and these are the results we had. at this point in time, i'm going to turn this over to helen ying who is going to go with the same pattern with our ninth grade students for this year. what they looked like, first semester. and what our -- what our inputs will be this summer and then hopefully we will come to you with a greater number next year than actually 93%. and a reduced number of students that are actually failing our courses is where we eventually want to go. helen? supervisor campos: thank you. >> good afternoon. i'm helen -- commissioners and members of the board of supervisors i'm helen ying, executive director for the high school division. and along with brent stevens, who is the executive director of the elementary division, we have been charged with coordinating summer school for this school year.

and so i will be maybe talking about the secondary portion and the dcyf funded program for this school year. and although we realize that summer school is not the only vehicle for students to meet the a-g requirements, we realize that it's also an important option for students to make up those courses that they have failed for those a-g course requirements. so when we were planning the summer school, it is all in the context of students meeting the a-g requirements. so we have to take a look first of all at the picture. and notice that we're not -- not just looking at the english and algebra. we're also looking at geometry and biology. and you should also note that a big effort this year at the high schools has been to ensure that students who have taken algebra in the middle school have access to geometry, to high school.

so they have a head start into actually starting getting into higher level math classes. so if you look at the breakdown of the subgroups, how many students are actually placed into these classes, so, for example, the chinese students, 40% of the total number of students who are enrolled in english are chinese. 8% are african-american. these are ninth graders. just ninth graders. we're only looking at the ninth grade data. so as you will look at all across the subject matters, you will see the percentage and the breakdown of those students. ok. so now we get into some hard data about -- that focuses on the total number of apps of the ninth graders broken by subgroups and the number of students who receive those grades.

if you looked at the previous slide, this is actually a slight improvement from the number of f's. so, for example, the african-american students, last year, 29% of african-americans received f's in english, this year, 22% received f's in english. very slight. although the numbers are still not good. so the -- last year, 23%, this year, 18%. e.l.l., 19% last school year, and this year, it's 13%. so we did -- i don't have the numbers right now for special ed for last year. but these are the numbers that had received f's for this school year. so in algebra for last school year is 8% received f's, but this year, 9%, for chinese students. with african-americans, for an algebra, last school year, 39% received f's. this school year, in the fall,

30% received f's. for latino students last school year, 30%, this year, it's 26%. for e.l.l., 26%, last year, this year, 20%. so it's gone down a little bit. so we also want to look at the geometry and the biology. because those are the courses that we will be offering for credit recovery for this fiscal year. because we want to make sure that students have the option to make up those classes that they received. these are all important a-g classes. so for this school year, for this summer, we want to have a continued focus on the ninth grade credit recovery. as bill has said, ninth grade is an important year. we want to make sure that those students who have received those f's get to make them up. supervisor campos: before you continue, supervisor kim had a question. supervisor kim: actually,

looking at the fail rates for geometry and seeing how they're relatively low in comparison to algebra, has there been discussions in terms of changing the sequence for math? in ninth grade? and maybe routing -- >> a couple of the high schools are doing that. supervisor kim: if there isn't a sequential reason to have geometry or algebra first, if we know that the students are succeeding in geometry in the ninth grade, and we want to help ensure that kids are not falling behind too early, it looks like the data is showing here that geometry for whatever reason is a subject matter that students are not failing in, whether you're an english language learner, african-american, latino, it seems really interesting. and also curious what is it different about geometry from algebra and how we can learn from teaching geometry or basic concepts on geometry we can use in other math subjects? >> there has been discussion of changing the math sequence and

changing the science sequence. there has been a bit of discussion. i will tell you that one thing that really is a roadblock is this. there is a test that is attached to the california standards test called the early assessment program test. many of you know about the eap. it is something that is used that was -- a number of years ago, attached to the test -- the student has to meet two criteria. in mathematics, the student has to be in grade 11 or higher. and they have to be enrolled in advanced algebra or higher. so, for example, let's say a school wanted to change the math sequence to go from algebra to advanced algebra to geometry. and that student landed in geometry in 11th grade.

then that student automatically would not be able to take the early assessment program placement test for -- because they were not enrolled in the appropriate course to take the appropriate test for the c.s.t. so it really is, i think that we as educators and the mathematics teachers in the district are open. we are curious about that discussion. but there are some limit tations -- limitations that are placed on us that really we don't want to -- we really do not want to take an advantage away from a student. because through the bridge to success program, we have been able to work with city college in recent days to accept some of those e.a.p. tests as their placement tests. so we really don't want to give

students a disadvantage of not being enrolled in that. so it is a complex issue that really goes beyond us and all of that said, we are open to discussion about that. supervisor kim: and i'm just going to ask a couple of quick questions because i can't stay for the whole hearing. but i remember when i was on the board of education, i believe that marshall high school there was kind of a pilot program in terms of how we teach algebra. >> algebra project. supervisor kim: algebra project which i got to visit and seemed fairly successful and was able to teach algebra and a more applied sense. and also in a more con isn'tual sense, i think -- conceptual sense, i think. and with how we word word problems and all that can also be challenging. english language learner in particular. and i'm just curious if there are lessons you can learn from geometry or the algebra project that can help us teach algebra. i think it's important for us to fund summer programs. and i want to continue to do that but are there ways we can

improve teaching algebra so we don't get to the point where students are failing and better ways of teaching the curriculum? >> yes. and i believe -- i believe the algebra project has some really valuable lessons. and as we roll out the new common core curriculum, i believe that it really will open doors for us to have those discussions. because the way the common core curriculum for mathematics is rolled out, or even designed, is much different than the traditional standards that we have had in the past. >> and is the project only at marshall still? >> yes. that is correct. it's only at marshall right now. supervisor kim: what is the subess rate for students at marshall? do they contribute less to the numbers that we're seeing here today? >> i will have to pull the data for it. when i pull the data by school. supervisor kim: if we have programs that are successful and we are seeing less ninth graders fail in algebra at marshall high school because this curriculum exists, clearly i think it's important to duplicate that curriculum to other schools as well.

thank you. supervisor campos: i'm wondering if i can have a followup on the issue of geometry. because while i definitely see that, the performance is better, i also see that the enrollment is also lower. that you have a smaller percentage of african-american students that are actually enrolled in geometry than you do in algebra. so i'm wondering the extent to which that also -- that changes the analysis. >> we actually pulled the students -- remember, these are ninth grade students that are in geometry. these are not necessarily 10th grade students that are in geometry. some of the students that actually -- half would be in algebra approximately. and half would potentially be in geometry. go ahead. supervisor campos: does that change your analysis of what's going on here? or not? >> it does change some of our analysis. because we have to look at both basically. when we look at ninth grade.

supervisor campos: commissioner fewer. commissioner fewer: yes, i just wanted to note supervisor campos that in order for a student to enter high school at ninth grade and take geometry, they would have had to pass algebra in eighth grade. and so many of our schools were not offering algebra for all eighth graders. i think that we are pushing now that almost all of them are offering. again, not all of them passed algebra. in eighth grade. and so, therefore, that's why we see these lower numbers. however, to answer your question, supervisor kim, in los angeles, where there are a lot of english language learners that what they found in some cases, schools are teaching geometry before algebra. and actually having a much better success rate on algebra and geometry. just because it gives the english language learner another year to beef up their

english skills since algebra is so much more reading and problem solving. supervisor campos: thank you. continue, please. >> for this school year we are going to continue the ninth grade credit recovery program. and the eighth grade transition program. last school year, we only offered two classes for the eighth graders, but this year we will be offering four. we also want to continue the newcomer e.l.l. students who are providing them e.l.d., because we realize they're the ones that actually need the additional e.l.d. and the beginning e.l.d. classes don't -- don't meet a-g requirements. and we want to give them a head start on that. but this year, we're going to extend the program to include 10th graders. so 10th graders will be able to take credit recovery classes. and we're going to address or include for the e.l.l. students the long-term e.l.l. students, not just the beginning e.l.l. students. so long-term e.l.l. students are students who have been in

the united states for six years or more. but they have not been reclassified to english proficient. so these are the students that need a lot more higher level e.l.d. classes or much more sheltered strategies for the english classes in order to address the linguistic needs they have in order to be reclassified. so we will be offering english nine and english 10. algebra, geometry, biology, and english language development. and we project that the number of students to be served would be about 11 -- would be about 1,190. so we -- this is not the -- this is a district funded program. we will still continue to offer the summer graduating seniors program. these are for the 12th graders who were potential may 2012 graduates. but perhaps failed the graduation requirement.

so we are going to offer -- and we've done that in the past, that will allow these 12th graders to make up these course that is they have failed so they can graduate in july of 2012. we're also going to offer k.c. prep classes for students who have not passed k.c. if they haven't passed k.c. they can't receive a high school diploma and they will be considered the k.c. test in july as well. so our expected outcome for this year is that we want extended opportunities for the ninth and 10th grade students to make up their failed classes. we want opportunity for summer graduation for the 12th graders who didn't make it in may. we want to support the summer schoolteachers to promote quality instruction. as you no, in summer school, these classes are two hours long. and it's really important that the teachers know how to teach for that length of time and they're offering enough strategies for students to be

engaged the whole time. we want to align them with excel and other city programs. and we will talk about those other programs as well. any questions? supervisor campos: one thing i haven't heard mentioned is the seventh period. can you talk a little bit about that, the extent to which you're using that strategy. >> there is no doubt that seven-period day would greatly expand opportunities for students. in our schools. we used to have a number of schools that were able to offer a seven-period day using their weighted student formula. as resources have continued to decline, schools have not been

able to offer a seven-period day. at this time, i believe that we have thurgood marshall and burton that's offering a seven-period day still. other than that we don't have schools that are able to offer a seven-period day. because that's been an additional teaching period to the day. and schools would need to be able to -- what it does is it increases the number of sections that students take. and, therefore, you have to have additional teachers. and you would need to fund that out of your budget. supervisor campos: so is there right now any plan to incorporate a seventh period in any of these schools? i'm obviously thinking specifically about my district. but i know that that would be the case in other neighborhoods as well. >> i believe that if we were to be able to fund a seven-period

day, a large majority of our high schools would take that opportunity because as we have gone in to the fiscal crisis that we have been, we are currently in, many of them are looking for more and more opportunities to be able to offer courses to students. and the way the graduation requirements are now, and the number of periods a school is able to offer, that leaves only 2 we will years of one course each year where a student truly has a broad course of what they would like to take in an area that interests them. i know schools would like to move forward with that. supervisor campos: i would hope that you explore the possibility, because i do not minimize the importance of summer school. but to the extent that the achievement gap is something

happening during the regular school year, and a key focus of the strategy is on summer school, that is the only time during the year that you are dealing with this. unless you are doing something during the regular school year, you may have a situation where the achievement gap is actually increasing during that time. >> i cannot agree with you more in the fact that summer school is only one option in a huge portfolio of credit-earning options that we should be offering students. there are a multitude of other ways, including a seven-period day, including online learning -- many other ways we should be moving forward, not only to give students opportunities, but to prepare our students for the 21st century. we have to be able to do that. summer school is really only one

option in what should be a huge portfolio of credit-churning options. supervisor campos: commissioner? commissioner fewer: thank you. i also wanted to add it is much easier to have students attend a seven-period day than summer school. this is why we could probably serve more studit is just diffid them up again. they have to come. many students may expect the school is out. if they are in school already, it is so much easier to get into this last class. i think on our part, we should ensure that all our classes that we offer meet the requirements. we are working hard to do that, so that every class a student text during the school day counts toward graduation.

if it is not accredited, it does not count toward graduation, unless it is a state-mandated class, such as physical education. i think that a seven-period day is something we have looked at seriously. it is very expensive. would it help our students in graduation? absolutely. you are seeing ninth and 10th graders. in august, we have a new set of ninth graders. sequentially, the work becomes much more rigorous in 11th grade. they will have to take their second year of laboratory science. other school districts have shown that is a gatekeeper to fulfilling the requirements. this is just the tip of the iceberg of how many students we expect may not graduate. also, i think graduating is an important factor in this.

we wanted everyone to graduate college-ready, with the opportunity to go to college. but when you graduate students just with d's, that is a false opportunity, when we tell our students, "you have this diploma, but guess what? you will not be eligible for csu." i think this seven- period day is something we have discussed as a factor the will help us overcome this. students that need an extra period, just because of the way the numbers or courses line up, will have to double up on english to me those. that is not failing any class. that is simply because they are

english language learners. csu will only accept one year of that type of english. we really appreciate the help of the city, i have to say. the city jumped in last-minute for summer school last year. it was a lifeline for our students. of course, we really appreciate it. we feel like we are going into a really horrible other fiscal year. education has been cut consistently by the governor, every year. even if the governor's proposal does not pass, we are still under budgeted. we know every supervisor has schools in the district and wants us to do well. >> one last thing, before turning over to mr. stevens.

i said in the beginning that this is a project. this is my 10th year in san francisco. this is my fourth or fifth year working on the new graduation requirements and a change of the graduation requirements. to say the least, i have invested a lot of time in this. over that number of years, i have been able to develop a relationship with young ladies i need to say thank-you to. that is a woman from coleman advocates. we have been friends and enemies, i think, at times. i want to say thank you. we have cochaired the new graduation retirements task force, and been involved in this work since days of community meetings. i just want to say thank you. supervisor campos: before we move on, a commissioner wanted to ask a question. commissioner maufas: i just

wanted to make a quick comment, through the chair, and really to the other supervisors here, that this issue is probably has, from my perspective, and even going forward, from the past, going forward -- one of the largest issues around equity and access, if we ever even imagined we wanted a student to graduate and move forward in the world. in the world, no matter what they choose to do. this is the ground where they must really fight to have access to these courses. we need to facilitate that process. what i would like to request of the chair around this issue is that the requirements to be brought back. you really, as mentioned, the very tip of the iceberg for us

to understand. at sfusd, the incredible work to make it for every single student, every single red joining student has this in their diploma course understanding. it is so important and complex. not just one ninth and 10th graders, but you hear about the other grade levels, and what they are doing. we want to make sure all schools have this, all across san francisco. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you, commissioner. i think we have an obligation to make sure we keep an eye on this. at some point, it might be helpful for us to get some of

the numbers, in terms of the costs associated with the schools that might need it. we have our own budgetary concerns. but i think it is good to have that information out there. supervisor olague: i was wondering -- i support what i have heard from the members here today. i was wondering, in your conversations with students, who are the ones representing the f's and the d's -- what have they said? what has their input been, as far as what they need to succeed? why do they feel like they are failing? >> it is interesting that you would ask this question, because this is indeed a question we are asking right now, literally this week. there is a group of us

participating in a group project with sanford. not only with students, but with parents, community members, teachers, administrators. we literally have been conducting interviews. we chose a single school. i would rather not call out the name. as our research project, and that we would look at all facets of not only their understanding of the new graduation requirements, but also what were roadblocks in those graduation requirements. those interviews literally took place this week. i would be glad to share after we finished compiling that. i would be asking that question. >> sometimes come and meet with students and they are working. they are taking care of their younger siblings. they are cooking, cleaning house, doing all of the above.

i do not know how they do it. i am not saying this characterizes people who are failing. but i wonder what we can do. is it peer pressure? what is it they see? i would love to hear the results of this. >> i would be more than happy to share. commissioner fewer: i just wanted to answer your question. i think it is approximately $4 million to give a seventh period to every public high school in san francisco. supervisor campos: that is good to know. >> mr. stevens? >> good afternoon, members of the board of supervisors. i am the executive director for elementary areas. along with my colleague, i am responsible for the coordination of all the summer programming in san francisco. i came prepared today to offer a

broader overview of the extent of summer programming in the district. we have been listening now for a while to an extended conversation on secondary programming. however, secondary programming does not represent all of what we have going on. i would like to share with you a little bit about what is going on. let me switch out our slides, and then we will continue. here we are. you have heard already that the school district continues to face budget shortfalls. this has led, over the course of a number of