Ten-Year Transformation for SF Public Schools

 
 

Stories of Impact…

James Robertson, Teacher

 

Yael Schindler, Student

 

Since 2013, Salesforce has invested over $72 million in Spark SF Public Schools, supporting the transformation of public education at the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) through the Salesforce-SFUSD STEM Leadership Initiative.

Targeting strategic education initiatives such as STEM Computer Science, the partnership has accelerated movement toward SFUSD's Vision 2025, preparing students for 21st-century learning and careers.

Impact Across a Decade

Over the past 10 years, the Salesforce-SFUSD STEM Leadership Initiative has:

  • Created and implemented a replicable PK-12 Computer Science curriculum

  • Raised math and science achievement for underserved students

  • Trained hundreds of new teachers for most-challenging-to-fill positions 

  • Redesigned SFUSD's entire middle grades to ensure equitable access to electives and acceleration courses for ALL students

  • Empowered school principals to innovate through the Principals Innovation Fund

  • Fostered community ties through volunteerism in our public schools

It’s not enough to simply provide a robust infrastructure of technology devices and systems. That’s why America’s classroom closets are littered with fully functional devices covered with dust, charges depleted, which were purchased for initiatives that only paid for the technology and did not fund the professional development, the collective vision-building, or the other change-management considerations required to make the permanent shift to a sustainable 1:1 environment for all SFUSD’s 50,000 students. 

Building a Modern Tech Infrastructure for Middle Grades

In 2013, less than half of all middle grade schools had Wi-Fi. Within 2 years, all schools had a wireless network installed and operating, with coverage across 99% of all schools. Prior to Salesforce, most middle schools had less than 60 laptops or tablets that were shared campus-wide. By 2021, Salesforce’s initial investment in devices, followed by further rollout during COVID, has enabled the middle grades division to effectively have a 1:1 device to student ratio.

Transforming the Middle School Experience

Building on modernizing technology infrastructure, Salesforce invested in a comprehensive redesign of SFUSD’s middle schools to fully realize the district's vision of an engaging and rigorous experience for its students. This included embedding project-based learning into the curriculum and standardizing teacher collaboration at all middle schools. It further redesigned class schedules so that students would have access to the core curriculum AND get to experience electives like art, computer science, physical education and world languages. Today, 85% of middle schoolers have access to elective courses and 66% have increased access to acceleration courses.

 
 

Raising STEM Achievement

Before Salesforce, Computer Science was essentially non-existent in elementary and middle grades at SFUSD with less than 1% of students having access. By 2021, Computer Science classes were available in every secondary school, and 70% of elementary schools. During this time, enrollment in AP Computer Science tripled with a corresponding increase in students scoring 3 or higher on the AP exam.

Empowering Diversity in Education

In 2015, 25% of SFUSD's students were enrolled in a computer science class. Today, 100% have access to computer science. Just as critically, the enrollment in these courses reflect the overall demographics of SFUSD. Girls now make up 47% of computer science students (up from 25%) and underrepresented students of color (African American, LatinX, and Native American) make up 35% (up from 8%).

Math Matters

Middle School is the nexus of access for students making it to calculus and advanced math. With Salesforce's investment, SFUSD saw a 41% increase in Math attendance after the partnership's 6th year and an increase in enrollment in Math. SFUSD has seen dramatic improvements, becoming the first large urban district to reach 50% proficiency for all students in math and significantly reducing the number of Algebra repeaters (from 50% to 10%).

Directly Investing in our Middle Grades Leadership

Recognizing each school has unique needs, Salesforce's continuous investment has included the Principals Innovation Fund, empowering principals to enrich their students' 21st-century learning experience. Marina MS is a prime example, where a multimedia lab was created, allowing students to work with state-of-the-art equipment for project-based learning. Other investments include technology specialists, nurses and counselors, maker spaces, wellness centers, and devices.

Incubating Programs

Salesforce has also helped incubate innovative programs like Black Star Rising, our summer school program that provides intensive and engaging STEM experiences for African American students. Although small in scale, the initial programs have proved strikingly successful, with graduates showing significant mastery in Algebra in the school year after the program. This example embodies the innovation promoted by Salesforce to bring new, effective programs for our historically underserved students.

Recruiting, Training, and Retaining the Next Generation of San Francisco Educators

Since 2017, over 400 aspiring teachers have been recruited and credentialed to serve in hard-to-fill disciplines (bilingual, STEM, Special Education) for San Francisco public schools. At least 65% of new teacher recruits serving in hard-to-staff areas were people of color.