Finally, there is a discussion about possible changes with the lottery system. In case you missed the article, here it is. I am curious what you think about the proposed changes?
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Possible changes in tiebreakers
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SFUSD Updated Wait Pools Available
A reader noted in the comments that SFUSD has released the most recent waitpool numbers for 2014-2015. If you're looking for that information, you can find it here:
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2014-15/2014-15_wait_pool_list_071814.pdf
We couldn't help but notice that Argonne is down to only one student in the Kindergarten waitpool. I am guessing that is because (as a reader noted in the comments) Argonne started the school year earlier than the other schools. I don't know exactly how it works, but if I recall, Argonne has 3 or 4 K classes and I wonder if kids ever start kindergarten at Argonne in the summer but shift in the fall to another school if a spot opens up--might be something to investigate if you're still without a spot for a kindergartner on August 18 or a couple of days after. I've heard great things about Argonne.
Another striking number that jumped out at us: the huge waitpools for middle school grades. Wow!
Anyone else notice anything interesting in the numbers?
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2014-15/2014-15_wait_pool_list_071814.pdf
We couldn't help but notice that Argonne is down to only one student in the Kindergarten waitpool. I am guessing that is because (as a reader noted in the comments) Argonne started the school year earlier than the other schools. I don't know exactly how it works, but if I recall, Argonne has 3 or 4 K classes and I wonder if kids ever start kindergarten at Argonne in the summer but shift in the fall to another school if a spot opens up--might be something to investigate if you're still without a spot for a kindergartner on August 18 or a couple of days after. I've heard great things about Argonne.
Another striking number that jumped out at us: the huge waitpools for middle school grades. Wow!
Anyone else notice anything interesting in the numbers?
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↧
Round 4 Best Bets for 2014-15
This is an updated version of 2013-14 Round 4 Best Bets posted last year. The deadline to change your waitpool school is 7/25/2014.
Here are the latest kindergarten waitpools, sorted by the ratio of waitpool applicants to kindergarten seats. The number of kindergarten seats per school/program are my best guess, based on SFUSD's reported number of seats per school for Round 1 and enrollment by grade from DataQuest. For the language programs, I assumed a ratio of 9 English to 13 target language spots.
Some interesting changes compared to last year. It looks like SFUSD increased the reported capacity of schools with 3 or more classes per grade for Round 1. For example, Alamo's capacity is 91, Feinstein's is 92, and Jefferson's is 90, compared to 86, 87 and 85 respectively for 2013-14. Rooftop, McKinley and West Portal all have 69 students. If these schools were filled to the reported capacity, class size would be 23 students, not 22.
What's going on? I speculate that SFUSD is overenrolling students in earlier rounds, counting on a few students not to show up on the first day of school. Will this mean less movement during the 10-day count?
FB= Tagalog, JB=Japanese
* For Alice Fong Yu, CE refers to students who only listed English as a home language on their application. Students who listed any language other than English on the application are considered "CT."
Cantonese spots
CN=passed the Cantonese proficiency test.
Mandarin spots
Harte, Revere and Webster have no wait pool for Spanish proficient spots, so more English spots may open up. For those considering Harte, a glowing parent review is at: http://phile.com/user/SweetMedicine
Spanish proficient spots
This suggests that if you have the fortitude to hold out until the last day to get in off the wait pool, 14 days after school starts, your chances would be higher at, say, Lilienthal than at Alice Fong Yu. McKinley and Lakeshore were mentioned in the 2011 report as two schools that had a high number of students not showing up on the first day of school.
Source: SFUSD First Annual Report on Student Assignment for the 2011-12 School Year, 3/5/2012
Here are the latest kindergarten waitpools, sorted by the ratio of waitpool applicants to kindergarten seats. The number of kindergarten seats per school/program are my best guess, based on SFUSD's reported number of seats per school for Round 1 and enrollment by grade from DataQuest. For the language programs, I assumed a ratio of 9 English to 13 target language spots.
Some interesting changes compared to last year. It looks like SFUSD increased the reported capacity of schools with 3 or more classes per grade for Round 1. For example, Alamo's capacity is 91, Feinstein's is 92, and Jefferson's is 90, compared to 86, 87 and 85 respectively for 2013-14. Rooftop, McKinley and West Portal all have 69 students. If these schools were filled to the reported capacity, class size would be 23 students, not 22.
What's going on? I speculate that SFUSD is overenrolling students in earlier rounds, counting on a few students not to show up on the first day of school. Will this mean less movement during the 10-day count?
2014-15 WAIT POOLS as of 7/18/2014
General Education
No waitpool/possible openings: Carmichael, Carver, Chavez, Cleveland, Drew, El Dorado, Garfield, Guadalupe, Harte, Lau, Malcolm X, McCoppin, Muir, Ortega, Parker, Parks, Redding, Revere, Sanchez, Serra, Sheridan, Spring Valley, Starr King, Tenderloin, Vis Valley.| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARGONNE | GE | 1 | 92 | 1% |
| FLYNN | GE | 1 | 44 | 2% |
| HILLCREST | GE | 1 | 44 | 2% |
| LONGFELLOW | GE | 2 | 88 | 2% |
| REDDING | GE | 1 | 44 | 2% |
| ALAMO | GE | 3 | 91 | 3% |
| LAKESHORE | GE | 3 | 88 | 3% |
| BRYANT | GE | 1 | 22 | 5% |
| WEBSTER | GE | 1 | 22 | 5% |
| LAFAYETTE | GE | 5 | 88 | 6% |
| STEVENSON | GE | 5 | 88 | 6% |
| ULLOA | GE | 4 | 66 | 6% |
| FEINSTEIN | GE | 7 | 92 | 8% |
| JEFFERSON | GE | 7 | 90 | 8% |
| MILK | GE | 4 | 44 | 9% |
| SUTRO | GE | 2 | 22 | 9% |
| KEY | GE | 9 | 88 | 10% |
| YICK WO | GE | 5 | 44 | 11% |
| WEST PORTAL | GE | 8 | 69 | 12% |
| SF COMMUNITY | GE | 4 | 33 | 12% |
| CHIN | GE | 3 | 22 | 14% |
| GLEN PARK | GE | 6 | 44 | 14% |
| NEW TRADITIONS | GE | 6 | 44 | 14% |
| MIRALOMA | GE | 9 | 60 | 15% |
| ROOFTOP | GE | 11 | 69 | 16% |
| LAWTON | GE | 11 | 67 | 16% |
| SUNSET | GE | 12 | 67 | 18% |
| ALVARADO | GE | 8 | 44 | 18% |
| MONROE | GE | 4 | 22 | 18% |
| MOSCONE | GE | 4 | 22 | 18% |
| PEABODY | GE | 8 | 44 | 18% |
| MCKINLEY | GE | 13 | 69 | 19% |
| LILIENTHAL | GE | 14 | 66 | 21% |
| SLOAT | GE | 14 | 66 | 21% |
| SUNNYSIDE | GE | 14 | 66 | 21% |
| MONTESSORI | GE | 5 | 22 | 23% |
| SHERMAN | GE | 17 | 67 | 25% |
| GRATTAN | GE | 18 | 67 | 27% |
| TAYLOR | GE | 15 | 44 | 34% |
| CLARENDON | GE | 27 | 44 | 61% |
FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary School)
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONGFELLOW FB | FB | None | 22 | - |
| CARMICHAEL FB | FB | None | 22? | - |
| PARKS JBBP | JB | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| CLARENDON JBBP | JB | 11 | 44 | 25% |
Cantonese Immersion
English spots| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GARFIELD | CE | None | 9 of 22 | - |
| YU | CE - monolingual English* | 13 | 44 of 66? | 30% |
| WEST PORTAL | CE | 4 | 13 of 33 | 31% |
| CHINESE IMMERSION | CE | 10 | 27 of 66 | 37% |
| YU | CT-not monolingual English | 15 | 22 of 66? | 68% |
Cantonese spots
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GARFIELD | CN | 13 of 22 | - | |
| CHINESE IMMERSION | CN | 1 | 39 of 66 | 3% |
| WEST PORTAL | CN | 7 | 20 of 33? | 35% |
Mandarin Immersion
English spots| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARR KING | ME | 4 | 18 of 44 | 22% |
| ORTEGA | ME | 9 | 9 of 22 | 100% |
Mandarin spots
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARR KING | MN | None | 26 of 44 | - |
| ORTEGA | MN | 5 | 13 of 22 | 38% |
Korean Immersion
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LILIENTHAL | English (KE) | 4 | 9 of 22 | 44% |
| LILIENTHAL | Korean (KN) | None | 13 of 22 | - |
Spanish Immersion
English spots| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HARTE | SE | None | 9 of 22 | - |
| MARSHALL | SE | 1 | 18 of 44 | 6% |
| REVERE | SE | 1 | 18 of 44 | 6% |
| FLYNN | SE | 3 | 18 of 44 | 17% |
| MONROE | SE | 4 | 18 of 44 | 22% |
| FAIRMOUNT | SE | 7 | 27 of 66 | 26% |
| BUENA VISTA/MANN | SE | 10 | 27 of 66 | 37% |
| ALVARADO | SE | 8 | 18 of 44 | 44% |
| WEBSTER | SE | 12 | 18 of 44 | 67% |
Harte, Revere and Webster have no wait pool for Spanish proficient spots, so more English spots may open up. For those considering Harte, a glowing parent review is at: http://phile.com/user/SweetMedicine
Spanish proficient spots
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEBSTER | SN | - | 26 of 44 | - |
| REVERE | SN | - | 26 of 44 | - |
| HARTE | SN | - | 13 of 22 | - |
| FAIRMOUNT | SN | 3 | 39 of 66 | 8% |
| FLYNN | SN | 2 | 26 of 44 | 8% |
| MONROE | SN | 2 | 26 of 44 | 8% |
| BUENA VISTA | SN | 5 | 39 of 66 | 13% |
| ALVARADO | SN | 4 | 26 of 44 | 15% |
| MARSHALL | SN | 8 | 26 of 44 | 31% |
Never Say Die Strategies
For Round 5, the percentage of students who register but don't show up on the first 3 days of school varies by race/ethnicity. Of the kindergarteners who registered for a spot and did not show up on the first day of school, 40% were white. Kindergarteners of "Other" race/ethnicity were the most likely not to show up to their kindergarten assignment (35%), but there are not many of them. White kindergarteners are the next most likely (25%), followed by non-Chinese Asians (17%), then Latinos and African Americans (13%). Chinese applicants are the least likely (11%).This suggests that if you have the fortitude to hold out until the last day to get in off the wait pool, 14 days after school starts, your chances would be higher at, say, Lilienthal than at Alice Fong Yu. McKinley and Lakeshore were mentioned in the 2011 report as two schools that had a high number of students not showing up on the first day of school.
Source: SFUSD First Annual Report on Student Assignment for the 2011-12 School Year, 3/5/2012
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In Defense of CTIP1
In her blog, Rachel Norton discusses potential changes to tiebreaker rankings of attendance areas and CTIP1.
I don't have strong feelings about CTIP1, but I do think there are arguments for prioritizing CTIP1 that haven't been discussed. Here's a devil's argument for CTIP1.
Taking the long-view: CTIP1 vs Attendance Areas (AA)
As we've seen, SF's residential neighborhoods tend to be racially and socioeconomically segregated, and this is one of the barriers to school integration.
Prioritizing CTIP1 over AA creates greater incentive for families to live in neighborhoods with less desired schools, typically poorer neighborhoods. This tends to increase real estate and rental costs in those neighborhoods. Long-term, this promotes more socioeconomically mixed neighborhoods, making school integration less difficult over the long term.
Placing AA before CTIP1 increases incentive for families to live in attendance areas of desired schools, typically more affluent neighborhoods. This tends to increase real-estate and rental costs in these neighborhoods. Over a time frame of decades, this promotes socioeconomic and racial segregation of residential neighborhoods, making school integration more difficult. Oakland is an example of this.
Since the school board has to take the long view, it makes sense that they've chosen to give CTIP1 precedence over AA.
There are arguments against CTIP1 as an incentive for residential integration. It can work to gentrify neighborhoods, forcing out low-income and middle-income families. One can argue that using CTIP1 to promote residential integration is social engineering outside the purview of the school board.
Can we tease out the short-term effects of CTIP1 from cuts to school buses?
As KH has commented on Rachel Norton's blog, other factors such as the availability of school buses and late start times are also factors in what schools low-income families choose
Because CTIP1 was implemented at the same time that SFUSD busing was cut dramatically, it's hard to assess the effect of CTIP1 at a district level. A more accurate picture would be to look at the combined effects of CTIP1 and busing cuts on enrollment. It's reasonable to think that the availability of school buses affects school choices for low-income CTIP1 residents more than for high-income CTIP1 residents.
The Case of Clarendon
Clarendon AA residents have been screwed in the SFUSD lottery for years. CTIP1 is only one of several reason for this. First, Clarendon used to be a citywide school. Even after it became an AA school, younger siblings of non-AA residents from its citywide days still trumped AA residents.
JBBP
JBBP is a citywide language program, and Clarendon 2nd Community (AA) siblings are not given a tiebreaker preference for it. However, the way I read the tiebreaker rules, JBBP siblings have sibling preference for both programs at Clarendon.
Swaps
Because Clarendon is so popular, AA applicants who get Clarendon can swap to a higher ranked school. The ratio of AA applicants who enroll at a higher-ranked school to those who enroll at Clarendon is about 4:1 (SFUSD 3rd Annual Report on School Assignment, p 39). The younger siblings of the non-AA residents who swap into Clarendon also get precedence, trumping future AA applicants. This means that Clarendon will always have a significant group of non-AA students.
One could limit CTIP1 offers to a certain percentage at Clarendon. A short-term effect is that younger siblings in CTIP1 would take up all the allocated slots for the next few years, so essentially no one from CTIP1 would get into Clarendon unless they swapped in.
Giving more preference to AA residents over CTIP1 would keep Clarendon residents from getting screwed in the lottery. But because a minority of Clarendon AA applicants request Clarendon as a first choice, it might not significantly increase the percentage of AA students at Clarendon. Because of the swap, it might mostly increase the number of non-CTIP1 students who swap in from other areas.
A proposal
What if CTIP1 residents who enroll at a highly requested school as kindergarteners had to maintain a verified CTIP1 status for a set number of years, say 5 years (K-4), to maintain their enrollment at the school? Those who moved out of CTIP1 would have to re-apply for the next year without CTIP1 status. This would also discourage address fraud.
CTIP1 status would only needed to be verified for the most popular schools--as we know, most students with CTIP1 status choose to attend less popular schools within/near CTIP1 where capacity exceed demand. You could have the obvious exceptions for Ellis Act evictions, changing of CTIP1 boundaries, etc.
This would keep families from moving to a CTIP1 neighborhood for a year, then leaving, without any commitment to that neighborhood. If a family is willing to move to a CTIP1 neighborhood and stay part of it for 5 years, I don't see that as gaming the system.
I don't have strong feelings about CTIP1, but I do think there are arguments for prioritizing CTIP1 that haven't been discussed. Here's a devil's argument for CTIP1.
Taking the long-view: CTIP1 vs Attendance Areas (AA)
As we've seen, SF's residential neighborhoods tend to be racially and socioeconomically segregated, and this is one of the barriers to school integration.
Prioritizing CTIP1 over AA creates greater incentive for families to live in neighborhoods with less desired schools, typically poorer neighborhoods. This tends to increase real estate and rental costs in those neighborhoods. Long-term, this promotes more socioeconomically mixed neighborhoods, making school integration less difficult over the long term.
Placing AA before CTIP1 increases incentive for families to live in attendance areas of desired schools, typically more affluent neighborhoods. This tends to increase real-estate and rental costs in these neighborhoods. Over a time frame of decades, this promotes socioeconomic and racial segregation of residential neighborhoods, making school integration more difficult. Oakland is an example of this.
Since the school board has to take the long view, it makes sense that they've chosen to give CTIP1 precedence over AA.
There are arguments against CTIP1 as an incentive for residential integration. It can work to gentrify neighborhoods, forcing out low-income and middle-income families. One can argue that using CTIP1 to promote residential integration is social engineering outside the purview of the school board.
Can we tease out the short-term effects of CTIP1 from cuts to school buses?
As KH has commented on Rachel Norton's blog, other factors such as the availability of school buses and late start times are also factors in what schools low-income families choose
Because CTIP1 was implemented at the same time that SFUSD busing was cut dramatically, it's hard to assess the effect of CTIP1 at a district level. A more accurate picture would be to look at the combined effects of CTIP1 and busing cuts on enrollment. It's reasonable to think that the availability of school buses affects school choices for low-income CTIP1 residents more than for high-income CTIP1 residents.
The Case of Clarendon
Clarendon AA residents have been screwed in the SFUSD lottery for years. CTIP1 is only one of several reason for this. First, Clarendon used to be a citywide school. Even after it became an AA school, younger siblings of non-AA residents from its citywide days still trumped AA residents.
JBBP
JBBP is a citywide language program, and Clarendon 2nd Community (AA) siblings are not given a tiebreaker preference for it. However, the way I read the tiebreaker rules, JBBP siblings have sibling preference for both programs at Clarendon.
Swaps
Because Clarendon is so popular, AA applicants who get Clarendon can swap to a higher ranked school. The ratio of AA applicants who enroll at a higher-ranked school to those who enroll at Clarendon is about 4:1 (SFUSD 3rd Annual Report on School Assignment, p 39). The younger siblings of the non-AA residents who swap into Clarendon also get precedence, trumping future AA applicants. This means that Clarendon will always have a significant group of non-AA students.
One could limit CTIP1 offers to a certain percentage at Clarendon. A short-term effect is that younger siblings in CTIP1 would take up all the allocated slots for the next few years, so essentially no one from CTIP1 would get into Clarendon unless they swapped in.
Giving more preference to AA residents over CTIP1 would keep Clarendon residents from getting screwed in the lottery. But because a minority of Clarendon AA applicants request Clarendon as a first choice, it might not significantly increase the percentage of AA students at Clarendon. Because of the swap, it might mostly increase the number of non-CTIP1 students who swap in from other areas.
A proposal
What if CTIP1 residents who enroll at a highly requested school as kindergarteners had to maintain a verified CTIP1 status for a set number of years, say 5 years (K-4), to maintain their enrollment at the school? Those who moved out of CTIP1 would have to re-apply for the next year without CTIP1 status. This would also discourage address fraud.
CTIP1 status would only needed to be verified for the most popular schools--as we know, most students with CTIP1 status choose to attend less popular schools within/near CTIP1 where capacity exceed demand. You could have the obvious exceptions for Ellis Act evictions, changing of CTIP1 boundaries, etc.
This would keep families from moving to a CTIP1 neighborhood for a year, then leaving, without any commitment to that neighborhood. If a family is willing to move to a CTIP1 neighborhood and stay part of it for 5 years, I don't see that as gaming the system.
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Last Call: Round 5 Best Bets
The August 8, 2014 wait pool list for SFUSD is out. Here are the schools sorted by the ratio of waitpool applicants to kindergarten seats. The deadline to change your wait pool school is August 15.
The big news: the Argonne wait pool has cleared. Clarendon and Miraloma AA residents, have hope!Last year both schools had enough spots for the AA residents left in the waitpool for Round 5, in part because of students not allowed to enroll because of address fraud. At Clarendon, one kindergarten seat didn't fill until January.Correction: Clarendon's AA waitpool did not clear, although there were quite a few AA applicants who were offered spots during the first 10 days of school. But it did look like Miraloma's AA waitpool cleared.
FB= Tagalog, JB=Japanese
* For Alice Fong Yu, CE refers to students who only listed English as a home language on their application. Students who listed any language other than English on the application are considered "CT."
A glowing review of Garfield from an English speaking parent can be found at
http://www.greatschools.org/california/san-francisco/6370-Garfield-Elementary-School/
Cantonese spots
CN=passed the Cantonese proficiency test.
CIS has no wait pool for Cantonese proficient spots, so more English spots may open up in Round 5.
Mandarin spots
Harte, Revere and Webster have no wait pool for Spanish proficient spots, so more English spots may open up. For those considering Harte, a glowing parent review is at: http://phile.com/user/SweetMedicine
Spanish proficient spots
This suggests that if you have the fortitude to hold out until the last day to get in off the wait pool, your chances will be higher at, say, Lilienthal than at Alice Fong Yu.
Source: SFUSD First Annual Report on Student Assignment for the 2011-12 School Year, 3/5/2012
The big news: the Argonne wait pool has cleared. Clarendon and Miraloma AA residents, have hope!
2014-15 WAIT POOLS as of 8/8/2014
The number of kindergarten seats per school/program are based on SFUSD's reported number of seats per school for Round 1 and enrollment by grade from DataQuest. For the language programs, I assumed a ratio of 9 English to 13 target language spots.General Education
No waitpool/possible openings (bold indicates that the waitpool has cleared from Round 1): Argonne, Bryant, Carver, Chavez, Cleveland, Drew, El Dorado, Flynn, Garfield, Harte, Lau, Malcolm X, McCoppin, Muir, Parker, Redding, Revere, Serra, Sheridan, Spring Valley, Starr King, Tenderloin, Webster, Vis Valley.| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GUADALUPE | GE | 1 | 66 | 2% |
| CARMICHAEL | GE | 1 | 66? | 2% |
| LONGFELLOW | GE | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| ALAMO | GE | 2 | 91 | 2% |
| PARKS | GE | 1 | 44 | 2% |
| LAKESHORE | GE | 3 | 88 | 3% |
| STEVENSON | GE | 3 | 88 | 3% |
| ORTEGA | GE | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| SANCHEZ | GE | 1 | 44 | 2% |
| LAFAYETTE | GE | 4 | 88 | 5% |
| MILK | GE | 3 | 44 | 7% |
| NEW TRADITIONS | GE | 3 | 44 | 7% |
| ULLOA | GE | 5 | 66 | 8% |
| FEINSTEIN | GE | 8 | 92 | 9% |
| SUTRO | GE | 2 | 22 | 9% |
| KEY | GE | 8 | 88 | 9% |
| SF COMMUNITY | GE | 3 | 33 | 9% |
| CHIN | GE | 2 | 22 | 9% |
| GLEN PARK | GE | 4 | 44 | 9% |
| JEFFERSON | GE | 9 | 90 | 10% |
| WEST PORTAL | GE | 7 | 69 | 10% |
| HILLCREST | GE | 5 | 40 | 13% |
| YICK WO | GE | 5 | 44 | 11% |
| LAWTON | GE | 9 | 67 | 13% |
| MCKINLEY | GE | 11 | 69 | 16% |
| MIRALOMA | GE | 10 | 60 | 17% |
| ROOFTOP | GE | 12 | 69 | 17% |
| MONROE | GE | 4 | 22 | 18% |
| MOSCONE | GE | 4 | 22 | 18% |
| PEABODY | GE | 8 | 44 | 18% |
| SUNSET | GE | 13 | 67 | 19% |
| SLOAT | GE | 13 | 66 | 20% |
| SUNNYSIDE | GE | 13 | 66 | 20% |
| LILIENTHAL | GE | 14 | 66 | 21% |
| SHERMAN | GE | 17 | 67 | 25% |
| ALVARADO | GE | 12 | 44 | 27% |
| MONTESSORI | GE | 6 | 44 | 14% |
| GRATTAN | GE | 19 | 67 | 28% |
| TAYLOR | GE | 15 | 44 | 34% |
| CLARENDON | GE | 21 | 44 | 48% |
FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary School)
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONGFELLOW FB | FB | None | 22 | - |
| CARMICHAEL FB | FB | None | 22? | - |
| PARKS JBBP | JB | 2 | 40 | 5% |
| CLARENDON JBBP | JB | 12 | 44 | 27% |
Cantonese Immersion
English spots| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GARFIELD | CE | None | 9 of 22 | - |
| WEST PORTAL | CE | 3 | 13 of 33 | 23% |
| YU | CE - monolingual English* | 13 | 44 of 66? | 30% |
| CIS | CE | 9 | 27 of 66 | 33% |
| YU | CT-not monolingual English | 14 | 22 of 66? | 64% |
A glowing review of Garfield from an English speaking parent can be found at
http://www.greatschools.org/california/san-francisco/6370-Garfield-Elementary-School/
Cantonese spots
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GARFIELD | CN | None | 13 of 22 | - |
| CIS | CN | None | 39 of 66 | 3% |
| WEST PORTAL | CN | 7 | 20 of 33? | 35% |
CIS has no wait pool for Cantonese proficient spots, so more English spots may open up in Round 5.
Mandarin Immersion
English spots| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARR KING | ME | None | 18 of 44 | -% |
| ORTEGA | ME | 8 | 9 of 22 | 89% |
Mandarin spots
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARR KING | MN | None | 26 of 44 | - |
| ORTEGA | MN | 3 | 13 of 22 | 23% |
Korean Immersion
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LILIENTHAL | English (KE) | 4 | 9 of 22 | 44% |
| LILIENTHAL | Korean (KN) | None | 13 of 22 | - |
Spanish Immersion
English spots| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HARTE | SE | None | 9 of 22 | - |
| MARSHALL | SE | None | 18 of 44 | - |
| REVERE | SE | None | 16 of 40 | - |
| FLYNN | SE | 3 | 18 of 44 | 17% |
| MONROE | SE | 4 | 18 of 44 | 22% |
| FAIRMOUNT | SE | 6 | 27 of 66 | 22% |
| BUENA VISTA/MANN | SE | 10 | 24 of 60 | 42% |
| ALVARADO | SE | 9 | 18 of 44 | 50% |
| WEBSTER | SE | 10 | 18 of 44 | 56% |
Harte, Revere and Webster have no wait pool for Spanish proficient spots, so more English spots may open up. For those considering Harte, a glowing parent review is at: http://phile.com/user/SweetMedicine
Spanish proficient spots
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEBSTER | SN | - | 26 of 44 | - |
| REVERE | SN | - | 24 of 40 | - |
| HARTE | SN | - | 13 of 22 | - |
| FAIRMOUNT | SN | 1 | 39 of 66 | 3% |
| FLYNN | SN | 2 | 26 of 44 | 8% |
| MONROE | SN | 2 | 26 of 44 | 8% |
| BUENA VISTA | SN | 5 | 36 of 60 | 14% |
| ALVARADO | SN | 4 | 26 of 44 | 15% |
| MARSHALL | SN | 8 | 26 of 44 | 31% |
Never Say Die Strategies
For Round 5, the percentage of students who register but don't show up on the first 3 days of school varies by race/ethnicity. Of the kindergarteners who registered for a spot and did not show up on the first day of school, 40% were white. Kindergarteners of "Other" race/ethnicity were the most likely not to show up to their kindergarten assignment (35%), followed by White kindergarteners (25%), non-Chinese Asians (17%), and Latinos and African Americans (13%). Chinese applicants are the least likely (11%).This suggests that if you have the fortitude to hold out until the last day to get in off the wait pool, your chances will be higher at, say, Lilienthal than at Alice Fong Yu.
Source: SFUSD First Annual Report on Student Assignment for the 2011-12 School Year, 3/5/2012
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Data: Attendance Areas' Residents per Kindergarten Seat
The discussion about Clarendon AA got me thinking about attendance area schools and what their real capacity is.
I've always found SFUSD's map below to be an odd way of looking at AA capacity. To calculate AA capacity, it uses all kindergarten seats that are geographically in the AA, including citywide programs. For Clarendon's AA, which contains Alice Fong Yu and Rooftop, this is clearly misleading. (Source: SFUSD's 3rd Annual Report on School Assignment, page 39)
Below is the capacity for each attendance area, based on AA seats alone, and an edited map. Who's the most screwed? Residents of Webster, Cleveland and Monroe AAs, each with over 100 residents and just 22 AA spots. None of these AAs are CTIP1, so they have no priority elsewhere.
![Do attendance areas have the capacity to accomodate Kindergarten residents? Map.]( "SFUSD AA capacity map")
* Argonne and Stevenson alternate between 66 students one year and 88 the next.
In 2013, both schools had 66 students.
CB - Chinese biliteracy pathway, for native Chinese speakers
SB - Spanish biliteracy pathway, for native Spanish speakers
ImmC - Cantonese Immersion
ImmM - Mandarin Immersion
ImmS - Spanish Immersion
JBBP - Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program
FB - Filipino FLES
How the numbers were calculated:
AA applicants = % from the SFUSD map x the number of seats at all schools in the AA
AA Resident % of AA seats = AA applicants/AA seats
Sources:
Five year Demand Comparison - 2005-2010 - for K-12 schools that used to be on PPSSF's Historical Demand page, enrollment data from Dataquest, and the size and racial breakdown of schools' individual K classrooms from California Department of Education's Staff and course data.
CTIP1 area for AA: Above map and the revised CTIP1 areas from the 8/2013 post of Rachel Norton's blog.
Next up: Racially homogeneous elementary schools. Looking at the latest K-2 data, the number of elementary schools with over 60% of their K-2 enrollment from a single ethnic/racial group has declined by 5 in the last 2 years.
I've always found SFUSD's map below to be an odd way of looking at AA capacity. To calculate AA capacity, it uses all kindergarten seats that are geographically in the AA, including citywide programs. For Clarendon's AA, which contains Alice Fong Yu and Rooftop, this is clearly misleading. (Source: SFUSD's 3rd Annual Report on School Assignment, page 39)
Below is the capacity for each attendance area, based on AA seats alone, and an edited map. Who's the most screwed? Residents of Webster, Cleveland and Monroe AAs, each with over 100 residents and just 22 AA spots. None of these AAs are CTIP1, so they have no priority elsewhere.
Edited: Kindergarten applicants living in each attendance area relative to
kindergarten capacity of attendance area seats
kindergarten capacity of attendance area seats
SCHOOLS WITH AA RESIDENTS > 200% of AA SEATS, 2013-14
| SCHOOL | AA Resident % of AA seats | AA residents | AA seats | Citywide programs in AA (seats) | Approx how much of the AA is CTIP1? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webster | 651% | 143 | 22 | ImmS (44), Carmichael (SB 22, FB 22, GE 44) | |
| Cleveland | 594% | 131 | 22 | SB (44) | |
| Monroe | 506% | 111 | 22 | CB (22), ImmS (44), SF Community (33), | |
| Moscone | 465% | 102 | 22 | CB (22), SB (22), Marshall (ImmS 44) | All |
| Bryant | 422% | 93 | 22 | SB (22) | Almost all |
| Carver | 402% | 177 | 44 | All | |
| Serra | 396% | 87 | 22 | SB (22) | |
| Drew | 364% | 160 | 44 | Under 1/4 | |
| Sutro | 354% | 78 | 22 | CB (22), Lilienthal (ImmK 22, GE 66) | |
| Harte | 354% | 78 | 22 | ImmS (22) | Almost all |
| Starr King | 324% | 71 | 22 | ImmM (44) | Almost all |
| Flynn | 293% | 129 | 44 | ImmS (44), Revere (ImmS 40, GE 20), | |
| Visitacion Valley | 284% | 187 | 66 | CB (22) | Half |
| Malcolm X | 270% | 54 | 20 | Almost all | |
| Taylor | 265% | 117 | 44 | CB (44), SB (22) | |
| Alvarado | 262% | 115 | 44 | ImmS (44) | A few blocks |
| Clarendon | 260% | 114 | 44 | JBBP (44), AFY (66), Rooftop (66) | |
| Longfellow | 260% | 114 | 44 | SB (22), FB (22?) | |
| Hillcrest | 244% | 98 | 40 | CB (20), SB (20) | |
| Chavez | 219% | 96 | 44 | SB (44), Buena Vista (60), | Almost all |
| Parks | 208% | 83 | 40 | JBBP (40) | Half |
| Muir | 206% | 41 | 20 | SB (20) | Half |
SCHOOLS WITH AA APPLICANTS BETWEEN 120-199% of AA SEATS, 2013-14
| SCHOOL | AA Resident % of AA seats | AA residents | AA seats | Citywide programs in AA (seats) | Approx how much of the AA is CTIP1? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Park | 198% | 87 | 44 | SB (22), Fairmount (66) | |
| New Traditions | 195% | 86 | 44 | a quarter | |
| Sheridan | 180% | 79 | 44 | ||
| Tenderloin | 177% | 117 | 66 | Half | |
| Sanchez | 171% | 75 | 44 | SB (22) | a quarter |
| Parker | 164% | 36 | 22 | CB | |
| Milk | 161% | 71 | 44 | Under 1/4 | |
| Stevenson | 158% | 104 | 66/88* | Lawton (66) | |
| McCoppin | 147% | 65 | 44 | CB (22) | |
| Miraloma | 144% | 86 | 60 | ||
| Argonne | 141% | 93 | 66/88* | ||
| El Dorado | 141% | 93 | 66 | ||
| Sunnyside | 135% | 89 | 66 | ||
| Ulloa | 129% | 85 | 66 | CB (22) | |
| Guadalupe | 129% | 85 | 66 | SB (22) | |
| Alamo | 129% | 114 | 88 | ||
| Ortega | 128% | 56 | 44 | ImmM (22) | |
| Spring Valley | 123% | 27 | 22 | CB (22), SB (22) | |
| Lau | 120% | 53 | 44 | CB (66) | |
| Cobb | 120% | 53 | 44 |
In 2013, both schools had 66 students.
SCHOOLS WITH AA APPLICANTS < 120% OF AA SEATS, 2013-14
| SCHOOL | AA Resident % of AA seats | AA residents | AA seats | Citywide programs in AA (seats) | Approx how much of the AA is CTIP1? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette | 119% | 105 | 88 | ||
| West Portal | 119% | 78 | 66 | ImmC (33) | |
| Garfield | 118% | 26 | 22 | ImmC (22) | |
| Wo | 116% | 51 | 44 | ||
| Grattan | 115% | 76 | 66 | ||
| Sherman | 113% | 75 | 66 | Montessori (44) | |
| Jefferson | 113% | 99 | 88 | ||
| Peabody | 111% | 49 | 44 | ||
| Sloat | 106% | 70 | 66 | ||
| Key | 99% | 87 | 88 | ||
| Sunset | 87% | 57 | 66 | ||
| Feinstein | 85% | 75 | 88 | ||
| McKinley | 82% | 54 | 66 | CIS (66) | |
| Redding | 82% | 36 | 44 | a quarter | |
| Chin | 76% | 17 | 22 | CB (22) | |
| Lakeshore | 69% | 61 | 88 |
| Total K seats | 2666 AA seats | 1826 citywide seats |
CB - Chinese biliteracy pathway, for native Chinese speakers
SB - Spanish biliteracy pathway, for native Spanish speakers
ImmC - Cantonese Immersion
ImmM - Mandarin Immersion
ImmS - Spanish Immersion
JBBP - Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program
FB - Filipino FLES
How the numbers were calculated:
AA applicants = % from the SFUSD map x the number of seats at all schools in the AA
AA Resident % of AA seats = AA applicants/AA seats
Sources:
Five year Demand Comparison - 2005-2010 - for K-12 schools that used to be on PPSSF's Historical Demand page, enrollment data from Dataquest, and the size and racial breakdown of schools' individual K classrooms from California Department of Education's Staff and course data.
CTIP1 area for AA: Above map and the revised CTIP1 areas from the 8/2013 post of Rachel Norton's blog.
Why so many citywide seats and so few AA seats?
Language pathways account for 80% of these citywide seats and a third of all kindergarten seats. Of the citywide seats, only 40% are open to monolingual English speakers: about 340 general education seats at Montessori and K-8 schools, and 400 seats for JBBP, Filipino FLES, and English-only speakers in language immersion.Why so many language pathway seats?
Three words: Lau v. Nichols.
In 1974, in this landmark civil rights case, the Supreme Court ruled that SFUSD was violating the civil rights of 1,800 monolingual Chinese students by teaching only in English, without any special effort to help them learn English. SFUSD agreed to provide bilingual education as part of the Lau consent decree. The effects of this ruling are still with us today in the Lau Action Plan.
SFUSD still has many students whose first language is not English, and as of 2009, it was still being monitored by the Department of Justice to make sure it was in compliance with the Lau consent decree.
Next up: Racially homogeneous elementary schools. Looking at the latest K-2 data, the number of elementary schools with over 60% of their K-2 enrollment from a single ethnic/racial group has declined by 5 in the last 2 years.
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Openings at your child's school (Kindergarten or otherwise!)
As some parents are anxiously waiting to get calls from SFUSD and get off the waitlist for their dream school it seemed a good time to start a dialogue regarding any openings at your kids school. Please feel free to post and share if there are openings at your school; what grade, what program, etc.
Good luck all!
Good luck all!
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Data: More Maps on Kindergarten Demand and Capacity
As we wait for the end of the 10-day count/Round 5, here's a few more maps on kindergarten demand and capacity.
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A better map would have been the percentage of AA residents who listed their AA school in their top 3 choices. This was as close as I could get with the available data.
![]()
Do AA residents want to attend their AA school?
The next map is useful to show AAs where residents don't want to attend their AA school. These maps include all requests, not just requests from AA residents. However, when the number of first choice requests is only a small percentage of AA residents, that means that few AA residents want their AA school.A better map would have been the percentage of AA residents who listed their AA school in their top 3 choices. This was as close as I could get with the available data.
 |
| Total 1st choice requests from all applicants (AA and non-AA),as a percentage of AA applicants |
Total top 3 choice requests from all applicants (AA and non-AA), as a percentage of AA residents
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Request from a Reader: Information on Tule Elk Park TK
A reader writes in that her family just got a spot for their child at the Tule Elk Park Early Education School (http://www.sfusd.edu/en/schools/school-information/tule-elk-park.html). She's looking for any feedback from families with children there now, or insights from parents who might have had a chance to tour. Anyone with good information out there? Thanks in advance...
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Reader Request: Chances of Getting SFUSD Mandarin Immersion in K vs 1st grade?
A reader sent in this question:Our older child has been attending a Chinese immersion preschool that continues to elementary. We will be considering Kindergarten options for this coming year. Our family is very interested in the Mandarin Immersion programs at Starr King and Jose Ortega, but may put off placing our older child in the public school system until 1st grade, primarily to allow a younger sibling access to a spot in the preschool program.Spots at the preschool are in pretty high demand.
Therefore, I'm wondering whether our chances of a SFUSD Mandarin Immersion program in 1st grade are a lot worse than for Kindergarten. If we ultimately want to be at either Starr King or Jose Ortega's programs, would it be foolish to wait out the Kindergarten placement process in the hopes that there will opportunities to enroll for 1st grade? We are assuming that our child will place as bilingual in both Mandarin and English in the language placement test.
Parents of students in SFUSD Mandarin immersion, what's your take on openings in first grade vs kindergarten for a Mandarin-speaking student?
Chances for K vs 1st grade are unknown for 2 reasons:
Sources for First Round Requests 2012-2014:
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2014-15/request_report_2014-15.pdf
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2013-14/2013-14_requests.pdf
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2012-13/Requests.pdf
Historically, Starr King has had more Mandarin-speaking (MN) spots for it could fill, but this may be changing. In 2013, the list of open spots after Round 2 included openings for Mandarin speakers at Starr King for K and 2nd grade (but not 1st grade). However, in 2014 after Round 1, King had no open Mandarin-speaking spots for kindergarten. Some spots probably opened up in later rounds since King had no waitpool for Mandarin speakers in any grade on the June 2014 waitpool list.
A first grade spot is less likely to open up at Jose Ortega, which is more popular and has fewer spots than King. Total requests for Mandarin immersion at Ortega increased 45% from 2012 to 2014, compared to 28% for King. Waitpools have been consistently larger for Ortega.
For 2nd grade, the chances look better because only Mandarin speakers can be admitted for 2nd grade and up. In the past 3 years, there's only been 1-2 "top 3" requests for 2nd grade Mandarin immersion. However, depending on the spacing of your kids, you may lose sibling priority for your younger child by waiting until 2nd grade for the older child.
My own opinion is that if you want SFUSD Mandarin immersion and get a kindergarten spot, take it. The younger child will get sibling priority for Mandarin Immersion K-5, which will matter more than 1-2 years of preschool in developing language proficiency.
Parents of students in Mandarin immersion at JOES or Starr King, what are your thoughts?
Therefore, I'm wondering whether our chances of a SFUSD Mandarin Immersion program in 1st grade are a lot worse than for Kindergarten. If we ultimately want to be at either Starr King or Jose Ortega's programs, would it be foolish to wait out the Kindergarten placement process in the hopes that there will opportunities to enroll for 1st grade? We are assuming that our child will place as bilingual in both Mandarin and English in the language placement test.
Parents of students in SFUSD Mandarin immersion, what's your take on openings in first grade vs kindergarten for a Mandarin-speaking student?
Chances for K vs 1st grade are unknown for 2 reasons:
- For the purposes of the SFUSD lottery, Mandarin-speaking (MN) and and English-only (ME) are separate, mutually exclusive programs. SFUSD doesn't break down requests for Mandarin Immersion by Mandarin-speaking (MN) vs. English-only (ME) applicants.
- Openings in first grade are completely dependent on students leaving the program after kindergarten. I can tell you that for Korean immersion this year, all of last year's kindergarteners returned, so no 1st grade spots opened up.
With three classes for Mandarin immersion, the chance of a student leaving is higher. However, a Mandarin-speaking (MN) kindergartener would have to drop out. An ME student leaving wouldn't help. As you can imagine,students who already speak Mandarin are probably less likely to drop out.
| Starr King | Total requests | 1st choice | 2nd choice | 3rd choice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ||||
| K | 190 | 53 | 16 | 7 |
| 1st grade | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2nd grade | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | ||||
| K | 179 | 41 | 24 | 5 |
| 1st | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2nd | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | ||||
| K | 149 | 46 | 15 | 18 |
| 1st | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2nd | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ortega | Total requests | 1st choice | 2nd choice | 3rd choice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ||||
| K | 224 | 34 | 35 | 13 |
| 1st | 13 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2nd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | ||||
| K | 173 | 33 | 22 | 13 |
| 1st | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2nd | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | ||||
| K | 155 | 28 | 22 | 14 |
| 1st | 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 2nd | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Sources for First Round Requests 2012-2014:
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2014-15/request_report_2014-15.pdf
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2013-14/2013-14_requests.pdf
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/enroll/files/2012-13/Requests.pdf
Historically, Starr King has had more Mandarin-speaking (MN) spots for it could fill, but this may be changing. In 2013, the list of open spots after Round 2 included openings for Mandarin speakers at Starr King for K and 2nd grade (but not 1st grade). However, in 2014 after Round 1, King had no open Mandarin-speaking spots for kindergarten. Some spots probably opened up in later rounds since King had no waitpool for Mandarin speakers in any grade on the June 2014 waitpool list.
A first grade spot is less likely to open up at Jose Ortega, which is more popular and has fewer spots than King. Total requests for Mandarin immersion at Ortega increased 45% from 2012 to 2014, compared to 28% for King. Waitpools have been consistently larger for Ortega.
My own opinion is that if you want SFUSD Mandarin immersion and get a kindergarten spot, take it. The younger child will get sibling priority for Mandarin Immersion K-5, which will matter more than 1-2 years of preschool in developing language proficiency.
Parents of students in Mandarin immersion at JOES or Starr King, what are your thoughts?
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Reader Request: Share Your Experience With Spring Transfer?
A reader has written in to ask if folks would mind sharing their experience with the lottery for spring transfer. This reader has a child in kindergarten at her attendance area school, Harvey Milk, but she is thinking about applying for spring transfer to another school. Originally, she hoped to get her kid a spot at West Portal, but now she is thinking about Peabody. So, how about it folks? Did you apply for the spring transfer round in recent years? Was it a success? Any words of advice?
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A New School Year Means...Seeking New Bloggers! Updating School Tour Info!
It's September in San Francisco. There's finally warm weather, the apples are crisper and more delicious, and it's almost time for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, And that means it's time to warn your boss that you'll need to take some time off and get ready to run into your friends and neighbors on a bazillion school tours! We'll start updating the info on the website as soon as possible (click on the buttons that say SFUSD School Tours and/or Charter School Tours above the blog posts). Please feel free to share any information you've received about tours in the comments as well.
We'll also start reminding you about an important upcoming date: October 25, 2014. That is the date for the SFUSD enrollment fair. This year it will be held at John O'Connell High School, 2355 Folsom Street, from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM.
Finally, Fall means we are looking for a new class of bloggers! If you are looking for kindergarten (or another grade 1-5!), middle school, or high school and would like to share your experiences with others, please send an email to kfilesblog @ gmail.com and we will set you up to write up your tours and document your decision-making process. We would love to hear from a lot of parents, so please write in, even if you can just weigh in on a few tours.
We'll also start reminding you about an important upcoming date: October 25, 2014. That is the date for the SFUSD enrollment fair. This year it will be held at John O'Connell High School, 2355 Folsom Street, from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM.
Finally, Fall means we are looking for a new class of bloggers! If you are looking for kindergarten (or another grade 1-5!), middle school, or high school and would like to share your experiences with others, please send an email to kfilesblog @ gmail.com and we will set you up to write up your tours and document your decision-making process. We would love to hear from a lot of parents, so please write in, even if you can just weigh in on a few tours.
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Hello From Confused (but hopeful) Parents From Pac Heights!
Hi there SF K File Readers!
We are excited to start our year long journey to find and get accepted in the right school for our Small Fry. It seems these days we are lurking on this site and/or attending school tours. The talk all around is about K and K search ;)
Before sharing the journey here, we wanted to introduce ourselves. We are your typical asian couple; raised in a solid educational foundation, middle class values and strong work ethic. Our parents drilled a love for arts and sports only as a means to "round" off our personality and not to become sportsmen or artists. To them, that would have been too risky (in terms of employment)!
We were raised outside US and hence are unfamiliar with schools and school systems here. Having lived here in US for a decade and having attended grad school here makes us value US education system. And we hope our Small Fry will learn to value it as well.
We recently moved to SF and are now thrown in these tricky waters of unified school system and choice. It seems we settled him into a preschool not too long ago and here we embark on K search again. We currently live in Pac Heights but are open to moving closer to the school once we get accepted to aid with day to day life with kids. Oh, and we also have a Tiny Fry who will benefit from all this research and learning when its time!
Like most parents, we love our Fry but we don't know what kind of education styles will suit him. Also he is a late summer baby so we are torn between red shirting him or not. Our Asian background dictates we should send him to school and let him be. Modern parenting sensibilities want us to give him time to mature. So we are exploring public schools, private schools, parochial schools. Alternate Schools and Traditional Schools. We are exploring Arts curriculum and Science focused schools.
Our hope is to understand more about education options and what kind of education we want for our Fry alongside of shortlisting schools and getting accepted in a school.
There are a few things we know for sure:
- We don't care about immersion schools.
- Arts is good but we need solid science/maths foundation
- We don't care for a trophy school. Neither of us attended one and we turned out OK.
- We definitely need after care. But don't necessarily want to fills afternoons with a bunch of activities.
We have a few schools that we plan to tour/ have toured already. I will post my thoughts on them soon. I won't be posting statistical information ( like class sizes, school hours, extended care options etc ) unless there is something that stuck with me. That is something that can be easily googled anyways. I will be posting information on PTA and participation, school leadership, how the parenting community looked like to me, whether kids were engaged in various classrooms etc.
Here is a list of schools that we are touring. We are casting our net wide and are working our way through this process.Hopefully we will have more clarity as December approaches.
1. Public Schools: Claire Lilienthal, Peabody, Sherman, Alvarado, Spring Valley
2. Private Schools: Presidio Hill, Bright Works, Presidio Knolls, Adda Clevenger, Alt School
3. Charter Schools: Creative Arts, Thomas Edison, New School
4. Parochial Schools: St. Brigid, Stuart Hall for Boys, St. Vincent De Paul
Looking forward to your feedback, advise and encouragement via comments!
Best,
Confused Parents
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Henrietta's Hunt Begins
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Hi SF K Files friends,
I am excited to share my elementary school tour notes with this wonderful community over the next few months. I have enjoyed and appreciated this site ever since I stumbled upon it in 2011, and I have probably spent far too many hours already thinking (and over-thinking!) about schools in San Francisco.
I live in the Miraloma Park neighborhood with my husband and two kids, the oldest of whom will be kindergarten eligible next fall. Like Confused Parents (hi, fellow new bloggers!), my son has a summer birthday. He will just barely be 5 when SFUSD starts next year. We are 95% sure we are going to send him then, but we acknowledge there is a small chance we may choose to hold him back if we feel he has not hit the maturity level needed for today's kindergarten.
Last spring, I created a big spreadsheet filled with lots of data points about all the schools we might be interested in, but we realized that at the end of the day we are looking for a school that feels "right" - squishy, emotional decision-making, I know.
Our strong preference is for a public school and we feel the district offers so many wonderful schools, but we are nonetheless looking at a few private schools that we find intriguing. We would only apply to a private school if we deeply felt that one of those schools could be the best option for our family. Of course, given that our son has a late birthday, he misses many independent school cut-offs for next year. In addition, having a second child just two years behind makes the financial considerations of private school an issue, which further narrowed the field.
Our strong preference is for a public school and we feel the district offers so many wonderful schools, but we are nonetheless looking at a few private schools that we find intriguing. We would only apply to a private school if we deeply felt that one of those schools could be the best option for our family. Of course, given that our son has a late birthday, he misses many independent school cut-offs for next year. In addition, having a second child just two years behind makes the financial considerations of private school an issue, which further narrowed the field.
We have a number of things we would like to have, but no absolute deal breakers (and maybe some tensions between our wants?). Obviously, we want at minimum a safe school where we think our pretty easygoing kids will thrive. Here are some things we are considering:
Proximity - This is the closest to a deal breaker we have. After all, the third column in my school search spreadsheet is "Distance," coming after only "Name" and "Public or Private". We love the idea of a community close to home, and while we will be very involved wherever we end up, that is easier if we do not have to travel far. We are primarily touring schools that are an easy walk or drive from our house or at least on the commute path downtown, although we will look at a couple schools that are not close by. We would rather not drive across town every day for the next 8-11 years (factoring in the younger sibling). Start times factor into this as well, as the further away the school, the later it needs to start. Claire Lilienthal is by all accounts a wonderful school, but that 7:45 am start time that far away is just not doable for our family.
Diversity - Being a part of a school that reflects the city and world we live in is important to us. Our son currently attends a very diverse (racially, socioeconomically, same-sex parents, etc.) preschool, and it would be somewhat unfortunate if we ended up at an elementary school that is significantly less diverse. We are a multiracial family, and I do think there is value to being at a school where some kids look like my kids. The reality though is that my kids will be a minority at any school they attend. Given that, I do not want to write off any school solely because it has over 50 or 60% of one group, but those kinds of stats are a negative for us.
Diversity - Being a part of a school that reflects the city and world we live in is important to us. Our son currently attends a very diverse (racially, socioeconomically, same-sex parents, etc.) preschool, and it would be somewhat unfortunate if we ended up at an elementary school that is significantly less diverse. We are a multiracial family, and I do think there is value to being at a school where some kids look like my kids. The reality though is that my kids will be a minority at any school they attend. Given that, I do not want to write off any school solely because it has over 50 or 60% of one group, but those kinds of stats are a negative for us.
Arts - I have a kid who paints a picture at his free-choice, play-based preschool nearly every single day. He also loves music, especially singing, and sometimes spends all day singing - at home and at school. Sometimes made up songs, sometimes not. I feel that he may find particular enjoyment at a school where he can have lots of opportunities to express his artistic side. I know more and more schools have embraced bringing back the arts to produce more well-rounded students, so I am optimistic that we will find a reasonable amount of "arts education" at most of the schools we tour.
STEM/STEAM - I actually would not have thought this was important to us as recently as a year ago, but it turns out my kids really like math! So schools with any special programs in this area get bonus points. But, as I was the little kid who checked out 17 books at a time from the public library, I do not want a school that consequently undervalues the simple pleasures and benefits of good books and reading.
Foreign language - Immersion is interesting to us, but not something we feel strongly about. That said, it would be great if we ended up at a school where some language instruction is at least available in its before or after school program.
Obviously, we cannot tour all of the many public schools we think could be a good fit. We might be able to add one or two schools to the list below, but childcare and work constraints are unfortunately limiting factors. We plan to rely on parents we know at other schools, the October 25 SFUSD enrollment fair, and impressions from people who have toured those schools if we do not have contacts at the school, including both friends and the reviews here.
We are currently planning to tour (and I know some of these are the usual suspects around here - sorry!):
Public: Miraloma (our AA school), Sunnyside, Glen Park, Lakeshore, Fairmount, San Francisco Community
Charter: Creative Arts, TECA
Private: San Francisco Schoolhouse, Sunset Progressive School, Synergy
More soon!
Henrietta
We are currently planning to tour (and I know some of these are the usual suspects around here - sorry!):
Public: Miraloma (our AA school), Sunnyside, Glen Park, Lakeshore, Fairmount, San Francisco Community
Charter: Creative Arts, TECA
Private: San Francisco Schoolhouse, Sunset Progressive School, Synergy
More soon!
Henrietta
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Save the Date: October 25th, SFUSD Enrollment Fair
Just a note to remind everyone the School Enrollment Fair is coming up!
Saturday, October 25, 2014
9:30 am to 2:30 pm
John O'Connell High School
2355 Folsom Street
SFUSD says, "See all public schools and attend workshops on the enrollment process, Transitional Kindergarten, Special Education, Language pathways, middle school feeders, afterschool programs and the Lowell application process."
There are also school enrollment workshops available before and after the fair, including ones coming up on October 11th, October 17th, and October 22nd. Here are some more details:
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/enroll-in-sfusd-schools/enrollment-fair.html
There are also school enrollment workshops available before and after the fair, including ones coming up on October 11th, October 17th, and October 22nd. Here are some more details:
http://www.sfusd.edu/en/enroll-in-sfusd-schools/enrollment-fair.html
Readers, if you attended the school enrollment fair in years past and have tips to share, please weigh in, I'm sure parents would love to hear your thoughts.
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School Tour: Brightworks
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| Brightworks learning area |
Brightworks. One of the first few schools we have toured. And boy, am I impressed or what!
I apologize in advance for a rather lengthy review. But there were way too many things that I loved about Brightworks.
Bright, energetic space. Check!
Enthusiastic teachers. Check!
Small classroom sizes. Check!
Progressive curriculum tailored to student's interest. Check!
Project based hands on learning. Check! Check!
I absolutely loved what I saw. Reflecting back on my school years, this is a school that I would have wanted to go when I was a kid.
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| K classroom |
The tour itself was innovative and different. As we were let in to the facility, we ( as in adults and the kids) were allowed to wander and take in the different aspects of the school - the K class room and their little library loft, the kitchen, workshop, small spaces for kids to focus on English and grammar, learn maths, social science etc. This was followed by a small presentation on the schools charter, learning philosophy and then we had age appropriate (called "bands") breakout sessions.
The kids learn physics, geometry, algebra, science etc through real life projects - like they are learning now about lenses and photography; they learnt about mirrors the last semester and actually built a mirror with many lenses to roast a marshmallow. The kids worked and reworked the prototype and actual device till the rays could be concentrated enough to roast the marshmallow just right. Each project is called "Arc" and has 7-10 kids from an age "band" with a staff coordinator.
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| English and Grammar Learning Area |
The kids learn to read and write and draw as they work thorough these projects - initially researching (called explorations phase) and prototyping , then building( called expressions phase)and lastly demonstrating and showcasing their projects via written and oral presentations (called exposition phase).
After each project, they take a week to decompress and chill out ( lay on the floor and read or just draw). Next project is then planned based on interest and what skills kids/teachers want them to learn and the entire school space is reconfigured to support that. For instance, they added a black room to help kids understand photo development process.
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| Photographs exhibition wall |
Few other things that are different from "regular" schools - mixed age classrooms, using real materials to build stuff, using power tools and having exercise routines to help build hand-eye co-ordination, going on field trips every week.
But its not all free will and fun and games. As one teacher put it, he is trying to teach his middle schools maths and social science. If the kid is not interested in learning that he has to justify and explain it to Gever (Founder) or Ellen (school director). More likely the kid returns enthused about why he needs to learn rather than be "indulged" and give a pass. The older kids also teach younger kids that help them hone empathy and deepen their understanding.
Parents of kids and kids themselves were there at the tour to respond to questions and how they like being at school. Some of the K parents gave examples of how their kid plays with Lego's or blocks "better" since starting the school. They will quickly try to draw what they want to build before attempting to build complex Lego structures. That is impressive to me!
One parent whose kid is in middle school there did mention to me to go to public SF schools for elementary years and then come to Brightworks in middle school when kids need more motivation and closely monitored social atmosphere to gain confidence and thrive. Not to mention that would save some serious $$$ as well.
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| K reading nook above their classroom |
Some more background/notes on Brightworks:
- Mixed age small school in a warehouse setting - 120 kids all in the same facility. Not sure what the plans are when the school grows in size.
- Handful kids in High school. As the schools is pioneering in project based learning, they can't create a transcript (today) that will be accepted in a Berkley like under graduate school. But who knows in next 15 years - Berkley or a Stanford may start accepting students with such "alternate" experience and may even start evaluating them differently at the time of college admissions!
- Kids create a portfolio of projects over their lifetime to showcase their learning's and skills. Which personally I would value more than transcript grades. But my practical side doesn't agree with it yet.
- Outdoor time is on a playground 2 blocks away
- Everyone including K kids go on fields trips using public transportation. They learn about navigating the city, using clipper card etc. The older kids also learn about nutrition ( by buying lunch or just a packet of chips & soda for lunch and then getting hungry during the rest of day )
- Currently backed by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well as Paul Allen Foundation. I respect them both immensely as well as the work done by the foundations. But I worry what happens if the funding runs out?
- Parents volunteer in classrooms and on field trips or by sharing expertise.
- Community lunch on Fridays by parent volunteers to learn cooking and sharing
- School starts at 9:30. But before and after school care available.
As an adult Brightworks is a brilliant concept. Having learnt my basic skills in a regular school; Brightworks would be an excellent way to channel curiosity, learn how to create things ( prototype, re-iterate, build, test, correct till you are satisfied), tenacity and patience to ensure "real life" skills. Skills that are important when you enter workforce.
But as a replacement to mainstream education, I am still a bit hesitant.
I got the feeling that kids learnt in depth about projects that they worked on. They have pockets of deep information. But am not too sure if they have baseline education in all subjects all across the board.
The founders and teachers agree, Brightworks is not for everyone.
We will probably visit once again to understand their plans on growth, future funding, how kids who leave Brightworks for public high schools or college adjust to "regular" style of learning having done things differently all their school lives.
Or maybe start with a summer camp for my son if they offer one to test waters before making the plunge.
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Trying to avoid the dread..
Hello everyone! I'm DFB aka "the dread-filled bunny," a silly name that is a fair description for how I feel at the start of this adventure.
Back when I first graduated from college, I had a couple blogs with various friends. I have fond memories from then. Now, many years and a kid later, I don't have time for these things.. or do I? I have been peeking at this blog off and on for years, and now it's my turn to live it. I was intrigued by the community around this blog and excited by the prospect of getting feedback from all of you during this search.
I've purposely avoided thinking about this moment for five years. I am by instinct an over-researcher, over-thinker, maker-of-spreadsheets.. but so far for this K search I have nothing but a short list in my head. This week I went to a Parents for Public Schools enrollment workshop, and my heart started pounding. SEVENTY-TWO PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS???? I am not a fan of having too many choices.
These are the things that I am thinking about at the start:
- Public versus private? We both went to public schools. I am a believer in public school, he is not. With an only child, we can probably make a private school work financially.
- Mandarin immersion. We are very interested in mandarin immersion. Our son is currently in a mandarin daycare/preschool.
- Location, location, location. We live in Potrero Hill and both work nearby, so I really want to keep our school commute short as well.
- Academics. Having a strong academic program is really important to Mr. DFB. I think I agree but I am not sure where in ranks in relation to everything else, and am not sure if it needs to be a focus in elementary school. I want an environment that will nuture our kid's intrinsic desire to learn.
- Public: Starr King, JOES, Daniel Webster
- Private: CAIS, PKS, Live Oak, Alta Vista, Brightworks (really excited to see that Confused toured it already!)
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Parents for Public Schools workshop
As I mentioned in my first post, I went to a Parents for Public Schools workshop. Some things I learned, besides the overwhelming number of elementary schools:
The speaker started off the evening talking about the K2C Savings Account, which I thought was odd but also nice as I had heard of it in the news but didn't know any details. (The K2C website mentions that this is incorporated into the public school math curriculum. Do they really do this? Seems like a neat opportunity.)
How the lottery works - I'm sure all you attentive SF K Files readers already know the details, but I was really vague about how this process worked. For example, I didn't realize that each K program is treated as an independent assignment/lottery process for the first step, so I really didn't understand what they meant when they said that listing more choices helped your chances of getting something that you want. Tonight I rummaged around the SFUSD webpage and found this fact sheet.
Another fun fact that I didn't know -- elementary schools have one of 3 different start times. (What are they? I was too tired to ask any questions.) This information and other basics are in the Enrollment Guide and Enrollment form which are released at the Oct 25 Enrollment Fair. I don't want to wait that long!
PPS has a mailing list, which I just signed up for, and they also have parent ambassadors at each school that they can connect you with.
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TK and then to K - New Blogger
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Hello and ¡Hola! to all the people reading this blog and looking for Kindergarten and TK classes for next year. I am part of a bicultural (Mexico and US) family living in Bernal Heights. I have two young daughters, one eligible for TK next year. I have been reading the blog for the last 2 years, in anticipation of my daughter reaching school age. I hope to be able to help others find the right school while sharing my own process. I am also hoping to tour all the TKs that we are interested in this year as well as some schools that only have Kindergarten, because honestly I don’t want to have to tour again next year.
As a bilingual family we are only looking at Spanish immersion and bilingual programs for Kindergarten. We are open to English or Spanish for TK, as there aren’t currently very many bilingual options. In addition, we speak Spanish at home and any literacy skills she learns in TK will transfer to Spanish in Kindergarten. We are only going to be looking at public schools. Although there are many fine private schools in the city, I am a public school teacher myself. On a teacher’s salary it is impossible to consider paying for school – we make too much to qualify for significant financial aid and too little to actually pay tuition. My husband and I both attended public schools and I can’t realistically justify something different for my children.
My oldest child is four years old, born in October. Truth be told, I have very mixed feelings about Transitional Kindergarten. I would honestly prefer that she start Kindergarten in the fall. I was a young K and always felt fine with my peers. My daughter will have already done 2 years of preschool by the time she starts and she will be ready. Since California is providing this extra year for her, I really want it to be worthwhile and different enough from Kindergarten that she won’t be bored. I would be perfectly happy for her to attend TK at one school and switch to another for Kindergarten if that is what is best for her, but I am also going to be looking at schools that have both programs.
We are looking at schools in the South/East side of the City – mostly Bernal Heights, Glen Park, Mission, Noe Valley.
As of now the schools we will be touring for TK:
Flynn
Junipero Serra
Zaida T. Rodriguez
For Kindergarten:
Marshall
Alvarado
Flynn
Fairmount
Paul Revere
Moscone (Bilingual Program)
Sanchez (Bilingual Program)
Monroe
I will also tour any new TK programs announced on October 25th that are on this side of the city.
I already toured Alvarado and I will have my review written soon!
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School Tour: Alvarado
There is nothing much that I can write about Alvarado that is not already written by previous posters here.
Its a solid school with a very involved parenting community. It was one of the first public schools we toured. And I really liked the "school" like building ( compared to some "home" like buildings of private school), bright and cheerful artwork by kids peppered all over the hallways, the outdoor garden, the spacious yard to play during recess. I like the ceramics Arts kiln, the concept of yard coaches to streamline recess and reduce conflicts/bullying.
Kindergartners have separate restrooms attached to their classes and use the yard at specific times when older kids are not around. The play structure in the yard looked big and well maintained.
The principal is new to the school but has a solid record. She met us (parents) in the cafeteria / auditorium for Q & A. She was enthusiastic and enthused about the school.
But a few things that stuck out for us.
1. The PTA raises a little over 400 K /year. Its no surprise given how big the school is.They choose to spend that on money on things like science take home kits, class size reduction, math tutors, PE coaches and art & literacy programs other than school supplies. The PTA also is heavily involved in a lot of sprucing/cleaning work at the school hand's on. Like painting the cafeteria/auditorium over the weekend; shampooing the Principal's rug etc.
It seemed a bit odd to me that parents were volunteering to do this work instead of spending money on a janitor. I overheard this feedback from couple of other parents who were discussing this as well.
Having said that, the school and the classrooms do look a bit dated and worn with use rather than the well kept interiors of not just private schools but other public schools like Claire Lilienthal or even Spring Valley.
2. The Kindergarten classroom seemed to be in chaos. The substitute teacher was reading a story while the kindergartners seemed to do their own thing. Some were talking, others walking around yet others doing something else like scribbling. I couldn't help contrast it mentally with the kids at other schools who continued with their task on hand.
I wish we had got to see the actual school teacher in action. Maybe the class tour would have been more realistic.
3. We saw the kids in Spanish Immersion 1st grade. The kids seemed awfully quiet. Not in a way that they were focused on task but just as if they were a quiet bunch.
This coupled with the chaotic K classroom didn't leave a good impression in my mind.
4. I really loved the artists in residence and the studio. Our tour parent volunteer joked that this is where all the "junk" your kids will come home with is made. It offended the artist/teacher but resonated with all preschool parents on the parents who all laughed (probably imagining their kid at the studio and the artistic by products that will come home).
5. The library is being renovated. The kids seemed crammed in the little library and were naturally distracted when our rather large tour group made its way to the library.
Having read so much about it, I wanted to fall in love with Alvarado. When I saw the large group of parent waiting for the tour, it confirmed its popularity. I was let down. That's why I guess touring a school is so important!
Did you tour Alvarado? How was your experience? What are your thoughts?
Its a solid school with a very involved parenting community. It was one of the first public schools we toured. And I really liked the "school" like building ( compared to some "home" like buildings of private school), bright and cheerful artwork by kids peppered all over the hallways, the outdoor garden, the spacious yard to play during recess. I like the ceramics Arts kiln, the concept of yard coaches to streamline recess and reduce conflicts/bullying.
Kindergartners have separate restrooms attached to their classes and use the yard at specific times when older kids are not around. The play structure in the yard looked big and well maintained.
The principal is new to the school but has a solid record. She met us (parents) in the cafeteria / auditorium for Q & A. She was enthusiastic and enthused about the school.
But a few things that stuck out for us.
1. The PTA raises a little over 400 K /year. Its no surprise given how big the school is.They choose to spend that on money on things like science take home kits, class size reduction, math tutors, PE coaches and art & literacy programs other than school supplies. The PTA also is heavily involved in a lot of sprucing/cleaning work at the school hand's on. Like painting the cafeteria/auditorium over the weekend; shampooing the Principal's rug etc.
It seemed a bit odd to me that parents were volunteering to do this work instead of spending money on a janitor. I overheard this feedback from couple of other parents who were discussing this as well.
Having said that, the school and the classrooms do look a bit dated and worn with use rather than the well kept interiors of not just private schools but other public schools like Claire Lilienthal or even Spring Valley.
2. The Kindergarten classroom seemed to be in chaos. The substitute teacher was reading a story while the kindergartners seemed to do their own thing. Some were talking, others walking around yet others doing something else like scribbling. I couldn't help contrast it mentally with the kids at other schools who continued with their task on hand.
I wish we had got to see the actual school teacher in action. Maybe the class tour would have been more realistic.
3. We saw the kids in Spanish Immersion 1st grade. The kids seemed awfully quiet. Not in a way that they were focused on task but just as if they were a quiet bunch.
This coupled with the chaotic K classroom didn't leave a good impression in my mind.
4. I really loved the artists in residence and the studio. Our tour parent volunteer joked that this is where all the "junk" your kids will come home with is made. It offended the artist/teacher but resonated with all preschool parents on the parents who all laughed (probably imagining their kid at the studio and the artistic by products that will come home).
5. The library is being renovated. The kids seemed crammed in the little library and were naturally distracted when our rather large tour group made its way to the library.
Having read so much about it, I wanted to fall in love with Alvarado. When I saw the large group of parent waiting for the tour, it confirmed its popularity. I was let down. That's why I guess touring a school is so important!
Did you tour Alvarado? How was your experience? What are your thoughts?
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