Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Reopening topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SFUSD outlines phased senior return, warns of staffing trade-offs as 565 seniors opt in
Summary
Board heard a detailed update on the district's phased return to in-person learning and a senior-only single-grade return starting May 14; staff reported 1,150 survey responses with 565 seniors opting in, stressed scheduling complexity and contingency choices if substitutes or volunteers are unavailable.
The San Francisco Unified School District on May 11 told the Board of Education it will begin a phased single-grade return for graduating seniors this week, as part of a gradual reopening strategy funded in part by the state’s expanded learning grant (AB 86).
Deputy Superintendent Ford Marcel said the district closed its senior survey last night with 1,150 responses and "about 565 seniors" opting to return in person; the earliest start date for the single-grade senior return is Friday, May 14. The program will be a blended model in which students continue much of their course work online but come to campus for in-person support, connection and academic help. Ford Marcel said many sites plan to offer seniors three days of in-person activities and noted that eight schools will host seniors at their home campuses, with Balboa and Lowell serving as additional host sites where needed.
Why it matters: district officials said in-person attendance for students who returned earlier produced stronger engagement metrics. Ford Marcel highlighted a focal cohort of students who were minimally engaged in distance learning: of 140 students who returned in person, attendance doubled during the initial reopening weeks, and overall attendance for in-person returners reached 91 percent after two weeks.
Staffing and logistics remain the bottleneck. The district reported it has secured about 150 teacher volunteers from the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) and roughly 20 paraeducator volunteers to staff senior classrooms, but officials warned those volunteers are often full‑time remote teachers whose in‑person participation creates coverage needs elsewhere. "If we find ourselves with a shortage — where do we prioritize? Do we move some of the in‑person staff from the focal groups or the elementary grades?" Ford Marcel asked the board, urging guidance on contingency priorities.
Superintendent Dr. Matthews urged the board to weigh the trade-offs and said the district would exhaust central options before closing classrooms, including central office staff, district substitutes and contracted substitutes. Chief staffing leads described a three‑part coverage strategy that has included reassignment of teachers on special assignment, hiring new substitutes and deploying central staff to sites.
Student reaction was mixed. Student delegate Shalon Hines Foster called the return “a start” but asked whether in-person instruction would be led by in-person teachers or primarily be "Zoom in a room." Ford Marcel said the model will likely pair students with certificated staff from their home schools where possible; "there will be adults in the room to support the learning as well as peers," she said.
What’s next: board members asked staff for additional, school‑by‑school data on who opted in and detailed daily staffing needs; staff agreed to provide a follow-up report at a special meeting within two weeks and to finalize assignments and family notifications by Thursday.
