3.1 Family and Community Partnership

Family and Community Partnership

SFUSD welcomes and encourages our students’ parents, guardians and caregivers to be directly involved in your children’s education.  We know that families are the first and most influential teachers, and consistent family involvement helps all children to do better in school.  

The District’s strategic plan identifies implementing SFUSD’s Standards for Family Partnerships and Empowerment as one of our six priorities to support student success. These standards aim to ensure that families are welcome in our schools, have the information they need to be partners in their children’s education, and are included in decision-making at their children’s schools.  You can find the Six Best Practices areas on the district’s Family Partnerships webpage.

Family Partnerships

SFUSD offices, including Early Education and the Student & Family Services Division, provide support to school sites, families, district staff, and community partners to create strong partnerships to support students.

In addition to volunteering and participating at your school, there are many valuable ways to be involved and support your children’s education!  To learn more speak with your school’s teachers, family liaison, parent leaders or principal, or go to the Family Partnership Resources page.

The SFUSD Student Family & School Resource Link helps families navigate all of the SFUSD resources available to them, and connects them to the support they need. Students, families and school staff can access the Resource Link in three ways:

  1. Go to familylink.sfusd.edu to complete an online request form
  2. Email a request to sflink@sfusd.edu
  3. Call (415) 340-1716. The Student, Family & School Resource Link is open for live calls M-F from 9 am-3 pm, and closed for lunch hours from 12-1 pm. Callers can still leave a voicemail at all hours.

The Student, Family, School Resource Link Line (SFSRL) is here to help connect you with the support that you need! Whether your concern can be addressed by your school or by a more formal process, we will connect you to those who can best offer a solution. 

To help staff meet your needs as quickly as possible, please include as much detail as you can when you share your question or concern.

Process for Addressing Concerns

How can I get concerns about a school addressed (for example, about bullying, safety, sexual harassment or other types of harassment, or staff concerns)?

  1. Start by raising your concern with your child's teacher 
    • If your concern is about the teacher, proceed to step 2.
  2. If your concern has not been resolved or addressed with your student's teacher, please speak with your child’s Principal and/or Assistant Principal.
    • If your concern is about your child’s Principal or if the administrator has not been able to resolve your concern related to the previous steps, proceed to step 3.
  3. If your concern is not addressed by your school, reach out to the Resource Link:
  4. A representative from the Student Family School Resource Link Line will connect with you within 48 hours to learn more about your needs.
  5. The Resource Link Agent will help with next steps to address your specific concern(s) by facilitating connections with those who can offer a solution.

For more information about complaint categories and procedures, please see the links below: 

Special Education Ombudsperson

The SFUSD Special Education Ombudsperson is the family, community and staff liaison for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).  The Ombudsman's office can: 

  • Assist parents and guardians in navigating Special Education Services and when they have concerns regarding special education services for their children at school sites or districtwide. 
  • Provide training to SFUSD and San Francisco community stakeholders, such as Navigating Special Education Services, IEP 101, Engaging and Empowering SFUSD Families, Effective Communication between Special Education Families and Educators, and other issues related to special education services and families.   
  • Address the need for educational surrogate assignment (the Ombudsperson is the educational surrogate coordinator for the district, which matches students in need of representation with volunteers to help advocate for their educational needs.)

For information and help navigating Special Education Services please contact:

Office of the Ombudsperson 
555 Franklin Street, 1st Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102  
Phone: (415) 447-7802

Family Technology Resources

The Technology Resources for Families page provides useful information about district technology, digital learning platforms and resources available for family and student communication, including Seesaw, Google Classroom, and more!

This page was last updated on August 5, 2024