News

December 2010

Moving the Needle: Emerging Trends in Math and Science Education - Funders Roundtable on January 12th

The San Francisco Foundation and California State University East Bay invite you to join us on Wednesday, January 12th for a funders roundtable breakfast discussion of new strategies for the intervention and education of underserved students in math and science. Sandra R. Hernández, M.D., chief executive officer of The San Francisco Foundation, and Mohammad H. Qayoumi, Ph.D., president of California State University East Bay, will be joined by a panel of distinguished leaders in philanthropy, business, and higher education to discuss the importance of math and science education as a means to achieve education equity in our region. For complete event details, and to RSVP, visit our Calendar.

November 2010

Speaking in Tongues Film Screening on November 18th

Scene from Speaking in Tongues film.

Speaking in Tongues is a documentary about four pioneering families that put their children in public schools where, from the first day of kindergarten, their teachers speak mostly Chinese or Spanish. The film follows the story of four diverse kids on a journey to become bilingual. This charming story will challenge you to rethink the skills that Americans will need in the 21st century.

Please join The San Francisco Foundation and Northern California Grantmakers for a special film screening followed by a panel discussion that focuses on the exciting possibilities of how this film can and is being used in education and advocacy for multilingualism.

Visit our Calendar to learn more and to register for the screening. 

August 2010

Film Screening on September 21st: Straightlaced

Scene from the film Straighlaced

Please join the Education Program on Tuesday, September 21st, for the premiere of Straightlaced by GroundSpark Films, which unearths how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are confining American teens. Their stories reflect a diversity of experiences, demonstrating how gender role expectations and homophobia are interwoven and illustrating the different ways that these expectations connect with culture, race, and class.

Visit our Calendar to learn more about Straightlaced, and to RSVP for the screening.

May 2010

Funders Briefing: A New Way Forward for San Francisco Public School Students

Please join Program Officer Lisa Villarreal on Monday, May 24th for a San Francisco Education Funders Briefing, featuring the collaboration between the San Francisco School Alliance (SFSA) and the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to create a new way forward for the 56,000 public school students in San Francisco. Meet Terry Bergeson, SFSA’s new executive director, and Richard Carranza, SFUSD's deputy superintendent. For more information and to RSVP, visit our Calendar.

November 2009

The Education Program Invests in the Promise Neighborhood Approach

The San Francisco Foundation Education Program is investing in numerous community school efforts that look and feel a lot like President Obama's new Promise Neighborhoods. Program Officer Lisa Villarreal has been traveling to New York City to visit models like the Harlem Children's Zone, Children's Aid Society, and New Visions Schools and to Washington D.C. to visit U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Coalition for Community Schools, to personally deliver the message that the Bay Area has a long history of successful community/school partnerships and is ready to embrace Promise Neighborhoods. One Foundation grantee, Building Blocks for Kids, in Richmond, is a Harlem Children's Zone replication site and has already served on a national panel to launch the President’s Promise Neighborhoods Initiative this November in New York City.

October 2009

Lisa Villarreal Joins Grantmakers for Education National Board of Directors

On October 4, 2009, Education Program Officer Lisa Villarreal was appointed to the national board of directors of Grantmakers for Education (GFE), at its national conference in Chicago. Founded in 1995, GFE promotes dialogue, inquiry, and learning to strengthen practice within the field of education philanthropy by enhancing grantmakers’ knowledge about effective education grantmaking strategies. GFE is the only national organization representing the diversity of education philanthropy today. Members include over 240 philanthropies throughout the country that bring broad and different strategies and approaches to their work. Lisa will serve a multi-year term.

September 2009

Join “Your SF Public Schools” to Build a Brighter Future for our Students

Lisa Villarreal, Education Program Officer, has joined with a collective of 17 public and private partners to create a permanent campaign to promote San Francisco public schools. On September 1st, yoursfpublicschools.org launched the first interactive wave of this campaign. Yoursfpublicschools.org aims to inspire each of us to play a role in helping build and ensure a world-class public education system that embodies the same spirit of equity, innovation, and community commitment that makes San Francisco so vibrant. Click here to read more to learn how you can take action and get involved in this campaign.