CCSF's new Mission Campus

On this beautiful sunny spring day, the newly rebuilt Mission Campus is a gem. I've been watching this renovation unfold and today it really stood out as a radiant addition to the neighborhood and the city. The Valencia Street facade pictured is clearly the star of the show, but the interior is really impressive too. With a broad open doorway on Valencia, an open courtyard inside, open pedestrian access from Bartlett and 22nd street, this project is a winner.

School Photoblogging: George Moscone

Next up in our School Photoblogging Series is George Moscone ES

Last year's PPS annual meeting was held at Moscone ES. I went to the meeting with the intention of getting some snapshots of the BOE members in attendance and to meet some of the people I've come to know on-line.

While there I was also struck by the school. From the outside, the building looks very nondescript, effectively giving the sidewalk and neighbors a cold shoulder. But from the inside it is an entirely different story. Part of this inward facing architecture is this play structure located in the midst of the school. Inside and outside blend together to create a warm, safe, inviting world. Not seen in this picture is a central courtyard that really defines the space. Very interesting school, and most unexpected based on looking at the school from the street.

Historical Photoblogging at SFPL.org!

Harrison School

John Swett

F. Scott Key

Fellow photoblogger Sunset Style, in her article on Francis Scott Key ES dropped a link to a great trove of historical pictures at the SF Public Library site.

This is a really cool vein of photoblogging material that is fun to browse. Check these out and head over to the library to search for more!

Photoblogging Francis Scott Key ES

I've always hope that our school photoblogging series would become a more participatory effort. So I'm really happy to share the spotlight with fellow blogger Janice of Sunset Style who has an excellent series of pictures of Francis Scott Key ES. Check it out:

I just love this school. The details, the shape, the color. It was built in 1936. I have no training in architecture, I'm just posting things I like (or not).

Thanks for the excellent photos, Janice. Anyone with photos to share are encouraged to get in touch. I'd love to publish more of your photos!

More enrollment deadline coverage

Here are a pair of snapshots that attempt to captur the orderly hum of activity at 555 Franklin on the enrollment deadline day. I didn't want to interrupt the staff at the EPC office to get better pictures. They had more important business to attend to.

And attend to it they did. Plenty of people coming and going, many with small children in tow. All I can say is that all the staff had smiles on their faces and were calm, busy, efficient, and focused on helping. As a result applicants I saw were relaxed and happy to get in and out without any discernable hassle.

Well done!

School Photoblogging: Tenderloin Community

Tenderloin Community sidewalk art

Schools, especially elementary schools, really should be unassuming places. They really should blend into a community and create a space for the kids and the families that live there. In that respect I'm really intrigued by the architecture of the Tenderloin Community ES. I'm sure many people commute right past the school on Turk Street without even seeing it. But walk up to it, and it feels very warm, alive and inviting. I have no idea if the architect had this in mind, but the sidewalk art, the use of tile, and the windows all feel like some sort of membrane that both separates the bustling neighborhood from the students inside, but also invites some sort of osmosis, some sort of exchange with the people on the sidewalk.

It is a funny thing about this photoblogging series that I'm never inside the school, never there with the kids. It is about the architecture. But with good modern school architecture, its hard to capture the building without the kids that are integral to its design. But I have fun with it anyway.

Random SFUSD

Definitely not a typical SFUSD photoblogging shot. But I like it. And its been way too long without a new entry in the series.

If you have any shots you'd like to contribute to the series, send it my way.

School photoblogging: Cesar Chavez returns

Cesar Chavez looks out on his school

A year ago we posted a very similar shot of Cesar Chavez ES, with the beatific mural of Cesar Chavez presidingg over his Folsom Street school. Since then I've started playing with HDR photoprocessing techniques that use multiple exposures of the same shot to tease vivid colors out of the over and under exposed elements of a high contrast image. The results can often be cloying and synthetic, but the goal is to capture the intensity we see with our own eyes. Not sure this is all that notable an HDR image, but I like what it does for Cesar's iconic presence.

Bessie Carmichael ES wins design award

The new Bessie Carmichael facility, which we featured in a recent photoblogging piece has won the C.A.S.H/AIACC Leroy F. Green Excellence in Design Award. Congratulations to all involved, from the much improved facilities department to the site's architects at Kwan Henmi Architects/Planning, Inc., and especially to the stgaff and students of this beautiful campus. I was blown away when I spotted the new facility. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

School Photoblogging: Bessie Carmichael

Do you want to know why you can trust SFUSD with more bond money?

Take a look at what they have been building.

Today I spent some time wandering around the new Bessie Carmichael campus and the ajoining park. It is beautiful. Even on a foggy gray morning the new school architecture was warm, inviting, and intriguing. The shapes and colors and layout caught my imagination. Even without the kids, even on a quiet Sunday morning, this place was alive and fun.

We often remark about the beautiful architecture of our many older facilities. We've blogged shotos of Mission, Everett, Baloa, and many other notable landmarks. Bessie Carmichael lives up to that high standard in a refreshingly modern, novel way. Kudos to the architect and kudos to the people that built it.Frankly, when I went there I was expecting to chronicle the dreadful ramshackle ghetto of trailers and parking lots that used to be the school before this new construction. I worked in that neighborhood years ago and always thought that the Bessie Carmichael facility was a bit of a scandal kept out of view. That bad memory may have feuled my excitement over the new building. What a contrast. What a beautiful addition to this growing, burgeoning neighborhood.

What better example could you possibly find to show why investing in our school facilities is a good idea. Next time you drive down near 8th and Folsom, take a little detour down Clevland or Sherman streets and take in the new school and the new park. Is there any doubt this city needs more of this? DO you really have any qualms empowering the same people that have bulit this project to do it again?

School photoblogging: Leonard Flynn returns

Last spring we featured a picture of Leonard Flynn's striking mural. Today we return to Flynn with a shot of their entry on Ceasar Chavez. The murals all around Flynn are wonderful and a great addition to the neighborhood.

School photoblogging circa 1914

Oriental School. Clay St. bet. Powell & [Juice?] St. 1914

Lincoln School, Fifth street

I wasn't kidding when I said that the Calisphere site has a lot to offer. Check out these old photos of SF schools. Quite a contrast between the two, and between then and now. There are many, many more from the same era including shots of the original Lowell High, a Girls High School, Denman... Try searching for "San Francisco Schools" if you have some time to burn.

School photoblogging: Ceasar Chavez ES

A short distance from Leonard Flynn, the last school we featured in this photoblogging series, I got this shot of Ceasar Chavez Elementary taken from Folsom Street. I love the green canopy on Folsom, and the way the mural of Ceasar Chavez radiates over the yard and into the neighborhood.

The return of school photoblogging: Leonard R. Flynn ES

Beautiful spring day, brand new camera, what a perfect time to return to our photoblogging series. Last time we mentioned Leonard R. Flynn ES was when they hosted an open house for their new library / media center. Today we feature one of the amazing murals that adorn the school. This one facing towards Precita Park. I also shot a few other murals that deserve to be featured in some future photoblogging post. Enjoy!

SF School Photoblogging: Everett MS, Take 2

Everett, Like Mission High, is so striking and so noteworthy it deserves to be featured over and over again in our photoblogging series.

Of course, I really need to take a field trip and snap some new shots of the many, many architecturally significant schools in our district. It will happen. But for now, we take a moment to appreciate Everett Middle School.

SF School Photoblogging: Everett MS

Next up in our photoblogging series is Everett Middle School. Once again, this modest photo does not do justice to the beautiful entryway with its grand columns and arches with the striking tile work.

SF School Photoblogging: Balboa HS

Next up in our photoblogging series is Balboa High School. A few years back the campus was renovated, revealing a proud architectural monument to public schools. One of many in the district that have inspired this series.

The return of Photoblogging: McKinley ES

This photo does not do justice to McKinley ES. It really is a very charming campus, another hidden gem in the SFUSD system. This photo does not do it justice, but we want to give them some press during this school shopping season, so we'll go with what we have!

This photoblogging series has suffered a long hiatus, but I'm determined to revive it. You can help by sending me your favorite school pictures, or by posting your shots on Flickr with the appropriate tags and telling me about it by email.

SF School Photoblogging: Mission High

Mission High is featured for the second time in our photoblogging series. This images was used to create the image that adorns the top of our page, so why not make it this week's featured shot? Enjoy.

SF School Photoblogging: Aptos Middle School

This week's photoblogging finally breaks out of the sterile rut of plain architectural shots. We return to the site of our very first school photoblogging shot, Aptos Middle School. Enjoy.

Updated San Francisco Schools Information Map

One of the school hunting resources we have here at sfschools is our very own San Francisco Schools Information Map. Yes, this is the same google map application I posted about this earlier, and now I have updated and improved it. It makes use of Google's ability to overlay satellite images on top of street maps. I overhauled the sidebar to integrate with the sfschools.org site.

The map is potentially useful to people shopping for schools right now. For those of us that prefer graphical data presentations instead of lists, this is an easier way to browse SFUSD school information.

I have every intention of making further improvements to the page, like:

• Get directions to schools
• Add private schools, including preschools
• More links for each school
• Color code schools
• Pan and zoom controls
• Add school photoblogging
• Fine tune school locations

We'll see what I get around to. If you have ideas about priorities, new features, or other changes you would like to see, speak up!

SF School Photoblogging: Lakeshore Elementary

Week 4 in our photo blogging series features a sunny view of the front of Lakeshore Elementary.

All of the photos in this series are being hosted on Flickr, which is a great way to share photos. I am using Flickr's tagging feature which allows you to attach tags or keywords to photos that have been uploaded. Anyone can then search for photos using these tags.

All of the photos in this series, as well as the photos I have available for future posts, are tagged with the tags "SFUSD" and "schoolblogging". You can browse these photos here.

Since Flickr and tags are totally open to the public, anyone can join in and contribute photos to this series. To post a school photo just sign up with Flickr, upload a picture, and tag the photo with "SFUSD" and "schoolblogging" and your photo will appear at the top of the school photoblog search. Try it.

SF School Photoblogging: Mission High

Week three of the SF school photoblogging series features the facade of Mission High. I think we might need to run a few picture of this beautiful building over the coming months.

Reminder: if you have interesting pictures of any SF schools you want to share, send them my way.

SF School Photoblogging: Lincoln

Week two of our school photoblogging series.

This week we feature the main entry at Abraham Lincoln High School.

SF School Photoblogging

Here's a new feature for the sfschools blog: Friday photoblogging. First up, Everett Middle School.

The idea is to post one photo of a San Francisco school here every Friday. This idea isn't new, it dates back to the second post ever made here. But now, with the new school year, its time to go for it.