Developing a Community Based Student Assignment Policy for SFUSD

December 3, 2019Committee of the Whole

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Orla O’KeeffeChief Policy & Operations

Henry O’ConnellProject Manager

Desired Outcomes

Receive the green light to move forward with three concepts and:

○ Launch community engagement

○ Model and evaluate how well each concept might meet the Board’s policy goals

2Agenda

1. Staff Presentation (20 mins)a. Discussions to dateb. Community engagementc. Evaluating conceptsd. Next steps

2. Public Comment

3. Board Discussion

Board Resolution 189-25A1: Developing a Community Based Student Assignment System for SFUSD (Approved 12/11/2018)

● Focus: elementary schools

● Concrete, measurable definitions

● Goals and theory of action

● Model different options

● Community outreach

● Recommendations

● Implementation plan

● Transportation needs and plans

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Current policy not working as intended ● Has not reversed racial isolation

● Concerns about lack of: transparency,

accessibility, predictability, simplicity

● Choice seen as increasing inequity

● Concerns about the CTIP preference

● Attendance areas have not changed

● Families traveling across City increases

congestion, can contribute to tardiness and

truancy, and is a barrier to strong community

connections to local schools

The Reasons Why

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Community Engagement

Policy Development Timeline

Fall 2019 Spring 2020 June 2020 Fall 20212020-21 SY*

Board approves new student assignment policy

for elementary schools

Modify infrastructure to support new policy*

Launch enrollment for 2022-23 SY

Develop Definitions, Goals, Priorities, Theory

of Action, + Options

Gather input from community and develop recommendation

* Infrastructure development timeline may take longer depending on scale of change

● Predictability

● Proximity

● Diversity

Board Resolution 189-25A1 listed a number of potential policy goals

● Predictability

● Simplicity

● Transparency

● Access to a school where sibling(s) attend

● Accessibility to neighborhood options

● A strong commitment to integrated schools

● Access to a diverse school

● Equity

● Access to a high quality school

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Synthesized Goals

Equity Lens

Stated in Resolution

Board’s Goals for Elementary Assignment

● Diversity: Create integrated elementary schools that provide students with the opportunity to experience the rich diversity of our city.

● Predictability: Offer families of elementary students a high degree of predictability about where their elementary children will be enrolled in school.

● Proximity: Create strong community connections to local schools and reduce the number of families with elementary students traveling across the city.

● Students are best served in learning environments that are racially and socioeconomically integrated.

● Families should have a right to predictability, simplicity, and transparency as they go through the student assignment system.

● Schools are an integral part of the community, and student assignment should facilitate strong connections between schools and their surrounding communities.

● SFUSD is committed to ensuring the quality of all schools so that no matter where you go to school you will receive a high quality education.

Board’s Guiding Values

Diversity in SFUSD refers to the presence of the

many identities, experiences, ways of making

meaning and perspectives of students, families,

community, and staff in our District. These include

differences in background, thought, race, ethnicity,

socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation,

religion, language, national origin, ability, and other

socially constructed characteristics. Diversity is

greatest when a range of identities, experiences,

ways of making meaning, and perspectives are

present in a school, classroom, or workplace.

An integrated school is diverse, facilitates

positive interaction across difference, and

provides equitable access to resources and

opportunities that exist within the school.

DRAFT Definition of Diversity

DRAFT Definition of Integrated Schools

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Concept #1: Initial Assignment + Choice

Concept #2: Choice in Small Zones

Concept #3: Choice in Medium Zones

Goals Predictability, Diversity, Proximity Predictability, Diversity, Proximity Diversity, Predictability, Proximity

Student Assignment

Automatic assignment, then optional choice process

Choice Choice

Geographical Constraints

Attendance Areas (1 school) Zones (3 - 5 schools) Zones (8-12 schools)

Portfolio of Schools

1. Attendance Area Schools2. Citywide Schools

1. Zone Schools2. Citywide Schools

1. Zone Schools

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● Geographic Boundaries (attendance areas / zones) ○ How might we create diverse boundaries given residential segregation?

● School Facilities○ How might we match the number of K5 residents with facilities?○ Which facilities should be included? Assumptions about new schools?

What’s the instructional capacity of each elementary school?● Portfolio of Schools

○ How might we group schools into zones / identify city-wide schools and ensure each and every student has equitable access to the educational opportunities available in SFUSD?

Implications/Structural Shifts

● Goal: share information about the Board’s

goals, guiding values, draft definitions,

concepts being explored, and decision

making process and timeline

Website www.sfusd.edu/studentassignment

Blog Posts○ We’re Developing a New Student Assignment

Policy (Oct. 18)○ Why We’re Redesigning Student Assignment

(Nov. 22)

Newspaper Op-Eds○ SF Examiner (Nov. 4)○ Sing Tao Daily (Nov. 9)

Social Media○ A Message from Superintendent Matthews

(Facebook / Twitter - Nov. 13)

Board Meetings

Inform Strategies for Informing the Community

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● Goal: gather feedback and insights that will

help staff design a student assignment policy

that responds to the needs of the

community, especially the needs of focal

families

● Activate a diverse range of voices, especially

those of historically underrepresented and

marginalized families

● NOT a forum for the community to vote or

decide on a new student assignment policy

● We’ll host 12 workshops throughout the City

in January and February to gather insights

and feedback from the community

● Dates and locations will be posted at

www.sfusd.edu/studentassignment

● Partner with community based

organizations and district advisory bodies to

promote the events and increase turnout,

especially for our focal families

Engage Community Workshops: Logistics

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Staff are partnering with researchers to:

● Explore various ways of measuring diversity and integration

● Set quantifiable, measurable goals for diversity, proximity, and predictability

● Model concepts, and evaluate how well they might meets the Board’s policy goals

Measuring and Evaluating Concepts

Policy Recommendation

13How Will Staff Develop a Policy Recommendation?

How well do options work in support of SFUSD’s goal of Access and Equity?

Data (demographics, choice patterns, school

capacities, new housing, transit, etc.)

Feedback from the Board of Education

Community InputResearch and Case

Studies

Simulations of Policy Outcomes

How well do options achieve the Board’s policy goals of diversity, predictability, and proximity?

Next Steps14

December 3

Committee of the Whole

Community engagement plan

January - February

Community Workshops

Gather feedback and insights that will help staff develop a policy recommendation

March 16

Ad Hoc Committee

Review community input and findings from research

April 20

Ad Hoc Committee

Review draft policy recommendation and provide feedback

May 18

Ad Hoc Committee

Review draft policy recommendation and provide feedback

June 15Second Reading and Action

June 9

First Reading

June 23

Ad Hoc Committee

Review first reading

SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Questions

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