SF’s current system for assigning kids to public schools is an opaque and frustrating process that optimizes for parents who 1) can use spreadsheets and 2) have infinite free time to visit schools.
Oh and you have to go through it AGAIN for middle school & AGAIN for high school.
Oh and you have to go through it AGAIN for middle school & AGAIN for high school.
There are more dogs than kids in San Francisco, and this is a big reason why. Families that can move out, do, often because of the uncertainty around schools.
Distance from your home isn’t a major factor in the weighting, so families end up with kids at schools an hour’s drive across the city. And of course there aren’t school buses, and MUNI only runs to/from downtown, so you can thank SFUSD for morning traffic in the city.
I assume this is all on purpose, and that the City of San Francisco’s policy is that families with children should be encouraged to move away. There’s no other even vaguely reasonable explanation for why it’s so bad.
My kids and I have been in SF since they were born. We found an elementary school we liked & were able to get into, many years ago.
But 2 years back when my oldest was in 5th grade, we “lost” the middle school lottery & she spent 2 years at a school so unsuitable that she had serious vertigo from all the stress. She couldn’t go to school because she literally couldn’t make it down the stairs.
SFUSD was useless - first demanding extensive documentation, & then even after we provided it, calling & threatening to take us to court for truancy. And of course - absolutely no way to switch schools.
So we went private this year. I can only assume that was their goal.
So we went private this year. I can only assume that was their goal.
I don’t begrudge SFUSD my tax money. My son is still in public school and I want everyone to get a good, free education. My daughter just wasn’t able to, and that makes me sad & angry. [fin]
