Dear SFUSD Champions and Supporters,
As students get ready to head back to school, the SFUSD Board of Education (“BOE”) is also kicking off a new year.
Next Tuesday’s meeting won’t include many headline-grabbing decisions, but it marks the beginning of what will be an important time for San Francisco public schools. Over the coming months the Board will make decisions about school assignment, literacy and math, the district budget, and much more.
Part of our work includes tracking these decisions and sharing important information with families across the city.
|
Why We Follow the Board
One of the core things we do at SF Parents is help families understand what is happening at BOE meetings. For every meeting, our team:
- Reviews hundreds of pages of board materials and agendas beforehand
- Publishes a parent-friendly “Cheat Sheet” highlighting the issues that are most important to families
-
Attends the meetings (which often go late into the night)
-
Shares live updates and facilitate communication with our members
-
Publishes a summary explaining what happened, what changed, and what it means for parents and students
We don’t just report on Board meetings. Our goal is to help families understand how Board decisions connect to the issues they care about most. Our coverage reflects the priorities parents consistently tell us matter: improving student outcomes, ensuring transparent and accountable governance, elevating parent voices, and supporting a stable, sustainable district that provides an excellent education for every student.
|
Our Board coverage is truly a team effort.
|
Debby Lu is our Education Policy Consultant, as well as an SFUSD parent. Among many other things, she reviews the dense and lengthy draft and final Board agendas before each meeting, including all of the included and linked reports and supplementary materials, and distills them for our SF Parents community. She researches district policy, and then prepares our Board Meeting Cheat Sheets, helping families understand what to watch for before the discussion begins.
|
Eliot Kent-Uritam is our Communications and Outreach Associate, an SFUSD parent of two, and a long term substitute teacher with the district. Eliot attends all of the BOE meetings (even the ones that go past midnight!) He takes careful notes and writes the meeting summaries from a parent perspective, which we then share with all of you. He also gives public comment on behalf of SF Parents.
|
Parent leaders Dynesha Coleman, Autumn Brown Garibay, and Mahdi Rahimi give public comment at a Board of Education meeting in March of 2026.
|
Our wonderful community of engaged parents help too! SF Parents community members can often be heard giving public comment at meetings or seen attending in person. A special thanks to Laura Kennedy, Aliza Schnayer, Rasheq Zarif, Roberto Guzman-Rivera, Dynesha Coleman, Autumn Brown Garibay, Mahdi Rahimi and others for engaging in the Board of Education discussions or giving public comment at meetings this past year. You speak up on behalf of families and report back on critical issues, which makes a difference for San Francisco’s kids.
Together with our parent volunteers and staff, we work to ensure families have clear, timely information about the BOE throughout the year.
|
First Meeting of the School Year – Tuesday, 8/11
At the the first school board meeting of the 2026-27 school year we’ll be watching for:
- The BOE’s mid-year evaluation
- Updates on the Superintendent’s short-term metrics
- The BOE governance calendar through 2028
- Construction bond projects
Our full cheat sheet will be out on Monday before the meeting. You can find it next week linked in our Instagram stories – make sure to follow us there for updates!
Looking Ahead
This year, we’ll be following along for important updates on many high-priority issues for the district. We are especially keeping an eye on the new student assignment and enrollment plans, literacy and math progress across the district, and cell phones and healthy technology use. Join our Facebook Group, follow us on Instagram, or check out our website before and after every BOE meeting for our cheat sheets and summaries.
We also welcome you to join as a member of our sister arm SF Parents Action, giving you exclusive access to members only events and the ability to take part in our endorsement process. Learn more and join here today!
We know most parents don’t have time to spend six hours at a BOE meeting. SF Parents will be there, and we will continue bringing you the information, context, and analysis you need to stay informed throughout the school year.
|
Don’t forget to check out the Our 415 Program, led by the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF). Our415 is your source for everything San Francisco has for young people and families. It’s your one-stop-shop for programs and resources from the City and County of San Francisco and its nonprofit partners. For more information, visit the Our 415 website at www.our415.org.
|
WAS THIS EMAIL HELPFUL?
📬 FORWARD ME TO A FRIEND! 📬
Or, received this email from a friend? Subscribe here
SF Parents Coalition is a 501c3 nonprofit that centers the needs of children and youth in San Francisco public schools by bringing together a diverse network of parents and caregivers to advocate for a thriving, equitable school system.
Join as a member, volunteer, or donate to support our work!
SF Parent Action is our affiliate 501c4 organization that empowers public school parents in San Francisco to advocate for policy change and local candidates who support public school families and students.
Update your newsletter language preference here.
在此處更新您的首選語言，開始及時接收中文或西班牙文訊息。
Actualice su preferencia de idioma aquí para comenzar a recibir comunicaciones oportunas en español en lugar de inglés.
|
|
