Please attend the meeting tomorrow to give feedback on the draft recommendations of the SFUSD High School Task Force (HSTF) if you’re available. Details and agenda below:
A bit of background: the HSTF was formed in part to appease those who didn’t want Lowell admissions to change back from lottery to its previous system based on academic merit. Originally focused only on Lowell admissions, the scope changed to cover the entire “portfolio of SFUSD high schools” — all 17 schools, what they offer, what they should offer, in addition to changing admissions at Lowell and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (RASOTA).
The entire document was written by Matthew Kelemen, the task force coordinator and/or his staff. No part of it was written or reviewed by any task force member.
Discussion on Selective Admissions
The “considerations” portion includes 3 sample options to increase “diversity” at each school.
For Lowell:
“To pursue modest changes in the diversity of the student population, the district could focus on intensifying its practices related to outreach to middle school students and families.”
“To pursue somewhat more significant changes in the diversity of the student population, the district could pursue adjustments to the Lowell Admissions policy (e.g., increasing the percentage of students admitted through Bands 2 and/or 3, with a decrease to Band1) or replace the 3-band system with eligibility criteria based on an agreed-upon minimum middle school Grade Point Average (e.g., 3.0).”
“To pursue more significant changes in the diversity of the student population, the district could move to a lottery-based system for Lowell admissions.”
For RASOTA:
“To pursue modest changes in the diversity of the student population, the district could focus on making highly visible the work that is currently underway at RASOTA to encourage and assist students from target populations to apply. Current efforts notably include an increase in staff time devoted to outreach (a total of approximately 10 hours per week) and plans to assist students to apply from their own school sites (since the school experiences significant drop-off from demonstrated interest to appearance at auditions for target populations).”
“To pursue somewhat more significant changes in the diversity of the student population, the district could focus on an increased investment (e.g., a full-time position either as an added allocation or realized through the school’s own planning and budgeting process) in outreach and support for targeted students, including more intensive coaching and support of students in the audition process.”
“To pursue somewhat more significant changes in the diversity of the student population, the district could focus on working with the school to adjust admission practices in more arts disciplines to place greater emphasis on interest in the arts and less on artistic proficiency (as is currently the case for the World Music and World Dance programs).”
To compare, the modest changes for both are increasing outreach. The moderate suggestion diverges, targeting Lowell for changes in its admissions standards, while for RASOTA, Kelemen recommends added staffing for outreach. Finally, the extreme case takes Lowell back to lottery while recommending that RASOTA might water down proficiency standards on a few more of its arts disciplines.
These proposals invert the position of the two schools merit-admissions schools. RASOTA serves about half the proportion of economically disadvantaged students that Lowell does — Lowell is already doing a better job of serving students of lower socioeconomic status. Asians are as underrepresented at RASOTA as black students are at Lowell. Hispanic students are likewise underrepresented.
Why is there no suggestion of implementing a lottery at RASOTA? Lottery has never been tried there, whereas it was tried and shown to be a failure at Lowell. Perhaps it’s the fact that Kelemen, having sent his own daughter to RASOTA, understands the necessity of standards in making RASOTA the preeminent arts school that it is.
My suggestions for selective admissions:
We must not sacrifice excellence in the name of diversity. In fact, giving some students a better chance at admissions based on their race (even in pursuit of diversity) has now been outlawed by the Supreme Court. Suggestions that involve loosening or eliminating admissions standards fundamentally misunderstand the reason these schools are attractive. They are only excellent because the selection process filters out those who are unable to perform at a high level.
We have a chance to improve on what we have — let’s seize the opportunity and scrap Lowell’s 3-band system in favor of the SHSAT, used by NYC specialized schools (which consistently outperform Lowell on national rankings). Yes, the test sets a higher bar, but having higher expectations will attract students who currently opt out and attend private schools. Before you say it, no, standardized tests aren’t racist and the other considerations in Bands 2 and 3 (like participation in sports) are a poor substitute for predicting student success. More generally, we can:
Increase capacity
There is more demand for both Lowell and RASOTA than can be accommodated currently. Select a large campus that is under-enrolled and/or poorly performing and designate it Lowell 2.0, with the same admissions criteria. For RASOTA, have the Academy (a small school co-located on the same campus) moved elsewhere and use the extra capacity to enroll a larger student body at RASOTA.Presentations and applications at every SFUSD middle school
Every middle school student should be aware of these opportunities via school-wide presentations from representatives of both schools, and every middle school student should be offered a application materials for both schools.Create K-8 pathways to reach Lowell/RASOTA
For Lowell, this would look like bringing back Gifted and Talented programs. It could also mean longer school days for those interested in applying to Lowell.
For RASOTA, this would mean more classes/focus in the arts with the goal of becoming proficient for the audition.
Summary of (other) Recommendations
tl:dr these are empty and/or expensive, and could’ve been generated by Chat-GPT, but I’ve summarized them for informative purposes. Folks, this is what $500k of taxpayer money buys you:
Make pathway programs available to all students so they can “pursue their passions”
Expand access to classes by creating online course options
Have students complete a “capstone project” to graduate, and do more project-based learning
Have SFUSD mandate that students complete the following “plan for their future” to graduate:
“letters of recommendation, documented work/community experience, college applications, applications for student financial aid, a financial plan, a short-term housing plan, a resume, and identification of a post-secondary support network.”Embrace the “community schools” model:
“integrating student supports, expanding and enriching learning time and opportunities, actively engaging families and communities, and building collaborative leadership practices.”
This includes hiring a “leadership team-level coordinator at every school”Improve information availability and standardization for each school
“The district has recently produced a course matrix and is planning to restart its in-person enrollment fair. It is recommended that the district incorporate more data and storytelling into these practices and that the district undertake a careful process to solicit feedback on these strategies and partner with parent and student organizations to understand their effectiveness.”
For amusement purposes only
Kelemen uses the following amusing euphemisms for the students with the poorest academic performance (i.e., Special Ed, English Learners, Black, Hispanic and Pacific Islander students):
historically been furthest from opportunity
historically have been most underserved
subgroups in SFUSD that the data show experience less access and success
He also continually refers to “access” as if the main cause of their underperformance is someone preventing them from attending class regularly, keeping up with their school work and homework, or studying enough to qualify for advanced coursework.
Please attend if you’re free
The meeting is tomorrow, Saturday Sept. 9 at 1350 7th Avenue from 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. Let Kelemen know what you think of his draft recommendations.
you can probably shut you mouth about "OMG BLACK PEOPLE AND COPS" already you dumb rice eating cunt. Sorry to hear that you were tormented by the black girls in middle school and you never got over it.