Press Release Details
Press Release Message
Press Release
San Francisco (August 12, 2025) – Today, SPARK SF Public Schools, in partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), launched a citywide campaign called “Be Here!” to emphasize the importance of strong school attendance and fostering a culture of belonging for student success and public school funding.
Businesses, community-based organizations, government agencies, and local education champions are joining forces to spread one clear message: Be Here! Because school is where students grow, connect, and thrive. The campaign combines a robust social media push with celebrity PSAs, physical posters, bus ads, and community partnerships. Major organizations joining this effort include the Golden State Warriors, the San Francisco Giants, Bay FC, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and more.
In addition, SPARK will fund a full-time position at SFUSD to provide critical oversight on attendance and belonging best practices, and support SFUSD schools with their individual school-site attendance plans. SPARK will provide funding for a digital dashboard for SFUSD teams and schools with real-time attendance analysis to quickly identify trends with students and families that may need additional support before the challenges become further entrenched.
In the 2024–25 school year alone, SFUSD students lost an estimated 4.4 million hours of learning and SFUSD lost over $60 million in state funding due to student absences. A return to pre-pandemic attendance levels could restore close to 1.5 million hours of learning and restore $18 million of state funding annually for SF public schools.
“Students who miss just two days a month are more likely to fall behind in reading and math and are less likely to graduate,” said Ginny Fang, President of SPARK SF Public Schools. “Be Here. Be Here! is about rallying our entire city to support student success, and to recognize the real difference that we can make together for our city’s schools.
“This is about more than attendance - it’s about opportunity,” said Superintendent Dr. Maria Su. “When students are in class, they’re learning, connecting, and growing. We’re grateful to SPARK and all our partners for shining a light on this urgent issue. Through strong, citywide partnerships, we can ensure families get the support they need so every student can thrive.
The campaign will roll out across multiple channels throughout the fall, with participation from city agencies, local leaders, and partners across every neighborhood.
“Every child in San Francisco deserves the best shot at success, and that starts with being in school,” said Ay’Anna Moody, SPARK SF Board Member and Executive Director of the Golden State Community Foundation. “The Golden State Community Foundation has actively engaged in supporting students and educators for over 13 years, with recent attention on strong student attendance. Be Here! is a call to action for the entire city to come together to support our youth. Together, we can uplift our students and ensure our schools and families receive the support they need.”
“We applaud Spark and SFUSD for launching Be Here! as a citywide call to action,” said Hedy Chang, Executive Director of Attendance Works, a nationally-recognized leader focused on reducing chronic absence. “Across the country, schools are grappling with post-pandemic attendance challenges. Tackling chronic absence and restoring strong attendance habits requires all of us—schools, families, businesses and city partners—working together to help students show up every day.”
To learn more about the campaign and how to get involved, visit sparksfpublicschools.org/behere
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