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by Stacy Andell, Sta

The Small Schools program in San Francisco Schools was established back in 2000. One successful example of a small school is the San Francisco Schools' Leadership High School. This high school has a total of only 345 students, uses high standards and close relationship with teachers to help at risk students. Leadership High School was established about 5 years ago and now has some of the highest test scores in all of the San Francisco Schools. Mainly the idea is to take large schools, usually high schools, into several smaller schools that can focus on the students needs better.

San Francisco Schools have become a leader in a growing trend that has spread across Northern California. The idea behind breaking up large schools is an attempt to provide an alternative to the status quo. Students in a small school tend to have higher rates of graduation, higher attendance rates, and higher university attendance. The small school environment succeeds due to a more personalized learning environment. The small schools of the San Francisco Schools use a mentor system that gives guidance to that they are personally engaged in their work. Students are motivated while being connected to the school community. The National Longitudinal Study for Adolescent Health reports that students in a small school environment were less likely to use alcohol, illegal drugs, become pregnant, or experience emotional distress.

San Francisco Schools' Small Schools for Equity

The Small Schools for Equity program is an innovative partnership between San Francisco Schools and a local university. This high school has one hundred students from all of the San Francisco Schools. This high school will be housed on the university's campus and be supported by the College of Education while being managed and funded by San Francisco Schools. The students, teachers and administration will have a say in curriculum development. Students who attend the Small Schools for Equity program were chosen by San Francisco Schools' officials. The high school students will study a rigid curriculum that will include high school level math, science, English, humanities, world language, art and Japanese. No college courses will be offered.

The Small Schools for Equity program provides the College of Education with a great opportunity in teacher education. San Francisco Schools has allowed university students seeking teaching credentials to teach and observe in schools throughout the San Francisco School district for years, now the College of Education will have a high school on campus that will benefit from modern educational theory and practices. The high school will be housed in Burk Hall and run a full school day from 8AM to 3PM, the rest of the day Burk Hall will be used by education students.

San Francisco Schools Board of Education Reviews Small Schools

The San Francisco Schools Board of Education is, this summer, reviewing a policy that would support the San Francisco Schools Small Schools By Design. The policy is being introduced by San Francisco Schools Acting Superintendent Gwen Chan and is supported by school board president Norman Yee and San Francisco Organizing Project, a community organization that supports the small schools initiative. San Francisco Organizing Project is a collection of religious congregations, schools and community centers. Those opposed to the program claim that the money spent does not equal the benefits but supporters say that the Small Schools offset the difficulties of declining student enrollment and the flight of families from San Francisco Schools. The current policy up for vote would create a task force to determine the locations and needs of San Francisco Schools which would benefit most from Small Schools.

The John Muir Learning Garden is designed to give San Francisco Schools students a change to take learning further outside of the classroom. The Garden builds on the fundamental curriculum concerns of the elementary school and provides an opportunity for students to gain real life experience that complements their academic studies. San Francisco school students are able to integrate classroom literacy, mathematics, science, history, and language arts instruction through their participation in activities in the Learning Garden.

The Learning Garden reaches out to the community in providing outreach services for parents, neighbors, and interested volunteers. Mentor gardeners work with teachers and students to design educational opportunities. One of the interesting projects going on now is the sustainable composting program that takes organic waste from San Francisco school lunches and uses it for fertilizing garden projects instead of filling landfills. This is just one of many projects that combine garden training with practical real world environmental concerns. The events organized in the park help students and the community learn about how to protect the local environment while studying nature in an urban setting.

Partners of the Learning Garden

The Learning Garden would not be possible without the support in terms of time and money from a variety of neighborhood partners. San Francisco area businesses, organizations, and volunteer groups have all played a role in establishing the Learning Garden. Located in Daniel E. Koshland Park, the Learning Garden has benefited from the dedication of two part-time garden mentors provided by the Hayes Valley Neighborhoods Parks Group. These two women, Rebecca and Aubrey, have become part of the local community as they organize activities that raise local awareness about the environment.

Further assistance has come from the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, the Center for Ecoliteracy, the Recreation and Park Department, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and the San Francisco Zen Center. All of these organizations have devoted time and money to helping the John Muir Learning Garden become an environmental center for the San Francisco community, especially the children that attend John Muir Elementary School. In particular, the John Muir Learning Garden is indebted to the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, which donated the initial funds to start the Learning Garden and remains an active community partner with John Muir Elementary School.

A Look at John Muir Elementary School

John Muir Elementary School has a unique place within the San Francisco Public School System. Located in the Western Addition of San Francisco, it operates as a professional development school where education students from the San Francisco State University's Muir Alternative Teaching Program are able to hone their skills in a real world environment, learning how to specially adapt course for the urban classroom.

John Muir students come from a rich cultural background and are supported within the school community with language and literacy programs beginning in infancy. The programs also extend to the parents and families of John Muir Elementary School students. Within the San Francisco school district, John Muir Elementary School acts as a BASRC (Bay Area School Reform Collaborative) leadership school with a clear focus on literacy for the whole community.

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Stacy Andell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Politicians and Education. Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more on San Francisco schools visit. Stacy Andell's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.