Tag Archives: events

Get out your calendars!

Posted on April 27, 2011 by | 2 comments

Upcoming events to mark:

Thursday, April 28: Budget committee meeting;  Special Budget meeting on Edison Charter renewal.

Monday, May 2, 5 p.m.:  Curriculum Committee to discuss inclusive practices and AVID program

Tuesday, May 3, 6 p.m.:  Committee of the Whole on Special Education Redesign; Special Meeting to vote on Edison charter renewal following the adjournment of the Committee of the Whole.

Thursday, May 5, 6 p.m.: Community budget meeting at Thurgood Marshall HS, 45 Conkling St., near Silver Ave.  (Free childcare and interpretation available by reservation, call 249-9293; Free parking; Muni 44, 14x)

Monday, May 9, 6 p.m.: PAC and PPS present findings and recommendations from the middle school forums at the Ad Hoc Committee on Student Assignment.

Thursday, May 12, 6 p.m.: Community budget meeting at James Lick MS, 1220 Noe St., at 25th St.  (Free childcare and interpretation available by reservation, call 249-9293; Free parking; Muni 24, 48, J)

Tuesday, May 24, 6 p.m.: District staff present their recommendations on the middle school feeder plan at a regular meeting of the Board of Education.

Wednesday, May 25: Budget review open office hours 2 pm – 6 pm, available by appointment first come, first served. Email HernandezE2″at”sfusd.edu

Monday, June 13, 6 p.m.: Ad Hoc Committee on Student Assignment meets to discuss the middle school proposal.

Tuesday, June 14, 6 p.m.: BOE is likely to vote on the middle school assignment policy at its regular meeting.

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Posted in View from the ground

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Enrollment fair survival guide

Posted on November 11, 2010 by | Comments Off on Enrollment fair survival guide

Saturday is the annual SFUSD enrollment fair. PPS has sent out a helpful survival guide for the event, complete with workshop schedule!  Here it is:

Parents for Public Schools-SF started the first Enrollment Fair and we have been at every fair since. Below are some tips for Attendees and Parent Volunteers.

SFUSD Enrollment Fair
Saturday, November 13, 2010
9am to 2:00pm
San Francisco Concourse East Hall; 635 8th Street @ Brannan

Free Shuttle bus service is available:
Burnett CDC (1520 Oakdale Ave): Pick up 8am,8:30am,9:30am
Cesar Chaves ES (826 Shotwell St.): Pick up 8:20am, 8:50am, 9:50am
Gordon J. Lau ES (950 Clay St.): Pick up 8:45am, 9:15am, 10:15am

Muni Lines 14 to 19, Muni lines 12 to 19, 10, 27, 47
For Attendees
1. Plan to spend up to 2 hours at the Fair. (After 2 hours your brain turns to mush and you won’t be able to remember any more!)
2. Use public transportation or shuttle buses (see schedule). Parking is limited and the nearby lots and garages are expensive.
3. Bring a tote bag to put all of the flyers and papers you’ll pick up, including the Enrollment Guide and application.
4. Bring your calendar to schedule tours.
5. The Enrollment Fair can be noisy and crowded. Small children may feel overstimulated by the crowds. If you can arrange childcare, it would free you up to focus on your school search.
6. Childcare options:
    – Free Childcare is available at the Fair for ages 3-7. Register via email at devlinn@sfusd.edu.
    – Arrange for a playdate and trade with a friend – take turns going to the Fair.
7. Bring water – you’ll be talking with a lot of different people.
8. Visit the PPS-SF table! We’ll have Parent Ambassadors and staff that can give you even more tips on finding a school that works for you.
9. Attend a workshop at the Fair to get more information.
Workshop Schedule:
The Enrollment Process for School Year 2011-2012 (Room F)
(Simultaneous Spanish & Chinese Translation Provided)
* 10:30, 12:30

The Lowell 9th Grade Application Process (Room F)
(Simultaneous Spanish & Chinese Translation Provided)
* 11:45

Developing a new Transportation Policy (Room C)
*  11:30, 1:30

The Enrollment Process of Children in Special Education (Room D)
* 10:30, 12:20

Afterschool for all Workshop (Room E)
* 10:00, 11:00

Language Pathways for English Learners
* 10:00, 1:15 In Chinese (Room A)
* 11:00, 1:15 In Spanish (Room B)
* 11:00          In English (Room A)

Language Pathways for English Proficient Students
* 10:00, 12:00 (Room B)

 
For Volunteers:
1. Take a shift at the PPS table – it will give you lots of exposure to parents that you can direct to your school’s table.

2. Use public transportation or shuttle buses (see schedule). Parking is limited and the nearby lots and garages are expensive.
3. Bring school event flyers or calendars so prospective parents can attend one of your school events.
4. Bring a sign up sheet for school tours, if you have to sign up. Or bring a flyer with your tour dates and times.
5. Decorate your school’s display area with kids’ artwork and pictures.
6. Get volunteers from your school who can speak Spanish and Chinese to connect with those parents.
7. Schedule an Open House after the Fair that you can invite parents to. Open Houses can be during the evening or weekend, with at least your Principal and Kindergarten teachers present. It’s a great way for parents to actually talk with the teachers and principal without disturbing the classroom.
8. Send your school event to PPS to be added to our online calendar. Email event information to info@ppssf.org.

9. Have water for your volunteers – they’ll be talking with a lot of people!
10. Wear your school shirt — and a PPS pin

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Posted in BOE

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Thoughts from the Town Hall meeting

Posted on February 25, 2010 by | 3 comments

Tonight’s “Funding our Future” town hall meeting was in turn inspiring, frustrating, maddening and energizing. Overall, it was great to see so many people turn out on a weeknight — the large auditorium at Marina Middle School was completely filled, with an overflow crowd watching a TV feed in the school’s cafeteria. I got to the event 40 minutes early, but even then the parking was almost full. 

The organizers, dubbed the “Sherman Six,” started this whole effort in January after feeling angry about proposed budget cuts.  Then the event caught on like wildfire, causing the Sherman Six some sleepless nights wondering how they were going to accommodate a thousand adults and at least a hundred children in Child Watch.  But the event came off without a hitch, and appeared beautifully and extensively organized. My heartfelt thanks to the Sherman Six and all of the other parents and community members who pitched in to make this happen — I am hoping it will mark a turning point in our community’s engagement in the policy (and political) process — locally and at the state level.

So .  .  .  any solutions? Well, it depends on how you define “solution.” I think my takeaway from our state legislators (Senators Mark Leno and Leland Yee, and Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano and Fiona Ma) was that there are lots of ideas out there to reform California’s tax structure and governance system, but not a clear front-runner — nor anything that will happen in the next two years.  Even though it wasn’t what I wanted to hear, I appreciated the bluntness of Senator Yee’s statement that no matter how upset we get,  “cuts are coming. They’re coming.”   I do think we have to resign ourselves to hunkering down and getting through this, learning how to be smarter and do without things we’d rather have or used to have at some point in the past.  Fairness will be a crucial part of this discussion, and there is clearly anger at perceived unfairness around the Superintendent’s proposed cuts.

As one UESF member said to me after the meeting, “we’re sitting on a tinderbox.” Teachers, paraprofessionals and other school staff are angry, and they want to be sure that cuts are not landing disproportionately on them. And while I do believe that the Superintendent and his cabinet are trying hard to be as fair and strategic as possible about the cuts, I acknowledge that people at the school sites need more convincing.

If you weren’t able to attend the event, SFGOV-TV did record it and will re-broadcast it sometime this week. I also imagine the program will be available in their Video on Demand area in the coming days. I’ll post a link when it’s up.

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Posted in BOE, budget, issues

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PTA moms to Phil Matier: We’re outraged at proposed budget cuts!

Posted on February 7, 2010 by | Comments Off on PTA moms to Phil Matier: We’re outraged at proposed budget cuts!

Crystal Brown and Linda Shaffer got up very early this morning to do a TV segment on the upcoming Town Hall Meeting. They were on message — nice work, ladies!  Watch the clip >>>>

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Posted in budget, Improving schools, issues

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Funding our future: town hall meeting on budget cuts

Posted on February 6, 2010 by | 8 comments

Enterprising PTA members have organized a Town Hall meeting on February 25 to “begin the conversation” on proposed budget cuts to our schools. Local legislators, including Assemblymembers Fiona Ma and Tom Ammiano, as well as Senator Mark Leno, are scheduled to attend (Superintendent Garcia and Board President Jane Kim will represent the district).** Below, PTA members Holly Carver and Crystal Brown discuss their advocacy plans in a Comcast Newsmakers interview:

The meeting will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on February 25, 2010 at Marina Middle School (3500 Fillmore St. at Chestnut St. in San Francisco). For more information, and to reserve free childwatch or translation, please visit the event’s web site: www.fundingourfuturesf.com

**State Senator Leland Yee, who represents west side neighborhoods in San Franciso and parts of the Penninsula, is apparently having trouble fitting the Town Hall meeting into his schedule. Constituents of Senator Yee’s might want to contact his office to impress upon him how important it is for every member of our local delegation to attend this meeting and hear from their constituents, because their votes on the state budget this year will directly affect the level of funding in our local schools.

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Posted in budget, issues

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If you want to sing out, sing out!

Posted on October 14, 2009 by | Comments Off on If you want to sing out, sing out!

Today’s Back to School Lunch benefiting the San Francisco Education Fund (newly-merged with the San Francisco School Volunteers) was uplifting, honoring Gateway High School (school of the year), Hanson Bridgett LLP (partner of the year for work with newcomer students at Everett Middle School), and George Kelly, volunteer of the year for his many years of service at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy.

The jazz band from School of the Arts and Taiko drummers from the Academy of Arts and Sciences kicked off the festivities. At the end, a special treat: a rendition of Cat Stevens’ “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out,” sung by the (adorable) Fabulous Fairmount Falcons Chorus (comprised of students at Fairmount Elementary School):

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Posted in Great things going on, Improving schools

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City College hosts garage sale/fundraiser!

Posted on October 12, 2009 by | Comments Off on City College hosts garage sale/fundraiser!

ccsfsaleCity College of San Francisco has come up with a unique (and hopefully successful) way of raising money to restore some 800 classes slated for elimination this year and increase counseling hours for the Spring 2010 semester. They are accepting donations for a massive garage sale and flea market scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24. Milton Marks, President of the City College Board of Trustees, is soliciting help in publicizing the event and putting out a call for donations!

City College has been decimated by cuts over the past two years, and the cuts are affecting the future prospects of a generation: City College is the lowest-cost and most accessible option to the most disadvantaged students in San Francisco, and it is a problem for all San Franciscans if the institution can’t fulfull that mission.  If you can, please donate items; and come to the sale on Oct. 24 to find great deals and support a great cause!

Details:

  • Saturday, Oct. 24
  • 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Street-level parking area of the Balboa Reservoir at Ocean Campus (map)
  • Downloadable PDF flyer

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Posted in budget, Great things going on

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Community budget forum: June 17

Posted on June 4, 2009 by | Comments Off on Community budget forum: June 17

SFUSD, Parents for Public Schools and Coleman Advocates will sponsor a community budget forum on June 17 for parents, teachers and other interested members of the public to hear about the 2009-10 budget and ask questions about the impact of the state budget cuts:

WHEN: Wednesday, June 17, 6:30-8 p.m.

WHERE: James Lick Middle School, 1220 Noe St. (between 25th and Clipper Sts.)

TOPICS

  • State Budget Impact on SFUSD
  • Budget Outlook for 2009-2010
  • Federal Stimulus Funds
  • Give feedback on what should be considered when making SFUSD budget decisions

KidsWatch for ages 3 and up sponsored by PPS-SF
Interpretation in Spanish and Chinese available. Contact 241-6081.

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Event: Comedy Night Benefit

Posted on May 9, 2009 by | Comments Off on Event: Comedy Night Benefit

A friend asked me to help her spread the word about a benefit she’s organizing for the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program‘s (BORP) sports program for youths ages 5-19. Her daughter competes on one of the BORP wheelchair basketball teams, and loves it:

This organization is amazing.  It provides  the physically-challenged an opportunity to compete in sports.  It lets them know what it is like to be part of a team. The kids have  amazing stories. From cerebral palsy, autism, spina  bifida and  spinal cord injuries.  You do not have to be wheelchair-bound, just not able to compete with typically-developed kids. I never thought I would be a soccer mom but boy am I.

The benefit will take place Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m., at the SFCC Clubhouse — 414 Mason St. 5th floor, San Francisco. Advance tickets are $25. For more information, and to purchase tickets, download the flyer (PDF).

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Posted in Great things going on, Uncategorized

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Protest the budget cuts!

Posted on January 28, 2009 by | Comments Off on Protest the budget cuts!

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, United Educators of San Francisco is holding a rally at City Hall to protest education budget cuts. Come stand with our teachers, parents and community members to send a message that we will not tolerate any more cuts to our schools!

Download a flyer for more information (PDF) >>>>>

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