2020–’21 Facilities:
Important facts from NSSF’s Leadership Team
Updated April 1, 2020
• New School San Francisco (NSSF) will move to a new location in 2020–’21.
Via State Proposition 39, New School SF and other public charter schools in California are able to rent affordable space from public school districts. For the past 3 school years, we’ve been renting from the San Francisco Unified School District (aka SFUSD and the District), which has informed us that there is no way to stay at our current location (the Enola Maxwell campus at 655 De Haro St. on Potrero Hill).
A split campus—keeping half of our grades at 655 De Haro—was also not considered by the District. From what we know, the space that we currently occupy will not be available next year.
• Where does New School SF’s Prop. 39 offer of 2020–’21 SFUSD facilities stand?
As expected, on April 1st we received our final Prop. 39 offer from the District. There has been no change from the District’s 1st-round offer; the District’s final offer remains Sarah B. Cooper School in North Beach at 940 Filbert St.
Over the past 2 months, we have been assessing the site, determining the needs of our community and programs, and negotiating for the allocation of adequate space, equivalent to similar schools. The Sarah B. Cooper campus and surrounding neighborhood provide excellent opportunities for our growing school, which will expand to grades K–6 and serve 348 students next year.
During the month of April, we will continue to negotiate for additional space so that our offer is “reasonably equivalent” to schools like ours. This means securing additional classrooms to fully accommodate our program, like special education, arts, and family services.
We know that the location poses significant challenges due to its distance from our current location. As such, transportation and access to the North Beach campus remains our top priority.
• Is the District’s decision final?
Yes. In our ongoing negotiations with the District, there has been no viable alternative offered, either as a unified or a split campus.
• What about a private lease of a school site?
There are no private-lease options for next year. While we are continuing to explore private longer-terms leases, there are very few options at the moment and all require expensive repairs, so none would be ready in time for fall 2020 occupancy.
• Will New School SF accept the District’s offer of the Sarah B. Cooper campus?
Yes. Declining SFUSD’s April 1st offer would take New School SF out of the Prop. 39 process and release the District from its obligation to provide us space.
We have until May 1st, 2020, to formally respond to the District’s offer. We will use this time to continue our negotiations to ensure our offer is “reasonably equivalent” to schools like ours. This means securing the space needed to fully accommodate our program, like special education, arts, and family services.
We will also continue to focus on planning for the upcoming year, including detailing our transportation plan and school schedule. We will be sending out more information about how to engage in this process directly to current and prospective families.
• Will there be another school co-located with New School SF at the Sarah B. Cooper campus?
We now know that the District is considering locating a small number of preschool classes in the Annex (the second and separate smaller building on the Sarah B. Cooper campus; hosting a preschool was its original use). We will update our community as we learn more.
• How does the New School SF team feel about Sarah B. Cooper—and what more can you tell us about the campus?
We’re fortunate that our team is committed to New School SF independent of location. Currently, 90% of our staff will be returning for 2020–’21. While the additional commute time to Sarah B. Cooper will be a hardship for some, all are committed to a successful transition.
As educators, there is much to appreciate at 940 Filbert: large, beautiful, sun-filled classrooms, flexible communal spaces, generous storage, collaboration areas, broad hallways, accessible play spaces, and a dynamic, opportunity-rich neighborhood.
Sarah B. Cooper was recently remodeled (2013) and meets current School Building Codes for seismic and fire/life safety compliance. The campus is currently in use by Garfield Elementary while its own campus is under construction; Garfield will move back to its home (just a few blocks away) at the end of this school year.
Our ultimate goal is for New School to become a K–12 on a unified campus, and Sarah B. Cooper would be a good stepping-stone toward that as we work on building our Capital Campaign.
While Sarah B. Cooper would not be big enough to host us as a K–12, it looks like it could fit us as we grow to a K–8 (468 students). We have asked the District about a longer-term lease (of Sarah B. Cooper or another unused campus), but that is not currently an option. So we would need to apply via State Prop. 39 to stay at Sarah B. Cooper each year.
• Will New School SF help with Transportation to this new campus?
Yes. The school has committed to busing and to subsidizing its cost. Please see the school’s April 2nd email to families for additional details and opportunities to learn more.
• When will families need to (re)enroll for 2020–’21?
The enrollment and re-enrollment deadline for 2020–’21 is April 17th.
We understand that transportation and access are considerations for many families and are therefore working to confirm the details of our busing plan by then. In the event that we can’t present a busing plan to you by April 17th, we will extend the (re)enrollment deadline, as we want families to make a fully informed choice.
• Where does New School SF stand on locating a permanent home?
Planning for New School SF’s Capital Campaign is underway, and we will be making some big asks in the next 6 to 9 months that will give us a better idea of whether we will be able to raise the money that we’ll need in order to locate, transact, get permits for, build, and open a K–12 campus—a process that we think will take a minimum of 3 years.
The dream is that our current 5th graders would move into their 9th grade year at our permanent K–12 home. We know that's an aggressive goal.
Another goal for our permanent campus has always been to stay on the southeast side of the city. But our priority is to keep our school as a unified K–12, so we can't limit our property search to the southeast side of the city.
• Where/when can we learn more about Facilities and Transportation options and ask questions?
We realize that the move to Sarah B. Cooper will impact families differently. Some may view a move as a positive for the school while others may experience the distance and accessibility as a significant hardship. We know from experience that there will be many questions, and our ability to successfully navigate this transition, best support our families, and prepare for a move depends on clear priorities, open communications, and transparent decision-making.
We are providing additional opportunities for current and future families to learn more, ask questions, and take part in our planning for next year. These include leadership-hosted Coffee Chats focused on transportation, surveys, Home & School Council meetings, and access to previously sent information. Please see the school’s April 2nd email to families for additional details and opportunities to learn more.