Cecilia Ixchop had heard that the San Francisco Unified School District was planning to close several schools next year, but she never thought her kid’s would be among them.
“This is a good school,” said Ixchop, a parent at the K-8 San Francisco Community School in Excelsior. “My older daughter went here too, and that’s why I wanted my youngest to go here.”
On Tuesday, the district released a long-expected list of 13 schools identified for potential closure and consolidation amid a serious fiscal crisis. Under the plan, SF Community will merge with Paul Revere TK-8 School.
“We’ve been worried for six months,” said an SF Community dad who declined to give his name. “The communication is fucking horrible. This is fucking horrible.”
Another parent, Aaron Sullivan, called the planned closure of SF Community “shortsighted” as he highlighted its contributions to the district.
“This is a great school that has spearheaded many of the programs that are now district-wide, like project-based learning,” said Sullivan.
At San Francisco Public Montessori in posh Pacific Heights, also targeted for closure, Rachell Nichols called the news “devastating.”
“That would be horrible,” said Nichols, whose 5-year-old son is a student at the school. “The teachers here have been amazing.”
She said her son has benefitted from the Montessori method, a hands-on style of learning, and the teachers have helped him become a less picky eater and learn to sit still.
Nichols said she is familiar with Rosa Parks Elementary, which would merge with SF Public Montessori under the plan, but won’t send her son there.
If the Board of Education approves the plan, Nichols said, she’ll search for another Montessori in the city, as she’s worried her son may not perform well in a larger classroom. And while there are other private schools nearby, she can’t afford them.
Rosa Parks is “not my first choice,” Nichols said. “I’d probably have to look for another school.”
Angel Carmack, who has three sons at SF Public Montessori, said the possibility of its closure stresses her out. While there is a plan to move kids in grades one through four to Rosa Parks, she doesn’t know where her preschooler will go next.
“That’s scary,” Carmack said.
Losing a public Montessori is a huge blow for her family, Carmack said, noting that two of her children are autistic and one has ADHD. She said the program allows students to spend more time out of their desks, plus two recesses a day, which is better suited to their needs.
“I don’t know of any other Montessori public schools here,” Carmack said. “Now I have to figure that out.”
At Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Castro, kids played soccer Tuesday afternoon, blissfully unaware that their school could shutter next year.
Harvey Milk parent Nicole Macias suspected that her daughter’s school might be targeted for closure after a conversation with a local official painted a bleak picture. Nonetheless, Macias hoped this wouldn’t be the case.
“It’s pretty devastating,” she said.
Macias’ daughter Charlie began kindergarten this fall after a tortuous lottery process. After all that, Macias is frustrated that Charlie may not get to continue at Harvey Milk after this year. She loves the school’s curriculum, with its focus on civil rights and special classes like “edible social studies.” She worries that Sanchez Elementary, the school Harvey Milk is slated to merge with, won’t have this unique programming.
Macias also dreads the logistical challenges switching schools would pose. Milk, a two-minute walk from her home, starts the day at 9:30 a.m. At Sanchez, class starts at 7:50 a.m. and ends earlier in the day, a change that would require her to make new child-care arrangements.
“They make it so hard, and then they wonder why people leave the district,” she said.