S.F. schools are cutting extracurricular programs. It could hurt these kids the most
For this upcoming school year, there is a big fat zero next to it. The program has been eliminated.
Like many so-called 'extras,' it felt more like a critical necessity, said Superintendent Maria Su.
But amid crushing budget deficits across the state's public school system and the Trump Administration's cuts to a wide range of support for low-income children and families, there is little money left of public funds to pay for anything beyond the basics, education experts say, likely leaving disadvantaged children further behind, education leaders say.
Activities like internships, sports and clubs, the so-called extracurriculars, have long been linked to higher grades in schools, refined social skills, determination, grit, as well as stronger college applications filled with examples of leadership and community involvement.
But children from wealthier families are twice as likely to be in sports, clubs or lessons than those living in poverty, according to Census data. That disparity starts as early as kindergarten, when many 5 year olds start running around soccer fields or take their first piano lesson, while most of their less-advantaged peers are sidelined.
In the past, public schools could backfill some of those experiences, providing opportunities for sports, music, clubs, theater, field trips and after-school enrichment programs, giving students the social and academic benefits of extracurricular pursuits.
In San Francisco, the school district's $114 million in cuts this year have hit classrooms hard, forcing officials to reconsider every staffing position and every dollar spent.
'I grew up poor and I know that access to education and (extracurricular) programming is truly the key to a better future,' Su said. 'All of that together really does create a really well-rounded young person who is prepared for whatever life throws at them.'
Internships and all the extras really do matter, Su said.
'Through exposure you get experience,' she added. 'Through experience you get confidence.'
While the public schools across the state are forced to focus, for the time being, on the necessities of instruction and learning, cities and community organizations often ensure low-income families have access to some extracurricular activities, whether free days at museums, discounted swim lessons or summer camps.
In San Francisco, the Boys and Girls Club is a significant part of that, with after-school and summer programs, including a financial literacy camp, which might sound dreary, but as the final day played out in a second-floor conference room at the UC San Francisco Law School this past week, it was anything but boring.
The culmination of the camp was a team product pitch to judges, similar to the television show 'Shark Tank,' re-dubbed Fish Tank. The teams came up with inventions, price points based on produce costs and slogans.
The pitches included a tennis shoe that expanded as a child grew, an all-in-one beauty product and the winner: a dissolving chewing gum called DisGum.
'We thought about problems with gum,' one of the members, Euan, a sixth grader in the fall, told the Chronicle after their victory. 'We made gum that dissolves after a certain time,' whether it's in someone's mouth or on the underside of a school desk, he added.
The camp was a partnership between the University of San Francisco and the Boys and Girls Club, with funding from the Silk Family Investment Institute. It provided the campers a foundation in budgeting, banking and entrepreneurship while integrating creative thinking and team work — 'the kind of push kids with more opportunities get,' said Brian Sauer, Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco citywide director of education. 'This is just one of so many programs we do in the summer.'
The kids even wanted to talk about tariffs, given the increased costs businesses need to pay on imported materials for their products, said Carl Levy III, a marketing student at University of San Francisco and one of the camp's instructors.
'They weren't gifted with the opportunity of 401K parents or of being trust fund babies, the kids who have piano lessons,' he added. 'But these kids had the opportunity to be here.'
Beyond the Boys and Girls Club, the city also offers a wide range of programs for youth from low-income families, a commitment made to keep working families in the city and one that backstops a public education system reliant on state and federal funding, said Su, the former director of the Department of Children, Youth and Families.
The Recreation and Parks Department, for example, offers many free activities, including swim and tennis lessons, boating, camps, drop-in sports and more. The city also provides scholarships for low-income families for the wildly popular summer camps, which would otherwise cost $204 a week for a basic day camp and up to $583 for five days learning 'The Art of Skateboarding.'
But it's a bit of a mixed bag for the have-nots.
Of the 4,000 kids attending the camps this summer, about 1,200 are getting financial help, but that's a fraction of the 27,000 students in San Francisco public schools who qualify for the support.
Perhaps the biggest disparity in the city's experiential opportunity is Camp Mather, a popular Recreation and Parks family camp near Yosemite National Park, which costs about $2,200 per week for a family of four, including two children.
There are 'camperships' to cover half the cost of lodging and food, but of the 1,205 cabin reservations so far this summer, just 46 have been subsidized, or 4% of the total. This is despite city efforts to triple those numbers over the past several years based on a belief that 'access to nature should never be a luxury,' said Phil Ginsburg, executive director of Recreation and Parks, in a 2020 announcement of increased funding for the low-income families.
In addition to family income, the racial demographics also reflect a disparity in which kids get to experience the camp's s'mores, singing, hikes and talent shows. Camp Mather guests last year were 53.9% white, 12.4% Asian American, 12.4% Latino, 1.5% Black and 24.6% multiracial/decline to state.
City officials said transportation is the biggest issue for many families, given the camp's location near Yosemite.
Any public efforts in San Francisco or elsewhere to address gaps in extracurricular access would not only have to tackle the many issues confronting families, but it would also have to start when children are just starting school.
An Ohio State University study of 401 kindergartners from 2022 found that if their mothers had a high school education or less, 47% of their children participated in sports, compared to 96% of the kids whose moms had a graduate or professional degree.
Closing the extracurricular gap isn't easy, Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank. It requires funding, but also addressing policies, like pay-to-play sports in high schools that limit access to low-income families.
As for the money part, the fiscal conservative, who has long supported school vouchers for poor and working-class families, said he would like to see the idea spread to enrichment activities like tutoring and other extras.
It's a way to get more money into parents' pockets, even if their kids are in public schools, Petrilli said.
He noted the Trump Administration's Big Beautiful Bill includes a provision aligned with that by giving a tax credit to donors who fund scholarships, which can be used not just for private school tuition, but also tutoring for public and private school students.
'It's always going to be the case that wealthy people are always going to spend more money on their kids,' Petrilli told the Chronicle. 'We could be doing a whole lot more so kids have positive experiences after-school and during the summer and we need to figure out how as a society to support that.'
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Desperate Democrats consider using a new — and old — weapon
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Newsweek
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2 days ago
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Activities like internships, sports and clubs, the so-called extracurriculars, have long been linked to higher grades in schools, refined social skills, determination, grit, as well as stronger college applications filled with examples of leadership and community involvement. But children from wealthier families are twice as likely to be in sports, clubs or lessons than those living in poverty, according to Census data. That disparity starts as early as kindergarten, when many 5 year olds start running around soccer fields or take their first piano lesson, while most of their less-advantaged peers are sidelined. In the past, public schools could backfill some of those experiences, providing opportunities for sports, music, clubs, theater, field trips and after-school enrichment programs, giving students the social and academic benefits of extracurricular pursuits. In San Francisco, the school district's $114 million in cuts this year have hit classrooms hard, forcing officials to reconsider every staffing position and every dollar spent. 'I grew up poor and I know that access to education and (extracurricular) programming is truly the key to a better future,' Su said. 'All of that together really does create a really well-rounded young person who is prepared for whatever life throws at them.' Internships and all the extras really do matter, Su said. 'Through exposure you get experience,' she added. 'Through experience you get confidence.' While the public schools across the state are forced to focus, for the time being, on the necessities of instruction and learning, cities and community organizations often ensure low-income families have access to some extracurricular activities, whether free days at museums, discounted swim lessons or summer camps. In San Francisco, the Boys and Girls Club is a significant part of that, with after-school and summer programs, including a financial literacy camp, which might sound dreary, but as the final day played out in a second-floor conference room at the UC San Francisco Law School this past week, it was anything but boring. The culmination of the camp was a team product pitch to judges, similar to the television show 'Shark Tank,' re-dubbed Fish Tank. The teams came up with inventions, price points based on produce costs and slogans. The pitches included a tennis shoe that expanded as a child grew, an all-in-one beauty product and the winner: a dissolving chewing gum called DisGum. 'We thought about problems with gum,' one of the members, Euan, a sixth grader in the fall, told the Chronicle after their victory. 'We made gum that dissolves after a certain time,' whether it's in someone's mouth or on the underside of a school desk, he added. The camp was a partnership between the University of San Francisco and the Boys and Girls Club, with funding from the Silk Family Investment Institute. It provided the campers a foundation in budgeting, banking and entrepreneurship while integrating creative thinking and team work — 'the kind of push kids with more opportunities get,' said Brian Sauer, Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco citywide director of education. 'This is just one of so many programs we do in the summer.' The kids even wanted to talk about tariffs, given the increased costs businesses need to pay on imported materials for their products, said Carl Levy III, a marketing student at University of San Francisco and one of the camp's instructors. 'They weren't gifted with the opportunity of 401K parents or of being trust fund babies, the kids who have piano lessons,' he added. 'But these kids had the opportunity to be here.' Beyond the Boys and Girls Club, the city also offers a wide range of programs for youth from low-income families, a commitment made to keep working families in the city and one that backstops a public education system reliant on state and federal funding, said Su, the former director of the Department of Children, Youth and Families. The Recreation and Parks Department, for example, offers many free activities, including swim and tennis lessons, boating, camps, drop-in sports and more. The city also provides scholarships for low-income families for the wildly popular summer camps, which would otherwise cost $204 a week for a basic day camp and up to $583 for five days learning 'The Art of Skateboarding.' But it's a bit of a mixed bag for the have-nots. Of the 4,000 kids attending the camps this summer, about 1,200 are getting financial help, but that's a fraction of the 27,000 students in San Francisco public schools who qualify for the support. Perhaps the biggest disparity in the city's experiential opportunity is Camp Mather, a popular Recreation and Parks family camp near Yosemite National Park, which costs about $2,200 per week for a family of four, including two children. There are 'camperships' to cover half the cost of lodging and food, but of the 1,205 cabin reservations so far this summer, just 46 have been subsidized, or 4% of the total. This is despite city efforts to triple those numbers over the past several years based on a belief that 'access to nature should never be a luxury,' said Phil Ginsburg, executive director of Recreation and Parks, in a 2020 announcement of increased funding for the low-income families. In addition to family income, the racial demographics also reflect a disparity in which kids get to experience the camp's s'mores, singing, hikes and talent shows. Camp Mather guests last year were 53.9% white, 12.4% Asian American, 12.4% Latino, 1.5% Black and 24.6% multiracial/decline to state. City officials said transportation is the biggest issue for many families, given the camp's location near Yosemite. Any public efforts in San Francisco or elsewhere to address gaps in extracurricular access would not only have to tackle the many issues confronting families, but it would also have to start when children are just starting school. An Ohio State University study of 401 kindergartners from 2022 found that if their mothers had a high school education or less, 47% of their children participated in sports, compared to 96% of the kids whose moms had a graduate or professional degree. Closing the extracurricular gap isn't easy, Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank. It requires funding, but also addressing policies, like pay-to-play sports in high schools that limit access to low-income families. As for the money part, the fiscal conservative, who has long supported school vouchers for poor and working-class families, said he would like to see the idea spread to enrichment activities like tutoring and other extras. It's a way to get more money into parents' pockets, even if their kids are in public schools, Petrilli said. He noted the Trump Administration's Big Beautiful Bill includes a provision aligned with that by giving a tax credit to donors who fund scholarships, which can be used not just for private school tuition, but also tutoring for public and private school students. 'It's always going to be the case that wealthy people are always going to spend more money on their kids,' Petrilli told the Chronicle. 'We could be doing a whole lot more so kids have positive experiences after-school and during the summer and we need to figure out how as a society to support that.'
