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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, September 17, 2007
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications,
415-554-6131
*** PRESS RELEASE ***
MAYOR NEWSOM, SFUSD, AND SFSU TO GUARANTEE COLLEGE FOR ALL 6TH GRADE PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
San Francisco, CA – Today, as part of the Partnership for Achievement between the City and the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), Mayor Gavin Newsom was joined by Superintendent Carlos Garcia, San Francisco State University (SFSU) President Robert Corrigan, and California State University Board of Directors Chair Roberta Achtenberg to announce SF Promise, a new program that would guarantee a spot at San Francisco State University for all 6th grade students in our public schools. SF Promise will formalize a pathway to college through college readiness activities for all students.
"All students in San Francisco deserve the opportunity to attend college if they choose to," said Newsom. "SF Promise guarantees that students and families who commit to the program will receive the tools and supports to make higher education a reality."
Superintendent Carlos Garcia said, "We need to create a college-going culture early. Working with 6th graders will allow us to plan student pathways and take action in middle school and beyond."
The Mayor announced his proposal to fund the program using unspent monies from the Mayoral Election Campaign Fund. Two pieces of legislation will be submitted this week – one, creating a special fund for SF Promise, and the second to amend the Mayoral Election Campaign Fund ordinance, allocating the unspent public funding for the current Mayoral election (approximately $6 million) to the program.
The goals of S.F. Promise are to increase state university admission eligibility and graduation rates, increase the number of students who receive post-secondary education, and increase the number of students who attend California universities from traditionally underrepresented groups.
"SF Promise reinstates the concept of college access for all students," said Achtenberg. President Corrigan added, "A college education means a more competitive workforce. Students who attend college are higher-earning and more productive, furthering their own economic health and that of the City’s."
This level of support will require between $800 - $2,300 per eligible student, per year. The estimate is that in the first year, 350 6th graders (20% of the approximately 1,735 eligible 6th graders) will commit to S.F. Promise, at a cost of $525,000. The goal is to expand the program to include all eligible 6th graders in the subsequent years.
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