2024-10-08 22:45:00
A couple hours ahead of a planned announcement by the San Francisco Unified School District, the school closure shortlist is out, and though it does not represent a finalized list, it will give parents and teachers an idea of what’s to come.
After months of drama and high anxiety at the SF school board and within the SFUSD, a picture has emerged which includes nine elementary and K-8 schools and two high schools that are set to close completely or merge into another school. A number of these schools were previously identified by the Chronicle in an extended data analysis showing which SF schools are the most under-enrolled, the most in disrepair, and the least popular among parents.
The closures represent a potential $22 million annual savings to the district, and will involve the relocation of some 2,000 students in the next school year. And the district previously revealed in a budget plan that the closures could result in around 600 layoffs of teachers and staff.
As both the Chronicle and Mission Local report from the pre-released list, Jean Parker Elementary School in North Beach/Chinatown is on the closure list, along with Sutro Elementary School in the Richmond, and El Dorado Elementary School in Visitacion Valley.
Students at El Dorado would merge with students at Visitacion Valley Middle School, with both using the Visitacion Valley campus. Per the Chronicle’s data, both schools have been running at 36% to 38% of their capacity, when it comes to enrollment.
Students at Jean Parker would have the option of attending Gordon J. Lau Elementary, or John Yehall Chin Elementary. Per the Chronicle, Gordon J. Lau has been at 100% of capacity, and is a Chinese biliteracy school, while Chin Elementary has been at 98% capacity.
Yick Wo Alternative Elementary School in Russian Hill is proposed for closure as well, with students given the option of attending Redding Elementary or Sherman Elementary.
Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Castro is proposed to merge with Sanchez Elementary, and the Harvey Milk campus will become an early education center, per the district list.
And it looks like Malcolm X Academy Elementary School is proposed to close, with the students merging with Carver Elementary and moving to that campus.
Also, under the proposal, San Francisco Community K-8 would merge with Paul Revere PreK-8; San Francisco Public Montessori would merge with Rosa Parks Elementary; and Spring Valley Science Elementary School would merge with John Muir Elementary. That would imply that SF Community, SF Public Montessori, and Spring Valley would all be closing.
The only two high schools on the list, where the writing was likely on the wall based on enrollment, are The Academy @ McAteer, and the June Jordan School for Equity in the Excelsior. Per the Chronicle data, June Jordan topped the list of under-enrolled schools, with a capacity for 1,275 students and just 200 enrolled.
Students at June Jordan would merge with John O’Connell Technical High School in the Mission — another under-enrolled school, which had just 471 students and a capacity for over 1,400. This could prove to be one of the more controversial closures, given the school’s equity focus and largely Black and brown population, with 71% Latinx and 9% Black students.
The Academy would merge, under the proposal, with Raoul Wallenberg High, with students moving there.
Interestingly, in terms of facility conditions, per the Chronicle’s data, several of the schools proposed for closure are in “good” condition and require relatively little in repairs.
Again, this list is not final, and the SF Board of Education will have to finalize the list and give it a first hearing on November 12.
A formal announcement from SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne is expected at 5 pm Tuesday.
Wayne said in a comment to the Chronicle that a series of community meetings will be taking place, but “We’re not going out to ask schools whether they want to close or not.” Wayne tells the paper that the tactic will be to say, “Look, your situation is not sustainable,” and to ask, “What did we miss?”
Photo: Jean Parker Elementary School, via SFUSD
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