advocacy
Save Our Schools: Support Statewide School Funding Changes
COVID-19. Learning loss. Declining enrollment. California’s public schools need a lifeline. SFUSD schools face a $125M budget deficit, $25M of which is due to declining enrollment–a trend across the state of California. It’s undeniable that our city’s education leaders bear the large brunt of responsibility for this budget mess. However, they’re not the only ones…
Read MoreConsistent “Modified Quarantine” for Every SFUSD School!
We’ve been hearing from parents across SFUSD schools that they’re frustrated with the erratic implementation of the Department of Public Health’s recommended “Modified Quarantine” procedure for schools. SF Department of Public Health guidance, which lines up with California DPH guidance, allows for something called Modified Quarantine as outline below: Right now, some schools are implementing Modified Quarantine–for some…
Read MoreLetter to the City: Clean Air for all SFUSD schools
Respected Mayor London Breed and San Francisco Board of Supervisors, We’re writing from the San Francisco Parent Coalition (formerly Decreasing the Distance) to ask you to work with SFUSD staff on an urgent public health & air quality issue to ensure that the district has sufficient funding and other resources it needs to install or…
Read MoreTAKE ACTION: Clean Air for all SFUSD Schools!
All SFUSD schools need protection from bad air quality that can also support COVID-19 mitigation. Right now, few schools are ready for peak wildfire season. SFUSD staff have been creating a plan to put high-quality, school-appropriate HEPA filters into all SFUSD schools (not your standard home air purifier). But unless all our city leaders work…
Read MoreLetter to UESF
July 21, 2021 Subject: Congratulations and time to connect Hi Cassandra and Frank, I hope this email finds you both well and enjoying your summers. On behalf of DtD, I wanted to reach out and extend our congratulations on your presidency and vice presidency! I’ve also cc:d my fellow parent leaders, Cliff Yee and Yvette Edwards,…
Read MoreA Year of Harm and Counting: San Francisco’s Ongoing Public School Failure
We published a report looking at what the data tells us about the impact of prolonged school closures on the wellbeing of the city’s public school children. Read the report here.
Read MoreSummary of return to in-person priorities & requests
We sent a letter to the Board of Education with a list of needs for the prompt and full return to in-person learning.
Read MoreSupervisor Fewer introduces Decreasing the Distance Return To School resolution
Supervisor Sandy Fewer introduces Decreasing the Distance’s Return to School Resolution on 12/8/20 to the Board of Supervisors, with a powerful speech on the importance of reopening schools and of education as the great equalizer of society. A nice shout-out to DtD at the end, too!
Read MoreOur First Letter to Susan Solomon, President of UESF
Decreasing the Distance believes in working with anyone who supports the wellbeing of children. This letter was the first of a series we sent to Susan Solomon, president of United Educators for San Francisco, requesting a meeting. — December 3, 2020 Dear Susan Solomon, I am reaching out to you to request a meeting on…
Read MoreParents Request Transparency and Action on Reopening Plan
Our very first action. We sent a letter to our city’s Education Leaders asking for transparency and action on the school reopening plan. —– Dear Superintendent Vincent Matthews and Board of Education President Mark Sanchez, Over the past four days, we have received nearly 1,200 signatures on the attached petition calling for transparency and action…
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