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Archive for August, 2009

Childhood obesity is at alarming levels in this county. Children in the San Francisco Schools are no exception. Too much television and video games, and too little time spent playing outside has led to an epidemic of juvenile health issues. It sure doesn’t help that the San Francisco Schools have had to cut funding for physical education over the years. But the 2007-2008 school year does have something positive going for it. Several San Francisco Schools will provide fresh salad bars, whole grain options, and whole fruits and vegetable in their cafeterias.

Twenty six San Francisco Schools from elementary to high school will benefit from a half a million dollar grant from the mayor’s office and the Department of Children, Youth, and their families. This is a big deal. The fact that a school district has actually recognized the importance of nutrition in education is enormous. For the past few decades public education has acted as if the only aspect of learning we should worry about are test scores. The San Francisco Unified School District has been forced to slash the arts, physical education, and anything not seen to directly affect standardized tests.

How Does Nutrition Affect San Francisco Schools Students?

Teachers in the San Francisco Schools know that a child’s academic success lies in several factors: home environment, proper nutrition, and a good night sleep greatly impact a student’s ability to pay attention and retain information. The fast food generation currently attending the San Francisco Schools needs to be made aware of how nutrition choices will affect their health. But it’s a pretty safe bet that the San Francisco Schools don’t have much extra time to teach daily health classes. That’s OK, what they’re doing now might be even better.

Schools need to lead by example. Just think of the message that it sent to children to have soda in vending machines and options like chips, ice cream and fatty meals for lunch fare. The San Francisco Schools are setting an example that the rest of the nation needs to emulate. It’s high time that schools look at the messages they are sending to our children.

What Else Can the San Francisco Schools Do?

While healthier school lunches are a huge improvement to the San Francisco Schools, the reality is that every public school district in the country is struggling to succeed. The San Francisco Schools experimented with the salad bars with pilot programs in a few of the schools last year. Hopefully more San Francisco Schools will follow this example next year. It is more costly for the San Francisco Schools to provide this fresher fare than canned vegetables and mystery meat? I’m sure it is. But the San Francisco Schools will recoup the cost in children who are more likely to pay attention (maybe less ADD diagnoses), higher test scores, children who are less fussy, and who appreciate the taste of fresh foods.

One of the biggest issues for San Francisco Schools over the past few years has been declining enrollment. Since the state provides schools with a per pupil allotment of funds, the annual loss of about 800 students has cost San Francisco Schools about $7 million. Given the budget pressures it’s already dealing with, the district was forced to close many schools in the 2006-2007 school year.

That’s why the recent state budget was such good news. San Francisco schools will receive an additional $13 million in cost-of-living (COLA) increases. This will help offset the expected $7 million loss from continued declining enrollment. The remaining funds will be used to cover salary increases for teachers and health benefits for San Francisco Schools’ employees. But how will the San Francisco Schools move forward from this point?

The plan involves two major components. The first is a long-term plan to address the enrollment issue in San Francisco Schools. The second is a parcel tax, which is expected to appear on the February 2008 ballot. Of course, there is no guarantee that voters of the San Francisco Schools will approve a tax increase. Commissioner Jill Wynns is working with the unions, and encouraging San Francicso residents to support the parcel tax.

LEADERSHIP CHANGE IS IMMINENT

Interim Superintendent Gwen Chan has announced her retirement as of July 1st. While this isn’t a complete surprise, many in San Francisco Schools hoped that she would opt to take the position permanently after the finesses she showed in smoothing over fractious issues. A new San Francisco Schools’ leader will be named by the end of May. The new superintendent will bring different strengths and a different focus to the San Francisco Schools. How this person will impact the coming school year can’t be predicted.

What is certain is that some San Francisco Schools are undergoing small changes in a big way. The small schools initiative will effect San Francisco Community School and June Jordan High School. These San Francisco Schools will benefits from different governing rules, more autonomy and separate evaluation procedures. Smaller sized schools are representative of a nationwide trend to encourage a more intimate setting where student needs are met on an individualized basis, and a community feeling is fostered.

In the San Francisco Schools’ current climate where students are leaving in droves, current administrators feel that a tighter focus and neighborly feel might help retain some of those families. But San Francisco Schools’ teachers are still without a budget for the next school year. So with the teachers’ union still trying to strike a deal, on-going budget concerns, and the upcoming change in leadership, the San Francisco Schools will continue to face challenges.

After six months of interviewing applicants nationwide, San Francisco Schools district has filled its top position. Carlos Garcia, Vice President of Urban Markets for McGraw-Hill (educational publishers), has been selected as the next Superintendent of San Francisco Schools. Board members have been seeking a replacement since January after interim Superintendent Gwen Chan announced that she would not return to the post in the fall.

Garcia was voted in due to his experience in San Francisco Schools, strong results as Superintendent of other districts, and good reputation as a fiscal manager. Garcia served both Fresno, California and Clark County, Nevada as Superintendent. From 1988-91 Garcia was principal of San Francisco Schools Horace Mann Middle School. During his tenure the school improved its achievement scores and received recognition for its accomplishments.

According to Board President of San Francisco Schools, Mark Sanchez, “ We chose Mr. Garcia because of his past experience with San Francisco, his strong track record as a superintendent and his understanding of the challenges that our district faces.” The San Francisco Schools have dealt with issues like declining enrollment over the past few years, as families leave for better districts and private schools. Initiatives like the small schools program are one of many that the San Francisco Schools are implementing to reverse this trend. This change in leadership may bring some of these programs into question, although the school board seems confident that Garcia is in line with their priorities.

Thirty applicants were interviewed since January in an attempt to find a new leader for the San Francisco Schools. Garcia’s credentials includes a B.A. from Claremont Men’s College in political science, a M.A. in education from Claremont Graduate school, and an administrative degree from California State University at Fullerton. Parents in San Francisco Schools provided input to the hiring process in the form of both community meetings, and over a thousand surveys, to determine the criteria for their next leader.

Leadership of the San Francisco Schools will have a strong impact on financial spending and program funding. Given pressure to meet national No Child Left Behind standards, administrators in San Francisco Schools are constantly making decisions about how best to allocate funds. California’s poor reputation on educational priorities and spending was recently highlighted by a think tank study that claimed that the state’s educational priorities are in such disarray that the whole system needs an overhaul. While San Francisco Schools leaders may agree with the study, they still need state funding to run their districts.

The fact that Garcia led one of the nation’s largest districts, Clark County, gives the San Francisco Schools reasons to hope that he will use the same financial wisdom in this district. Six of the seven board members voted for Mr. Garcia’s appointment, with the seventh asking for more time to decide. Garcia will begin serving San Francisco Schools on July 16th, 2007.