Community Conversations On Student Enrollment, Recruitment & Retention

Hat tip to the PEN Newsblast that brings us this notice:

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS ON STUDENT ENROLLMENT, RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
With a long tradition of serving as a bridge between the community and public schools, the San Francisco Education Fund, a local education fund, is experienced in engaging individuals, organizations and institutions in positive action around public education. A new report -- "Student Enrollment, Recruitment and Retention: Community Conversations about San Francisco Schools" -- is the culmination of a six-month public engagement effort jointly led by the San Francisco Education Fund (Ed Fund), the San Francisco Board of Education Parent Advisory Council (PAC) the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), Parents for Public Schools-San Francisco (PPS), María-Fernanda Gonzalez, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, and Collaborative Communications Group. The report shares what the working group heard about community members’ values, hopes and goals for San Francisco public schools. The more they talked with students, parents and community members, the louder they heard that, while we all might differ on the details, we share a sense of what matters, as articulated in six priorities: (1) Quality Schools - Parents use test scores as shorthand for evaluating academic achievement, but their demand for quality, and what it takes to help their children learn, is much more complex; (2) Safe Schools and Neighborhoods - Parents are concerned about their children’s physical and emotional safety. (3) Strong School Communities - Parents think of their children’s schools as small communities. (4) A System that Works for Families - Parents want to feel that the District is on their side. (5) A Fair System - Parents want consistency, predictability and equity. (5) Effective Leadership - Parents want the district to have a proactive, clear, long-term plan. This report provides the most definitive feedback on what the San Francisco stakeholders need, want, and expect for the future of San Francisco public schools.

You can read the report here. I'm just starting into it, and this teaser:

We held intimate community conversations in nearly every corner of San Francisco to hear what over 900 parents and community members want for and from the schools in our city. What we heard was worth the effort. Within and across conversations, we heard striking commonalities and important differences that we will explore in this report.

Interesting.