To Mayor London Breed, SF Board of Supervisors, SF Board of Education, and Superintendent Dr. Wayne,

In light of the recent school intrusion at New Traditions elementary school, and guns on campus at multiple high schools and middle schools, parents, educators, staff and youth are demanding that basic safety measures be in place at each and every SFUSD school by the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Specifically:

1. A comprehensive PA system will be installed and functional at every school
2. Columbine locks will be installed on every classroom door at every school
3. A clear, comprehensive, and communicated school safety plan will be in place at every school

On the afternoon of Friday, February 16th, a class of 4th & 5th graders at New Traditions Elementary School were at gym class in the lower yard of the school. They witnessed a man, unaffiliated with the school, climb the fence and run into the school yard. The principal made an announcement that the school was going on lockdown. Because New Traditions Elementary School doesn't have a PA system, announcements are made via a “speakerphone.”

Reported from families, many New Traditions children never heard Friday's lockdown announcement. When one parent's child's class went downstairs to the art room, she was surprised to find another class in the art room "curled up in the corner." Students, staff, and teachers who were in the yard, hallways, cafeteria, auditorium, other areas without a phone, and even in some classrooms, could not hear the lockdown announcement.

For schools that don't have a PA system, SFUSD policy states "If the PA system is not available, the Incident Commander (Principal) will use other means of communication, i.e., sending messengers to deliver instructions." This policy and the lack of basic PA systems is putting children and adults in schools in harm's way. Because the New Traditions principal was going door-to-door telling teachers to lockdown, she was not able to keep eyes on the intruder. That is when the intruder walked through the school yard, scaled the side of the building and entered a 2nd floor kindergarten classroom via an open window. Fortunately the kindergarten class was able to escape to the hall, and the police eventually came to remove the intruder from the school.

This is not the only SFUSD school that doesn't have a PA system, regularly putting children and staff in danger. There are also too many schools without columbine locks on classroom doors; something SFUSD promised to complete in 2022 but still has not finished. Finally, the recent gun incidents at SFUSD middle and high schools prompted youth and staff to identify the lack of safety plans at schools and to demand thorough plans to be developed, implemented, and communicated schoolwide at every school.

These are basic safety asks to ensure our youth and educators are safe in school, and they require immediate attention. We request that a full project scope, cost, and identified funding sources be presented to the SFUSD community by the end of March, with project completion before the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

Signed,
SFUSD Families, Youth, Educators, and Staff