Comments from PREFund about the Webster dual immersion program

As this enrollment fiasco has unfolded, I have been very interested to hear more about the impact this event may have on Daniel Webster ES. I've been following this story every since the school closure dramas back in 2005 (here and here), and frankly I've been rooting for the parents and volunteers that have been working to strengthen the Webster program and community.

So I contacted Katherine Doumani at PREFund and asked her if their group had any comments they could share with this audience. Sure enough, here is her response:

We really hope that SFUSD can accommodate these families and make them feel confident about the solutions they are offering.

We learned about the displacement a week ago, and have been trying to offer our support to the affected families by making sure they are aware of everything PREFund has done and has in the works to turn Daniel Webster into a first-rate school, so that they can make a fully informed decision in this difficult process.

Daniel Webster's immersion program was scheduled to open in 2009, converting the existing Spanish Bilingual program into a Dual-immersion program by adding native English speakers to the current native Spanish speakers in the bilingual program. The principal, staff and current population at DW are very supportive of the program, as is SFUSD. The Principal, Ms. Moriama Machado is a native Spanish speaker, as are several current staff members. There is an active native Spanish-speaking population at the school. And Because the school has been historically under-enrolled, there is ample space to establish and grow this program.

At Daniel Webster - Our goal has been to help increase and integrate enrollment, so that it better reflects our whole community, by attracting families from Potrero Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods into the school. In addition to the programs currently in place, We are working to establish additional inclusive programs to help bridge all the various groups in DW to create one community--these include nutrition programs for all with hot breakfast and lunch, inclusive after-school programs for all students, tutoring & mentoring programs, and classroom volunteers. These are in addition to the physical improvement projects we have completed over the past year: Gardening, tree planting and painting of the entire school building by Rebuild Together San Francisco, Friends of the Urban Forest and scores of local volunteers, that have improved the physical environment for the existing families.

We are proud to showcase Potrero Kids @ Daniel Webster, our Spanish Bilingual Preschool, scheduled to open September 29th 2008, as an example of what we have done by working together with our community. Including 25% scholarship slots, it is fully enrolled, with a waiting list, though we may be able to offer additional slots once we complete licensing, to the SFUSD displaced families.

We are aware that there are no official 'feeder' preschools for public schools in San Francisco, and that if successful, and if the current enrollment lottery stands, we may, in effect, close ourselves out of Daniel Webster in the future as we have no guarantee of specific school or program placement. This, however, is a chance we are willing to take as we strongly believe that our neighborhood schools should be a reflection of our community, and are what raising a family in a community is about. If through our efforts Daniel Webster becomes the fine and sought-after school we envision, we will have done our job, and then some.

Please see www.prefund.org for more information about us. We welcome the opportunity to talk with any parents considering Daniel Webster, as well as connecting them with other interested parents or people we have worked with who may be able to answer questions about DW and the programs there.