Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the K12 Curriculum And Scheduling topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SFUSD outlines 'middle school redesign' pilot, A-G-style framework and New Tech Network partnerships
Summary
District staff presented a three-phase middle-school redesign plan aimed at universal access to arts, language and computer science: a develop phase for rubrics and prototype master schedules, a decision phase for November-December, and a deliver phase in spring. Early adopters include Willie Brown, Martin Luther King and Visitacion Valley Middle School with New Tech Network and Salesforce support.
SFUSD staff updated the Board of Education on a multi-year middle-school redesign initiative intended to give all middle-school students universal access to integrated electives such as arts, language, health and computer science. The plan is structured in three phases this school year: develop, decision and deliver.
Brent Stevens and colleagues said the "develop" phase will define a design-principle rubric, an A-through-G style list of universal learning experiences for middle school, and prototype master schedules that districts can adopt. The district identified 3 early-adopter middle schools partnering with New Tech Network (Willie Brown, Martin Luther King, and Visitacion Valley) and said Salesforce funding is supporting curriculum design and computer-science rollout.
Staff highlighted that some schools already offer middle-school computer science curricula in sixth and seventh grades but that scheduling differences across sites create an "8,000-minute-per-year" disparity in instructional minutes; work groups will examine 7- and 8-period weekly schedule prototypes, course integrations and block scheduling options. The presentation also discussed early-release or late-start alternatives to create consistent professional collaboration time for staff and the need to align transportation routes and after-school care.
Commissioners asked specific questions about implementing a seven-period week to allow two electives, ensuring universal access to a substantive health class, later start time tradeoffs, and how computer science scale-up would be accomplished. Staff said working groups include curriculum authors (health, computer science, language) and operations teams to identify cost and staffing implications; the goal is to present decision-phase work products in November/December and to engage school communities for budget planning in January.
Staff emphasized the project is iterative and schools will enter the redesign at different points; prototypes will be used to analyze staffing and funding and to chart progress toward Vision 2025 graduate-profile outcomes.
