Posts Tagged ‘schools’

As promised, the San Francisco Unified School District is rolling out a new school assignment process this year, with more weight given to where a child lives and, for elementary schools, where a child went to preschool. The changes are expected to support the new/old trend of kids attending neighborhood schools, as kids within a school’s “attendance area” are all but guaranteed a seat. But parents can still tour and apply for any school they wish.

With school tours for next year’s students beginning at the start of October, the district has launched a website that might make the process a bit easier. Visit sfusd.edu/enroll, choose the level of school you’re looking for (elementary, middle, high school), and then narrow the results using any one of seven variables, including neighborhoods, ZIP codes, start times, school hours, and other factors. Play around with it a bit and eventually you’ll be directed to a list of schools with links to each school’s website.

You’ll have to get really specific then, as each school has its own touring process. You may have to make an appointment or just show up for a group tour on a certain date. But the SFUSD site at least has more information on the assignment process to help the (justifiably) confused parent.

Fall is just a few months away and many local parents are anxiously wondering where their new preschoolers will be come school time. Some been-there-done-that advice on picking just the right spot for your wee one:

1. Think about what you need

Most preschools accept kids who turn 3 by the start of the school year, but some begin younger. How old will your child be in September? There’s also potty training to consider. Some schools require it, some don’t. Any special considerations (is your child bilingual? Special needs?) should be specially considered. The schedule of other family members, including siblings and parents, is also important. Do you need an afternoon program? One that starts after 9? One that runs every day or that has good aftercare?

Cost is also an important consideration. Preschool costs anywhere from nothing to $20,000 a year. What can you afford? What do you want to spend? What’s worth paying for?

2. Learn what’s out there

Talk to people you know, or parents on the playground. Learn about what’s close to your home or your work (driving across town for drop-offs and pick-ups is a major downer). Do some basic reading on the different preschool philosophies in your area. Most will be either play-based/developmental, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, or Waldorf. There are also co-op schools, where parents volunteer and the cost is reduced, as well as preschools run by the San Francisco Unified School District. The canonical local source for learning what’s out there in San Fran and Marin is Finding a Preschool for Your Child in San Francisco & Marin by Lori Rifkin. And, of course, your playground friends.

3. Tour and apply

Once you’ve located schools that seem like they’d be a good fit for your family, tour every one you can. Six to eight is optimal. Trust the vibe you get. Does it seem like your child would do well there? Do the students look happy and engaged? The teachers relaxed and positive? The facilities cheerful and comfortable? If you like the school, apply. Don’t be put off by a wait list, which can evaporate quickly come fall, particularly if the school in question is balancing for gender and age (most do).

After that, there’s nothing much to do but wait. Calling to bug admissions professionals over the summer isn’t productive. You’ll hear back when the school has some information for you, probably in August. Just wait it out. That’s what cuticles are for. And know that wherever your child ends up, chances are she (and you!) will love it there.

The State of California released its annual Academic Performance Index figures last week, and now parents can do a search-and-find and either be en-smuggened or horrified by what they find. The link to the school reports search form is here. Enter the first 3-4 letters of the school’s name and clicken-ze-click-click.

Every school in Cali is ranked under the system, based on comparison with schools with similar demographics, as well as the schools as a whole. Spring 2009 test scores also factor into the ratings. What you want to look for on the report is the “Base API” score, and the 2009 statewide rank. The Base API should be well above 700; anything 800 or above is outstanding. The statewide rank goes from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest.

API scores and rankings can be compared over time. Just select the option to see API rankings for 2008, 2007, and so on. If the scores are going up, you have an improving school on your hands, and vice versa. Also instructive is looking at the “List of 100 Similar Schools” for each school. There you can see how your school tracks against others. Happy submitting.

Having heard horror stories about San Fran’s public schools, I’ve been surprised how many nice schools I’ve seen during this fall’s school tour process. Seems like I’m not alone in being pleasantly shocked, if a post last week from SF Gate blog The Mommy Files is to be believed. In “Let’s Face It: S.F. Has Good Public Schools” writer Amy Graff teases out several pertinent nuggets proving her case, such as:

• After nearly 40 years of declining enrollment, the San Francisco Unified School District’s applications went up by 308 in 2008, with 500 more in 2009.
• Enrollment is up so much that a closed school, De Avila on Haight Street, will be open next year.
• Earlier in 2009, “San Francisco schools posted the highest test scores (API) among urban districts in the state, far surpassing even the state average in both math and English.”
• The number of San Francisco public school students taking Advanced Placement tests has increased every year since 2000 and in 2009 increased 20 percent.

Of course, enrollment is still way down compared to a decade or two ago: enrollment in 2009 is about 55,000 students, a decrease from 62,000 in 1995. But after declining for four decades, a blip upwards is very interesting, indeed.

My theory? Housing is so expensive everywhere that parents figure they might as well stay renting in the city instead of splitting for the suburbs. It’s the influx of these parents (PTA membership is also way up in the city!) that are changing the schools, fast.

First-round assignments for incoming San Francisco Unified School District kindergarteners have just gone out, and at least 948 local families are currently writhing in agony, having received none of the seven schools they signed up for in the torturous SFUSD lottery system. Still other families are evaluating what they got with varying degrees of unhappiness, asking themselves questions like Can I really get to 40th and Cabrillo by 7:15 a.m.? and Is it worth putting up with getting our seventh-choice school to avoid the hell that is the second-round lottery?

With all the pain there is to go around, conversation is heating up again at the SF K Files, the definitive blog on the SFUSD assignment process.  Forget the SFUSD’s official bulletins; this is the blog with the real down-and-dirty, including the controversy over sibling assignments artificially swelling the percentage of parents the SFUSD claims got a first-round assignment, and the lightning-fast opening of new elementary school De Avila.

Though the blog mistress, a San Fran mom who started the blog when seeking an assignment for one of her two children, posts frequently on various topics, the real action is on the comments board, with useful insider gossip and advice, as well as snarky commentary from cranky parents.

Looks like Burlingame is having some of the same school problems San Francisco parents have dealt with in recent years. As the San Jose Mercury News reported Friday, two of the pricey city’s best-regarded elementary schools, Franklin and Lincoln, are expecting so many new students this fall that they’re forcing parents to enter a lottery for spots at the school.

The Burlingame parents are particularly incensed, because many of them left San Francisco to escape the school lottery process and be guaranteed entrance into one of the area’s top-of-the-line schools. They also feel they’ve been jerked around by school officials. As the Mercury News writes, “Parents of about 75 children were told repeatedly by district and school officials their youths would be admitted to the high-performing but overcrowded Lincoln Elementary School on a first-come, first-serve basis. During the first day of registration on Feb. 2, about 30 to 35 parents showed up before dawn to be first in line, including a few who even camped out overnight. But when Principal Diane Garber arrived at 7 a.m., she told the parents the Burlingame Elementary School District had instituted a random lottery system for admissions.”

Ooh, yeah, that does suck! But it could be worse, Burlingame parents. You could have had your assured spot at Flynn or Alvarado yanked right out from under you.

Hi parents of kids aged 3-4! I know that you just yesterday got your kid into preschool, but it’s already time to start thinking about kindergarten. You may have heard your friends with older kids having anxious conversations about the San Francisco Unified School District’s lottery school-assignment system. It all starts with info-gluts like tonight’s Kindergarten Information night, a festive evening of chatting with administrators and teachers from more than 60 kindergartens around the city. Get ready for handouts, because Good Parent Regulation 602.31 requires your attendance.

When: Wed., 5/7, 6-8pm, Adults only; Free.

Where: Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St. (at Presidio), San Francisco, 415-292-1283, jccsf.org.