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A new school year brings a wave of generosity from San Francisco's business and nonprofit community. This month, three very different partners showed up at three very different schools — each gift shaped around what that specific school actually asked for.

At this year's Dreamforce, actress, producer, and best-selling author Sheryl Lee Ralph sat down with Dr. Maria Su, Superintendent of San Francisco Unified School District, for an unscripted conversation about public education and artificial intelligence — moderated by Sunya Norman, SVP, Impact at Salesforce. Two people who've spent their careers showing up for kids, thinking out loud about what students actually need right now.

A year ago, Spark launched Be Here!, a citywide attendance and belonging campaign to shine a light on chronic absenteeism—and reinforce a simple but important idea: students are more likely to come to school when they feel known, supported, and that they belong. This year, Spark is helping SFUSD take comprehensive action. Through new philanthropic investment, including a grant from the Room to Breathe Project, Spark is providing seed funding to help SFUSD launch a stronger, comprehensive approach to improving attendance, strengthening student wellness and belonging, and reducing chronic absenteeism. The investment is helping SFUSD put in place better data and intervention tools, expanded staffing,  school-level supports, and access to nationally recognized expertise from Attendance Works.

In its sixth summer, SFUSD's Black Star Rising grew from 45 scholars to 97 — and widened its offerings.

On August 6, 2026, SFUSD's Life Sciences Immersion campus moved into a permanent home: 11,000+ square feet purpose-built for health, life sciences, and STEM on the 4th floor of the new Mission Bay School.

For the past three years, Spark has commissioned an original poem to be written and performed at the Superintendent's 21st Century Scholarship Award Ceremony.