Student Assignment: Getting it Right. Highlights from our AGM!
PPS-SF’s Annual General Meeting brought families, community groups, and school district staff and administrators together to share perspectives on our student assignment system.
The event, held at Mission High School this past Tuesday evening, welcomed over 150 participants, including current SFUSD families, families of pre-school aged children, members of community-based organizations, school and district staff as well as two members of the SFUSD Board of Education.
There were two parts to the evening, a presentation in the Mission HS auditorium, followed by small group discussions in the cafeteria. The presentation included a welcome by SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews, followed by a summary of PPS-SF highlights of the year, including volunteer appreciation and a welcoming of new PPS-SF board members. Han Phung, SFUSD’s Assistant Superintendent for Middle Schools gave an update on the topic of last year’s meeting — the ongoing Middle Grades Redesign and Orla O’Keefe, SFUSD Chief of Policy and Operations presented an overview of the current work being undertaken by SFUSD to look at possible alternatives to the current student assignment system as directed by a resolution passed in December.
Our Facebook live video feed from the presentation can be accessed here.
Participants used cell-phones to share their perspectives in real-time — here is what was shared!
After the presentation, attendees broke into groups of 8-12 and took part in facilitated discussions around their own experiences with the student assignment system and what they viewed as attributes that make a school a “quality school.” Ideas were written on chart paper and prioritized using “sticky dots.”
SFUSD leaders were clear in stating that we are at the very beginning stages of looking at possible changes to the assignment system and the current system will still be in place next fall.
PPS-SF plans to use the feedback gathered at the AGM to inform our recommendations to SFUSD and to gather initial input that we hope will guide the board’s priorities as they move forward. We will share a summary of the feedback in an upcoming newsletter. Stay tuned!
The best way to stay up-to-date on this topic is to attend the monthly Ad Hoc Student Assignment Committee meeting. This is where the school board hears from experts, staff, and members of the public and has an opportunity to discuss issues related to student assignment and potential policy changes. The next meeting is May 13, 2019, at 6 PM in the Board Room at 555 Franklin Street. The committee has a web page with links to presentations and reports from previous meetings.
PPS-SF also provides live-tweet coverage of SFUSD board meetings through our #BoardWatch program. There are two ways to sign up for #BoardWatch:
1. Text @boardwatch to 81010
2. Email info@ppssf with POLICY in the subject line
