Save Daniel Webster
4 Jan 2006
My new year’s resolution is to save Daniel Webster Elementary school from closure. Webster is one of two elementary schools in Potrero Hill, and on Jan 12 the Board of Education will be voting on a proposal to merge it with Starr King.
I’ve been busy working with neighborhood parents Dena Fischer and Jennifer Betti on this campaign, and Art Agnos (Potrero Hill resident and former SF mayor) is helping guide us in our efforts.
I’ve set up a separate website for this campaign, and you can follow our efforts here:
www.savewebster.com
A large group of Potrero Hill parents, myself included, have the desire to send our children to a neighborhood public school.
Please help us in our efforts by by writing a letter to the Board of Education and local elected officials.
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I’m still not sure why this is a bad proposal. Daniel Webster and Starr King are not that far, and enrollment has declined over the past decades.
Starr King will be introducing a mandarin immersion program in the fall, which it’s principal is confident will create a long waiting list.
By merging the schools, programs are going to be cut and some current students are going to be displaced.
That school will quickly be at 100% capacity, and with the explosion of young families in the neighborhood they could be shut out of their own neighborhood school.
AND that’s not even accounting for the fact our neighborhood population (including Dogpatch and Mission Bay) will triple in 15 years.
The San Francisco Unified School District acknowledges that a merger would lead to limited elementary school choice.
Starr King left along over the course of 6 years will hit 92% capacity. Daniel Webster is already at 79%.
Add to that there are a lot of parents wanting to help turn around Webster, and it’s pretty evident it’s a bogus proposal.
I forgot to mention that a popular nursery school currently residing at Starr King will be displaced.