October 21, 2020

Dear SFUSD Staff:

Now that the City is reopening many businesses and some schools, our community is eager for schools to offer in-person learning options. 

As long as schools can reopen following public health guidelines, SFUSD is planning to begin offering in-person instruction—starting with approximately 10 to 15 schools—no sooner than January 2021. 

The following student populations will be the first to be offered in-person learning options: PreK-12 students who are assigned to moderate/severe special education classes (SPED), Early Education students, selected County Schools programs, and students enrolled in deaf and hard of hearing classes. Students in Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade will be offered in-person learning options following the aforementioned groups of students. 

The school reopening readiness dashboard for Phase 2a shows what work is in progress in order for any students to return to in-person learning. The dashboard can be found on the SFUSD website.

Please keep reading today’s digest for more important updates.

Updates

Volunteers Needed! Help Students Access School Meals

SFUSD employees and community members can volunteer at any of our 18 grab & go sites every Wednesday. Volunteers assist with setup, line control, and breakdown. Sign up to volunteer!

SFUSD employees can volunteer to deliver food to students with disabilities and special dietary needs. Drivers pick up and deliver boxes of school meals to student’s homes every Wednesday. Sign up to drive!

Proposed Changes to the Elementary Student Assignment Policy

You are invited to a Community Information Session to learn about the proposed Student Assignment Policy that the Board of Education will vote on in December. 

Community Information Sessions will be held on Oct. 27, 28, 29, and Nov. 7.

This is an opportunity to ask questions about the policy, understand its key features, and provide input on how we implement the policy in the coming years.

The policy changes will impact elementary schools only, and will not affect incoming kindergarten students any sooner than the 2022-23 school year. 

To learn more and register, visit bit.ly/SFUSD-assignment-info. 

Virtual Enrollment Fair (Share with Families by Oct. 15)

Please ensure that the attached flyer for the Virtual Enrollment Fair on Nov. 7 is shared with all your families in transitional grades (PK, TK, 5th, and 8th). You can also find more images, posters and messaging in this Virtual Enrollment Fair Media Kit.

Please share the flyer in the way that you most often communicate with families: via school email or text, social media, or Google Classroom, and ask them to register using this link.

We know that each year, many families miss the enrollment deadline, losing out on their top choices for schools—please help us go the extra mile to communicate to families that they need to research schools and apply by Feb. 5!

Family Translations in Distance Learning Tech Apps

Google Classroom: Help families read guardian email summaries in their preferred language by sharing how to change their Chrome browser settings to automatically translate web pages. More information about guardian email summaries can be found on the Google Classroom guardian email summaries page for families.

Seesaw: Using their family member account, families can view notes, comments, announcements and other text in their home language by clicking on “See translation” underneath text that is in a different language than their device setting. Learn more about translations on Seesaw. 

ParentVUE: Families can select their preferred language by clicking “Current Language” in the mobile app or by clicking “English” on the bottom right corner when using a web browser. Visit sfusd.edu/parentvue for more information. 

Use Seesaw to Organize Student Work for Conferences and Report Cards

• Create a folder for students’ best work and select the clearest examples to share student progress with families.
• Allow students to select and organize their own best work by enabling item editing.

Learn more about organizing your students' best work.

Zoom Tip: Supporting Students to Improve Zoom Sound Quality

Too much or too little microphone volume on Zoom calls and/or Chromebooks can be quickly fixed with these steps on how to adjust microphone volume. 

This family-facing help document, available in six languages, explains how to adjust microphone volume.

Share the Troubleshooting Help for Families Guide, available in six languages, with students and families to help answer a lot of other common, distance learning technology questions. 

Multipurpose Family Income Form Updates

Now you can track which students at your school have a Multipurpose Family Income Form on file!

• Learn how to create a report in Synergy that lists students at your school who do not have a Multipurpose Family Income Form on file for the 2020-21 school year. Create the report for a list of families to contact!
• View school-level data on how many students at your school qualify for free, reduced-price or paid school meals. This report is updated every Friday.

Please encourage every family at your school to complete the Multipurpose Family Income Form for the 2020-21 school year by the new deadline of Dec. 16 to provide essential funding for our schools. School funding is dependent on the number of eligible forms the District collects. 

Reminders

Education Funding Measures on November Ballot

Election Day is less than two weeks away! As a reminder, San Franciscans will vote on Proposition J, which addresses a legal loophole to continue providing funds to SFUSD, and California Proposition 15, which would increase revenue for public education and other services. Learn more about these measures. Remember to make a plan to vote and urge your family and friends to do so as well!

Bright Spot

This week is Digital Agency Week. Digital Agency (formerly Digital Citizenship) focuses on maintaining the safety, security and well-being of SFUSD’s students, which is essential to creating opportunities for effective teaching and learning and to thrive in college and career for every student, every day. Teachers can use this comprehensive guide with ready-made materials to promote healthy, positive online interactions and behaviors. View the Participation and Culminating Project Guides for Digital Agency Week ideas by grade level span. Watch this video highlighting students talking about the importance of Digital Agency in SFUSD from Winter 2019!

Family Digest

Read today's family digest.
 

Warm regards,
Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews