San Francisco Schools: This week's education articles

Here's another smorgasbord of education articles from the past week. Enjoy!

Parents, teachers fight for schools Chron, 1/13/06

Several hundred angry parents, students, teachers and principals crowded into a middle school auditorium in San Francisco on Thursday night to demand that their schools stay open.

A Year At Malcolm X: Second Chance at Success Chron, 1/12/06

The San Francisco Board of Education plans to decide tonight whether Malcolm X Academy in the Hunters Point neighborhood will be open to see its 50th birthday next year -- or whether this year will be its last.

School closures opposed Chron, 1/12/06

Scores of parents and students joined city officials on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday afternoon to demand an immediate halt to school closures in the San Francisco Unified School District.

The Governor’S Budget: A Closer Look At What The Numbers Mean, K-12 Schools Chron, 1/11/06

PROPOSAL: The governor would spend $39.9 billion from the general fund for K-12 education next year, up from $36.3 billion this year. This translates to $8,052 per pupil for classroom spending, up from $7,248.

School district extends application deadline for next year Examiner, 1/9/06

The San Francisco Unified School District is giving families two more weeks to send in their school choice applications for next year, in response to concerns that an expected decision on school closures this Thursday would not give them enough time to make an informed choice by the deadline.

Supervisors urge board to delay school closures Examiner, 1/12/06

Members of the Board of Supervisors demanded Wednesday that San Francisco’s school board postpone decisions scheduled for tonight that could close and merge some district schools.

Mayor hints at regrets over role in sparing Bayview school Examiner, 1/11/06

As decisions again loom over whether to close public schools, Mayor Gavin Newsom admitted he wasn’t sure he did the right thing last year by advocating saving one school — Malcolm X Elementary — over others.

Dialogue stalls between supes, school board Examiner, 1/9/06

As some members of the Board of Supervisors publicly criticize San Francisco’s school board for a lack of input into school closure decisions, a joint committee made up of supervisors and school board members that was created to build communication has not met since the beginning of the school year.

S.F. Should Hire Asian School Czar AsianWeek, 1/5/06

San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s departure in 2006 leaves the S.F. Board of Education with the opportunity to hire its first Asian Pacific American schools chief.

School closings: another approach Bay Guardian, 1/11/06 By Lisa Schiff!

Great things are happening in the San Francisco public schools, but the current school-closure process is putting them at risk.

SFUSD gets an 'A' in gentrification SF Bay View, 1/11/06

On the eve of Martin Luther King Day and two weeks before Black History Month begins, the School Board of the city known as "America's most progressive" is likely to vote against Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, June Jordan, Enola Maxwell, Gloria R. Davis and even Willie Brown - closing nearly all the schools in San Francisco named for Black luminaries and several other schools located in Black neighborhoods.

Preschool funding plan on ballot SJ Merc, 1/13/06

Friends and foes of Rob Reiner's ``Preschool for All'' initiative got word from the secretary of state's office late Thursday afternoon that the initiative has qualified for the June 2006 ballot. The measure proposes taxing the state's wealthiest residents to provide a year of free preschool to California 4-year-olds.

District awards raises to school support staff SJ Merc, 1/11/06. Nice to see how the other half lives... Compare and contract with out SEIU negotiations.

For at least one local school district, it's a sign that the good times are nearly back. Support staff in Palo Alto schools won a 1 percent raise Tuesday evening, an increase almost certain to multiply soon.

Making an impact