Balboa: it's on everyone's radar now.
The moment that strikes fear into San Francisco parents’ hearts is upon us. Yes, that moment. Brace yourself. It’s time … to apply to high school.
But take courage. There is help – and it’s not nearly as scary as it used to be.
Five years ago, parents were literally protesting in the streets over the shortage of seats at Lincoln High School in the Sunset/Parkside District. Those parents – largely Sunset District Asian families who were very focused on their kids’ education – saw few acceptable options outside Lowell and Lincoln. Their counterparts north of Golden Gate Park in the Richmond District saw Washington High meeting the same need, though the noisy protests centered around Lincoln. A widespread view in the community then was that for kids who weren’t headed for Lowell (or School of the Arts, for those so inclined), Lincoln and Washington were the only acceptable options. (Lowell, in the Sunset/Lake Merced district, admits based on academic achievement; SOTA, near Twin Peaks, admits by audition.)
For perspective, 20 years ago or so Lincoln was considered close to failing and nearly lost its accreditation – so the fact that parents were now staging demonstrations demanding to get their kids into Lincoln was actually good news.
Since the 2003 protests, the pressure has eased as Balboa (in the Excelsior District) and Galileo (near Russian Hill/Marina) high schools have soared in reputation and popularity. And minds seem to be opening to other options. Burton High in the Portola District, to name one, offers such intriguing programs as an Academy of Finance and an Academy of Engineering.
SFUSD is an all-choice district, and families may apply to any high school. Lasering in on one prized school and holding out for it all but guarantees intense stress (and this is a tough one, because at this age the student has a lot of the input). Checking out all the options and keeping an open mind will make things much, much easier.
The resources below will get you through the school search. My focus here is on San Francisco public high schools. The private schools are masters at marketing themselves, while the public schools’ reputation has suffered unjustly from the massive beating public education has taken throughout the Bush years. But I can recommend what appears to be a thoroughly researched guide, Private High Schools of the San Francisco Bay Area (3rd Edition), by Betsy Little and Paula Molligan, published by Pince-Nez Press. The city website www.sfkids.org offers a page that’s also a good place to start.
To check out San Francisco public high schools:
The Calfee School Guide is in its second year of working directly with SFUSD eighth-graders to help them make the most of their high school choices.
Parents for Public Schools is the all-purpose source of information and handholding for San Francisco school enrollment at all grade levels.
Greatschools.net provides user-friendly access to facts and figures about schools, though families are urged to look past the statistics, which provide only one gauge of a school’s quality.
Take a deep breath and get started.
Comments