Programs

Daniel Webster is a small, intimate school with both General Education and Spanish Dual-Immersion strands. We are a diverse cultural community that welcomes all families, diverse perspectives, new ideas, and creative solutions to strengthen the learning environment for our students. We work tirelessly to provide all our students with the resources they need to succeed.

“Learning Together” is our school motto. Our school values and expectations are BE SAFE, BE RESPECTFUL, BE RESPONSIBLE, and BE READY TO LEARN. Our teachers and support staff work together across grade levels to devote resources to meet individual students’ specific and unique needs. Our staff works above and beyond to support students with their academics and social emotional development. We practice distributive leadership and implement a shared leadership model by including each staff member in one of three leadership committees (Instructional Leadership Team, Culture and Climate Committee, and School Operations). We believe that all staff, students, and families bring knowledge and valuable experience to our school.

Academic programs & specials

Daniel Webster’s strong academic curriculum is balanced by many wonderful enrichment programs. We strive for a multi-disciplined approach that incorporates the arts and technology as well as physical and interpersonal skills so that students can discover and develop their individual strengths and passions.

Core Curriculum

Daniel Webster teaches the California state core curriculum and offers two distinct language pathways, English Language Development, or General Education, and Spanish Immersion. We offer one General Education class and two Spanish Immersion classes per grade up through third grade and two each in fourth/fifth grades. The General Education and Spanish Immersion teachers work together so that all the kids in a single grade are working on the same material, just in different languages.

Literacy and Mathematics

Daniel Webster has a very strong focus on literacy and mathematics. We are using the Reading and Writing Project (developed at Teachers College at Columbia University) to develop not just readers, but children who see themselves as authors. In the program all children engage in extensive writing and reading and present their writings to peers and parents each month.

Art

Art is an integral part of the daily classroom activities in all grades. In addition each classroom in grades 1-5 has a weekly class from a visiting art teacher for 12 weeks of the school year. Our kindergarteners receive weekly art classes.

Music

Singing is a big part of the drama program for grades K-2. Mr. G is super high energy and really gets the kids to perform for our holiday and year end performances. We also have hands on music instruction with Noel Toso for our students in grades 3-5.

Dance and Drama

SFUSD funds 30-35 minute dance/drama classes for all students, K-5. Our instructors come through Young Imaginations and inspires participation in even the most reluctant dancers!

Health & Garden Education

Daniel Webster has a vibrant teaching garden and outdoor education program established by an ongoing grant from PREFund. The program is currently implemented through a partnership with the Food Education Project, offering health, nutrition and ecology lessons, while integrating the garden into regular and after-school curriculums.

Social Emotional Skills

The social-emotional curriculum at Daniel Webster uses two programs, Second Step and Mindful Schools. Second Step uses games, activities, and media to help students become better equipped to manage their own emotions, form healthy relationships, make good decisions, and cope with everyday social and academic challenges. Mindful Schools works to encourage greater awareness, the ability to focus attention, and action based on empathy, kindness and compassion. View a video about the program, featuring the students of Daniel Webster!

 

Meals & snacks

Meal Programs

It’s no secret that hungry students are at a disadvantage in the classroom and on the playground. Daniel Webster has programs in place to ensure that students nutritional needs are met.

Breakfast and lunch are provided by the Nutrition Services Department of SFUSD. Free or paid meals are provided to all students based on family income level. Breakfast is served starting at 8:10am.

In 2012 SFUSD awarded a new Meal Contract to Oakland-based Revolution Foods, providing healthier school meal options that meet or exceed USDA nutrition requirements fueling academic excellence by providing safe, nutritious meals and promoting student wellness.

To see the latest menus check the SFUSD site.

Snack

The San Francisco Food Bank provides a healthy snack daily to all students through their Morning Snack Program.