School Board Notes 1.23.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• Board Adopts Prop. H Spending Plan
• Norman Yee Back at his Seat
• Board Denies Charter School Petition
• Wallenberg HS Wants Beloved Counselor Back
• Gloria R. Davis to Move to Marshall

Board Adopts Prop. H Spending Plan

At its regular meeting Tuesday night, the board approved a Proposition H spending plan that allocates significant funds for violence prevention and translation services, while slightly increasing the amount of money for academic support, a cause that had been championed by district staff.

The board spent more than two hours taking public testimony, discussing line items and tinkering with amounts before deciding on a figure its members could support. The biggest debate arose over how to spend the discretionary portion of the funds, which represent half the $20 million SFUSD will get in Prop. H funds this year. The Community Advisory Committee, along with members of the public and the Youth Council, had supported funding that was heavy in violence-prevention programs, peer resources and translation services. The superintendent's office had requested more of the funds go to academic support, specifically computer upgrades for students and teachers, a system for tracking individual student progress, and reading and math coaches to help teachers improve their instructional practice.

In the end, the board united behind a proposal by President Mark Sanchez. It called for adopting almost all of the CAC's recommendations but shaving $350,000 off various allocations and giving that money back to the superintendent's office for greater academic support. In its original recommendation to the board, the superintendent had asked for $3.1 million for academic support. She recently came back to the board with a compromise recommendation asking for $1.5 million.

Members of the community appealed to the board about the critical need for violence prevention, peer resources and translation services. Two students said they had been suicidal before they became involved with the peer resources program. They described the program as transformational in its ability to help them gain confidence and self-respect. Other students spoke about witnessing friends being killed or assaulted over minor disagreements, and urged the board to adopt the CAC's recommendations for violence prevention.

The board ultimately adopted the CAC's recommendations, with the following modifications:

• Allocating $550,000, rather than $600,00, for peer resources (-$50,000)
• Allocating $550,000, rather than $600,00, for translation services (-$50,000)
• Allocating $1.55 million, rather than $1.65 million, to middle and high schools for developing violence-prevention programs (-$100,000)
• Eliminating an allocation for a full-time security aide, to be shared between school sites (-$100,000)
• Eliminating an allocation for noon-time monitors (-$20,000)
• Reducing from $250,000 to $236,072 the allocation to establish an evaluating system and hire a coordinator to track and assess use of Prop. H funds (-$14,000)

A copy of the CAC and the superintendent's respective recommendations can be found at the district Web site.

Norman Yee Back at His Seat

Commissioner Norman Yee, who has been hospitalized since being hit by a car while crossing the street December 26, attended the meeting for a short while Tuesday. Yee wore a neck brace and walked with a cane, and could only stay for about an hour. But the commissioner appeared to be in good spirits, and participated actively in the Prop. H discussion. Although he did not say for the vote, he expressed his support for some form of compromise that would retain much of the CAC's recommendations while supporting teachers and administrators need for greater funds for academic support.

Board Denies Charter School Petitions

The board denied two charter school applications before it Tuesday evening, for Bay Area Technology School (Baytech – San Francisco) and Sputnik Math, Science and Language Academy.

BayTech had been proposed as a high school in Bayview/Hunters Point. The owner, Willow Corp., operates a similar school in Oakland. After reviewing the application, staff recommended it be denied for several reasons. Staff members did not feel the charter had adequate community support, and many of those who signed its petition for a charter were not San Francisco residents. The school would not have a local board, but rather be run by Willow's San Mateo-based office. Also, the district was concerned about the charter's plan to draw at least 50 percent of its students from SFUSD schools. Willow had stated a plan of going into local schools and attempting to recruit students, a move Commissioner Jill Wynns said would be "unprecedented and possibly illegal."

Supporters of the school said that it had a successful track record in Oakland of helping under-served students perform and excel. They also pointed to the fact that, with the closing of Gloria R. Davis, Bayview/Hunters Point residents have asked the district to consider locating a charter school in their neighborhood.

Sputnik Academy had been proposed as a K-3 school with a Russian-language focus, targeting English-language learners. After reviewing its application, staff recommended denying the charter because the owners had no track record and staff members were concerned about the ability of the school to meet the needs of English language learners. Its plan did not call for a way of assessing English proficiency, nor did it indicate the instructional support (such as an additional half-hour of classroom instruction per day) and special textbook materials needed for ELL students.

Supporters of the school said it offered them a valuable way to preserve their native language and Russian heritage. District officials noted that SFUSD is working begin a Russian two-way immersion program in the near future.

Wallenberg HS Wants Beloved Counselor Back

About three dozen parents and students at Raoul Wallenberg High School in the Western Addition asked for the return of a beloved counselor, Ernest Stanton, who had been moved to an administrative job at the district. Audience members, who waited long into the night to make their case to the board, held signs saying Mr. Stanton "enhances educational development," "strengthens efforts of staff," "practices individual assessment" and "monitors student achievement."

Gloria R. Davis to Move to Marshall

After waiting late into the night to hear the fate of their school, Gloria R. Davis students and teachers got good news. The district will most likely be able to keep the school as a separate academy within Thurgood Marshall, Superintendent Gwen Chan said. As long as 30 students from the school agree to transfer to Marshall, and "the numbers look good," Chan said, the district should be able to keep the students together, keep some of the teachers, and offer core curriculum as a separate Gloria R. Davis academy co-housed within Marshall. Students would also be able to take advantage of extracurricular activities, honor courses and enrichment activities available at Marshall. The fate of Gloria R. Davis has been uncertain since the board voted at its last meeting to close the school due to its inability to build enough enrollment to support a 9-12th grade program.

Comments

[Caroline]

Thanks for the thorough report, Nicole.

Just for the record, Willow Education's Oakland charter school currently has an API of 656. That is not high-performing nor excelling; it could fairly be described as struggling. It was a wise decision not to replicate that in SFUSD.

[Greg Holmes]

Just cannot understand why Mr. Stanton has not been returned to Wallenberg? He was wrongly accused, investigated, cleared, and now soon to be released from District employment. This entire situation makes no sense at all. If anything should be looked at how about looking into the general dissatisfaction the students, facility, and parents have regarding the way the school is being run? Has the morale of the teachers ever been lower? Do the students feel they are involved in the direction the school is headed? Do the parents feel included and valued as the important partners they need to be in order for their students to be successful? The direction Wallenberg is headed is completely the opposite of the way it has succeeded in the past. Returning Mr. Stanton the counseling position would be a good first step to right that wrong. He is a person of honor and integrity. He is someone who has performed excellently as the counselor of Wallenberg. The Wallenberg community deserves to have their counselor rehired into his proper position.