Lowell High lottery admission proposal outrages parents.
A proposal to make admission to San Francisco’s academically elite Lowell High School a random lottery for one year shocked and outraged many families while also drawing praise from some who said it was high time to open up the exclusive country club environment at the public school.
While those with the highest grades, best essays and test scores are offered admission to the school in typical years, this isn’t a typical year, district official said.
Because of the pandemic, the grading system was shifted to pass/ fail after schools shuttered in March and the state canceled annual standardized testing, meaning the school could not adequately assess applicants on their academic prowess for the school year starting next fall.
“I don’t really see we have an alternative this year,” said school board member Rachel Norton. “There’s a pandemic, a once in a century pandemic, raging right now.”
The board is expected to review the proposal at a Tuesday committee meeting and then take a final vote on Oct. 20.
More than 1,700 people had signed a petition by Monday afternoon urging the district to explain why this was the only solution offered.
“San Francisco families caught off guard by the proposal for a 100% lottery admission at Lowell would like to know the district has exhausted all options to maintain the academic legacy at Lowell High School,” the petition said. “Parents, students, and alumni are worried that the transition will become permanent and remove one of the two remaining academic and meritbased public high schools in the city.”
The proposed shift to the more random admission process used at other district high schools was officially made public Friday late in the afternoon, when officials posted the agenda for the school board’s Tuesday committee meeting.
That would mean siblings of current students would get top priority, followed by students
from Willie Brown Jr. Middle School and then those living in census tracts where students post the lowest test scores, per district policy.
The remaining available seats would be assigned randomly. About 900 students are admitted each year, with about 650 students enrolled in each freshman class.
Lowell generally admits students based on a score that takes into account grade point average and test results while setting aside a limited number of spots for qualified students from underrepresented schools.
District officials said they are under time pressure to adjust the admissions policy for Lowell, given that information about school assignment needs to go out to families, with the first deadline for enrollment preferences on Feb. 5.
Ruth Asawa School of the Arts will continue to admit students using an audition process, albeit one modified to meet pandemic health and safety guidelines.
The lack of a headsup about the proposed change riled many Lowell families, as well as eighthgrade students planning for months or years to apply to the academically competitive school, working diligently to maintain a high grade point average this semester.
Families just want the process to be fair, said Seeyew Mo, who helped organize the online petition.
“It’s time for folks to be innovative and overcome the challenges from COVID19,” he said. “There are kids who are working the past two to three years really, really hard just to get into Lowell and we should have a pathway for kids like that.”
A lastminute random process “doesn’t feel fair,” Mo said. “In a difficult year, you’re adding one more thing.”
Lowell dates back to the mid1800s, with a host of distinguished alumni, including actress Carol Channing, U. S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Gap founder Donald Fisher, primatologist Dian Fossey and children’s author Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket.
Some critics of the proposal say the open enrollment — even for one year — would water down Lowell’s academic reputation, an insulting assertion that stings of racism, said Shavonne HinesFoster, a senior at Lowell and a student member of the school board.
HinesFoster, who is Black, said a lack of diversity and racism have long plagued the school, with current students of color often challenged as to whether they belong there, even though they were admitted under the competitive system. A random system could make matters worse.
“Alumni and parents are saying the reputation will be ruined,” she said. “They want to protect the system.”
Fewer than 2% of the school’s 2,700 students were Black last year, even though nearly 8% of district students were African American. More than 50% of Lowell students are Asian American, nearly twice the percentage districtwide.
HinesFoster, 17, said she believes the district could use an essay to admit students for the fall, something that would be neither random, nor based solely on academic standing.
“I think for students of color who want this opportunity, who have overcome something, I think this essay will help them and help their application,” she said. “Admission would be based solely on an essay.”
Lowell Principal Dacotah Swett said she believed a lottery system could result in a freshman class more closely resembling the population of San Francisco.
“As a public institution, that seems like a good thing,” she said.
The competitive admission process to Lowell means students with the highest scores are admitted, but so many more would do equally well at the school, Swett said.
“There are many, many students in San Francisco who qualify for Lowell,” she said. “We are a public school and we serve our city.”
The proposal threw Lowell families for a loop.
“It’s really challenging when the Board of Education makes an announcement like this on a Friday before a threeday weekend,” said Tiffany Abuan, president of the school’s PTSA. “I think that it is a disservice to the community in general when you do not have time to have thorough conversations.”
Many parents want the district to better explain why other alternatives aren’t on the table, including using a student’s first semester grades from seventh and eighth grade, said Abuan, whose son is a junior at Lowell.
Changing the policy in late October is a bit lastminute, Norton said, adding that staff and district officials have been scrambling to adjust to a wide range of issues created by the pandemic since March.
It is a temporary proposal, but one that could help move forward conversations about diversity at Lowell, she said.
“I do feel bad for families that feel this pulls the rug out from under what they were hoping for,” she said. “Under normal circumstances, this isn’t how we would make a change like this, but under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t be making a change like this.”