Student Success Fund

The council oversees decisions related to the SSF.

Members

• Lorraine Orlandi, Beacon director representative
• Christopher Gonzales, community partner representative
• Rex Ridgeway, family representative
• Ed Center, family representative
• Ana Avilez, family representative
• Stephanie Falkenstein, family representative
• Eddie Kaufmann, school site service provider representative
• Sally Jenkins-Stevens, subject matter expert representative
• Antonae Robertson, community school coordinator representative (SEIU)
• Leslie Hu, educator representative (UESF)
• Sara Liebert, principal representative (UASF)
• Imaan Ansari, Youth Commission representative
• Nikolas Chen, Student Advisory Council representative

To be eligible for a SSF grant, schools must:

• Have a School Site Council that supports the grant proposal
• Have a full-time Community School Coordinator or have plans to hire one
• Agree to coordinate with SFUSD and DCYF

The community school model is the recommended way to reach the fund's goals.

Community schools add to existing resources with:

• Academic support
• Social and emotional interventions
• Strategies to address persistent poverty and trauma
• Support for families to secure stability

The Student Success Fund cannot be used to pay for core staffing.

Applications for readiness and implementation grants closed in Winter 2023.

The community school coordinator applies for funding with support from the school site council:

1. Identify student and family needs with a community needs assessment.
2. Identify existing resources and gaps (staffing, programs, and partnerships) to address those needs with a landscape analysis.
3. Prioritize the gaps to fill with feedback from the school community (families, students, faculty, staff, community partners).
4. Write a plan with staffing, partners, and programs that would fill those gaps.
5. School site council approves the plan.
6. Submit the plan as part of the SSF Grant Application.

Money added to the fund each year:

• Fiscal Year 2023–24: $11 million
• Fiscal Year 2024–25: $35 million
• Fiscal Year 2025–26: $45 million
• Fiscal Year 2026–27: $60 million

Money will be added each year through fiscal year 2037–38. Amounts will be adjusted annually depending on the City's economic forecast.

• DCYF released grant applications in winter 2023
• Grants awarded in spring 2024

Schools submit grant applications with the approval of their School Site Council. To be included in the grant application, community based organizations should discuss with school leadership.

The 1st year of funding has 4 priority areas:

• Rapid Response: 1 time funds available year round to address urgent short term needs. Limited to $25K per school.
  Example: A school experiencing an unexpected increase in violence could apply for funding for counselors.
• Critical Non Core Staffing: Schools may identify critical, non core staffing positions that schools need to be filled that currently do not have funding for the 2023-24 school year.
• School Readiness: 1st year, 1 time funds to hire a community school coordinator or train the school site council.
  Example: A school that does not currently have a staff member dedicated to school partnership coordination, such as a community school coordinator or Beacon director could apply for Year 1 readiness funds to hire for that position.
• Workforce Pipeline - Innovation Grant: This priority focuses on filling shortages in afterschool, paraprofessional, social worker, and nurse staffing.