and high achieving students, whether through honors courses or differentiation? i am not a big advocate for tracking, but i want them to have a plan. how are they going to engage those kids. sometimes the electives is going to be the piece that keeps them engaged. some parents were skeptical the district could find the resources, while it is clear that funds should be prioritized to make it work. >> i am going to talk about expanding the language pathway and the findings are around that.

people supported the idea of expanding language performances for middle school students. let's overcome the obstacles and make it happen. language acquisition should be protests. find the funds to make it happen. many parents and community leaders raised questions and concerns about the proposed pact was discussed at the forms. parents want all middle schoolers to have access to learning another language, but that brings up a question. are all students going to have access to language? i would want all kids to have access to language. there is confusion about how a by-literacy programs work, but the plan isn', and how that woud serve english and lerner's spirited some were concerned it would mean dismantling -- and

learners. more concerned it would mean dismantling programs. the language program would dismantled the program we built here. even people who are enthusiastic raised concerns about funding. how are they going to pay for that bowman -- to pay for that? people wonder how to improve services for english language in general as well as those who do not speak the language. parents also wondered if students of special education

and general education would have access to programs. despite the language pathways and commitments, only this plan is a legal mandate, and as we try to do this stuff, why don't we serve pacific islander students? there are not any programs for them. what do we do first? what takes precedence? this is what we heard when it was presented. we heard parents questioning whether students in general have any direct relationship to building these schools. we were completely against the concept.

it looks really nice if you are getting in the top six requested schools. on the other hand, the community-building opportunities would strengthen the ability to meet the needs of the incoming students. there are a lot of implications, because middle school is a short amount of time. it is hard to build continuity of leadership when people are in and out. many parents complain rejected the ability to choose the schools. they want to be able to select more than one option but works for their family and not be forced into a designated school. this is the worst of all worlds.

let me choose where i want to go. people challenge the patterns as unfair to students. it is not always practical. it is not what all school administrators say they want. the concept is right, but the devil is in the details. i feel like the district creates the schools the same. even parents to support this had questions for how they could meet the individual needs of

students. i have two children in middle school who have different needs. how are you going to serve their needs if you take away their choice of where they can go? >> participants expressed the same range of interests. in addition, people are concerned that despite having the highest concentration of children in the city, they have the fewest middle schools. with the closure, gave you will have no middle schools at all. students will be sent across town to go to other schools. i am upset there will be no middle school in the neighborhood. many wonder whether transportation would be provided for the students being sent across town. everybody understands the district is scaling down school bus services and wonder how their children will get to school on time. they said, our kids will be

almost in the ocean. parents and educators felt their students do not receive the same level of support as well as the same quality of programs on the west of the city. parents said, we want quality that is the same in our neighborhoods and here in our community, because if we have to go to other neighborhoods, how do you expect them to come across the side of town. they're also concerned about whether their children will be made to feel welcome. for many with parents in the mission district, it continues to be a stalemate were concerned. not necessarily in middle schools, but more on the streets surrounding the community.

>> next the would like to tell you -- i would like to tell you how the parents feel about the process. regarding whether the district can implement these proposals, parents have a lot of questions and a lot of doubts about their ability. is this a done deal? is the district even listening to what we are saying? this district is not giving parents a complete picture. we are being led into a trap. there is something wrong with this picture.

we do not want this, but why do you have to force it upon us? we have some recommendations. we understand the district is facing a lot of complex challenges, and we have recommendations but will address some of these challenges, and we will talk about four specific areas. number one -- quality schools. #2, expanding language pathways'. #3, student assignment. number four, communication with parents. >> now i'm going to talk about

the challenges of school quality. we are losing students during middle school years. schools have different approaches. . some schools have honors tracks, and many schools do not. there is uneven access to curriculum and electives among different schools. here are some recommendations. school quality -- address issues related to differentiation and honors programs. ahold principals and teachers accountable to higher standards of support and to meet these needs. place highly effective, culturally competent principals and teachers in schools that are struggling. ensure all students have access to high-quality electives in all middle schools, including english lernearner and special

education students. >> now we are going to move on to the challenges related to language. there is a legal and moral obligation to serve the needs of students who speak many different when richards. the districts has invested finan and -- who speak many different languages. the district has invested in language programs. all parents want their kids to have access to a multi language education. in addition to providing materials to accommodate the expanding language programs, there is a shortage of qualified most bilingual teachers region will fly lingual teachers. our recommendations are to regional bilingual teachers. our recommendations are to establish priorities to meet the needs of students to speak languages besides spanish, cantonese, and mandarin. for example, samoan.

inc. special education students unhinged in plans for expanding the language programs. identify the needs and strategies related to resources and the trade-off. goo>> the challenges regarding student assignments are adding to the -- they were added to the student policy at the last minute and without discussion. there is a projected increase in the middle school population. uneven enrollment now means we have some oversubscribed and under-enrolled in middle schools. there is no middle school and a few and not enough in the southeast part of the city -- in a vero -- in bayview and not

enough in the southern part of the distcity. people will not trust it is really going to happen. it is complicated to implement language pathways in the context of the system. when schools are under unrolled, it is usually because parents believe they are not high quality. now the recommendations regarding student assignment. do not implement feeder patterns. strengthen the quality of all middle schools. strengthen the mechanisms for choice in middle schools, and improve communications for families about ways different schools can address students' economic and in richmond and nevis -- enrichment needs, and

hence art, science, and technology. -- enhance art, science, and technology. established pathways for programs putnathat combine with special needs, including english learners and special education students. focus on these tiebreakers for middle school assignments. open a high quality middle school in the bayview. communicate this plan right away including steps and a timeline. nannett>> the district is facint of challenges. in one of them is communication.

parents simply do not trust the district is really listening to them or will relate implement its plans -- really implement its plans. information relating to important district initiatives is often not fair, or even if it is not fair, it is not presented in a parent-friendly format, or if there is something, it is not translated. we have some recommendations. right now there is nobody we could go to but will be accountable for communication

with families, especially parents but do not speak english -- parents that do not speak english. recommendation to provide a parent-friendly report from the middle school, which will highlight the challenges and strengths of each school. also, to develop and share a plan for what steps will be taken to strengthen middle schools, which need to include measurable objectives and time lines. >> our next steps -- we are committed to representing the

voices of families we have heard from over the next several years. we will continue to work with and make recommendations to staff and the board of education. we know it is our task to hold you accountable to our children's education, and we will. the next slide has steps in the time line, including upcoming meetings in may and in june. tuesday, may 24, district staff gives the first reading of policy on feeder patterns. the ad hoc meeting needs to discuss the proposal. monday, june 13, the meeting neva -- meet to discuss the middle school proposal. the board votes on the middle school assignment policy, and if you have questions and want to contact us or take a look at our full report of findings and recommendation, it is also

available online at ppss.org, and our numbers are on the side as well. good hikes it was really great to see it -- >> it was really great to see some of you. he answered a lot of questions, and it was good to be a parent and to have him there to present answers and questions from the parents. a goo>> do you have any questiou want to ask bowman -- want to ask? is there any member of the public who would like to comment? we have somebody come into the microphone, but maybe we want to hear the staff presentation

first. >> we

>> good evening, commissioners in. we have have lengthy powerpoint. we will try to get through it as quickly as we can to save questions. we also want to thank our community partners and our parent partners for all of their hard work for -- their hard work was greatly appreciated and at times they took a beating but always kept smiling and kept a positive attitude so we definitely appreciate their hard work. what we would like to do is give you some updates regarding the assignment in the quality middle school path way as you have already heard, there has been a lot of information that has come from the community and what we would like to do is starting on that, in your power point o page 12 is where we're going to

start talking a little bit about the staff's recommendations and where it was going from here. so on page 12, community forums, as i dimensioned there was an extremely collaborative effort between the parent advisory count. >> we're kind of overwhelmed with a lot of different -- >> sure. sorry. >> right. informational updates. thank you for the clarification. again, our collaborative efforts with the parents advisory council, the public schools, middle school principals and everyone that was involved to gather input in the appendix you'll see the final presentation for community forums and what that looks like. the community forums also were a forum for clarifying questions from various forums regarding

the middle schools, language pathways and we have addressed many of those questions. also there is a document attached in the appendix. a common theme is that patterns are a good concept in families want quality schools. some questions that linger are what is the district's plan to develop quality middle schools and what is the connection between the quality middle school and feeder patterns? what we would like to do is give you some information along that regard. the outcomes for this presentation are to first and foremost discuss what the district's vision in developing quality middle schools, what that vision is, review and discuss inventory, you'll see a chart, it is very small print. we also want to discuss the

district's plan to improve middle schools and review how a feeder pattern affects quality middle schools and a staff proposal -- what are the characteristics of quality middle school? at this point ilt like to ask superintendent to take us through the next few slides and then i'll come back. >> thank you department superintendent. superintendent garcia and commissioners, good evening, i also want to thank our partners, for all of their hard work in terms of coordinating and helping to facilitate the community forum for the past few months. what are the characteristics of a quality middle school? i surveyed all the middle school principals.

i'm not going to go through every bullet but the middle school principal is saying that in quality middle schools, happy and joyful learners in the schools. they are supporting students to maximize their individual potential, helping students and parents nation transition from the elementary on to high school. a quality middle school is always on the continual path of reflection and self improvement. committed to serving all students as they come to us. that's for my middle school principles. believe it or not, we do have a vision for our middle school in the san francisco unified school district. some may seem very familiar to you. according to the national middle school association, successful schools for young adolescents provide the following curriculum

that is relevant and rigorous. that there is a variety of teaching strategies to help students learn. that there is informative and -- that would tell us what students are learning or not learning. structures in place that support meaningful relationships and learning and that there is policies that foster health, wellness and safety. and the support services and guidance for all students to help them be empowered and prepared for high school and beyond. i also want to say that the district is committed to ensuring that -- in all of our middle schools. we have already embarked on this journey of improvement but

incorporating the recommendations from the findings and you'll see these attachments in the handoff here. one is from the california department of education, 12 recommendations for middle grade success and from the framework taking center stage. act two, secondly we used recommendations from the stanford university study gaining ground in the middle grades and why some schools do better. our mission is that we are determined to help middle school educators ensure success and to close the achievement gap for every middle school student. the department superintendent pointed to that huge chart there. that is the inventory matrix of a working draft, includes effort and i.s.a. on this matrix as

everything you wanted to know about middle schools and more. and so -- we described at the community forum. from that work, we developed an inventory of the current conditions in our middle schools. what i can say is that all the middle schools in our district offer the following. five core classes. at least one elective course and the elective courses are determined by historical choice patterns, student demand and the slight capacity to maintain that program and our english learners may not have an opportunity to take an elective because of the massive schedule and resources at the site. currently we do have language

programs at three middle schools. hoover, james -- and everett. in terms of english language development, each school site places english learners into e.l.d. classes by their self-levels. all gate items by students are served in middle schools in hom genius or heterogenius groupings. currently staff have begun using mass assessments or measure of academic progress. this is our induction year. g, i want to just point out i.s.a. it is a 6-12 school currently under the super vision of the high school area team but they do receive some support from the

middle school area team. h. incoming student achievement levels. we have done a lot of research in terms of our incoming sixth graders. a good percentage are identified as far below basic and basic on math. and those charts are also as -- located as handouts for e.l.a. and math. measure of performance -- there are formative assessments. the district developed formative assessments. >> district --