A simple idea to foster diversity
Put application process online and in phones
On May 3, the San Francisco Unified School District board committee on school assignment will discuss its plans to improve the enrollment process, in hopes of making our city’s schools less racially segregated. I have a simple suggestion that will increase participation from our diverse communities across the city: make the application process available online and on our phones.
I understand the importance of diverse, equitable schools. As a teacher in Baton Rouge, La., I will never forget one of my African American students explaining to me that “white children go to white schools and black children go to black schools.” At the age of 5, that student had already observed a system that promoted separation and inequality. I returned to my hometown of San Francisco only to find a complicated school assignment system that is even more segregated than it was in my youth.
One major driver of inequity with SFUSD’s enrollment system is that it requires parents to submit paper forms in person.
San Francisco is not alone in this problem. Oakland Unified also identified this as an issue and created an online application, accessible in multiple languages. Already it is seeing the highest levels of participation in schools serving mostly low-income families who do not speak English. Certainly, San Francisco, the technological capital of the universe, can create an online student assignment system that helps address inequitable access to schools.
Over the past six months, I joined dozens of volunteers to speak with residents about their experiences navigating the school assignment process. We knocked on 1,000 doors in the Bayview, Excelsior, Potrero Hill and Visitation Valley, and had in-depth conversations with 200 community members. A few themes emerged:
⏩ Families struggle with submitting their application in person
⏩ Families rely on school staff to help them understand the application process
⏩ Families agree that students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, such as foster youth, should receive preference in their school choice
⏩ Families simply want more great schools in every neighborhood.
The one thing that all agreed would improve this process: put it online and on a mobile app.
While there are many ways to improve this student assignment policy, SFUSD can take this one step to make the application process more accessible to all families. If there is any city in the world that can do this quickly and successfully, it is San Francisco. District staff have laid the groundwork to pilot this in the fall and roll out the technology districtwide soon after. Now it is time for district leadership to make this opportunity a priority.