Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gateway To College topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board authorizes staff to pursue Gateway to College early‑college program with City College after intense debate
Summary
The board authorized staff to pursue waivers, negotiate a partner‑agreed site and seek bridge funding to launch a 50‑student Gateway to College dropout‑recovery early college pilot with City College, while adding reporting and site‑negotiation safeguards amid concerns about supports and cash‑flow timing.
The San Francisco Unified School District board authorized staff to undertake the procedural steps — including seeking necessary state waivers and negotiating a site agreeable to partner organizations — to create a Gateway to College early college program in partnership with City College of San Francisco.
Gateway to College is a nationally used dropout‑recovery early college model that enrolls 16–20 year‑olds who have left district schools, concurrently registering them at the community college so they can earn high‑school and college credits. City College offered initial grant funding and the mayor’s 'Communities of Opportunity' office proposed short‑term bridge financing to cover the timing gap between program expenditures and district ADA revenue receipts.
Board debate was lengthy and substantive: commissioners and community members probed site suitability (Southeast versus Mission or Ocean campuses), wraparound supports (childcare, counseling, tutoring), transport and safety, community‑based organization engagement, and the cash‑flow risk arising from an estimated 12–18 month ADA reimbursement lag. City College trustee Chris Jackson and Dean Veronica Honeycutt described Southeast Campus programming and pledged campus revitalization and added courses; the mayor’s office and City College emphasized that private/local bridge dollars were currently tied to the Southeast site.
To create space for further deliberation and to protect funder commitments, the board approved an amendment requiring staff to (a) negotiate an initial site that is 'agreeable to all parties', (b) report biweekly to the board on waiver and site progress, and (c) treat August 2009 as a stated goal rather than an unconditional start date. The amended motion passed by roll call.
Board members said they expect staff to return with final agreements, evidence of community and CBO engagement, a detailed list of supports and a clearer cash‑flow plan before full program launch.
