Report of Findings and Recommendations from Community Conversations about Building Quality Middle Schools

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Report of Findings and Recommendationsfrom
Community Conversations about Building Quality
Middle Schools Proposed K-8 Pathways May 9,
2011
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Presenters

• Cindy Choy Carla Cuevas
• Rhoyal Baibé Foston Ruth Grabowski
• Michelle Jacques-Menegaz Carol Lei
• Marilyn Luong (inter.) Daphne Magnawa
• Ellie Rossiter Chablis Scott

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Appreciations

• PPS PAC Members and Staff
• Our Volunteers!
• SFUSD Middle School Planning Team
• Middle School Principals and their Staff
• SFUSD Translation Interpretation Unit
• Parent Liaisons
• All the people who participated in the forums.

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Tonight

• What we did and why
• Who we heard from
• Findings from community meetings
• Recommendations for the Board and district staff
• Conclusion

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What We Did and Why

• In March 2010 the Board of Education adopted a
  student assignment policy with feeder patterns
  for middle schools without community input on
  this idea.
• Last fall the community reacted negatively to the
  feeder patterns, and the district delayed
  implementation in order to explore options for
  K-8 Pathways.
• The PAC and PPS worked with district staff to
  organize and conduct community forums to talk
  about middle school quality, proposed language
  pathways, and feeder patterns.

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Goals of the Forums

• Let parents, educators and community members know
  about district proposals for K-8 pathways and
  improving middle schools.
• Hear the communitys questions, concerns and
  ideas about these proposals.
• Report community feedback about these issues to
  the Board of Education and district staff, to
  inform your decisions and strengthen new systems
  for all middle schools.

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Community ForumsMarch 1 April 21, 2011

• We heard from over 850 people.
• We went to 12 middle schools, 5 elementary
  schools, and held two targeted focus groups.
• Attendance ranged from 12-200 people (average
  50). Some of the elementary school conversations
  had more participants than the middle school
  forums.
• We know large, centralized events dont tend to
  draw a representative group of people - so we
  held meetings in targeted communities to make
  sure we heard from parents with diverse
  backgrounds.

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Who We Heard From

• Parents who participated in these elementary
  school meetings and focus groups did more closely
  reflect represent the districts student
  populations.
• In these targeted conversations we found
• The same range of ideas concerns we heard at
  the larger forums
• The same concerns we heard reported last year
• We have full confidence that our report reflects
  the diverse perspectives of parents across the
  district.

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Findings What Weve Heard Before

• The main messages we heard during the community
  forums are similar to what weve heard families
  say repeatedly over the past several years - and
  what weve repeatedly reported to the Board of
  Education and district staff
• More than anything else parents want quality
  schools - and they dont perceive all schools as
  quality schools.
• Beyond test scores, schools are different from
  each other. Parents want to be able to choose a
  school that will meet their childrens needs.

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What weve heard before

• Most parents questioned whether student
  assignment - specifically, the proposed feeder
  patterns - has any direct relationship to
  building quality middle schools.
• Most parents would like their children to attend
  a school thats easy to get to, but they also
  care about special programs, school culture and
  size. Many parents would be willing to send
  their child to a school farther away if it would
  better meet their familys needs.

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What weve heard before

• Many parents challenged the feeder patterns as
  unfair and inequitable. They dont want to feel
  forced into something that wont work for their
  children.
• Even parents who supported feeder patterns, as a
  way to address the challenges of increasing
  student enrollment and to support better
  planning, had questions about how feeder patterns
  would meet the individual needs of different
  students.

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New Issues That Emerged

• There is widespread support for expanding
  language programs. At the same time, parents want
  the district to meet the language needs of all
  students, including
• Newcomer students who speak languages in addition
  to Cantonese, Spanish or Mandarin
• Students who need bilingual support to develop
  academic English, as well as recognition of their
  bicultural identity
• Students coming out of K-5 language immersion and
  bilingual programs, and
• General Ed. and Special Education students, who
  should have access before high school to learn
  another language.

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New Issues That Emerged

• People raised fundamental questions about how to
  meet students different academic needs
• How do we best meet students different learning
  styles, needs and abilities?
• How can the district support teachers to provide
  differentiated instruction?
• Why is access to high-quality elective courses so
  uneven from school to school, and how can English
  Learner and Special Education students have
  access to electives?
• Whats in place now, what can be put in place,
  whats the impact of budget cuts, and how does
  all this fit with efforts to align standards
  curriculum across the district?

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Findings

• Quality Middle Schools
• Language Pathways
• Feeder Patterns / Student Assignment
• How parents felt about the process

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Quality Middle Schools

• People have different priorities, but theres a
  common desire for schools where the principal,
  teachers, and staff have a clear vision for how
  to meet the different needs of diverse student
  populations.
• While the district described a list of factors
  related to quality schools, no real information
  was presented about what the challenges are,
  whats working, or specific plans for improving
  schools based on this information.
• Where is the research on what is effective?
  Why do people choose the top-requested schools?
  What are they doing? Can we replicate that?
  Let that drive our decisions moving forward.

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Quality Middle Schools

• The district is changing how Special Education
  services will be provided, but didnt talk about
  that - or how feeder patterns could meet the
  specific needs of students in Special Education.
• Special Education is not being addressed. We
  need teachers, resources. There is not a lot of
  talk here about Special Education.
• Whats the districts position or theory about
  how to meet the needs of both struggling and
  high-achieving students, whether through honors
  courses or differentiation?
• Im not a big advocate for tracking - but I want
  the district to have a plan. If they dont have
  a GATE program, how are they going to engage
  those kids?

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Quality Middle Schools

• Parents want more electives and hands-on learning
  that kids are excited about - and which is not
  accessible at all schools.
• Sometimes that elective is going to be the
  joyful piece - its what keeps them engaged.
• Some parents were skeptical that the district
  could find the resources to make the 7th period
  possible, while others felt it is such a clear
  priority that funds should be prioritized to make
  it work.

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Expanding Language Pathways

• Across differences in schools, neighborhoods,
  ethnicity, and primary language, people support
  the idea of expanding language programs for
  middle school students.
• Lets overcome the obstacles and make it happen.
  Language acquisition is so important that it
  should be prioritized. Find the funds to make it
  happen.
• At the same time, many parents, educators and
  community members raised questions and concerns
  about the proposed language pathways discussed at
  the forums.

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Expanding Language Pathways

• Parents want all middle schoolers to have access
  to learning another language.
• But that brings up the question - are all
  students going to have access to language? It
  seems like the resources are being put to a
  smaller group of students - I would want all kids
  to have access to language.
• There was confusion about how biliteracy programs
  work, what the Lau Plan is, or how the pathways
  would serve English Learner students.

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Expanding Language Pathways

• Some school communities were concerned that
  expanding the language programs will mean
  dismantling their Visual and Performing Arts
  programs. In the forum at A.P. Giannini, parents
  were promised this would not happen.
• I just want to have it written down unless you
  have the 7th period, the language program will
  dismantle the VAPA program weve built here at
  Presidio.

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Expanding Language Pathways

• Even people who were enthusiastic about expanding
  language programs raised concerns about the
  challenges of finding qualified teachers, and the
  lack of funding and resources to implement the
  proposed programs.
• How are they going to pay for that? The
  district doesnt have the resources to expand
  Immersion into middle school let alone language
  for all.

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Expanding Language Pathways

• People wondered how to improve services for
  English Learners in general, as well as those who
  dont speak the major languages in the district.
• Parents also wondered whether students in Special
  Education and general education would have access
  to language programs.

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Expanding Language Pathways

• Despite the language pathways commitment and
  this seal of bilingualism, only the Lau Plan is
  a legal mandate, and as we try to do all of this
  warm fuzzy stuff, why dont we serve the Pacific
  Islander students? There arent any biliteracy
  programs for them. If were having budget
  issues, what do we do first fully implement
  Lau, or create trilingual paths? What takes
  precedence?

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Feeder Patterns

• Parents questioned whether student assignment in
  general - or feeder patterns, specifically - has
  any direct relationship to building quality
  middle schools.
• This system is a strange bandage.
• Many people were very critical of the feeder
  patterns. Some were completely against the
  concept, while others were more concerned about
  the specific feeders being proposed.
• It looks really nice if youre feeding into the
  top six requested schools, and doesnt feel as
  good if youre in the bottom seven.

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Feeder Patterns

• Some felt the program planning and
  community-building opportunities would strengthen
  the middle schools ability to meet the needs of
  incoming students.
• Feeders have a lot of positive implications for
  middle school PTAs because middle school is a
  short amount of time.  Its hard to build
  continuity of parent leadership when people are
  in and out.

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Feeder Patterns

• Many parents completely rejected the districts
  plan to take away their ability to choose a
  school. They want to be able to select more than
  one option that works for their family, and not
  be constrained or forced into a designated
  school.
• This plan is the worst of all worlds. Im
  coming from elementary schools we dont live
  near, a middle school I havent chosen and might
  not live close to - let me choose where I want to
  go.

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Feeder Patterns

• People challenged the feeder patterns as unfair
  to students unless all schools have all the same
  range and quality of programs - which isnt
  always practical, and isnt what most parents or
  school administrators say they want.
• The concept of feeders is great, but the devil
  is in the details. I feel like the district
  treats all the schools the same and doesnt
  appreciate the differences among the schools in
  terms of dollars and resources.

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Feeder Patterns

• Even parents who supported feeder patterns had
  questions about how they could meet the
  individual needs of different students.
• I have two children in middle school with really
  different needs. How are you going to serve
  their different needs if you take away my choice
  about where they can go?

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The Mission, Bayview and Excelsior

• Participants in these conversations expressed the
  same range of interests, questions and concerns
  that came up in the other forums.
• In addition, people are concerned that despite
  having the highest concentration of children of
  the city, the southeast has the fewest middle
  schools.
• With the closure of Willie Brown, the Bayview
  will have no middle school at all. As a result,
  students will be sent to middle schools across
  the city.
• Im upset that there will not be a middle school
  in my neighborhood (Bayview).

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The Mission, Bayview and Excelsior

• Many people wondered whether transportation would
  be provided for students being sent to schools
  far away. Everyone understands the district is
  scaling back school bus service - and wondered
  how their children would get to school on time.
• Here in the Bayview were almost in the bay, but
  if our kids go to Giannini, theyll be almost in
  the ocean!

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The Mission, Bayview and Excelsior

• Parents and educators in these neighborhoods felt
  their students dont received the same level of
  support, and dont have access to the same
  quality of programs, as families on the west side
  of the city.
• We want a quality middle school that is exactly
  the same as all the other neighborhoods but here
  in our community. Because if we cant have that
  here and we have to go to another neighborhood,
  how do you expect people to react when they come
  to this part of the town?

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Mission, Bayview and Excelsior

• Theyre also concerned about a lack of cultural
  competency in some schools their children will
  attend - and whether their children will be made
  to feel welcome in those schools.
• We are concerned about how our kids will be
• treated on that side of town.
• For many Latino parents in the Mission District,
  safety continues to be a major concern - not
  necessarily inside particular middle schools, but
  in the streets and neighborhood around those
  schools.

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How Parents Feel about the Process

• People expressed a lot of doubt and questions
  about the districts intentions, capacity or
  resources to implement these proposals.
• Is this a done deal? Is the district even
  listening to what we say?
• The district is not giving parents the complete
  picture. Were being led into a trap theres
  something fishy with this picture.
• Why are they forcing this if people dont want
  it?

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Framing for Recommendations

• We acknowledge that the district is facing many
  complex challenges related to middle schools.
  Our recommendations address challenges in four
  areas
• School Quality
• Expanding Language Pathways
• Student Assignment
• Communication with Families

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Challenges School Quality

• Were losing students during middle school years.
• Theres uneven academic achievement across
  SFUSDs middle schools.
• Schools have different approaches to
  differentiation some schools have honors tracks
  and many schools dont.
• Theres uneven access to high quality programs,
  curriculum and electives among different schools.

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Recommendations School Quality

• Address issues related to differentiation and
  honors programs.
• Hold principals and teachers accountable to high
  standards, and support them to meet these
  standards.

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Recommendations School Quality

• Place highly-effective, culturally competent
  principals and teachers in schools that are
  struggling.
• Ensure all students have access to high quality
  electives at all middle schools - including
  English Learner and Special Education students.

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Challenges Language Pathways

• Theres a legal and moral obligation to serve the
  needs of English Learner students, who speak many
  different languages.
• The district has invested in immersion programs
  in grades K-5, and needs more capacity to serve
  students in grades 6-8.

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Challenges Language Pathways

• All parents want their kids to have access to a
  multilingual education.
• In addition to the cost of adding a 7th period
  and providing materials to accommodate expanding
  language programs, theres a shortage of
  qualified multilingual teachers.

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Recommendations Language Pathways

• Establish clear criteria and priorities for
  meeting the needs of students who speak languages
  besides Spanish, Cantonese Mandarin (for
  example, Samoan).
• Incorporate serving general education and Special
  Education students in plans for expanding
  language programs.
• Identify needs and strategies related to
  resources, and the tradeoffs.

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Challenges Student Assignment

• Feeder patterns were added to the student
  assignment policy at the last minute in 2010, and
  adopted without community discussion.
• Theres a projected increase in the middle school
  student population.
• Uneven enrollment means we now have some
  over-subscribed and some under-enrolled middle
  schools.

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Challenges Student Assignment

• Theres no middle school in Bayview and not
  enough middle school capacity in the southeast
  part of the city - which has the highest
  concentration of students.
• Unless the district shares a concrete plan for
  opening a new school in the Bayview - and
  involves the community in shaping that plan -
  people wont trust that its going to happen.

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Challenges Student Assignment

• Its complicated to implement language pathways
  in the context of a choice system.
• When schools are under-enrolled its usually
  because parents believe they are not high quality.

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Recommendations Student Assignment

• Do not implement feeder patterns. Retain the
  choice system, while strengthening the quality of
  all middle schools.
• Strengthen the mechanisms for choice in middle
  schools, and improve communication to families
  about ways different schools can address
  students academic and enrichment needs.

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Recommendations Student Assignment

• Create magnet schools with high-quality
  programs that attract families, like arts,
  science technology, or language. Place these
  schools strategically to support diversity and
  meet program demand.
• Establish coherent pathways for programs that
  serve specific student populations with special
  needs, including English Learner and Special
  Education students.

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RecommendationsStudent Assignment

• Focus on these tie-breakers for middle school
  assignment
• siblings
• an equity mechanism
• attendance area.
• Open a high-quality middle school in the Bayview.
  Communicate details about this plan right away
  (including action steps and the timeline).

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Challenges Communication

• Parents dont trust that the district is
  listening to them, or is honest about its plans.
• Information related to important district
  initiatives is often missing altogether, is not
  presented in parent-friendly format, and/or is
  not translated.

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Recommendations Communication

• So far, no one in the district is being held
  accountable for communication with families -
  especially parents who dont speak English.
• Provide a parent-friendly report about the middle
  school quality assessment inventory, highlighting
  the challenges and strengths of each school.
• Develop and share detailed plans for action steps
  to strengthen middle schools, including
  measureable objectives and timelines.

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Our Next Steps

• The PAC and PPS are committed to representing the
  voices of families we have heard from over the
  past several years.
• We will continue to work with and make
  recommendations to SFUSD staff the Board of
  Education.
• We know it is our task to hold you accountable
  for our childrens education and we will.

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Next Steps in Process and Timeline

• Tuesday, May 24 District staff gives the first
  reading of the Superintendent's proposed policy
  on feeder patterns
• Tuesday, May 31  Ad Hoc Committee on Student
  Assignment meets to discuss the middle school
  proposal
• Monday, June 13 Ad Hoc Committee on Student
  Assignment meets to discuss the middle school
  proposal
• Tuesday, June 14 BOE votes on the middle school
  assignment policy

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Contact Us

• Our full report of findings recommendations
  with parents quotes is available online at
• Parent Advisory Council
• www.pacsf.org
• [phone]
• Parents for Public Schools
• www.ppssf.org
• [phone]