RSVP–the next event in our hot topic Literacy series!
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Wednesday, November 18th, 5-6 pm
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- Good news on COVID-19 testing at schools. The SF Department of Public Health has updated their school guidance to make it easier for parents to test kids for COVID-19 at home, including kids forced into quarantine. See the new guidelines here. You should now be able to pick up a test at your school office and either use it on site or at home. If you haven’t yet gotten a message from your school about this new policy, reach out to ask about the details.
- Kid vax uptake & return to normal for students?? There are a lot of shots going into small arms in San Francisco; about 12% in just the few days it’s been available. You can track progress here. Wondering what this means for masks in schools, especially outdoor masking, which is required by many of our schools, but none of our public health agencies? There’s no plan. SF Parents continues to wonder where the leadership is on defining the off-ramp for children … maybe start with landing on a metric?
- Budget & the Board of Education. If you’ve been watching the Board of Education discussions on the looming budget crisis, you might be getting a strong feeling of deja vu, bringing you back to the school reopening conversations … Long-winded, circular monologues about process that would have been good to tease out–a few years ago; breathtaking misunderstanding of how budgets work; lack of basic support for staff work; word service to the importance of the issue without any actual decision leadership; repetition of special interest slogans that assume there’s a hero on the way to save the school district from itself, etc. In other words, the Board continues to make little progress. Yet, our kids need them to make progress. π
- Budget & your school. Maybe you’re not following the broader district-level budget concerns, but are very interested in knowing how to ensure kids are protected from harmful cuts at your school site. We encourage you to empower yourself with the following resources and get involved! Want to be a SF Parents champion at your school, helping other families understand this information and these processes, too? Email us at [email protected] to learn more.
- Mayor Breed endorses the push to recall the Board of Education saying, “our kids must come first.” Breed joins State Senator Scott Wiener and others. We’re happy to see that Supervisor Mandelman has proposed to use City funds to cover the cost of the election, so it doesn’t impact the SFUSD budget.
- High school students stand up against sexual harassment. Earlier this week, high schoolers at a variety of SFUSD schools walked out to protest the inaction of administrators to address sexual harassment at their schools. Learn more here. We have also heard of problems at certain middle schools, and hope the administrations act swiftly and thoughtfully to address these problems.
- Early dismissal week–next week! If you haven’t signed up for a conference slot with your kid’s teacher, it’s not too late. Also, now is a good time to prepare a list of questions you and/or your child have for their teacher about specific learning concerns.
- We’re hiring: Would you be a great Director of Strategy & Operations for SF Parents? Email us at [email protected] to inquire.
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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 responsible for the situation, or able to fix it. The state of California has historically underfunded public education, and has a chance to right that wrong; the state government is currently enjoying a budget surplus.
Please sign (and share!) our petition to asking California to stabilize our public schools with a statewide increase in the January budget to address the fiscal impact of enrollment loss.
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- Weds 11/17, 5 pm: Join SFUSD & SF Parents for an info session with SFUSD leadership on early literacy at SFUSD. Dr. Priestly (Chief Academic Officer) and Dr. Ford-Morthel (Deputy Supt of Instruction) will address parent and community questions around how are we doing as a district, what efforts are underway to improve reading outcomes for kids, and how can we do better. RSVP here.
- TBD … Holiday Party!! Want to join the volunteer party planning team? Let us know! Email [email protected]
- Check out our calendar for a list of all upcoming events. See something missing? Let us know by emailing [email protected].
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There are so many ways to give to SF Parent Coalition.
With the season of giving approaching, will you please add us to your list? π
Don’t forget to inquire with your employer–some have great matching programs!
Finally, if the “politics” angle is more interesting to you, check out our sister org SF Parent Action for opportunities to support there.
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- Motorist strikes, kills educator outside S.F. elementary school where he worked, SF Chronicle
- Thousands of Northern California teachers and school staff are still unvaccinated for COVID, SF Chronicle
- Mayor Breed backs recall of three San Francisco school board members: ‘Our kids must come first’, SF Chronicle
- The Parental Revolution Is Bigger Than Critical Race Theory, Politico
- Op Ed: Democrats Desperately Need Schools to Get Back to Normal, NY Times
- New Jersey’s Education Rebellion Was a Long Time Coming But Democrats didn’t heed the signs, New York Magazine
- Why haven’t US mothers returned to work? The child-care infrastructure they need is still missing, Washington Post
- S.F. Schools Rank Lowest in Bay Area in Financial Stability, May Tap $25 Million in Reserves to Plug Budget Hole, HereSay Media
- Op Ed: The San Francisco school budget crisis is solvable, SF Examiner
- California Aims to Come From Behind in Making Sure Children Learn to Read, But Some See New Push as Political, The 74 Million
- Op Ed: One district’s faulty data shouldn’t drive California’s math policy, EdSource
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