Understanding the 7 Steps

Bridge to Success identifies the seven steps to reach post-secondary success. San Francisco is home to numerous cross-institutional citywide efforts to help students and families along every step of their preschool to post-secondary journey.

Step 1: Enter Kindergarten Ready

Preschool for All: Every child deserves the gift of learning. That is why San Francisco developed the Preschool for All (PFA) program, providing free half-day preschool for all four-year-old San Franciscans who wish to attend preschool, regardless of income. Children living in every neighborhood and every zip code in San Francisco are now eligible. Now, all young children in our city will be able to learn and play together.

Kindergarten to College: The City and County of San Francisco Kindergarten to College program wants to give your kindergartner a college savings account a kickstart with a $50 deposit. If you and your child add to it regularly, it can become a 12-year head start towards college tuition. Why did we create this program? Because a college savings plan can make a huge difference. College graduates tend to get better jobs, avoid layoffs, and earn more money over their careers. College does not just change lives, it transforms communities.

Step 2: Be Ready for Middle School

Afterschool for All: Afterschool for All brings together stakeholders from the school district, city, higher education, private funders, parent groups, and out of school time providers to work towards ensuring that every elementary and middle school-age student has access to a high-quality afterschool program. Afterschool for All also provides outreach materials for families to understand the benefits of afterschool care and guides families on how to find the right afterschool program for a child in San Francisco. 

Step 3: Graduate Middle School Ready for High School

SF Promise: SF Promise is a program between the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and San Francisco State University (SF State), guaranteeing all SFUSD graduates access to a college education. SF Promise helps to lower the steep cost of college and provides proactive counseling that includes programs held at SF State from 7th grade through 11th grade. SF Promise focuses on counseling support and outreach to students with strong indicators of potential, but struggle with socioeconomic challenges.

Beacon Centers: Partnering with community-based organizations, the city, the school district, and private funders, Beacon Centers transform 8 public schools across San Francisco into community centers. All Beacon Centers provide afterschool, summer, and family involvement activities, and many also offer leadership, tutoring, youth employment, and educational workshops for adults.

Step 4: Graduate High School Ready for College and Career

New Graduation Requirement: To ensure that all SFUSD graduates have the courses and skills they need to enter college, the Board of Education recently adopted new graduation requirements that align with an A-G course sequence, which is required for admission to any California public university. The new rules mandate the district to implement learning support, professional development, and the realignment of resources to help all students successfully meet these expectations.

Plan Ahead: Plan Ahead is a semester-long college and career readiness course designed to help 9th grade public school students map out and achieve their academic, personal, and career goals. Taught by trained educators and supported by school counselors, it gives students the insights to make informed decisions about what they want out of life and how to accomplish it.

SF Summer Jobs+: Summer Jobs+ brings together businesses, non-profits and governments to provide meaning job opportunities via summer employment for youth and young adults.

SFUSD Career Academies and Pathways: Career academies and pathways are high-school programs that intergrate students learning in school with real-world opportunities to increase student motivation and achievement. Career academies expose students to different career fields, motivate them to think about their personal college and career path and integrate the development of 21st century pre-professional skills.

Job Resources for Youth (sfkids.org): Information and resources geared towards helping teens discover training options, both summer and year-round employment, and service learning and other volunteer opportunities.

City College for High School Students: City College offers a variety of programs for San Francisco high school students including dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, credit recovery, preparing for the high school exist exam, learning English as a second language, and support transitioning into college.

Step 5: Enroll in College

FRISCO Day: FRISCO Day (FRIday = Successful College Opportunities), is an opportunity for students to enroll in college if they have not done so already, learn about financial aid and other support systems, and build relationships with other students that help them complete the transition to college.

Early Registration Parties: Early Registration Parties aid students in understanding how to enroll in courses and allowed for students to receive early registration a day earlier than non-SFUSD students. The matriculation process can be difficult and confusing so early registration and support at the parties helped to make the the process smoother and more encourageng for incoming City College students.

Summer Orientations at CCSF: New matriculants are required to participate in an Orientation to City College. The orientation introduces you to some of the essential programs, services and procedures at the College. Students can either participate in an online orientation or attend an in-person, one-hour orientation after they pick up their placement test results.

City College Placement Test Re-Take Policy: City College is instituting a policy that allows students to re-take the English and math placement tests after two weeks if they feel that they scored below their level ability. The previous policy required students to wait three months to re-take a placement test. The purpose of this policy is to allow more students to re-test before starting at City College. This new policy could help many students who did not perform well their initial placement test: re-taking the test and potentially placing into a higher level math or English course would enable greater progress towards completing a degree.

Alternative Assessment and Placement Pilot: More to come soon!

Step 6: Enroll Full Time and Be Persistent

Priority Enrollment Pilot: Going to school full time is the number one predictor of completing a degree. City College recently piloted an adjustment to its enrollment priorities to allow incoming SFUSD students early access to classes. As a result, participating students in the fall of 2010 increased their credits from under 9 to over 12, which is the difference between attending school part time and full time. Based on that success, the pilot has been extended to all incoming SFUSD students.

City College African American Scholastic Program: The mission of the African American Scholastic Programs (AASP) is to provide its students with appropriate program services while demonstrating sensitivity and appreciation of different life situations and academic endeavors. AASP promotes student success and goal attainment through academic, career/vocational and personal counseling.

City College Latino Services Network: LSN is a network of programs, services and individuals dedicated to the success of Latinos at City College of San Francisco.  Services offered to students include: academic, vocational, and personal counseling; New student orientations in English and Spanish; Promotion of educational and cultural events; Computer workstations and study center lab; Tutoring – instructor support; Referrals to campus and community services; Referrals to afternoon high school transition classes; Book loan program; Support for high school students transitioning into City College; and Scholarships.