The level of third grade literacy is widely viewed as a fundamentally important education goal and powerfully predicts student outcomes in high school and beyond. Sadly, San Francisco has performed poorly on third grade literacy, especially for students who have been historically disadvantaged. SFUSD deserves credit for refocusing on improving student outcomes in 2022 under the leadership of Superintendent Matt Wayne, who was hired after the successful Board of Education recall election. However, SFUSD is already off track towards meeting its own goals for improvement. The City of San Francisco can and must do more to help SFUSD. As Mayor, Farrell will be committed to working with SFUSD to improve student outcomes.
As a parent of three, Farrell understands that getting kids to and from school every day can be a challenge for any family. But it is inequitable and inexcusable for it to be a barrier for some families, when San Francisco has a public transportation system that covers the entire city. Leadership and commitment are needed from the Mayor to address this issue.
Improve third-grade literacy issues & make it the top priority of the City’s partnership with SFUSD
- Provide more financial assistance for preschool, which is critical to a child’s education but can be very expensive for families
- Provide more summer instruction opportunities create a public dashboard to thoroughly track kindergarten readiness
- Provide targeted support for teachers in preschool through third grade, in terms of both training and compensation
- Establish public reporting of measurable outcomes and accountability that tracks performance, trends, and results
Make the Free MUNI for all youth program permanent & coordinated bus schedules with SFMTA & SFUSD to better serve students and families
- Lead the charge with SFMTA and SFUSD to coordinate bus times and routes to better align with school schedules
Establish zero tolerance policy of harmful street behavior & conditions near schools
- Create a new priority code through the 311 system to report harmful or illegal activities within one city block of any school from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade
- Appropriate City agencies will be directed to address and clear harmful and illegal activities within the same day of being notified
