Progress on the High School Task Force

A snapshot from a recent High School Task Force Community Listening Session

What does the community want to see in San Francisco public high schools? That's the question a task force of SFUSD students, staff, parents/caregivers, and community leaders has set out to answer with input from members of each of SFUSD's high school communities.

The San Francisco Board of Education unanimously approved Superintendent’s Resolution No. 225-24Sp1 (Amended) in June 2022 to create a High School Task Force. The SFUSD High School Task Force is preparing for its fifth meeting on Thursday, March 2 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Independence High School. The Task Force’s initial meetings have focused on understanding the current portfolio of the district’s high schools in terms of offerings and student outcomes. Task Force members have had the opportunity to hear from district staff as well as educational experts such as Linda Darling-Hammond on the following key topics:

• College and career readiness (How do our schools meet established definitions of student success?)
• Recruitment and access (How do our students learn about and gain access to programs offered?)
• Teaching and learning (How do our schools structure and deliver educational programs?)
• Student Supports (How do our schools create conditions for students to learn effectively?)

SFUSD partnered with Kelefors Education Partners, the consultant facilitating the Task Force, to engage our community over the past two months in an extensive process of gathering input and examining student experiences. Our community has had the opportunity to share their experiences and interests at Community Listening Sessions at local middle schools. These community conversations are designed to spark discussion across diverse communities about aspirations for the SFUSD high school portfolio. As part of the SF Board of Education’s vision, values, goals, and guardrails (VVGG), a goal has been set to increase the percentage of high school 12th graders who are college- and career-ready. The third and last Community Listening Session is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25 at Everett Middle School from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. About 45 attendees from our community have provided input at these sessions so far.

Every SFUSD high school participated in a process to look at the various experiences of students in school, from what they're learning in the classroom to what other activities they participate in. Individual high school school teams consisting of students, parents, and school staff have participated in four meetings in which they reviewed information from student, staff, and parent surveys, student focus groups, and student transcript data. In addition, student representatives met together to envision their ideal school and make recommendations to their school team.

Finally, the Task Force will meet with representatives of these school teams for an all-day meeting to synthesize learnings and inform recommendations related to the admissions for selective admissions and comprehensive high school as well as the high school portfolio as a whole. Families shared feedback around increasing transparency to what courses are offered at each of our high schools.

Based on this feedback, SFUSD will make a High School Course Matrix available mid-March, which shows all the courses offered at every high school and will be sent to all 8th grade families in SFUSD as well as shared with EPC and middle school counselors.

Families also weighed in on wanting more information about the high school programs and similarities and differences of our high schools. To that point, SFUSD will be implementing a revamped, improved, and more personalized in-person High School Enrollment Fair in October that will provide much more in-depth information about all of our programs and opportunities to engage with current students.

Learn more about the High School Task Force.