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OUR MISSION
Parents for Public Schools - San Francisco (PPS-SF) is a network
of parents working together to build quality schools for all San Francisco children.
We do this by providing parents with information, news and parent-to-parent networking and by developing parent leaders at the school and district level.
WHAT'S NEW
Support schools - attend their Spring events!
Many schools are holding their annual Spring carnivals, auctions and raffles to raise money for their programs. Attend school events to support the public schools, get to know the school community, and have fun with your family! See our spreadsheet of elementary school events (14kb,pdf) coming up. If you'd like to add your school events to this list, please send an email to Suzanne at suzanne@ppssf.org.
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Prop A: Quality Teacher and Education Act
The PPS Board of Directors voted on February 18, 2008 to endorse the Quality Teacher and Education Act for the June 2008 election. We as an organization believe strongly that every child deserves a quality teacher -- and every teacher deserves a living wage. |
You can help spread the word!
1) Make sure information about Prop A gets to parents at your school. Get flyers on our Prop A Issues page.
2) Display a window sign, and distribute signs to other parents at your school, your friends and your neighbors!
3) Sign up to participate in a phone bank.
Monday thru Thursday nights, 5:00-7:30pm
UESF Offices, 2310 Mason St. @ Bay
Please contact Katie Pulaski at kpulaski.schools@whitehurstcampaigns.com
4) Walk precincts on a Saturday morning!
Learn more on our Prop A Issues page.
Campaign for Quality Education’s May 15 Day of Action
Join us on May 15th to demand that California prioritize education for all students by fully funding our schools and by creating an action plan for long-term education reform. For more information about this rally, please see the website for The Campaign for Quality Education.
The Campaign for Quality Education (CQE) is a statewide effort supported by organizations all over California dedicated to better schools and racial justice in education. The Campaign is coordinated by Californians for Justice, Youth Together, Public Advocates, and the Applied Research Center.
Round II Waitpool Data
See the latest Waitpool data (63kb,pdf) as of April 28, 2008 from the Educational Placement Center, sorted by school and grade level.
For Round II participants:
- If you received an assignment to a school, please register before May 9 to save your space.
- Your Amended Choice list was run during Round II and will not be run again. Only Waitpool requests will be run continuously.
- For Waitpool participants - your name will stay in the Waitpool until:
- You are assigned to the Waitpool school;
- You remove your name;
- The lists are cleared at the end of September.
You can change your Waitpool choice at any time. Waitpools will be run regularly by the Educational Placement Office through September, and assignments will be made as space is available.
If you have any questions about Round II or would like to speak with a PPS Parent Ambassador to learn more about a school, please feel free to contact us at 415-861-7077 or Vicki Symonds at vicki@ppssf.org. For more information on Enrollment, please see our Enrollment page.
 Thank a Teacher Today Campaign
The Thank a Teacher Today Campaign officially kicks off on May 1, 2008, but you can start planning now for teacher appreciation events and activities throughout the month of May. There are many different ways to thank teachers for all that they do on behalf of young people. Visit www.ThankATeacherToday.org to find ideas or come up with one of your own! No matter what you choose to do, your gesture of thanks will mean so much to a teacher.
The campaign has created a tri-lingual
(English/Spanish/Chinese) "Thanks!" postcard and is encouraging everyone to send a postcard to a San Francisco Unified School District teacher. Please contact getinvolved@sfedfund.org to request postcards for your school.
California Budget Crisis: PPS Call to Action
Currently, California's per-pupil spending is one of the lowest in the nation. Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed slashing up to $4.8 billion from California public schools and, if the governor's cuts proceed, SFUSD stands to lose $40 million. To provide a mental image of just how disastrous that cut would be, consider that that amount was compared to laying off over 500 teachers or increasing class sizes for 4th through 12th graders to 61 students.
SFUSD is already operating under a lean budget. In spite of the inadequate funding, San Francisco's public schools have been making progress - overall reading scores are up 25 percent, math scores have increased 17 percent in the last four years, and for the first time in years, district enrollment has begun to increase.
It's never been clearer than now that our representatives need a stronger push to stand up for schools.
What can you do?
- Call and write the Governor and your state legislators to tell them how you feel. It only takes about 10 minutes to call all of them. They record your opinion and keep a record, so your call does make a difference! See our Education Budget Issues page for contact information and links to sample letters.
- Contact your friends and family all over the state and ask them to take action. Give them the PPS website, www.ppssf.org as a resource for updated links and information.
- Carry sample letters with you, ask people to sign them and send them.
- Spread awareness and build community at your school. Consider the following:
- Ask your school community to wear pink on Fridays in recognition of over 500 pink slips that have been sent to teachers and administrators this year.
- Host a letter-writing party or gather with friends and school parents to write letters and make calls.
Please go to our Education Budget Issues page for links and more information on the budget crisis.
New Site Council Yahoo Groups
This forum encourages parents, teachers, staff, students and community members of elementary, middle and high school SSCs to network across the district and learn from one another as we manage the academic plan and budgets for our schools. This list is sponsored by Parents for Public Schools.
Click to join PPS_SF_SSC
PPS-SF Parent Clubs
Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco sponsors Parent Clubs for Chinese-speaking and Spanish-speaking parents who are looking to connect with each other and get involved in their child's education.
PPS-SF Parent Clubs meet monthly to connect parents from different schools with discussions and resources. Meetings are FREE, and includes KidsWatch service and food.
For a full schedule of upcoming meetings, please see our Events page.
Join PPS-SF and the PPS Members-Only Listserv
The PPS-SF Listserv is an online networking opportunity for current members to create discussions, ask about resources and share information about their schools. To Join PPS-SF and the Members' Only listserv, go to Join Us. Current Members, email info@ppssf.org to request to be added to the listserv.
Interested in SFUSD's language programs?
Network with other parents, community members and teachers involved with promoting and improving language education options in SFUSD. The Language and Immersion Task Force has changed its name to San Francisco Advocates for Multilingual Excellence (SF AME). To join their listserve, send an email to SF_AME-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or email suzanne@ppssf.org.
Newly designed ppssf.org coming soon!
Thanks to a grant from the Taproot Foundation, PPS-SF will be debuting a new website. Some features on our new site:
- Calendar of PPS, Public School and Community Partner events
- New PPS video, "Why I Love My Public School"
- Links to PPS-SF Partners and Resources
- Find out ways PPS-SF can support you and parents at your school
Include your school's events in the launch of our online Calendar. Please send event information to suzanne@ppssf.org.
PPS-SF has moved!
Please note our new address and phone number:
The Women's Building
3543 18th Street #1, San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: 415-861-7077
Fax: 415-861-7008
Learn more about The Women's Building and their programs and events at www.womensbuilding.org. |
