Press Room
In the News

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"New Superintendent a Catalyst for Change"
by Warren Hellman, Sandra Hernández

We welcome Carlos Garcia as the new superintendent for the San Francisco Unified School District. As a community, we recognize that this significant appointment provides a unique opportunity to be a collective catalyst for change. Read More

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"New Schools Chief Comes at Critical Time in SF "
by SF community groups, The Examiner

On Tuesday evening, the Board of Education voted to hire a new superintendent — Carlos Garcia. Garcia will take the helm in July, at a time of both tremendous need and tremendous hope for our public education system in San Francisco. Read More
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"School Beat: More on Standardized Testing—Timing is Everything"
by Susan Gold

In response to Lisa Schiff's recent article titled 'Why I Hate Standardized Testing' I would like to add one more important element to the argument that standardized tests are not adequate measures of student achievement: timing. Read More
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"S.F. Thanks Its Teachers: Educators Take Center Stage in New Campaign"
by Claudette Langley

Forget about maypoles and margaritas - in San Francisco, May is all about the teachers. Read More
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"Wasted Science?"
by Peter Hippard

Presently, the San Francisco Unified School District has assigned a committee to evaluate a list of textbooks for a new science adoption for elementary and middle schools. The School Board will allocate millions of dollars on the new science program, the first in over a decade. But will this money be well spent? Read More

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"Teachers Take Class in Policy Advocacy: National Conference Discusses Ways to Influence Issues in Public Arena"
by Kelly Bothum

WILMINGTON -- A group of teachers from across the country left their classrooms and headed to Delaware Saturday to learn how to advocate for educational policies that will benefit their students. About 70 members of the Teachers Network Leadership Institute are spending the weekend here to talk about how they can individually, and as a group, bridge the gap between the statehouse, where educational policies are typically developed, and the classroom, where they are implemented. Read More or Link to Press Release

"SF High School Library Project Wins National Recognition"

A project at Mission High School in San Francisco, funded by a $5,000 Leadership and Professional Development Grant from the San Francisco Education Fund and a larger grant from the Public Education Network, received national recognition at the Teachers and Media Specialists Influencing Student Achievement (TEAMS) first annual competition. As part of this project Mission High School students created digital portfolios to showcase student writing. Read More

"Encouraging Teachers and Students - State must correct its record of breaking promises to teachers"
by Claudia Haas

You often hear that the single most important factor in students' achievement is the quality of the teacher. I am a National Board Certified Teacher. I have been working in San Francisco public schools for the past 10 years. National Board Certified Teachers go through the daunting and expensive ($2,300 fee) process of demonstrating to be "accomplished teachers" by meeting stringent national standards... Read More

"Letter to the Editor"
by Robin Mencher

Editor -- In the article, "State must correct its record of breaking promises to teachers" (Open Forum, July 18), Claudia Haas of the San Francisco Unified School District described how she and other teachers felt "demoralized and angry" upon learning that the state pulled the plug on a promise of $10,000 for teachers who earn certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Read More

"Assessing Kids' Progress at School - Fair testing for English-language learners"
by Klaus Uebelacker

Every year, all public-school students in California, regardless of personal or academic background, are expected to score proficient to advanced on the statewide, multiple-choice assessment known as the California Standard Test, or CST. There is just one problem: The test is designed for native speakers of English. Read More