• SFParents in the park to promote enrollment! Join other SFUSD parents (including new BOE commissioners Motamedi and Weissman-Ward!) this Sunday 3/20 from 2-4pm in Golden Gate Park where we’ll be connecting prospective families with current SFUSD families. Enrollment season is wrapping up and school assignment letters are about to arrive. Remember those jitters? Let’s help prospective families get their questions answered and learn more about why they should join our incredible SFUSD community. Wear your school t-shirt and show some SFUSD pride. BONUS FUN: Bubble Man is coming to entertain the kids. 🤩

• Ballots drop this week! What? Another election? Yep. Residents in the 17th Assembly District (roughly the eastern half of San Francisco) will be voting in the runoff election between Supervisor Matt Haney and former Supervisor David Campos. The state plays an enormous role in how schools operate and how they are funded. Your vote matters! Don’t forget to mail in your ballot by election day (April 19). Any questions can be answered by SF Elections.

• Save the dates:
  • April 7th, 6-8pm– SFParents Member Night Out. We’ve invited the new BOE commissioners to join us for this one and to hear about your parent priorities and concerns. Details are still being confirmed. ➡️ For now, RSVP here.
  • April 20th, 12-1pm– Lunch hour with SFUSD Dept of Curriculum & Instruction and the SF Education Fund, discussing literacy outcomes and pandemic-impacted unfinished learning. (RSVP coming soon)

• Teacher Payment Fiasco. SF Parent Coalition is dismayed by reports of some SFUSD district teachers and staff not being paid properly – on-time and for the correct amount. While we acknowledge that the changing of any large computer system and process will predictably come with a few hiccups, the reports from some teachers and staff about receiving late paychecks, payroll checks bouncing, and even missing payroll for work performed are heartbreaking and alarming.
  
  We urge district staff to work to resolve these payroll issues immediately. Our teachers and staff have worked through very challenging circumstances over the past few years, and worrying about their paychecks is the last thing that they need to be dealing with as they go about their essential work of educating San Francisco children. Our kids need their staff and teachers, perhaps now more than ever, and we all need them to be supported, uplifted, and accurately compensated.
  
  Teachers and UESF representatives are camping out on rotation at 555 Franklin (aka Central Office) until their demands are met. Our community can support them with refreshments, fruit, and healthy snacks. Drop them off yourselves or Venmo a donation to @UESFtreasurer
  
  
• Masking goes optional. As of March 12, masking is recommended but not required at middle schools, high schools, and Central office work sites. Starting on March 18, the masking optional policy will apply to City-operated facilities such as libraries and rec centers. On April 2, masking optional will apply to all district schools including pre-K, TK and elementary schools.
  
  The new policy is endorsed by labor unions and SFPH in recognition of San Francisco’s low COVID rates and high vaccination rates in San Francisco. However, vaccination rates for younger children ages 5-12 is lower (70%) compared to the city average (90%). Superintendent Vincent Matthews recommends that families take this time to get their children vaccinated if they have not already done so. Information about school-based vaccination sites can be found here.

• The 3/8/2022 meeting of the Board of Education had two surprises: (1) Alison Collins and Gabriela Lopez chose not to attend their last board meeting and (2) the meeting itself wrapped up in record time–under 4 hours! 🙌 It was a wonderfully boring meeting, just as BOE meetings should be. A couple of votes of note:

   

  • Despite the Parent Advisory Committee recommending that masking be required, the Board unanimously (4-0) voted to adopt the masking optional policy endorsed by labor unions and aligned with updated SF Dept of Public Health guidelines.

  • The Board also voted unanimously to end the state of emergency that allowed for board meetings to be conducted over Zoom. Starting on March 14, meetings of the board and committees will be in person. However, Dr. Matthews will continue working on making meetings available online and allow for public comment to be virtual.

• Three new board commissioners have been appointed to the BOE! We’re feeling hopeful about how these strong, competent, professional women will be able to help reset our district’s focus, getting back to the basics and prioritizing our students. We’re excited about all three commissioners, but we are especially proud of Commissioner Lainie Motamedi who has been a strong parent leader in DtD/SF Parent Coalition since our early days, always the first to raise her hand to volunteer–whether to deliver food to families in need, distribute PPE to teachers and students, or to dig into the complex budget research! Congrats to Commissioners Hsu, Motamedi, and Weissman-Ward; we’re optimistic that they will work hard to turn a new page for SFUSD.

• One school shows how to improve low reading skills. CalMatters.
• Black families in SFUSD have often felt unheard. Will the new school board finally listen? SF Chronicle.
• In protest of missed paychecks, SF teachers plan to spend night at district office. SF Standard.
• School mask mandates are going away in most Bay Area districts, but that doesn’t mean the fights are over. SFChronicle.
• These schools did less to contain COVID. Their students flourished. Washington Post
• Despite lifted mandate, many students remain masked at SF schools. SF Standard.
• After historic recall, Mayor Breed taps three SFUSD parents to serve on school board. SF Chronicle
• The fight over Lowell High School admission is about to heat up again under S.F.’s new school board. SF Chronicle. SF Chronicle.
• Hundreds of SF teachers unpaid, underpaid in payroll glitch. Mission Local.
• What happens when and elite public school becomes open to all? The New Yorker.

SF Parent Coalition 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. Enjoy these emails? Forward to a friend! Want to do something more? Join as a member, or donate to support our work!

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