#BoardWatch Recap: SFUSD 3/24/20 Regular Board Meeting
Get a flavor for what is happening at the Board of Education by browsing recaps of our play-by-play live-tweet coverage of the March 24, 2020 Board of Education meeting.
Key takeaways:
Superintendent Matthews will be sending update messages to families every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
You can update your contact information in ParentVUE web platform or in the app
Updates are also published on the SFUSD website, click “Family Updates” from the main webpage. This message can be translated via Google Translate (click preferred language in the web browser)
Urgent messages will be custom translated and sent in home language of families (based on info SFUSD has). These may come via text, call, and/or email.
SFUSD is working to distribute Chrome Books to all students in grades 3-12 who do not have access to a device at home.
This is being rolled out at different schools on different days. Priority is being given to High School and Middle School Students and those in Cohorts 3 and 4 (schools in SFUSD are grouped in to Cohorts based on various factors)
Need a device? Learn more here and fill out a request form.
The district is waiting on delivery of an order of 8,000 Chrome Books which should all be received within the next week or so.
Schools are assessing student need in different ways, some are sending out a form, some are calling families in person. Many students will pick up computers at their school but some may be distributed by SFUSD centrally.
District is also prioritizing helping students get access to internet: especially students who are unhoused, in foster care and other groups.
They are dipping into computers usually used at sites, so while they currently don’t need donations of devices, they may need that later to replace those being deployed to students. Will post specifications needed online. (Don’t see it yet)
Best way to support this effort is to donate online: https://www.sparksfpublicschools.org/donate/
SFUSD has brought process for enrolling in, and applying to schools for next year online. See our posts about this here and here.
Starting next week, there should be more access for students to mental health support and counselors. District has been working to solve privacy issues to enable remote access.
SFUSD continues to expand access to meals for students (Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper). Available at sites across the city now.
CHANGE: students no longer have to be present for families to pick up food for them.
Beginning Monday, March 30, sites will be open two days per week, Monday and Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Five days of food will still be provided, each bag will have meals for multiple days. Check the site for details.
School-site-based food bank pop-ups are expanding. Check this site for the most up to date information about all food pantries operating in SF. The list below is subject to change.
Monday: Bayview Opera House
Tuesday: Cesar Chavez Elementary
Wednesday: James Denman Middle School
Wednesday: Rosa Parks Elementary
Thursday: Francisco Middle School
Thursday: Mission High School
Thursday: Bessie Carmichael
Friday: Lincoln High School
Friday: APA Visitation Valley
SFUSD is planning to shift to a more formal distance learning model on April 13.
there is some consideration of how some students may have access to physical learning materials
Additional resources for families wishing to support student learning at home before April 13 can be found here: https://www.sfusd.edu/learning/resources-learning/continuity-learning/families
Commissioner Collins is planning to have a Curriculum committee meeting to discuss this move to distance learning in more detail.
This has not been put on the public calendar yet.
Stay tuned! We will continue to share information and follow board meetings as they arise. Follow us on Twitter @PPSSFBoardWatch!