S.F. International High School

I'm surprised to see how low we are rated. Our school is a small school with very dedicated teachers, a supportive administrative team and a loving community of students and staff. We strive to be student focused. This brings me to the next issue. What is the great schools rating based on? If it's based on our API, last year we had around 49% SIFE students (students missing formal edu). Also, we are composed of 100% new ELL's who struggle with understanding English phrasing of a question more than the content. With that said, our statistics show our students do better than EL students in other schools in the district. We may never have the same API scores as Lowell who selects incoming 9th graders by their GPA. Instead, we strive to give new immigrants the school skills they need to be successful in college and within US culture. We emphasize literacy and community. I LOVE my students and define my success by their success. I believe every student can graduate from high school and can succeed in a 4 year college. I assess all standards and reteach. However, any observer with a heart would see the work we do here goes beyond content. That's only a part of a much bigger picture.

As a SFIHS student I can totally say I felt welcome to the school. teachers and students are like a family. No matter were you're come or are from you feel welcome and it feels like you have never left home. Struggle is never hear or sad from huskies with our four values we put together our selfs to be the persons that we are and had we become over the days. And let's also not forget our brave and awesome teacher that never let us down. You do not need to be afraid Teachers are always there for you.

I am a teacher at the school and feel I have been completely supported by the staff and administration. I feel that it is an incredibly supportive place to learn how to teach EL students. There is also a lot of space to become a teacher leader and develop as a professional. The teachers here are excellent and push each other to teach better. There is alignment in so many ways through true authentic collaboration. The comments before are about a very specific case in which the admin had to make a tough call about who would be able to support our students the most. I do believe they were acting in the interest of the students.

I agree with the teacher review dated 5/18/12. It is an accurate picture of SF International. The school works well for resilient students who are motivated to learn English in this country. But, for those that struggle in any way, this is not a safe environment to challenge oneself to learn a new language/culture. It is true, there is no room for those students or staff members to express ideas outside what is deemed acceptable by the administrator. She has pushed out students and staff members she finds undesirable.