Spotlights

6/23/23 - Newcomer Students Participate in Summer Programming

The Summer Academy for Integrated Language Learning (SAILL) has been a summer program at SFUSD for over seven years. This year, about 400 students are attending the program at Balboa High School.

6/22/23 - SOTA Graduate and GSA Leader Supports LGBTQ+ Youth Through Clothing Capstone Project

Zachary Lipsett is an LGBTQ+ youth activist and recent graduate from Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (SOTA). He re-established SOTA’s Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) after the shelter-in-place alongside his close friend Ella Lewallen. During their time leading the GSA, they built community, taught lessons on LGBTQ+ history, and fundraised for a local LGBTQ non-profit called LYRIC.

6/12/23 - Black Star Rising Freedom Academy Students Complete 10 Weeks of STEM Courses

Twenty-two students completed ten Saturday sessions of the African American Achievement and Leadership Initiative's  (AAALI) Black Star Rising’s Freedom Academy this spring with a 95% attendance rate.

5/30/23 - Mission High School Student to Be Honored for Peer Mediation Efforts at 13th Annual San Francisco Peacemaker Awards

California Lopez, an 11th grade student and peer mediator at Mission High School, will be honored at the Community Boards’ 13th Annual San Francisco Peacemaker Awards ceremony as the recipient of the Gail Sadalla Rising Peacemaker Award.

5/16/23 - Downtown High School Presents Year-End Projects in Exhibition Series

Students from Downtown High School, a school that focuses on project-based learning, will be presenting their year-end projects in exhibitions at the school, The Strand Theater, and SFMOMA from May 19 - 25. 

5/15/23 - The Return of Roosevelt Middle School's 5K Fun Run

On Wednesday, May 10, the Roosevelt Middle School community set out together for the return of the Roosevelt 5K Fun Run, which was last held in 2014.

5/10/23 - Grateful for Our School Nurses

National School Nurse Day is May 10, 2023. To celebrate, we want to take a moment to spotlight our nurses in SFUSD and express our heartfelt appreciation for the incredible work they do.

5/8/23 - Teacher Feature: Margaret Pai

Margaret Pai’s journey as an art teacher began when she was an SFUSD student. As a Longfellow Elementary School student, she created artwork that was displayed at the Youth Arts Festival in the de Young Museum at Golden Gate Park. Now, her Hoover Middle School art students are displaying their art work for the same event at the de Young.

5/8/23 - Teacher Feature: Sydney Dow

Sydney Dow is in her first year teaching fourth grade at George Washington Carver Elementary School. She talks about being inspired by her students, transitioning from her previous role to teaching, advice for first-year teachers, and what being part of the Carver village means to her.

5/4/23 - SFUSD Teachers and Students Present Environmental Solutions

On Friday, April 21, SFUSD environmental Solutionary Teacher Fellows and their students presented their students’ climate action research projects at a special event at the Randall Museum. The “Solutionary Pioneers” event was organized and led by the City of San Francisco Department of the Environment in collaboration with SFUSD Science Team in Curriculum and Instruction and San Francisco Recreation and Parks in recognition of Climate Action Month.

5/1/23 - Thank You to Our School Principals!

We’re thankful for all of our principals at SFUSD! Meet some of our principals.

4/26/23 - SFUSD Students in Grades 1-2 to Attend Private SF Symphony Concerts

As part of a longstanding partnership with the SF Symphony, SFUSD students in grades 1-2 are invited to attend an exclusive Adventures in Music Program (AIM) concert at Davies Symphony Hall on May 3 and 5.

4/5/23 - Thank You to Our Paraeducators!

In SFUSD, paraprofessionals are known as paraeducators. Paraeducators are crucial to ensuring that schools function properly. They provide general and special education instructional assistance, ensure school sites are safe as security aides and room monitors, and help to engage our parents and school community as community relations specialists. 

4/3/23 - Celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month

SFUSD is proud to honor the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, intersex, queer, and questioning members of our community in celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month.

4/3/23 - April is School Library Month

April is School Library Month and we celebrate our teacher librarians all year long. At SFUSD, all of our school librarians are credentialed teachers who plan diverse learning experiences to inspire equitable, active student participation. Every SFUSD school has a library and credentialed librarian thanks to the Personal Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF), which mandates that part of funds are allocated towards libraries in SFUSD.

3/14/23 - Thurgood Marshall Academic High School Prepares Students with College and Career Week and Summer Opportunities Fair

Thurgood Marshall Academic High School’s primary focus is on preparing students for life after high school and becoming healthy, productive adults. In support of this mission, the school recently hosted a College and Career Week packed full of activities and opportunities to help students think about and plan for their futures.

3/7/23 - Lincoln HS Students Visit Washington, D.C.

On Jan. 22-27, 19 students from grades 11 and 12 at Lincoln High School took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C. and engaged in discussion and deliberation of current events with students from across the US and Puerto Rico.

3/6/23 - Thank You to School Social Workers

School Social Workers are trained mental health professionals who focus on coordinating the efforts of schools, families, and communities toward helping students improve their academic achievement.

3/6/23 - Balboa High School’s Bal EmpowHER Club Celebrates Women

Bal EmpowHER is a group of young women at Balboa High School who stand up for themselves and others. 

2/24/23 - Progress on the High School Task Force

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.

2/21/23 - SFUSD Celebrates 1,700 African American Honor Roll Students

On Thursday, February 16, the San Francisco Alliance of Black School Educators hosted the 29th Annual African American Honor Roll and 19th Annual Community Awards Celebration at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The event honored over 1,700 San Francisco students with African heritage in grades 3-12 who earned a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher.

2/6/23 - Shining a Spotlight on Our School Counselors

SFUSD school counselors help students focus on their passions, goals, and overall well-being. They are trained and skilled professionals across college and career planning, academics, and social/emotional development, and integral to every part of student success. We recognize their dedication to students every day, especially on National School Counseling Week, Feb. 6–10, 2023.

2/1/23 - SFUSD Celebrates Black History 365 Days a Year

The diverse histories, experiences, stories and voices of Black people should be recognized, honored, and uplifted every day. We recognize the importance, relevance and origins of Black History Month and value the fundamental opportunity Black History Month offers schools to further acknowledge African Americans as critical to the past, present and future.

2/1/23 - Marshall Elementary School Celebrates Kindness Month

Marshall Elementary School is celebrating kindness all month long!

1/26/23 - High School Students Learn About Waterfront Resilience in Embarcadero Field Trip

On January 20, juniors and seniors from Lincoln High School and The Academy SF at McAteer attended a field trip along the SF Embarcadero waterfront hosted by the Port of San Francisco and the Exploratorium to see the King Tides.

1/26/23 - Celebrating National Mentoring Month and Our SFUSD Mentors

SFUSD’s school-based mentoring program, Mentoring for Success, pairs students with highly qualified and efficient adult mentors that serve as positive role models who motivate students to be their best.

12/8/22 - Downtown HS Students Build Boat and Learn to Row in Unique Program

Students of the Get Out and Learn Project at Downtown High School launched their semester project – a boat they built! – off of Hyde Street Pier and rowed it into Aquatic Park on Friday, December 2. 

11/30/22 - James Denman Robotics Team Advances to Championship Competition

Congratulations to the James Denman Middle School robotics team for their successes at their first competition of the year! The team competed at the First Lego League Challenge on Sunday, Nov. 13.

11/7/22 - Redding Elementary Students Learn Arabic Language and Culture

Arabic is one of the seven main languages spoken by SFUSD families and is a world language offering at Redding Elementary School, Marina Middle School, and Mission High School. At Redding, students can learn Arabic language and culture up to five days a week as part of cultural enrichment.

11/3/22 - SFUSD Students Learn About Careers in Sports with the SF Giants

This fall, SFUSD College & Career Readiness entered into partnership with the Giants Community Fund, establishing the San Francisco Chapter of CASE Study (Careers as Sport Executives) program.