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High School Task Force Information Session

August 10, 2022

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Welcome

& �Introduction

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Today’s Agenda

Background on the High School Task Force
Project overview
What we’re looking for in a partner
Selection process and key dates
Q & A

If you have questions during the presentation, please put them in the chat box.

SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Background:

High School Task Force

In June 2022, the Board of Education approved a resolution to create a Superintendent’s Task Force to Provide Community-Informed Recommendations to Improve District High Schools.

There are four main drivers for the creation of the task force:

Persistent achievement gaps
A need to understand how high schools are and aren’t serving students well
A need for a review of admissions policies
A desire for deep community engagement and transparency on important district strategies

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Project Overview

The Task Force’s charge has four parts:

Gather input from the community on what it needs and wants from the District’s high schools
Understand and summarize the current portfolio of the District’s high schools in terms of offerings and student outcomes
Provide recommendations to the Superintendent on ways to improve policies, practices, and programs for better student outcomes
Examine admissions policies for both selective admissions and comprehensive high schools

Read slide

If you’ve been following the news, you know that the selective admissions policy at Lowell High School has been controversial.

The Task Force will address that issue and provide recommendations for a fair and equitable admissions policy.
It’s an issue that’s important to our community and there are many differing perspectives, so this project will require your willingness to engage in a fraught topic and bring the group to the point where they can recommend a long-term solution.

I want to emphasize that the recommendations for a selective admissions policy is just one part of the Task Force’s charge. We have a responsibility to provide a world-class education to ALL of the students who attend high school in the district so we need to make sure that all of the high schools in our portfolio are outstanding.

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Project Overview

The consultant will NOT create recommendations for the superintendent or board. That’s the Task Force’s job.

What the consultant will do:

Work closely with the SFUSD team
Manage the project
Facilitate Task Force member selection
Engage the community
Facilitate meetings
Conduct research and analysis
Communicate internally and externally

Here are the seven main activities that the consultant will take on.

I want to highlight the project management and community engagement ones.

Working closely with SFUSD

I understand that for a consultant to succeed, they'll need dedicated support from INSIDE SFUSD. For example, the consultant will need to identify data, schedule meetings, and manage SFUSD internal dynamics. In short, they'll need a guide and a partner. We're committed to providing that resource and are in the process of defining that role.

Managing the project

This is a complex, long-term project that will be both technically challenging and politically sensitive.
It will require airtight planning and regular communication with multiple stakeholders to hit milestones.

Engaging the community

This is a critical component of the project. To have a system of high schools that are responsive to our community, we need to know what our high school students need and what their parents want.
This project will require planning and facilitating two-way communication between the Task Force and the community to gather input and share updates.
San Francisco is a big and diverse city, a robust community engagement component is a must have.

[+ any others you want to elevate]

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2023

2022

Project Timeline

Early September 2022 - Ideal project start date

April 30, 2023 - Due date for recommendations that will impact potential School Year 2024-25 high school applicants

TBD - Project end date (No later than 12-months from Task Force formation)

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Late September 2022 - Ideal Task Force start date

Update to Board (approximate timing)

October 25 - District adopts new vision, values, goals, and guardrails

We want to hire a partner and begin the work as soon as possible–ideally in early September. I realize this is a quick turnaround so even small capacity to ramp up would be appreciated.

We may do some planning internally to give the consultant a running start.

An important date on here is October 25th. That’s when we expect the board to adopt a vision, values, goals, and guardrails for the district. The Task Force’s recommendations must be aligned with those goals.

The board resolution requires quarterly progress reports.

IF the task force proposes recommendations that will impact SY 24-25, they need to be proposed by April 30th to give the district time to plan and implement the changes. This is particularly important for changes to admissions.

The task force’s work will end no later than 12 months after it’s convened for the first time. That window of time is meant to balance the complexity and breadth of the charge with the need to make decisions and move to implementation.

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What we’re looking for in a partner

Minimum Requirements

Experience managing complex, long-term projects on time and on budget
Experience planning and facilitating community engagement activities
Experience facilitating groups of leaders with diverse experiences and perspectives
Experience synthesizing research for decision making

Ideal Partner

Deep knowledge of high schools in large urban districts in California
Cultural sensitivity and equity lens
Ability to navigate politics
Sets up others to be effective and successful

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Selection Process & Key Dates

Selection Process

Key Dates

Sunday, August 28 - Proposals Due
Tuesday, September 6 - First Round of Interviews
Thursday, September 8 - Second Round of Interviews (if necessary)
Thursday, September 8 - Panel Deliberation
Friday, September 9 - Intent to Award Notice (Anticipated)
Tuesday September 20 - Board of Education Approval Date (Anticipated)

Minimum qualifications check

Panel evaluation

Interview

Contract negotiation

Board approval

Your proposal won’t be considered by the evaluation panel if it doesn’t meet the minimum qualifications
The evaluation panel will be looking for:

Coherence and comprehensiveness of the Proposal.
Proposer’s cultural competency and an equity focus.
Indication of Proposer’s ability to collaborate effectively with SFUSD staff and, as needed, other consultants.
Proposer’s ability to facilitate transparently so the public has appropriate visibility into deliberations and decisions.
Experience working the California K-12 policy environment.
Expertise in high school leadership, operations, regulations, student assignment systems, and feeder patterns.
Experience working on politically sensitive projects in large urban school districts.
Experience communicating to multiple audiences verbally and in writing.

The panel will also take into consideration the proposal’s cost relative to the services provided.

I want to stress this. SFUSD is in the process of remedying a structural deficit and has limited resources available for non-site-based activities. $500k is the cap for this project. We’re looking for a partner that can balance cost and quality of services.

The top three proposals will advance to an interview where you can voice over your proposal and we can ask questions.

From there we’ll get the contract squared away and aim to have the board approve it at their September 20th, board meeting

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Our Opportunity

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Questions?

Direct additional RFP questions to:

Dr. Albie Udom, Director of Procurement

415.241.6468 x 1608

Udoma@sfusd.edu