11 elementary, K-8 and high schools may close or merge

A few hours before the San Francisco Unified School District's scheduled announcement, the shortlist for school closures is ready. While not a definitive list, it will give parents and teachers an idea of ​​what to expect.

After months of drama and great concern at the SF School Board and within SFUSD, a picture is emerging that includes nine elementary and K-8 schools, as well as two high schools, on the verge of total closure or merger with one other school. A number of these schools were previously identified by the Chronicle in an expanded data analysis that shows which SF schools have the lowest enrollment, are in the most disrepair and are the least popular with parents.

The closures represent $22 million in potential annual savings for the district and will involve the relocation of about 2,000 students next school year. And the district previously disclosed in a budget that the closures could result in about 600 layoffs of teachers and staff.

As both the Chronicle and Mission Local report from the pre-release list, Jean Parker Elementary School in North Beach/Chinatown is on the closure list, along with Sutro Elementary School in Richmond and El Dorado Elementary School in Visitacion Valley.

El Dorado students would be paired with students from Visitacion Valley Middle School, with both using Visitacion Valley's campus. According to Chronicle data, both schools were at 36% to 38% capacity in terms of enrollment.

Jean Parker students would have the option of attending Gordon J. Lau Elementary or John Yehall Chin Elementary. According to the Chronicle, Gordon J. Lau was at 100% capacity and is a Chinese biliteracy school, while Chin Elementary was at 98% capacity.

Yick Wo Alternative Elementary School in Russian Hill is also slated to close, with students given the option of attending Redding Elementary or Sherman Elementary.

The Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Castro is set to merge with Sanchez Elementary, and the Harvey Milk Campus is set to become an early learning center, according to the district list.

And it looks like the closing of the Malcolm

Additionally, the proposal would merge San Francisco Community K-8 with Paul Revere PreK-8; San Francisco Public Montessori would merge with Rosa Parks Elementary; and Spring Valley Science Elementary School would merge with John Muir Elementary. That would mean SF Community, SF Public Montessori and Spring Valley would all close.

The only two high schools on the list where the sign was likely to be on the wall based on enrollment are The Academy @ McAteer and the June Jordan School for Equity in the Excelsior. According to the Chronicle data, June Jordan topped the list of undervalued schools, with capacity for 1,275 students and just 200 students enrolled.

June Jordan's students would merge with John O'Connell Technical High School in the Mission – another undervalued school with just 471 students and capacity for over 1,400. This could prove to be one of the most controversial closures, considering the school's equal opportunity and predominantly Black and brown populations, with 71% Latinx and 9% Black students.

Under the proposal, the academy would merge with Raoul Wallenberg High School, with students moving there.

Notably, according to the Chronicle, several of the schools proposed for closure are in “good” condition in terms of the condition of the facilities and require relatively few repairs.

This list is also not final and the SF Board of Education must finalize the list and give it an initial hearing on November 12th.

A formal announcement from SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne is expected on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Wayne said in an op-ed to the Chronicle that a series of community meetings will be held, but “We're not going to ask the schools whether they want to close or not.” Wayne tells the newspaper that the tactic will be to say, “Look You, your situation is unsustainable” and asking “What have we missed?”

Photo: Jean Parker Elementary School, via SFUSD