and come celebrate Mayfair this Saturday, May 9th, from 10:30 to 3:30 pm.
The event will take place at Claire Lilienthal's Marina campus, 3630 Divisadero @ Beach and includes a raffle, games, prizes and crafts, plus a jumpy house, climbing wall, dunk tank and a cake walk! Don't miss our delicious Korean food buffet, and our Korean dance and music demonstrations! Raffle grand prize: a ride in KGO's Traffic Spotter Jetcopter.
The event will take place at Claire Lilienthal's Marina campus, 3630 Divisadero @ Beach and includes a raffle, games, prizes and crafts, plus a jumpy house, climbing wall, dunk tank and a cake walk! Don't miss our delicious Korean food buffet, and our Korean dance and music demonstrations! Raffle grand prize: a ride in KGO's Traffic Spotter Jetcopter.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Hot topic: uniforms
This from an SF K Files reader:
I'm interested in hearing from folks about uniforms. both their feelings pro/con and also which schools have uniforms.
Sherman Garden Party
Please join Sherman’s Green Schoolyard Committee at our 2nd annual Sherman Garden Party on Saturday, May 9, 10 am–3 pm.
We welcome families, neighbors, and all kids to the celebration featuring a live trash fashion show, drums, DJ, poetry slam, hip hop, fod, cook-off, herbal salve-making, eco-carnival booth, and more.
www.shermanschool.org
We welcome families, neighbors, and all kids to the celebration featuring a live trash fashion show, drums, DJ, poetry slam, hip hop, fod, cook-off, herbal salve-making, eco-carnival booth, and more.
www.shermanschool.org
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Don't miss: Jose Ortega Dance Party
1,000 Cranes: Help our children soar!
A benefit for Jose Ortega School
A benefit for Jose Ortega School
Saturday, May 9, 2009
7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Potrero Hill Neighborhood House
953 DeHaro Street, San Francisco
Tickets: $20
Jose Ortega Elementary School is throwing it's first-ever Dance Party! Groove to 80s and disco music spun by the Crackerjack DJs, enjoy spectacular views of the KFOG Kaboom fireworks, sample tasty bites prepared by Incanto chef W.P. Teasley, and sip wine while bidding on fabulous auction items including hotel stays, airline tickets, and restaurant gift certificates.
Check out the event Web site and buy tickets by clicking here.
Visit the event's Facebook page by clicking here.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
SPLISH SPLASH PEABODY BASH
Spring is here! Let’s celebrate. We hope you can join us for a whale of a good time at our SPLISH SPLASH PEABODY BASH School Carnival on May 16, 2009 from 11-3 pm. We will have several carnival games, a silent auction and a raffle. George Peabody Elementary School is located at 251 6th Avenue in San Francisco. For more information go to Peabodyschool.com
Hot topic: May election
The following from an SF K Files reader:
I was wondering if you might be able to post info on the upcoming May special election and how the propositions will effect funding to our schools. Our son's preschool is urging everyone to vote "NO" on 1D because it will severely cripple early education funding, but what about the others?
Hot topic: underenrolled schools
The following from an SF K Files reader:
I would be interested in finding out where people end up -- i.e., those who went 0/7 in the public school lottery and who didn't get into any of the independent schools they applied to. Specifically, I'd like to know: (1) the name of the school (2) what they like about the school and (3) whether the school still has openings for the Fall (especially for kindergarten).This could be a way for people to find out about under-enrolled schools and provide some choices for those who are still dissatisfied with their options.
Hot topic: swine flu
SFUSD has posted information about the swine flu on its Web site:
The San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Department of Health (DPH) are working closely together and will keep parents updated as necessary. SFUSD encourages students and staff to continue to take universal precautions to stay well, including: sneeze or cough into a tissue, elbow or sleeve (throw the tissue in the trash after use); wash your hands often with soap and water (especially after you cough or sneeze); use alcohol-based hands cleaners if you have them; avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; and if you are sick, stay home. Learn more about the flu investigation and flu prevention.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Coming up THIS SATURDAY is the Starr King Car Wash, BBQ and Bake Sale!
Get your car washed! Eat some BBQ! Support Starr King students and teachers!
Saturday, April 25th
11am to 3pm
Starr King Elementary School
1215 Carolina Street
Potrero Hill
$5 Basic wash (exterior)
$15 Deluxe (with interior)
Donations above the charge accepted!
Get free BBQ with every wash!
Bring the whole family and invite your friends!
RAIN OR SHINE: The Bake Sale and BBQ will happen in the lunch room in the unlikely event of rain.
Please enter back schoolyard on Wisconsin between Connecticut and 25th Street.
Proceeds benefit the students and teachers of Starr King Elementary School.
Hope to see you there!
Saturday, April 25th
11am to 3pm
Starr King Elementary School
1215 Carolina Street
Potrero Hill
$5 Basic wash (exterior)
$15 Deluxe (with interior)
Donations above the charge accepted!
Get free BBQ with every wash!
Bring the whole family and invite your friends!
RAIN OR SHINE: The Bake Sale and BBQ will happen in the lunch room in the unlikely event of rain.
Please enter back schoolyard on Wisconsin between Connecticut and 25th Street.
Proceeds benefit the students and teachers of Starr King Elementary School.
Hope to see you there!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Hot topic: Everyday Math
This from an SF K Files visitor:
I'd like to see a discussion of "Everyday Math," which was adopted by
the SFUSD under cover of darkness last year and suddenly implemented
in a very short period of time. I'd like to hear parents and
teachers' experiences with it, the perceived advantages of it (if
any), and whether anyone thinks there is anything we can do to
un-adopt it. Avoiding this kind of math instruction was a critical
consideration for us in choosing public school, and now here we are
stuck with it anyway.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Hot topic: Why does California ignore its schools?
This from an SF K Files visitor:
According to today's NYT's article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/
04/15/education/15educ.html?hp
"Currently 6,000 of the nation’s 95,000 schools are labeled as needing corrective action or restructuring because they have fallen short of testing targets under the federal law, which nonetheless provided little financing to help them. Most states have let the targets languish. The stimulus law, in contrast, provides $3 billion for school turnarounds, and requires governors to pledge vigorous action."
Of the 6,000 schools, 2,260 are in California. Being the most populated state is not an excuse (NYC with 19,500,000 as opposed to CA's 36,7000,000 only has 565 schools in this category, and Texas with 24,300,000 people only has 347 of these schools.) As a parent who will soon be entering the CA school system and is ready to get my hands dirty and be involved, I am resentful that I will be doing so much of the work that the state is failing to do. This, more than anything, makes me want to leave CA - the complete disregard for the failing school system. How did it come to this?
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Hot topic: Catholic schools
An SF K Files visitor asked me to post a thread on Catholic schools. Also, here's a link to a past post on the topic:
http://thesfkfiles.blogspot.com/2008/11/hot-topic-catholic-schools.html
http://thesfkfiles.blogspot.com/2008/11/hot-topic-catholic-schools.html
I am interested in getting some insight into the catholic school kindergarten process.
The rumor that I heard was you need to have been a parishioner for atleast two years prior to kindergarten process in order to be considered as well as "monthly" offering.
We are catholic but not affiliated with a parish. Our son is 3 in May so I am two years out for kindergarten. I am thinking this is perfect timing to find a parish if we have to.
I would prefer to wait til next year when church won't be so painful with 2 kids.
If waiting a year to find a parish hurts our chances of getting into kindergarten, we will join a parish and get involved on the sooner side.
The closest two are St Brendan's and St Cecilia. Any preference between the two?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Hot topic: Marin Prep
An SF K Files visitor requested that I start this thread. Also, here's a link to a former thread on the same topic: http://thesfkfiles.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-indie-school-in-castro.html.
Could we start a thread on Marin Preparatory? I think a lot of people who were left out in the cold from the private process are seriously considering this start-up school. But a lot of us know nothing about it. It would be really useful to have a thread to hash out a lot of unanswered questions about Marin Prep.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Hot topic: Wait pool numbers
Several K Files readers have suggested that I start a thread on wait pool numbers. Sorry for the delay. We're traveling for spring break.
Maybe time to put up a waitpool numbers thread? there are some signs that the uploaded stats are either faulty or there's something going on we don't know about (increased class size for grades 1-3?). (that is, where's the approved appeal column, the sibling column -- plus, at least two people i'm aware of are not represented on the spreadsheet at all -- that is, there's no listing for their wp grade/spot).
They posted the waitpool numbers early (shock!)
May I suggest a new thread?
Two things must be said:
1. It is not a list (in order) but rather a pool.
2. There is no information listed for Clarendon's 1st grade. Other mistakes may have been made.
Does anyone know if EPC is open next week (Spring Break?)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Miraloma Welcome Playdates and Events:
Welcome to all new Miraloma kids and families!
Miraloma's Welcome Playdate #1 is coming up this Sunday, April 5, 10 am - 12 pm. We are meeting at the city Miraloma playground right next to the school on Omar Way -- informally called "Sandy Park". (PLEASE NOTE: the date is incorrect on the welcome letter you received when you registered. The letter says it's on April 12, which is Easter. That is a typo. You should have received a postcard in the mail confirming that April 5 is the correct date). The welcome committee will provide bagels and coffee. Come play and meet other Miraloma families!
Other Miraloma welcome playdates and school events as follows:
- Miraloma Spring Festival -- Sunday, April 19, 12 pm -- 3 pm on the schoolyard for fun, games, food and music.
- Miraloma Silent Auction -- Saturday May 16th, 8 pm -- 11 pm at The Harding Park Clubhouse for refreshments, entertainment, mingling and bidding on 100’s of amazing items. (Adults only please.)
- Welcome Playdate #2 -- Sunday, May 17, 1 pm - 3 pm. At Miraloma playground on Omar Way. This is a potluck event -- if you want, bring a snack to share.
- Welcome Playdate #3 -- Sunday, June 14, 1 pm - 3 pm. At Miraloma playground on Omar Way. Potluck -- bring a snack to share.
- Weekly Friday morning singalongs -- join us on any Friday from 8 to 8:30 am in the auditorium.
For more info, please contact Lee Fischer at aadf1974@yahoo.com.
Hope to see you at some or all of these events!
Hot topic: Hardship appeals
An SF K Files visitor suggested the following topic:
Can we do a topic to find out if anyone filed a Family Hardship Appeal for K? If so, would they consider sharing their reasons? I went to SFUSD today and was told they received a high number of family hardship appeals this year. Seems location of schools is causing a stir. I was curious as to people's thoughts and reasons for their hardships.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Immersion Works, Expert Tells Parents
The following article was written by Elizabeth Weise, Starr King parent and president of the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council
******
“There is no greater gift you can give your child than the gift of early bilingualism,” immersion expert Dr. Myriam Met told an audience of almost 200 parents in San Francisco on March 16. Children’s brains are pre-wired to learn language, a skill that has already begun to fade by ninth grade when most students begin studying a second language, she said.
“Immersion also gives your children tools to live in a new world, different from anything we can imagine,” said Dr. Met, a nationally-known expert on immersion programs who has helped create them across the globe. The biggest concern most parents have about immersion is whether it will hinder their children’s overall academic progress and whether they won’t learn English well. It won’t, Dr. Met told them.
Students in language immersion programs do at least as well as their monolingual peers in school, and often better, especially if they stay in immersion until at least the 8th grade, Dr. Met said.
The Evidence
Her evening talk covered what national and international research has shown about language immersion programs. For children who are native speakers of English, the benefits of immersion are clear. Research shows that when they are in one-way and two-way immersion programs, and are tested in English, their math and language arts scores were at or above national average by 5th grade. But they did even better when they stayed in immersion through at least 8th grade. Immersion is just as good for children who are learning English. In fact, the research shows that they do better in immersion than children learning English who aren’t in immersion, Dr. Met said.
The research she cited is based mostly on studies done of students in Spanish and French immersion, with minor studies done looking at Chinese immersion. While some of the studies were conducted within the San Francisco Unified School District, most were not. Dr. Met spoke generally about immersion, not specifically about immersion in San Francisco. She addressed head-on concerns about the well-known statistical achievement gap between native English speakers and students who are learning English in schools.
Nationwide research clearly shows that in general, English language learners who are in one and two-way immersion programs and are tested in English score at or slightly below national average by 5th grade in math and language arts. They, too, had the best outcomes when they continued in immersion through at least 8th grade. Most importantly, nationwide studies indicate that those students do better than their peers who are in not in immersion programs.
The statistical evidence suggests that immersion programs do not cause the achievement gap and in fact reduce it, Dr. Met said. Secondly, however much it might seem that more classroom time in English would help English language learners, there’s no evidence that transferring them from immersion programs to an English-only programs improves test scores. And as they move through school, English language learners in immersion programs drop-out at a lower rate than English language learners in English-only programs. “More time spent learning English doesn’t necessarily improve performance,” she said.
Don’t Panic
This is crucial information for parents either contemplating immersion or who have children in immersion programs, because somewhere between first and third grade, a substantial minority of parents note that other children, in English-only programs, seem to be ahead of their children. And they decide that it must be the immersion that’s the problem. In other words, said Dr. Met, “They panic.”
In extreme cases, the parents pull their children out of immersion and switch them to English-only programs. That’s exactly the wrong thing to do, the research shows. Immersion is a process and families have to trust in the process. All the benefits don’t become apparent in the first one or two or three years. It’s by 5th grade, and especially by 8th grade that the full benefits of the immersion experience become clear.
Pulling children out just as they’re starting but before they’ve had time to reap the benefits of immersion is a mistake that’s all too often made, she said. Of course results do vary, depending on the degree to which the school’s program is faithful to the immersion model, Dr. Met said. But there’s no statistical evidence that she’s seen that would indicate that immersion isn’t working in San Francisco schools.
One way to combat this early elementary slump is to create a buddy system, where families in the lower grades are paired with families in upper grades, so the new families have an example of where they can expect their children to end up. “Nobody is as convincing to a parent as another parent,” said Dr. Met.
Immersion works
“Immersion delivers on promises made,” Dr. Met said. Across the board, no matter what language they speak at home and what language they’re learning in school, students end up fully bilingual and biliterate, able to speak, read and write fluently in both languages.
One reason for that is the number of hours they spend learning in their immersion language, she noted. At the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where the U.S. military and embassy staff learn languages, it’s assumed that it will take 240 hours of classroom time to reach an intermediate level in Spanish, and 480 hours to reach the same level in Chinese.
A typical high school student who studies a foreign language gets 125 hours of instruction a year, Dr. Met said. Immersion students in Kindergarten get 750 hours of classroom - five hours a day for 150 days. “That’s the power of immersion,” Dr. Met said.
What makes programs work?
For an immersion program to work well, several things have to be present, Dr. Met told the audience.
* It must be carefully planned.
* It must be ‘articulated,’ meaning what students learn flows clearly from year to year, and especially from school to school.
* Teachers must be well-trained.
* The school must have strong leadership from its principal and strong administrative support from its school district.
Getting trained teachers is a problem nationwide because today there are not enough teachers training for immersion in college. That creates a situation where “you’re flying the plane while you’re putting on the wings,” says Dr. Met. But until sufficient numbers of teachers trained in immersion begin to come through the pipeline, most immersion teachers will need on-the-job training and mentoring from more experienced teachers. The good news is that that happens in many San Francisco classrooms today.
Thank an immersion teacher today
Teaching, as anyone who’s spent any time in a classroom knows, is hard work. But it’s harder for immersion teachers. They must be able to function fully in two languages, they must always be ‘on’ in class, using mime, their imaginations and a host of props they often create themselves to get ideas across in a new language.
And they often have to translate or create their own teaching materials — all the while dealing with parent, school district, and state and federal level expectations. Immersion teaching “is the hardest kind of teaching there is,” said Dr. Met. “So thank your child’s teacher.”
Sources
Further information about research Dr. Met cited in her talk can be found at:
* www.lindholm-leary.com
* njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf
Thanks
Dr. Met’s talk was sponsored by The San Francisco Unified School District’s Multilingual Education Dept., San Francisco Advocates for Multilingual Excellence and the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council. Financial support for childcare was provided through the generosity of the San Francisco’s Mayors Office. The talk was held at James Lick Middle School in San Francisco.
For more information on immersion in the San Francisco Public Schools, you can subscribe to an email list for San Francisco Advocates for Multilingual Excellence by sending a message to SF_AME-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
The Mandarin Immersion Parents Council can be found at http://miparentscouncil.org.
Elizabeth Weise, who is the president of the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council, can be reached at weise@well.com
******
“There is no greater gift you can give your child than the gift of early bilingualism,” immersion expert Dr. Myriam Met told an audience of almost 200 parents in San Francisco on March 16. Children’s brains are pre-wired to learn language, a skill that has already begun to fade by ninth grade when most students begin studying a second language, she said.
“Immersion also gives your children tools to live in a new world, different from anything we can imagine,” said Dr. Met, a nationally-known expert on immersion programs who has helped create them across the globe. The biggest concern most parents have about immersion is whether it will hinder their children’s overall academic progress and whether they won’t learn English well. It won’t, Dr. Met told them.
Students in language immersion programs do at least as well as their monolingual peers in school, and often better, especially if they stay in immersion until at least the 8th grade, Dr. Met said.
The Evidence
Her evening talk covered what national and international research has shown about language immersion programs. For children who are native speakers of English, the benefits of immersion are clear. Research shows that when they are in one-way and two-way immersion programs, and are tested in English, their math and language arts scores were at or above national average by 5th grade. But they did even better when they stayed in immersion through at least 8th grade. Immersion is just as good for children who are learning English. In fact, the research shows that they do better in immersion than children learning English who aren’t in immersion, Dr. Met said.
The research she cited is based mostly on studies done of students in Spanish and French immersion, with minor studies done looking at Chinese immersion. While some of the studies were conducted within the San Francisco Unified School District, most were not. Dr. Met spoke generally about immersion, not specifically about immersion in San Francisco. She addressed head-on concerns about the well-known statistical achievement gap between native English speakers and students who are learning English in schools.
Nationwide research clearly shows that in general, English language learners who are in one and two-way immersion programs and are tested in English score at or slightly below national average by 5th grade in math and language arts. They, too, had the best outcomes when they continued in immersion through at least 8th grade. Most importantly, nationwide studies indicate that those students do better than their peers who are in not in immersion programs.
The statistical evidence suggests that immersion programs do not cause the achievement gap and in fact reduce it, Dr. Met said. Secondly, however much it might seem that more classroom time in English would help English language learners, there’s no evidence that transferring them from immersion programs to an English-only programs improves test scores. And as they move through school, English language learners in immersion programs drop-out at a lower rate than English language learners in English-only programs. “More time spent learning English doesn’t necessarily improve performance,” she said.
Don’t Panic
This is crucial information for parents either contemplating immersion or who have children in immersion programs, because somewhere between first and third grade, a substantial minority of parents note that other children, in English-only programs, seem to be ahead of their children. And they decide that it must be the immersion that’s the problem. In other words, said Dr. Met, “They panic.”
In extreme cases, the parents pull their children out of immersion and switch them to English-only programs. That’s exactly the wrong thing to do, the research shows. Immersion is a process and families have to trust in the process. All the benefits don’t become apparent in the first one or two or three years. It’s by 5th grade, and especially by 8th grade that the full benefits of the immersion experience become clear.
Pulling children out just as they’re starting but before they’ve had time to reap the benefits of immersion is a mistake that’s all too often made, she said. Of course results do vary, depending on the degree to which the school’s program is faithful to the immersion model, Dr. Met said. But there’s no statistical evidence that she’s seen that would indicate that immersion isn’t working in San Francisco schools.
One way to combat this early elementary slump is to create a buddy system, where families in the lower grades are paired with families in upper grades, so the new families have an example of where they can expect their children to end up. “Nobody is as convincing to a parent as another parent,” said Dr. Met.
Immersion works
“Immersion delivers on promises made,” Dr. Met said. Across the board, no matter what language they speak at home and what language they’re learning in school, students end up fully bilingual and biliterate, able to speak, read and write fluently in both languages.
One reason for that is the number of hours they spend learning in their immersion language, she noted. At the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where the U.S. military and embassy staff learn languages, it’s assumed that it will take 240 hours of classroom time to reach an intermediate level in Spanish, and 480 hours to reach the same level in Chinese.
A typical high school student who studies a foreign language gets 125 hours of instruction a year, Dr. Met said. Immersion students in Kindergarten get 750 hours of classroom - five hours a day for 150 days. “That’s the power of immersion,” Dr. Met said.
What makes programs work?
For an immersion program to work well, several things have to be present, Dr. Met told the audience.
* It must be carefully planned.
* It must be ‘articulated,’ meaning what students learn flows clearly from year to year, and especially from school to school.
* Teachers must be well-trained.
* The school must have strong leadership from its principal and strong administrative support from its school district.
Getting trained teachers is a problem nationwide because today there are not enough teachers training for immersion in college. That creates a situation where “you’re flying the plane while you’re putting on the wings,” says Dr. Met. But until sufficient numbers of teachers trained in immersion begin to come through the pipeline, most immersion teachers will need on-the-job training and mentoring from more experienced teachers. The good news is that that happens in many San Francisco classrooms today.
Thank an immersion teacher today
Teaching, as anyone who’s spent any time in a classroom knows, is hard work. But it’s harder for immersion teachers. They must be able to function fully in two languages, they must always be ‘on’ in class, using mime, their imaginations and a host of props they often create themselves to get ideas across in a new language.
And they often have to translate or create their own teaching materials — all the while dealing with parent, school district, and state and federal level expectations. Immersion teaching “is the hardest kind of teaching there is,” said Dr. Met. “So thank your child’s teacher.”
Sources
Further information about research Dr. Met cited in her talk can be found at:
* www.lindholm-leary.com
* njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf
Thanks
Dr. Met’s talk was sponsored by The San Francisco Unified School District’s Multilingual Education Dept., San Francisco Advocates for Multilingual Excellence and the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council. Financial support for childcare was provided through the generosity of the San Francisco’s Mayors Office. The talk was held at James Lick Middle School in San Francisco.
For more information on immersion in the San Francisco Public Schools, you can subscribe to an email list for San Francisco Advocates for Multilingual Excellence by sending a message to SF_AME-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
The Mandarin Immersion Parents Council can be found at http://miparentscouncil.org.
Elizabeth Weise, who is the president of the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council, can be reached at weise@well.com
Monday, March 30, 2009
Hot topic: Which preschools are private school feeders?
An SF K Files proposes the following topic:
Since the private/independent school admissions letters have gone out, I am wondering if we can determine how well the preschools matriculated into the privates and independents. I know the private schools all say that they do not have feeder schools, but it would be interesting to know how well the various preschools did in getting their kids into kindergarten to see whether what the private schools are saying about no feeders is really accurate.
Hot topic: Future of multilingual education in SFUSD
An SF K Files visitor has some questions:
After the Immersion night with Dr. Met and the original posting about the Multilingual Master Plan, it seems that the input phase for the new Master Plan is winding down. Does anyone have any information about what will change or be added?
- Will the district combine or change the immersion and bilingual threads? Will the goal still be 1/3, 1/2, 1/3? Or 1/2 and 1/2?
- Will the FLES (enrichment) programs become more academic and a viable language acquisition pathway?
- Will extracurricular programs get a defined curriculum?
- Italian and Russian seem to have started. What languages are next? Arabic? French? Something else?
- When will the changes be made public? When will they be implemented?
Hot topic: Assignment process redesign
An SF K Files visitor asked me to post the following:
This was supposed to be the last year of the lottery system as we know it (thankfully!!!). However, the same week that this year's Round One letters went out, the following note appeared on SFUSD's assignment redesign website:
“SFUSD hoped to have a new policy in place in time to prepare for the 2010-2011 enrollment process but, given the complex nature of this policy decision, it is unlikely that it will be possible to meet the necessary deadlines for a new district wide system in time for next fall’s enrollment cycle. The Board is eager to make this decision and is moving ahead as quickly as possible.”
Here are some interesting facts, for those who haven't been following this. San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) currently uses a Diversity Index/Choice assignment system. Under this system:
-almost half of all families receive none of their 7 choices in Round One and are therefore assigned to a school they didn't choose.
-the school district spends $5.3 million/year on busing (excluding special education)
-the school district's current assignment process costs over $2 million per year to implement
-this situation is getting worse - this year there were 400 additional K applications.
Consider the quote in the Civil Grand Jury report on elementary school assignment in San Francisco: “ The SFUSD's school choice process and its Diversity Index are unnecessarily complex and confusing, time consuming, alienating to the families the District purports to serve and, most damning, fail to deliver a diversified school population.”
Before you decide to flee the city or start saving for private school, also consider that SFUSD is one of the best large urban school districts in California and one of the best school districts in the Bay Area (considering scores and access to special programs).
Many parents want to stay in San Francisco and support the public school system but are fearful of the enrollment process (and if you’re not fearful, you should be!) and want some predictability. The good news is that families might not have to go through the agony of the Diversity Index/Choice system! SFUSD is in the process of redesigning the enrollment process (good news) but they are dragging their feet (bad news). If families speak up we can we can push the school district to move forward.
Here's what families can do:
The most important thing families can do is come to a public meeting this Thursday with the school district and SF Board of Supervisors. Here are the details: Thursday, April 2 at 3:30pm, City Hall Board Room
This is the best way for us to tell SFUSD that the current system is unacceptable and we want it changed! While this may be inconvenient, it's a lot less of a hassle than driving 25 minutes to/from school every day. This may be our only opportunity so it is crucial that families of SF get out and let SFUSD know that it's time to change the system.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Hot topic: Homeschooling
An SF K Files visitor wants to start a thread on homeschooling:
I've been looking through past posts, and I don't see a homeschooling hot topic. That seems like a good one, as I have questions such as:
- Who is thinking about homeschooling, and why?
- What resources are out there for homeschooling, esp. here in San Francisco?
- Are there any folks out there who are "homeschooling," but in reality making their own small school with a small number of students?
- What if you go 0/7, homeschool for Kindergarten only, and then re-tried for first grade?
Hot topic: Round II
An SF K Files visitor poses the following question:
Where are people wait pooling? What schools did you list? Did you lower your standards?
A letter from the V.P. of the John Muir PTA
Hi Kate, I'd be much obliged if you would post this on your blog.
My name is Lauren Smith and I am a vice president on the PTA of John Muir School and also a parent of a student there. In light of the comments that I've seen recently, here and on "Turn Around John Muir," I would like to say a few things.
First, I think it's unproductive and entitled to sit around on the internet and snipe about a school real children go to-- a school my child goes to, and a school that real parents are working at-- parents whose children actually go to the school. It's offensive and publicly devalues the work people are actually doing, and gives a false sense of superiority in what the internet complainers are doing to help. (Nothing.) Storming a school and attending a meeting in a place where you are unfamiliar is really the epitome of white (middle class) privilege. In fact, so is creating a blog to "turn around" a school you haven't spent any time at. Neither anonymously commenting nor storming the meeting were or will be productive or helpful for anyone at John Muir.
As a parent of a student at John Muir, I have concerns and critiques of the school and constructive criticism to offer the staff and administration. I actually spend time at this school, know teachers, students, fellow parents, administrators, and involved community members. My critiques are real. The critiques of those who drive by the playground, look at statistics on a website and judge the demographics and neighborhood of the school are not based in reality, they're based on reactionary attitudes and for some, in prejudice. I will continue to work to better John Muir from the inside, in what I truly hope is a non-patronizing, positive way. And if anyone else is interested in working to make John Muir better, they are more than welcome to register with SF School Volunteers and come to school and get to work.
I value the space that "the SF K Files" gives to parents and community members for discussion about schools and really appreciate the way that Kate has chosen to give space for discussion about John Muir without participating in the snark.
Folks who complain about things on the internet lose sight of the impact of their words. They're shielded by their homes and computer screens from the consequences those words inflict on others. Some staff and parents at John Muir feel like the school is under siege. The things that people have said on the internet have created an incredible amount of stress for many of the people who are working at John Muir. Some of the criticism directed at the school might actually be valid, but it is lost in the mire of disgusting classist comments and race baiting.
On "Turn Around John Muir" I see a lot of comments about the imbalance of ethnic groups at John Muir. First of all, The entire San Francisco Unified School District has a huge problem with racially segregated schools. This almost ALWAYS happens at the disadvantage of students of color. God forbid somebody's white kid should be the one who has to be different; God forbid your child should have to experience something that children of color have been experiencing in predominantly white schools for oh, well- ever. It smacks of white entitlement that people are actually demanding the SFUSD to increase the number of white students coming into John Muir next year. I'm sure if you make a bunch of demands on your blog, other people's blogs, and in emails to the school district that there will be BIG CHANGE following. It seems that whenever white people get all up in a tizzy about "demographics" the people that suffer well, they aren't white. So this line of "action" deeply concerns me.
I feel slightly ill about the fact that that I am afraid to write the above without adding that I am a white, working class parent, because I know that doing so will calm fears of "reverse racism" because of my white privilege and working class status.
I sincerely hope that the parents of incoming kindergarten students at John Muir this fall will be more respectful and humble than what I have seen on "the SF K Files" and "Turn Around John Muir." Otherwise we will end up with a lot of unproductive conflict in the coming school years.
Thank you,
Lauren Smith
My name is Lauren Smith and I am a vice president on the PTA of John Muir School and also a parent of a student there. In light of the comments that I've seen recently, here and on "Turn Around John Muir," I would like to say a few things.
First, I think it's unproductive and entitled to sit around on the internet and snipe about a school real children go to-- a school my child goes to, and a school that real parents are working at-- parents whose children actually go to the school. It's offensive and publicly devalues the work people are actually doing, and gives a false sense of superiority in what the internet complainers are doing to help. (Nothing.) Storming a school and attending a meeting in a place where you are unfamiliar is really the epitome of white (middle class) privilege. In fact, so is creating a blog to "turn around" a school you haven't spent any time at. Neither anonymously commenting nor storming the meeting were or will be productive or helpful for anyone at John Muir.
As a parent of a student at John Muir, I have concerns and critiques of the school and constructive criticism to offer the staff and administration. I actually spend time at this school, know teachers, students, fellow parents, administrators, and involved community members. My critiques are real. The critiques of those who drive by the playground, look at statistics on a website and judge the demographics and neighborhood of the school are not based in reality, they're based on reactionary attitudes and for some, in prejudice. I will continue to work to better John Muir from the inside, in what I truly hope is a non-patronizing, positive way. And if anyone else is interested in working to make John Muir better, they are more than welcome to register with SF School Volunteers and come to school and get to work.
I value the space that "the SF K Files" gives to parents and community members for discussion about schools and really appreciate the way that Kate has chosen to give space for discussion about John Muir without participating in the snark.
Folks who complain about things on the internet lose sight of the impact of their words. They're shielded by their homes and computer screens from the consequences those words inflict on others. Some staff and parents at John Muir feel like the school is under siege. The things that people have said on the internet have created an incredible amount of stress for many of the people who are working at John Muir. Some of the criticism directed at the school might actually be valid, but it is lost in the mire of disgusting classist comments and race baiting.
On "Turn Around John Muir" I see a lot of comments about the imbalance of ethnic groups at John Muir. First of all, The entire San Francisco Unified School District has a huge problem with racially segregated schools. This almost ALWAYS happens at the disadvantage of students of color. God forbid somebody's white kid should be the one who has to be different; God forbid your child should have to experience something that children of color have been experiencing in predominantly white schools for oh, well- ever. It smacks of white entitlement that people are actually demanding the SFUSD to increase the number of white students coming into John Muir next year. I'm sure if you make a bunch of demands on your blog, other people's blogs, and in emails to the school district that there will be BIG CHANGE following. It seems that whenever white people get all up in a tizzy about "demographics" the people that suffer well, they aren't white. So this line of "action" deeply concerns me.
I feel slightly ill about the fact that that I am afraid to write the above without adding that I am a white, working class parent, because I know that doing so will calm fears of "reverse racism" because of my white privilege and working class status.
I sincerely hope that the parents of incoming kindergarten students at John Muir this fall will be more respectful and humble than what I have seen on "the SF K Files" and "Turn Around John Muir." Otherwise we will end up with a lot of unproductive conflict in the coming school years.
Thank you,
Lauren Smith
Hot topic: Are any public schools adding classes?
An SF K Files visitor has the following question:
Can you ask the question on your blog is anyone has heard of a school adding an additional class. It looks like Clarendon JPPB added one last year and that would make a big difference in the waitpool!
Hot topic: Best and worst private school admission processes
An SF K Files visitor would like to hear back from the group on the following topic:
As you know the kindergarten process wrapped up this week for private schools. My wife and I spent quite a bit of time discussing our options before selecting the best fit for our daughter. I was surprised by how much the admissions director / process at the schools influenced our view of the school (and our desire to attend). Some of the admissions directors were respectful and responsive while others were absent and/or incompitent.As we polled our friends we noticed a fairly consistent view of the best and worst processes (independent of where particular families were admitted). I'd love to see you post and invite parents to share their thoughts on the best and worst admissions programs in San Francisco.For what it's worth the process as a whole treated us quite well and we're very happy with where we ended up. But I do feel that your blog could hold the admissions departments accountable by inviting parents to post their views on the best and worst. The independent schools in the city have to be held to a high standard given the amount of effort parents put into the process.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Read it on SFGate: 'What I Should Have Said on NPR'
Read it on SFGate: "What I Should Have Said on NPR"
NPR segment
For those of you who listened to this morning's Forum program on NPR--all I can say is that it was not easy. I'm feeling as if everything I said was wrong. When a caller phoned to say that she had been assigned to De Avila and that the school needs a play structure, my response was something along the lines of "Stop complaining! You need to get that playground built! Parents can do it" I'm sorry if I came off as insensitive. I would have preferred to explain this in much more compassionate, empathetic terms, but you have to understand that Scott Schafer was signaling at me to hurry up and make my point asap. What I should have said is that I know how it feels to not get into one of your seven schools. I know that it's hard and I can't imagine how scared you must feel. But you might want to consider going to this new school because it sounds like a great opportunity and there's a real opportunity for you here to be a part of a community that will build a school from the ground up. And I can go on and on about things that I should have said. I'm not a professional spokesperson. Rather I'm just a parent who loves her school and who wants others to realize that S.F. public schools are great. Unfortunately, we have to go through the Student Assignment System to get into a school and this is a very tough, complicated, emotional process. It's not easy to be a cheerleader for public schools when you have to talk about the very controversial assignment process at the same time.
The Trouble with S.F.'s Public School Lottery
"The Trouble with S.F.'s Public School Lottery"--read my story on SFGate. Thanks!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tune into NPR
Tomorrow, NPR will be airing a segment on SFUSD's Student Assignment System. They're interviewing me and several other people for the show. For more details, click here. (Sorry to be so vague and send you to SFGate, but the online version of the Chronicle needs the hits right now!)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hot topic: Northeast-corner schools
An SF K Files visitor would like to start the following thread:
We are out 0/7 in Round I for kindergarten and are expanding our horizons for Round II. We found a lot of high performing schools in the NE corner of the city- Spring Valley, Jean Parker, Garfield, Gordon Lau, etc but little online about them from parent reviews or information about PTA etc. When we drove by there, yes its filled with tourists but maybe something worth knowing more about since the schools are good. Main concern is how family friendly these areas are? Can this be a hot topic? I would like to know more about these schools, who goes there, where do those families live in and if anyone is thinking of these schools? Luckily we rent now and can move to be closer to a school.
Help save the Summer Music Workshop!
Attend today's Gustafer Yellowgold's Golden Heart SymphonySunday, March 22
2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Presidio Middle School
Tickets: $15
gustaferyellowgold.com.
A 52-piece orchestra of S.F. public school students joins forces with Morgan Taylor, the creator of the well-loved animated sun drop Gustafer Yellowgold. Together the students and Taylor bring the adorable character to life through catchy story songs.
Proceeds from the concerts benefit the Summer Music Workshop, a free summer music enrichment program for fourth through 11th grade band, orchestra, and chorus students enrolled in SFUSD public schools.
Hot topic: Preschool admissions
An SF K Files visitor wants to hear from readers about where they got into preschool:
I am curious what preschools people got into. We got rejected by MCH, Peter's Place, 150 Parker. No response from Calvary, Little Gators.
Friday, March 20, 2009
How topic: What questions do you have for SFUSD?
An SF K Files visitor asked me to start the following thread:
I've been reading all the sturm und drang on the blog and people are making some very good points about the need for more data points to improve the transparency of our system. I wonder - could you start a thread asking people to post questions they would MOST like EPC to answer? Here are mine: What was the % of FIRST TIME (non-sibling) applicants who got one of their choices? What is the number of Cantonese-speakers applying for K vs. number of seats available (excluding new DeAvila program)? My intent is to develop a "top ten" questions list and try to advocate within the district for that data to be released.
Hot topic: Last night's counseling session
An SF K Files visitor would love to hear from others about last night's counseling session:
Would you start a topic on the counseling session that happen last night? I couldnt make it since it's pretty late in the night (my bambino get tucks in at 7) I am 0/7 round 1. It would be nice if someone who when last night could share some info.
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