By Amy Graff, author of The Mommy Files blog on sfgate.com and parent at Jose Ortega Elementary School.
I love Jose Ortega because it sits on a hill that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day you can see the Farallon Islands from the play ground, and when the sun sets in the evening the sky turns [...]
Author: Brian Fox
Director of Strategic Partnerships, San Francisco Education Fund
Achieving postsecondary success needs to be a viable goal for all our students. From incarceration rates to life choices, college degrees are an increasingly critical indicator for students’ long-term success. On a national level, students who receive an associate degree earn 25 percent more than high [...]
Author: Justin Van Zandt, PTA Member, father of 5 children, including students at Alamo Elementary and Presidio Middle School.
There has been a lot of focus on the achievement gap recently. Why are we making so little progress on this? What can we do as a community to really fix the problem?
We need to take advantage [...]
By Beth Weise
Starr King Elementary School parent
So here’s what my third grader learned about in school this week: the solar system, how to summarize a story, her eight-times-tables and a poem about longing for home.
Her sister, in first grade, is working on writing words like run, ocean and country, and figuring out where the thousands [...]
Author: Carlos Garcia, San Francisco Superintendent
Five decades ago I went to my public elementary school. Three decades ago I started teaching. Two decades ago I sent my own children through public schools. In my lifetime I have been to thousands of schools and I can say that this simple assessment has been [...]
Author: Maria Su, Director of San Francisco’s Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
We know from decades of research and experience that learning is a process, with each experience building on the last.
Research also tells us that there is truth to the old Chinese proverb, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may [...]
Re: Rule # 4: A vibrant city demands vibrant learning.
Author: Glenn Romano, Volunteer
There is nothing greater than hearing 25 children chanting “Mr. R.! Mr. R. is here!” when I arrive to teach at my public school in Bernal Heights. OK, so maybe I’m not the “real” teacher, but for 3 hours every Monday, I can [...]
It’s the beginning of a new school year.
All across our great city by the Bay, 55,000 kids are unpacking backpacks, finding their desks, saying hello to a beloved friend or teacher. Even as the chaos of our State and country’s financial situation spirals around us, our children call on us to engage and support so [...]
