administrative walk-throughs and giving feedback. we are increasing the number of higher order task to increase riggeour, and we are working on professional wellness. i will turn this up to -- over to guadalupe, and he will answer questions. >> i also have the opportunity to lead a small area team, which includes the executive director for instruction. we are also seeking a new director of outreach to help lead a network of new coordinator positions in each of are six schools. each team also has a number of content specialists. we also have a data policy

analyst as well as some support staff. it is worth mentioning both teams are supported by identified office liaisons' as well as weekly work groups. our theory of action really focuses on if we create student center learning when fireman's and engage in curriculum, affective -- when the students engage in curriculum. if we focus on transformational leadership, if we are sure to support non-academic needs, and if we engage students and the larger community, we will be able to affect outcomes. we have global goals.

we are looking to more specific measures over the winter break with the board of education, but our goal is really focusing on greater rates of academic proficiency. each year we would expect to see a ranking of schools in api to exceed the district average. we have an end goal of students graduating college-ready, making sure we reduce truancy and ensure all of our schools are high-performing community schools. we are developing as a high- function carry a team. we are spending a lot of time developing real estate capacity. we bring them together on a regular basis.

we meet together regularly in study inquiry groups. we bring them together with each instructional leadership team once a month also so we have a coherent approach across are eight schools. we are only going to be successful if we invest in human capital. we know if we are going to be successful, we really have to make sure and support and provide professional development to our teachers. we are dedicating instructional coaches to provide a demonstration, feedback within classrooms, and making sure they have collaboration with their peers. one glaucous to make sure we are effectively providing reading and instructions. when we are taking on a balance

literacy approach and sequencing of what that should look like in each classroom. we want to make sure we have a menu of intervention and support for students, so we are deploying specialists intervention teachers to push into the classroom so there is a second of gold in the classroom as well as finding times in or out of the school day to target students on specific skills. we have an expanded learning element, so we are continuing to work with after-school providers as far as extending the school day for invited students with staff, who are part of the school day but also working after hours to provide additional academic support. we have arranged of assessments

we are using for those purposes and spent quite a bit of time and energy analyzing that data and implications for lesson- planning. we continue to have a focus on college and courier readiness. we know we have to focus on in powering our parents, so we are beginning to develop a sequence of workshops and other opportunities within each school to understand what the expectations are so they can speak in an informed way with their teachers to lead and ask the kinds of questions we want them to be asking. we are taking of full community approach. we believe we are going to be successful if we align on existing aspects of the community. we have a lot of partnerships already existing and are

continuing to identify new ones. we are happy to take questions from any of supervisors or commissioners. we are also prepared to go a little bit more into detail. we also included an additional handouts that hopefully provide and more description on the school improvement grantham and detailed some of those categories on where initial investments are going. >> let me say how enjoyable it was to pick up a favor and see about how this san francisco school district is doing so much better in terms of a drop out if, and i wonder if you can talk about that and the strategy. >> as i mentioned earlier, the

director and her attendance clerk coaches school's daily. they meet with the attendants clerks, and we have found so much of what is not happening is the intensive focus on insuring the process was done with fidelity and in a timely manner, and we found that was not happening. she also found some students were not coming to school, and somehow they have fallen through as far as people making false or home visits. this is k-12. they have not focused on kindergarten as much, but they find that is the highest degree of truancies, because you cannot

force the parents to bring them to school until they are six. she has also worked on high schools, and we have made several referrals. it is highly publicized. it is known that this is a concerted effort, and parents are responding, and as a result, we are improving attendance theory -- attendance. >> i think making sure we do improved upon that dropout rate is one of our end goals. we know that has impacted a lot of what you do see in schools. we have to engage our students. we need to make sure there is a readiness to learn. we are making a commitment to make sure we provide opportunities to be successful when they transition graves. we are taking a close look at

grading policies. there are a number of safety nets so not only are they gittins into the college of their -- getting into the college of their choice, but they are succeeding post- secondary are there district attorney's meetings, and a flood -- are succeeding pose secretary. >> are the district attorney's meetings? >> there was a 90% dropout rate in 2007 that has declined to 9% rate over the past two school years, which is outstanding. >> this is not the first year of this effort has been made. the mayor has worked with me, and it expanded to a group that has been focusing on this and a partnership with the police

department and the school districts. >> we have had a number of hearings about truancy and new programs that have been opened up. can you talk about the beacon schools in both areas? we have had quite a bit of focus on commission begin, and there was some push and pull -- commission beacon, and there was some fresh and cold, and we are in the final stages of our review, which i think found that none of the other schools are interested in hosting, so it is going to be going back. there will be of process to see who can operate. it is currently operated on a contractual basis, but this process has also opened a bigger

conversation about the awareness other schools have ended area about what a begiacon is supposd to be. i just wonder to what extent it is being incorporated. >> i do not think we have one in the superintendent zone. there is one atherton high school. revere has an after-school program, but we do not have one. >> are due have awareness over this process, and perhaps one reason the community did not express the appetite, i think if

there is an appreciation. it is specifically because we are placing a focus of expanded learning time, so we have an opportunity to enhance these after-school programs for building from scratch, so in speaking to the parent groups or principles, they feel we are really going to be able to make each site offers robust programming, so you might have seen a lot more interest in competing. >> let me add in the mission context that it feels as if there were expectations that have not been adequately

communicated,and hopefully this process where they have decided they wanted to do it, so it is clearly going to go back to everett. we can communicate what we want the beacons to do i think it has been a building block for improvement that has taken place. it is important to me that there is kind of of frustration that takes place.

if there has not been the documentation saying it is attendance numbers, then lay that out and have it signed by the school district and mission neighborhood district, so that is my goal moving forward, that they be more clearly articulated. we have had a robust community meeting, and the letters were distributed to parents, signed by superintendent garcia, so i do feel there is a much higher awareness of the existence of the beacon and the possibility. certainly, there is going to continue to be programming across schools, but i would like for it to be a model, and i think it is going to take a certain awareness level as to

the fact that they can articulate what are the classes and programs they would like to see, because adults can be served as well as children can, so i think there is a tremendous potential. >> we certainly are open to the conversation of having one in the near future in bayview. >> i agree there is an opportunity to work tightly with all after-school providers, so all of our principals would agree the goals have to also support what we know the students face. that is another opportunity to serve them and certainly to be aware of academic goals. we are going to make it a focus to make sure we connect with whoever the provider is have ever read. >> my last question -- is there -- whoever the provider islam at

everett -- is at everett. >> my last question -- we have groups like parents and public schools, chariot ferguson's group, and then you have businesses such as wells fargo or other stakeholders that are active in the area, so i wonder to what extent can you have a list to understand these are things to enhance success of individual schools or sewn- wired -- zone-wide in terms of the district.

>> we can put together a list. i have to say they have had a series of meetings -- one of which was held in the bay view -- of the community-based organizations, who let us know what they were doing, and we documented it currently, and they talked about what they can offer the schools. she had been working diligently to make sure our community based partners know what we need and what they are doing, but we will put together and ask list. >> it is a timely question. this morning we met with a program, met with a number of -- we were presented with city college, the city, and school

districts, getting to that question, and what came back was, can you pull together what is your highest priority? we are actively working on that as well. >> any other questions? >> it is really great to see the report and to get a sense of what the outcomes are and how we plan to measure the success. it was really great to see, and i assume most of -- much of this is coming through the grant. >> i only have two schools, so i am asking for some additional resources. two schools are carver and paul

revere. i have four other schools. we are leveraging professional development so if those schools have professional development they conducted in a way that the other schools can send teachers or principals to professional development. partners and school innovation is working with them, but we are networking so they can do it, but we find they need additional resources, although i do have a wonderful team there is very powerful in doing some interventions and professional development. >> is that what is the mission came to hire, or is it that they were developed differently?

>> the powerpoint presentations were developed differently. however, i have two coaches her school but not coaches from the grant, and i did not include that in the grant. the district does have seven schools, so they get two coaches, english, two masked, survey and up with seven times do -- two omath, so they end up with seven times. >> how does a community outreach happen? >> i think it is a great, but when you only have seven of them funded by the sagig. >> they can be family positions?

>> part of our logic in our application base reorganization, so part of that central theme needed to include this director for community outreach as well as a project manager and a couple of necessary fiscal analysts to deploy and manage the resources, but that is one way we are able to fund our small team. the rest are reallocated from the district, so our teachers on special assignment are working in another department, so our area teams have a similar number of personnel. >> the director does focus on the schools, but she does also visit the other schools. >> we really do appreciate the focus on restorative justice. thank you very much.

>> commissioner mendoza? >> i want to give a sense -- get a sense of how they are moving along, if we are getting strong candidates. >> i have my director of community outreach, but for each of the schools, that is coming along very well. it is a slow process, because we have so many applicants, and we wanted it to be a transparent process. there is paper screening for well over 100 candidates. after that, there will be a central office level going to those candidates and entering the ones that past. then those will come to the assistant superintendent. the interview process has not come up yet, but i think they are close to that.

i have not had a chance to see if that did begin. >> do you know when there will be bringing them on board? >> each of the coordinators' as well as the director are hoping that after the break our schools were beginning the process. our hope is by the end of january the directors and community coordinators are in place. we discussed yesterday their entry plan, some things that we believe would be really important, so our hope is that a month or two from now, we are well under way. i also wanted to ask about teachers. when i went to the first meeting, there was a large turnout of teachers, and that was telling and encouraging. i wonder if we could speak a little more about a teacher

response, a teacher input, things that reflect their perspective on what would make the superintendent zone succeed in ways that you feel there is a positive by end -- buy-in. >> there are multiple examples of how their voices being heard. we're going to continue expanding on that. i mentioned our leadership network, where we are bringing together not only the administrative team but teacher leaders as they talk about strategy. wheeler also putting together instructional design teams made up of our best price -- we are also putting together instructional design teams made up of the best people to talk about the survey topics, -- about specific topics, so we are trying to get input, and there is certainly opportunity to

continue to do more of that. >> i have given a few teachers surveys, so we can see what kind of things are important to the teachers. >> colleagues, any additional questions? we will open this item to public comment.

opportunity to bring forward a lot of the positive work we're doing together. i just want to thank you supervisor dusty because oftentimes when we are dragging our feet and don't feel like we're prepared to have these meetings you have reminded us how valuable and important these meetings are and your leadership has been tremendous. we have managed to meet at least once a month. and i think sharing of information like this really builds on the partnership that we have. and we will continue to strengthen the relationship between the city and the school district. so thank you so much for the last couple of years that you served as the chair for this committee. it's been really wonderful. >> thank you. all right, colleagues, with that we will adjourn the meeting. i will thank my colleague supervisors as we are all nearing the end of our terms and madam, i thank you for leading us through this. and with that we are adjourned.