San Francisco Unified School District

The District's Plan to Help Minority Kids Excel in School is Groundbreaking. . .to the Extent it Exists

Why Doesn't JROTC Count as Physical Education? Oh, Right! Because we Hate the Army

What's the Matter With Kids Today? Did You Ever Think You'd Read the Terms 'Bullying' and 'Sodomize' in the Same Breath?

Some 'school bullies' have allegedly found a novel use for an umbrella, tooWhen I was in school, we had the boy who left a deposit in the broom closet. We had the boy who kissed other boys because he saw Bugs Bunny do it. We had the boys who ate boogers, paste, and other kids' lunches. We didn't hav ... More >>

S.F. schools sometimes rely on kids to translate bad news to parents

Some 'school bullies' have allegedly found a novel use for an umbrella, tooWhen I was in school, we had the boy who left a deposit in the broom closet. We had the boy who kissed other boys because he saw Bugs Bunny do it. We had the boys who ate boogers, paste, and other kids' lunches. We didn't hav ... More >>

Not Present

Former truants relapse, stay away from attendance awards in droves.

End of an Era

As The Apologist takes a bow and asks its final questions, it's time to turn the spotlight on ourselves

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, May 24, 2006

A Study in Size

Three years ago, San Francisco launched an experiment with a new kind of school. It worked. So why isn't the district pursuing it?

Separate and Unequal

Hidden in the city's special day classes, like the roots of San Francisco's segregation itself, are disproportionately high numbers of African-American and Latino kids.

Pacifists for War

How the fractured counterrecruitment movement includes those hoping to bring the draft back

Dream Makers

How teachers, parents, and a young white principal have taken plans for a Dream School in the Bayview and made them a dream of their own

Race for Space

An unorthodox school for dropout risks is still searching for a campus, leaving students in learning limbo

Dog Bites

Overpriced Sports Star Joins Local Team; Light Reading; A Match Made in Heaven; A Suggestion for Rearranging the Deck Chairs at Salon.com

Class Struggle

New school superintendent Arlene Ackerman has fostered educational excellence -- and ignited political firestorms. Her first major initiative? A significant shift in funding, from wealthier to poorer schools, being planned behind closed doors.

The PeopleSoftTouch

PeopleSoft software has forced a Delaware manufacturer to cut paychecks to Mickey Mouse and let failing Wisconsin college students evade expulsion. Guess what software the San Francisco school district owns?

Busted

S.F. schools must pay up for breaking federal labor laws

Off the Books

A school district administrator's extracurricular foreign recruiting prompts investigations in two countries

Show Them the Money

Late reports prompt state to hold S.F. school district head's pay

Making Education Pay

For consultants, the S.F. school district ATM is wide open

Demonstrating Exploitation

A Latino activist group has gained largely positive media coverage for organizing student walkouts to protest government social policies. But how admirable is it, really, to endanger young children for political purposes?

The House of Tudor

A Latino activist group has gained largely positive media coverage for organizing student walkouts to protest government social policies. But how admirable is it, really, to endanger young children for political purposes?

Chalk Fight

Teachers' union grand dame Joan Marie Shelley is forced into the campaign of her career by a formerly loyal lieutenant

Bus to Nowhere

Why San Francisco's Byzantine school desegregation program systematically fails the children it was designed to help

School vs. Play

Why San Francisco's Byzantine school desegregation program systematically fails the children it was designed to help

Mulch

Why San Francisco's Byzantine school desegregation program systematically fails the children it was designed to help

State and National Candidates

Why San Francisco's Byzantine school desegregation program systematically fails the children it was designed to help

Mulch

Why San Francisco's Byzantine school desegregation program systematically fails the children it was designed to help

Logic Boards, Not Blackboards

The schools' low-wire act leaves students dangling

JROTC Update: Cadets Must Physically Educate Themselves

JROTC is in the house...​Despite the best efforts of the progressive establishment to purge JROTC from San Francisco's schools over the past three years, the leadership program taught by retired military personnel will begin its march back from oblivion when school starts this month. Fo ... More >>

Backing Off Earlier Denial, S.F. Unified School District Now Says It's Unsure If It Employed Contractor Charged In Massive Fraud Scheme

Was Bob defrauded here in San Francisco?​Late last month, SF Weekly ran several stories about the purported San Francisco ties of NBC Contractors, a scandal-infested building firm charged with dozens of felonies in Alameda County. The firm is charged with systematically forcing its Chinese electri ... More >>

Donate Art Supplies to Grade Schoolers, Receive Crème Brûlée

​S.F. public school teachers get a whopping 50 cents per student per year for art supplies, a fact that has motivated Crème Brûlée Cart to pitch in with a fundraiser on Sunday, October 18 from 2-4 p.m. at Fabric8 (3318 22nd St. at Valencia). There, you'll be able to buy a brûlée ($4) or recei ... More >>

SF Gov InAction: City Brings Hammer Down on Anti-Prostitution Program, Then Forms a Glee Club to Sing Social Services to Sleep

  I've had a really busy few weeks, and I haven't been able to catch up on any of the new fall shows yet. So I tried to cram a lot of television in this weekend while writing SF Gov InAction. Just so you know. Monday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. - Public Safety Committee Somebody has to sa ... More >>

Much Ado About 'Bumping'? Only One School Affected So Far by Controversial Union Rules, District Officials Say

Despite -- or perhaps because of -- loud lamentations about bizarre union work rules that promised to displace secretaries at San Francisco schools, only one school site has so far been affected by the regulations, school-district officials say.​Earlier this month we told the story of Sandra Rios, ... More >>

School District Requirements for College-Ready Students Don't Meet College Standards

Wait a minute! This doesn't add up! ​This year's going-back-to-school story has been that San Francisco public high schools are now requiring all incoming ninth graders to complete the 15 courses required for admission to the University of California or California State University systems. Known i ... More >>

Once Upon a Time, in a Gallery Not So Far Away

Wait a minute! This doesn't add up! ​This year's going-back-to-school story has been that San Francisco public high schools are now requiring all incoming ninth graders to complete the 15 courses required for admission to the University of California or California State University systems. Known i ... More >>

The Day's Most Popular Stories

So, people want to read about the dog...​People do visit other websites. We know this. Here's what they're reading there. San Francisco Examiner: An older man stabbed a teenager in Golden Gate Park Tuesday, proving you're never too old to do something really stupid. This article also, conveniently ... More >>

Pot Dispensary in the Sunset Galls School District. In the Mission, Not So Much.

It turns out the San Francisco Unified School District doesn't always say no...​Kids these days have plenty to worry about, not the least of which is the threat posed by medical cannabis. Recent studies show more high schoolers in America use pot than smoke cigarettes, and San Francisco public ... More >>

Will Mayor Ed Lee Cave to Labor Over 'Bumping' Rights?

One bump sometimes leads to another​On Monday afternoon, labor organizers planned to pack a City Hall hearing room to protest Mayor Ed Lee's plans to eliminate the controversial practice of "bumping," which allows city workers who are laid off in one city department to displace lower-seniority wor ... More >>

School Board Wants Higher Pay, Budget Crisis Looms

Just shake it​San Francisco's education board wants to make more money for the job it does. And although it's not quite like UC executives who are demanding an increase in their budget-sucking pensions, it could come across as similarly unfair considering the school district is facing its own mind ... More >>

S.F. School Board Raises Move Ahead; Budget Cuts Loom

Our schools are broke, but so are our teachers ​Nevermind the steep budget cuts facing our schools -- San Francisco education officials want a hefty raise and it looks as though they might get one. After much debate over the last several months, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors favored placi ... More >>

City Bails Out Schools While Taxpayers Boost School Board Salaries

School board members' salaries​San Francisco city supervisors are thinking to bail out the local school district --  again. Understandably so: Schools are in dire straits financially.But what's more difficult to understand is why taxpayers are being asked to increase salaries of the education ... More >>

S.F. Dating: Violence Higher for LGBT Teens

It needs to get better​A new survey of San Francisco Unified School District teens says gay middle school boys were more than four times as likely to report being assaulted by their intimate partners than straight boys were. Gay middle school girls, meanwhile, were three times as likely as straigh ... More >>

Sergio Romo, Giants Pitcher, Helps Kids Kick Whooping Cough

Whoop Whoop!​Apparently the tried-and-true forms of medical bribery -- a lollipop or a Winnie the Pooh Band-Aid -- just aren't cutting it anymore.But you know kids, these days -- they have such high expectations. Which is why the city has recruited Giants pitcher Sergio Romo to rub elbows with fiv ... More >>

List: What Fewer School Buses, More Kids on Muni Means

Whoop Whoop!​Apparently the tried-and-true forms of medical bribery -- a lollipop or a Winnie the Pooh Band-Aid -- just aren't cutting it anymore.But you know kids, these days -- they have such high expectations. Which is why the city has recruited Giants pitcher Sergio Romo to rub elbows with fiv ... More >>

Should San Francisco Ease Restrictions on Pot Clubs Near Schools?

The titty bars are fine; it's the pot club that a-fears us.​San Francisco's notorious land-use restrictions and zoning laws send neighbors to court over the construction of a porch, and they also mean that the city known as the birthplace of medical marijuana is tougher on pot clubs than most of t ... More >>

Occupy SF Given Noon Deadline to Evacuate Justin Herman Plaza

The city wants Justin Herman Plaza 100 percent clear of the 99 percent​Occupy SF's time on Justin Herman Plaza is quickly coming to an end as city officials warned the group it has until noon today to voluntarily pack up its tents and leave the plaza where protesters have been camped out for nearl ... More >>

Occupy SF: Mission District Residents Don't Want Protesters in Their Backyard

Lauren SmileyYou tell me: Is this guy an Occupy camper or just another Mission District resident?​The feeling is mutual between Mission residents and Occupy SF protesters: Neither group wants to see the encampment relocate to the Mission District, despite what city officials say. The Chron's Matie ... More >>

Frederick Dozier, Mission District Rape Suspect, Worked for S.F. Schools

Accused rapist worked in schools​As if this story couldn't get any more disturbing, San Francisco school officials confirmed that Frederick Dozier, the man suspected of three brutal rapes in the Mission District, worked for the San Francisco Unified School District, dating back to 2008. Gentle Bly ... More >>

Frances Ann Doherty, City Contractor, Accused of Stiffing Employees Out of Wages

Doherty employees​A San Mateo County woman has been charged with 57 felony counts of cheating her employees of more than $600,000 in wages while working on projects for both the city and school district in San Francisco. According to District Attorney George Gascón, 51-year-old Frances Ann Dohert ... More >>