Progressive San Francisco is one of the worst districts in the state when it comes to educating low-income black and Latino students, concludes an Innovate Public Schools analysis.
Overall, San Francisco Unified outscores other urban districts because it has so many (35 percent) high-scoring Asian-American students; another 14 percent of students are white. However, the black/Latino achievement gap is huge.
Percent proficient in English and math, 2016-17, San Francisco Unified
The NAACP declared a state of emergency to close the achievement gap, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Previous efforts targeting black students, who are farthest behind, haven’t worked, Superintendent Vincent Matthews told the San Francisco Unified school board.
However, the school board turned down a proposed KIPP elementary school in Bayview–Hunters Point, a low-income, African-American neighborhood, reports David Cantor on The 74. The board said that KIPP was “demonstrably unlikely” to succeed due to deficiencies in teacher training, safety, and discipline, reports Cantor. “It noted that KIPP’s other San Francisco schools have higher suspension rates than the district average.”
KIPP’s San Francisco schools also have higher reading and math scores for low-income black and Latinos than district schools. The KIPP Bay Area network, which includes 12 schools in the East Bay and San Francisco, “have won numerous state and national awards,” writes Cantor.
Overall, low-income black and Latino students average higher scores at San Francisco charters than at district-run schools, reports Innovate.
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