One of the most expensive areas of SF. For those on the prior thread doubting descriptions of class behavior or why some students want out
Paywall. But doesn’t sound like a safe place.
“The Examiner reported that the conditions could be an unintended consequence of California’s anti-suspension mandate and reliance on restorative justice programs.”
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I read this article and it made me sad. The middle school in question is Marina middle school. I don’t know it well but I know San Francisco has always had a disproportionate number of its students in private schools (in relation to neighboring cities and the state). I wonder if the numbers have changed recently. Some San Francisco friends that had the money put their kids into private school (and it was not easy, interviews of kids, parents, essays etc.) and some others of more modest means would move once the kids reached school age. It’s been a while since we lived in the city though so I might be behind on my observations.
Yes. Most families we know in SF with elementary school age kids (and up) either put their kids in private school ($$$$!!), or moved to another city. SF has 72 elementary schools and a notorious lottery system that is unpredictable and confusing, so it can be difficult for families to get into schools they want. How the San Francisco School Lottery Works, And How It Doesn't | KQED
Apparently the SF school district is trying to revise the school assignment system in the next few years. Changes to Student Assignment for Elementary Schools | SFUSD
I think this particular school’s location in an expensive neighborhood isn’t necessarily relevant to the issues described. School assignment in SF is city wide so a student could end up anywhere.
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We went through it with our eldest and got last choice (across the city) which was not doable at the time. Ended up putting her in a private school in our neighborhood for Kindergarten ($$$$$$$$$) but then moved due to a job situation so I wasn’t sure if that was still going on. It’s great if you get your neighborhood school but as you go down the list the geographic area becomes non tenable for many families. Brings back memories!!!
You may want to continue to where they wrote that they stopped doing restorative justice when the pandemic started an they ran out of money. What you quote creates the impression that restorative justice failed, rather than what actually happened which is that there wasn’t the money.
I mean, they can do what other schools do - just kick out any kid they think is a problem. That will of course include any kid who is bullied and responds, any kid whck teachers don’t like, etc, etc, etc. Fact is that the way that schools have been punishing students has not worked. I mean it my have had classes that were quieter, but students weren’t actually learning.
Maybe restorative justice would have worked had they actually tried it.
If something isn’t working, you can always depend on the higher administration of a school district to replace it with something worse.
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Not sure it’s a money issue.
“But Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, told the newspaper that restorative justice training has stopped since before the pandemic, “possibly because restorative justice trainers have been reassigned to teach in the classroom,” she said. A San Francisco Unified School District spokesperson told the Examiner that restorative justice training is available online.”
Or perhaps the students who remained in school were learning, and the disruptive kids who did not want to be there, were not. I think these articles help explain why so many seek a choice to leave the circus behind-or in this case, return to a war torn country that manages its schools better than we do.
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We lived there as a young couple. Moved because there was no way for us to raise a kid in that city financially. Other young couples moved as well once a kid was on the horizon. The only couple that I know who stayed had trust-fund levels of wealth for housing and future private school. Just one data point.
So a different failure of the administration to implement it, which does not surprise me the least.
This is also not surprising, since administrative bloat is worse in the K-12 system than in higher-ed:
They could solve the bully problem like they did at my son’s middle school years ago. The sixth grade was basically in one section of the school off limits to older students. And the man in charge was about 6’4" and around 300 lbs. Nobody messed with the 6th graders! All the kids loved him.
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