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Parent groups outline K–8 pathways engagement plan; forums set for February–March
Summary
The Parent Advisory Council and Parents for Public Schools told the board committee they will run about 15 forums in Feb–Mar to gather input on K–8 pathway proposals, focusing on program quality, language pathways and special-education concerns and will report findings in April.
Representatives from the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and Parents for Public Schools (PPS) presented a community-engagement plan to the San Francisco Board of Education committee for proposed K–8 pathways, saying they will run multilingual forums, invite parents and students and produce reports to inform the board's May decision on assignment policy.
Ruth Grabowski of the Parent Advisory Council and Vicky Simons of Parents for Public Schools described five engagement goals: inform the community about the K–8 pathway plan, involve community input in system design, increase middle-school quality, strengthen implementation of the new student-assignment system, and build trust between families and the district.
The presenters said they will conduct roughly 15 forums at middle schools (with some smaller neighborhood or elementary-site sessions), aiming to hold most forums in February and March and to present findings to the board in April. PAC/PPS staff said they will develop multilingual one-page materials, train facilitators, and bring in community partners and the Student Advisory Council to help frame discussion questions on topics such as dual immersion, programs for English learners, restorative-justice and after-school offerings.
PAC representatives warned against informal negotiations or premature promises about program placement outside the district-wide process. "We feel that it has to be transparent," a PAC representative said, urging that any program-placement discussions happen within the wider engagement and board process. A board member asked community groups to discourage rumors that "deals are being cut," noting that the board had not yet taken up program-placement decisions.
Staff told commissioners they will circulate a project-plan overview by email (Deputy Superintendent Kranz was identified as the sender) to board members because the Committee of the Whole discussion was delayed; pages of draft materials and a preliminary forum schedule are expected to be posted and updated by mid-January.
What happens next: PAC and PPS plan to run forums in February–March, produce a report to the board in April, and provide progress updates; staff will post materials and a preliminary schedule by mid-January.
