Parents, students face nightmare commutes if schools close

The morning routines of many children are likely to change significantly when they are shifted to new schools amid the San Francisco Unified School District’s  planned closures and consolidation.

High schoolers will see the biggest difference as they are moved to schools farther from home. For example, students at June Jordan School for Equity in the Excelsior will be shifted to John O’Connell Technical High School, more than 3.5 miles away, in the heart of the Mission. 

On weekday mornings, that’s about a 20-minute drive, according to Google Maps. Taking mass transit from June Jordan to John O’Connell — Muni’s 29 and 14R buses — would take 34 minutes plus a brief walk. It would take an hour and 16 minutes to walk the entire distance.

Students at The Academy – San Francisco @ McAteer won’t fare much better. They’ll be moved around 3.2 miles from the Glen Park campus to Raoul Wallenberg High School in Anza Vista. That drive could take 18 minutes.

One parent told The Standard on Tuesday that he dreaded the logistical challenges facing his child, who attends Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, a two-minute walk from their home. Milk, which starts the day at 9:30 a.m., faces a potential merger with Sanchez Elementary School, which starts at 7:50. Sanchez is a 14-minute walk from the Milk campus.

“They make it so hard, and then they wonder why people leave the district,” Nicole Macias told The Standard after hearing about the closure plans.

The school district said Tuesday it followed three guidelines in proposing changes affecting 11 elementary or K-8 schools and two high schools. Students would be assigned to no more than two schools, and welcoming schools must be able to handle incoming students’ language programs or special education services.

But the third guideline, ensuring that welcoming schools are no more than a 10-minute drive from a campus that’s closing, has proved challenging. 

The topic of longer commutes was not discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of the school board as the list of closures and consolidations was announced.

The Standard has done the math on potential commutes for students at all schools on the closure list.

El Dorado Elementary to merge with Visitacion Valley Middle

Distance: 0.8 miles

Harvey Milk Civil Rights Elementary to merge with Sanchez Elementary

Distance: 0.6 miles

Malcolm X Academy to merge with Dr. George Washington Carver Elementary 

Distance: 0.7 miles

June Jordan School for Equity to merge with John O’Connell High

Distance: 3.6 miles

SF Community Alternative School to merge  with Paul Revere preK-8 

Distance: 1.7 miles

The Academy – San Francisco @McAteer. to merge with Raoul Wallenberg High

Distance: 3.2 miles

Sutro Elementary to merge with Chinese Immersion School at De Avila

Distance: 2.4 miles

Sutro Elementary to merge with Alamo Elementary

Distance: 0.8 miles

Sutro Elementary to  merge with Lafayette Elementary 

Distance: 1.8 miles

San Francisco Public Montessori to merge with Rosa Parks Elementary 

Distance: 0.7 miles

Jean Parker Elementary to merge with John Yehall Chin Elementary

Distance: 0.5 miles

Jean Parker Elementary to merge with Gordon J. Lau Elementary

Distance: 0.4 miles

Spring Valley Science Elementary to merge with John Muir Elementary

Distance: 2.1 miles

School day will continue to start at 8:40 a.m. 

Yick Wo Alternative Elementary to merge with Redding Elementary 

Distance: 1.2 miles

Yick Wo Alternative Elementary to merge with Sherman Elementary 

Distance: 0.7 miles