Hope in the new school year
And where did the summer go?
Well, welcome back to school! I don’t know about you but not enough vacation time, not enough sun, and kind of unprepared to all we will face this school year! Definitely good to have a fresh start, once again, and plenty of grace for everyone with whatever they got!
Looks like California can survive an earthquakicane or hurriquake so here are some summer photos, from beautiful, scenic Puerto Vallarta.
Feature
Last week was the first day of the new SFUSD school year and oh boy there were some takes, from SF Examiner, Mission Local, SF Standard, SF Chronicle 1, SF Chronicle 2, and Dodson of SF Parents. All reflect continuing topics that make us see the hard work ahead. For sure, I got a sense of the same, and shared my thoughts in Randy Shaw’s Beyond Chron, “Rooting for Hobbled San Francisco Public Schools.” As a nice bonus, I had the opportunity to speak more broadly on how thriving public schools affect the whole City of San Francisco, thanks to gracious interviewer Erica Sandberg, on the San Francisco Beat.
With such a full plate this year, you’re definitely encouraged to help advocate for good change that will help our City’s students. The people fighting against such efforts are less strong but are still trying hard in their push for chaos/politics/whatever. As for me, I’m still hoping/waiting for signs that the District can perform decently on its own promises, before I ask for more.
The roles of the seven Board of Education Commissioners will get plenty of my scrutiny, for sure heh.
Oh and speaking of watchdogging, I had a chance to share some Citizens Bond Oversight Committee stories with Rex Ridgeway and Greg Chopskie at last weekend’s California new CBOC training. This event was well attended, with over four dozen people from up and down the state. We heard of one school district where the oversight was done by three citizens, not the legally required seven, and further, all three people were deceased. So yay for better San Francisco than their oversight?!
Upcoming events
Apologies for having the summer pass by without a newsletter, as it was full few months for me. As for going forward, I’m planning to do every two weeks, with an eye of highlighting some important news or upcoming event.
Tonight 8/22 starting at 6:30 pm is a School Board Meeting. Key in the agenda is a Board self-evaluation. Quite enlightening as room for improvement noticed often.
Next Tuesday 8/29 is an important School Board Meeting which will relate to the budget and thinking about all facilities. Tough topic and worthwhile! Definitely check out the slide deck in the draft agenda.
The SFUSD High School Task Force has its last virtual learning session this Thursday night, 8/24.
There is a lawsuit about SFUSD’s math on August 31st. Opening arguments are at 9:00am; Civic Center Courthouse, Room 302. Remote viewing is available
Call to Action
An application form is available for the San Francisco Unified School District Citizens Bond Oversight Committee (rolling applications). We’re a great group, 2 openings.
Thank you for reading and subscribing! Always available for feedback and questions. Till next time!