Guardrail 1 - Effective Decision-Making

On Thursday, Sept. 28, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) High School Task Force met for a 2-hour session to finalize their recommendations to Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne. The Task Force recommendations are a synthesis of learnings from an extensive year-long process of engaging the community and examining SFUSD’s high school programs.

The High School Task Force Recommendations can be found on the High School Task Force website.

Superintendent Wayne and his staff reviewed the recommendations from the Task Force for compliance with existing laws, adherence to the district’s stated goals and guardrails, and feasibility within the district’s operational and financial context. Superintendent Wayne presented his recommendations to the SF Board of Education on November 14, Re-envisioning High School Portfolio: Superintendent's Recommendations BOE Presentation 11/14/23

Overview 

As part of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)’s commitment to expanding opportunities for students to accelerate in math, the district launched its Secondary Math Policy Focus Group in October to make recommendations on how to equitably implement Algebra 1 in the 8th grade and the implications for the district’s high school math course sequencing.

In May 2023, Superintendent Wayne shared the district’s commitment to ensuring that students have the opportunity to accelerate in math and that the district would go through a process to increase acceleration options. In order to support this work, SFUSD began in August the process of establishing a focus group for feedback on a redesign of secondary math policy. This focus group includes over 40 members who were referred by their constituent bodies, including a broad and diverse set of perspectives from students, educators, administrators, families, labor partners, and research and education partners. 

Committees and Membership

Math Policy Focus Group will provide input and guidance to the cross-departmental team who will process the feedback, align to research-based practices, and develop options/recommendations. The Focus Group includes diverse representation of the various SFUSD education partners including students, site leaders, teachers, families, labor partners, other education partners, and representatives from the central office. 

• African American Parent Advisory Council (AAPAC) 
• Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education
• Curriculum and Instruction (C&I)
• District English Learners Advisory Committee (DELAC)
• Middle and High School LEAD
• Mission Graduates
• Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Mātua Advisory Council (MAC)
• Office of the Superintendent
• Parents for Public - SF
• Research, Planning & Assessments (RPA)
• Second District Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
• SF Parent Coalition
• Stanford University
• Student Advisory Council (SAC)
• United Administrators of San Francisco (UASF)
• United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) 

Math Policy District Team is a cross-departmental team that will gather and process the input from the focus group, align to research-based practices, and develop options/recommendations for the secondary math policy. The district team includes representatives from the following district departments: 

• Curriculum & Instruction
• Leadership, Equity, Achievement & Design (LEAD)
• Research, Planning & Assessments
• Student, Family, Schools/Counseling Office
• Office of the Superintendent

Timeline

• The focus group will meet October through December to discuss the following:
  • Equitable access to Algebra 1 in 8th grade and targeted implementation for 2024-25
  • Feedback on the current curriculum experience from the teacher/leader/student vantage point
  • Revisions to the 9th grade placement policy
• A Townhall will be held in January to share options to a broader audience (one in-person and one virtual)
• SFUSD has scheduled a progress monitoring workshop on 8th grade math outcomes for January 23, 2024
• The proposed math policy recommendations will be presented to SFUSD Board of Education February 13, 2024

Updates & Resources

Algebra I in 8th Grade Timeline

Algebra I in 8th Grade Recommendations 2/13/2024

Town Hall Presentation 1/24/24

Math Policy Press Release 10/2/23

2014 Math Course Sequence Policy

SFUSD Leaders Work With Researchers to Examine Math Programming

Overview

During the 2023-24 school year, SFUSD staff will propose plans to ensure that we can attract and retain qualified and caring educators and staff, provide safe and welcoming learning environments for our students, and deliver programs and services that can help our students be successful and thrive. These proposals will align the district's resources and operations with its adopted Vision, Values, Goals, and Guardrails. SFUSD is committed to ensuring that our communities’ voices are honored and respected in the process.

Membership & Committees

The district will convene a District Advisory Committee (DAC) to deliberate and provide public feedback on resource alignment strategies.

Timeline

The DAC will meet monthly from November 2023 through June 2024

Updates and Resources

SFUSD District Advisory Committee Website

aligning staffing with enrollment

Overview 

The district will develop academic calendars for the following two years that will consider the impact on 

• student learning and engagement;
• labor partners;
• working families; 
• our community partners;
• our extended care providers; 
• federal, state, and local contracts, policies, and regulations;
• the district’s budget; and
• our community values

For each school year, the district’s academic calendar

• Must include 180 days of instruction;
• Must comply with state law on required school holidays; and
• Cannot designate a school holiday for religious purposes.  However, schools can be closed:
  • on secular holidays traditionally or currently recognized in San Francisco (even if the day was historically religious) or
  • on a religious or cultural holiday for operational reasons such as avoiding costs or disruption to instruction due to significant staff or student absenteeism

Committees and Membership

Academic Calendar Oversight Committee provides oversight to the development of the academic calendar in preparation for it to be reviewed and presented to the Superintendent and Board of Education. The Oversight Committee includes representation from Labor Relations, SFUSD divisions of Curriculum & Instruction (C&I), Student & Family Services Division (SFSD), Special Education (SpEd), United Educators of San Francisco (UESF), United Administrators of San Francisco (UASF), and SEIU Local 1021.

Academic Calendar Community Engagement Committee facilitate community engagement in the development of the academic calendar, help the District orient the community about the process and feedback, and make recommendations to the Academic Calendar Oversight Committee based upon information gathered. The Calendar Community Engagement Committee includes representation of the various SFUSD stakeholders including site leaders, teachers, parents and families, students, religious and other community  groups, and representatives from the central office

Timeline

• The Oversight Committee meets September through December to discuss the development of a 2-year academic calendar
• The Academic Calendar Community Engagement Committee meets September through November 2023.

• The proposed 2-year calendar recommendations will be presented to SFUSD Board of Education January 9,, 2024

Updates & Resources

2024-25 SY & 2025-26 SY Academic Calendar BOE Presentation 1/8/24

Administrative Procedures for Academic Calendar