Issues
Education
Today, California’s education system is facing sweeping budget cuts from Sacramento. California already experiences some of the lowest levels of educational achievement in the country - 97 California school districts failed to meet basic federal standards. And inexcusably, California is 47th in the nation in per-pupil spending, spending $1,900 less per student than the national average.
Governor Schwarzenegger's multi-billion dollar state cuts to education may lead to thousands of teacher layoffs, a shortening of the school year, a pronounced reduction in afterschool programs and dramatic increases in class sizes. Education is the future of California – more than ever, California needs leadership that is unafraid to find innovative solutions stop our schools from falling behind any further.
Working largely with existing resources, Mayor Newsom has applied a little common sense and a lot of innovation to help turn San Francisco public schools into a statewide model for educational achievement. Gavin Newsom knows investment in education is the best investment we can make – that's why he's working to get more kids into college, create more afterschool and preschool programming, and working in partnership with the school district to help San Francisco schools succeed.
- Partnership for Achievement: At a time when many mayors around the country are taking over their local school districts, Mayor Newsom sought a collaborative solution for San Francisco’s public schools. Called the Partnership for Achievement, this unique agreement encourages cooperation and resource-sharing between the San Francisco Unified School District and the City and County of San Francisco. The Partnership played a key role in the decision to use $24.5 million from San Francisco’s Rainy Day Fund to save hundreds of jobs for San Francisco public school teachers during a recent budget shortfall.
- San Francisco Promise: Instead of waiting for high school to prepare our students for college, under Mayor Newsom’s leadership, San Francisco is starting college preparation as early as the 6th grade with a program called San Francisco Promise. San Francisco Promise creates a college-going culture in San Francisco schools and guarantees the resources to go to college for every public school student who qualifies for the program. Newsom is working with the California State University system to help lower drop-out rates and promote greater student achievement by guaranteeing a place at San Francisco State University.
- Preschool For All: In 2005, Mayor Newsom launched San Francisco’s Preschool for All initiative, making San Francisco the first city in California to commit local funds to universal preschool. By 2008, the program provided quality, free-of-charge preschool to 2,400 San Francisco children, up from 1,000 in its first year. The program will expand to all of San Francisco’s 6,000 four-year-olds by 2010 and already scores 25% higher on instructional quality than national preschool averages.
- Afterschool For All: In 2005, Mayor Newsom pledged to provide afterschool for all elementary and middle school youth by 2010, making San Francisco one of the few cities in the country to make such a commitment. Today, through Afterschool for All, close to 26,000 children have been enrolled in afterschool enrichment programs – meaning some 77% of elementary and middle school youth now have access to afterschool programs.
- Top Performing Urban School District in the State: San Francisco was recognized as the highest performing urban school district in California in 2008.
- Join Our Policy Team: Gavin Newsom believes that the best plan is a better idea. If you would like to share your ideas and insights on how to reshape California's Education policy, please email us at issues@gavinnewsom.com.
