Vision Essentials

Students Find Their "Sparks"—and Their Voices

In 2025, SFUSD students graduate from high school with a sense of purpose and self-efficacy. They possess the skills and confidence to achieve their dreams and goals for their future. Graduates understand that they are part of a global society and feel a sense of responsibility to make a contribution both at the local level and in the wider world. They are equipped to succeed in either context and have a clear sense of the next steps toward accomplishing their career goals.

Teachers at the Core of the Vision

These major shifts in how San Francisco's students learn mean major shifts in how educators create, facilitate and deliver instruction—and how they are selected, trained and supported to advance in their careers. Teachers not only teach but also nimbly facilitate student learning along different paths and through multiple pedagogies—and they are trusted not just as experts in instruction but as the creators of educational experiences. Their practice is always changing and evolving, as they develop new ways to build the scaffolding that enables their students to connect to what they are learning across diverse environments and opportunities.

The Re-Imagined Classroom

SFUSD's student-centered approach to learning has led to a near total transformation of the teaching and learning experience. Classrooms have become dynamics 21st-century learning environments supported by an array of pedagogies and pathways. They are, in effect, inquiry-based learning hubs or hands-on "labs" that expose students to new kinds of content and more deeply engaging ways to acquire knowledge.

The City as Classroom

In 2025, learning isn't confined to classrooms but extends seamlessly into the dynamic city—and the wider world—that surrounds them. San Francisco has become a fully networked ecosystem of learning where education happens everywhere, in both formal and informal learning environments.

Parents as Partners and Advocates

In 2025, a high percentage of SFUSD parents, caregivers and families are deeply engaged in their students' learning. Indeed, supporting parents in advocating for their children and ensuring that all parents consistently feel valued and respected in the SFUSD community have become strong district priorities. Teachers, administrators, family liaisons, and other district representatives regularly partner with parents in more proactive ways, giving them full access to the information they need to be successful in navigating the school system, understanding their choices and knowing how to access the variety of learning experiences that can help their children achieve their potential.

Schools as Centers of Community Life

In their "off" hours, SFUSD schools serve as vibrant community hubs that promote learning, health, well-being, collaboration, and resilience within San Francisco's neighborhoods. Recognizing the need to help students and families gain access to a fuller array of services and supports that together contribute to whole-family success, the city's public schools have become community schools in the truest sense, bringing together community resources and partners to offer a range of supports and opportunities for students, parents and other community members before and after school, on weekends and holidays and during the summer.

A Truly Equitable School District

In 2025, the San Francisco Unified School District is unified in exciting new ways. The district's strong commitment to equity and social justice across all of its communities and all of its schools enables not just some students but all students to realize their potential. Every school and every student is part of a district-wide system of supports designed to ensure that all students and families—of every race, language and ethnicity, learning level and ability—have the support and the resources they need to thrive. The district's commitment to the success of every student means that all are ensured the opportunities to learn, grow and express themselves—and that each school is capable of helping its students achieve their goals.

This page was last updated on March 5, 2021