For families seeking to enter Round 2 for SFUSD, the deadline is April 8. If you have questions, please pose them in the comments below. Best of luck!
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SFUSD Round 2 Deadline
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Advice for a parent whose son is waitlisted at multiple independent schools?
A reader wrote in and asked if anyone had advice for her family. Her son is on the waitlist at three independent schools. Any suggestions for something she could do to help him get a spot? Anything she really shouldn't do? Any insights welcome! The family also entered the SFUSD lottery and they have a spot; they are in Round 2 to try to get a school they want more.
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School Fundraisers: DogFest has passed, Taste of Potrero is coming up!
As they learn about different public schools, many San Francisco parents are surprised by the scale of PTA fundraising that goes on. At many schools, the PTA uses those privately-raised funds to support art teachers, music teachers, PE, class size reduction in upper grades, language programs, garden programs, and other valuable enrichment activities. Some news outlets have reported on the scale of fundraising going on in SF and wondered whether it contributes to inequality of opportunity (http://sfpublicpress.org/news/public-schools); commenters have often countered by pointing out that SFUSD generously supports schools with high percentages of low-income children; a lot of that funding goes to fund enrichment activities like art, music, and dance, as well as smaller classes. With private support from foundations, programs like Playworks and Education Outside are also present in many SF schools where the parents are not able to engage in heavy-duty fundraising.
As far as the kids of fundraising going on, I think fundraising events can offer a nice opportunity to build a sense of community and purpose among parents, teachers and students. I do sometimes worry about the kinds of fundraisers schools put on, though. I worry that families who can't shell out for big ticket items at the annual fundraising auction (or even tickets to the auction) will feel like they aren't appreciated, or that children will feel left out if their parents can't afford to bid on items the playdate with a favorite teacher. It's also true that most fundraisers are raising money from within the same group of school families.
Given those concerns, one kind of fundraiser that has really impressed me is when a PTA figures out how to draw on funds from outside the immediate school community. If you have ever been to McKinley Elementary's Dogfest, you know they have very creatively tapped into the local community of dog lovers in the Castro/Lower Haight/Duboce Park area and they always throw a party that includes everyone! The event just passed for this year and we forgot to mention it but make sure to check it out next year if you've never been -- there are activities for kids, items to bid on, and an always hilarious dog parade, often hosted by the very funny Daniel Handler (aka the famous author Lemony Snicket).
Another event that is reaching out beyond the parents from one school is Taste of Potrero, happening this year on May 12th at Pier 70. Started 6 years ago by a group of Potrero parents to support Daniel Webster Elementary School, the event has grown from a small community fund raiser to a big foodie event. The PTA has gotten over 40 chefs and mixologists to donate their time to raise money for Daniel Webster. This event is pretty significant for the school -- it accounts for more than 65% of the PTA's total fundraising budget. Check it out and let us know your reaction!
We would love to hear other thoughts, concerns and experiences about school fundraising in the comments.
As far as the kids of fundraising going on, I think fundraising events can offer a nice opportunity to build a sense of community and purpose among parents, teachers and students. I do sometimes worry about the kinds of fundraisers schools put on, though. I worry that families who can't shell out for big ticket items at the annual fundraising auction (or even tickets to the auction) will feel like they aren't appreciated, or that children will feel left out if their parents can't afford to bid on items the playdate with a favorite teacher. It's also true that most fundraisers are raising money from within the same group of school families.
Given those concerns, one kind of fundraiser that has really impressed me is when a PTA figures out how to draw on funds from outside the immediate school community. If you have ever been to McKinley Elementary's Dogfest, you know they have very creatively tapped into the local community of dog lovers in the Castro/Lower Haight/Duboce Park area and they always throw a party that includes everyone! The event just passed for this year and we forgot to mention it but make sure to check it out next year if you've never been -- there are activities for kids, items to bid on, and an always hilarious dog parade, often hosted by the very funny Daniel Handler (aka the famous author Lemony Snicket).
Another event that is reaching out beyond the parents from one school is Taste of Potrero, happening this year on May 12th at Pier 70. Started 6 years ago by a group of Potrero parents to support Daniel Webster Elementary School, the event has grown from a small community fund raiser to a big foodie event. The PTA has gotten over 40 chefs and mixologists to donate their time to raise money for Daniel Webster. This event is pretty significant for the school -- it accounts for more than 65% of the PTA's total fundraising budget. Check it out and let us know your reaction!
We would love to hear other thoughts, concerns and experiences about school fundraising in the comments.
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Round 2 Letters Should Arrive Soon
Hello San Francisco families! If you are in the SFUSD enrollment process and waiting on a Round 2 letter, it sounds like SFUSD mailed those out Friday. So if your child receives a new assignment, you should receive the letter this weekend or early next week.
As always, Parents for Public Schools has a helpful blog post up on their site about how to go forward from here:
https://sites.google.com/a/ppssf.org/newsroom/enrollment-support/sfusdenrollmentapplyingforround3?platform=hootsuite
Please share your thoughts and ask for help if you need advice or ideas.
As always, Parents for Public Schools has a helpful blog post up on their site about how to go forward from here:
https://sites.google.com/a/ppssf.org/newsroom/enrollment-support/sfusdenrollmentapplyingforround3?platform=hootsuite
Please share your thoughts and ask for help if you need advice or ideas.
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Navigating the SFUSD Wait Pool Rounds
Many parents are happy with the SFUSD school their children are registered at for August. But some folks are still trying to get a different assignment and we know there is often quite a bit of movement right before and after school starts. At that point, families can only be in the wait pool for one school. A reader has written in to ask if we could start a post about how to pick that one school. As she mentioned, for some families, it's a no-brainer because they know their dream school for their child is a block away or they really want an immersion program in a specific language.
Selecting a school seems especially confusing for families whose attendance-area school is extremely popular (i.e. Clarendon, Grattan). Is it better to list your attendance area school as your wait pool school, even if there are 20 other students in the wait pool, and hope for lots of movement in the first ten days of school? Or better to look for schools with really small wait pools that might be hidden gems? We have heard in years past that Lakeshore sometimes has room, even though its teachers and programs get high marks from parents. Will that still be the case this year?
Readers, can you weigh in on why your picked your one wait pool school/program, and how you fared? Did you try to factor the availability of aftercare into your decision? Any other issues parents should consider?
As always, we hope to provide information and not stress anyone out!
Selecting a school seems especially confusing for families whose attendance-area school is extremely popular (i.e. Clarendon, Grattan). Is it better to list your attendance area school as your wait pool school, even if there are 20 other students in the wait pool, and hope for lots of movement in the first ten days of school? Or better to look for schools with really small wait pools that might be hidden gems? We have heard in years past that Lakeshore sometimes has room, even though its teachers and programs get high marks from parents. Will that still be the case this year?
Readers, can you weigh in on why your picked your one wait pool school/program, and how you fared? Did you try to factor the availability of aftercare into your decision? Any other issues parents should consider?
As always, we hope to provide information and not stress anyone out!
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Feedback on McCoppin?
A reader wrote in to ask if anyone out there has any feedback on McCoppin. Readers, any experiences to share? If you're looking for info on other schools, feel free to add in the comments.
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Feedback on Sheridan?
A reader wrote in looking for feedback on Sheridan Elementary School. Any parents out there that could comment?
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First week of school!
How did everyone's first day of school go? I know a number of people are still waiting to hear about schools they are in the waitpool for. If you have questions about the process, please share in the comments.
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Gordon J. Lau?
A family starting to look at schools for next year has asked in anyone has feedback about Gordon J Lau Elementary in Chinatown. Any one with children there who can chime in? It looks like it has pretty good test scores, but hasn't received a lot of attention from parents on this site (we are guessing probably because the location is not super accessible to most of the city) Thanks in advance for your help!
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Delay in School Assignment Letters from SFUSD
SFUSD released the following notice yesterday:
SFUSD school assignment letters, which were scheduled to be mailed out by March 17, will be delayed. We apologize for the inconvenience, as we know parents are counting on getting this news in the next few days. District staff need more time to run all of the necessary checks. Please be assured that we are working around the clock and are aiming for the shortest possible delay. Once the letters are ready to go, we will be sure to notify you. We will also be announcing revised dates, as we will be adjusting the registration period. We are extremely sorry for the impact that this delay may cause.
Parents with children awaiting assignment should have also received an automated voicemail message.
This is, to say the least, a little crazy. Especially for those parents who applied to independent or parochial schools, this must be very stressful. Please share your thoughts and questions below. (Oh and by the way, many apologies for being MIA the past few months. Life got a little complicated).
SFUSD school assignment letters, which were scheduled to be mailed out by March 17, will be delayed. We apologize for the inconvenience, as we know parents are counting on getting this news in the next few days. District staff need more time to run all of the necessary checks. Please be assured that we are working around the clock and are aiming for the shortest possible delay. Once the letters are ready to go, we will be sure to notify you. We will also be announcing revised dates, as we will be adjusting the registration period. We are extremely sorry for the impact that this delay may cause.
Parents with children awaiting assignment should have also received an automated voicemail message.
This is, to say the least, a little crazy. Especially for those parents who applied to independent or parochial schools, this must be very stressful. Please share your thoughts and questions below. (Oh and by the way, many apologies for being MIA the past few months. Life got a little complicated).
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SFUSD Round 1 Assignments
Did you get the SFUSD letter? Are you happy? Surprised? Plan to try for something different in Round 2?
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SFUSD Round 1 Assignments - 2018 Version
Did you get your letter from SFUSD? Are you happy? Surprised? Plan to try for something different in Round 2?
We've been quiet for awhile, but jumping back in....
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SFUSD Round 1 Letters 2019
SFUSD sent out Round 1 letters yesterday. Did you get your letter from SFUSD? Are you happy? Surprised? Plan to try for something different in Round 2?
Here's where I disclose that we've been at an SFUSD elementary school for the last 2 years, happily so, and are awaiting our middle school placement letter.
Here's where I disclose that we've been at an SFUSD elementary school for the last 2 years, happily so, and are awaiting our middle school placement letter.
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