Memorandum

To:       Library Commission

From:   Susan Hildreth, City Librarian

Re:       Joint Use Cooperative Agreements between San Francisco Public Library and

            San Francisco Unified School District

Date:    July 14, 2003

Background

As you are aware, cooperation with public schools is a key priority for Proposition 14 funding, which is critical to the success of the Branch Library Improvement Program. The most competitive projects for Proposition 14 funding are those that are new construction that also include cooperative planning and services with the neighborhood public schools.  There has always been great cooperation between the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), mostly evidenced by communication and activities at the site level between the local branch and neighborhood school.  Library staff has made focused efforts to engage schools that are located in the neighborhoods where we are building new branches to formalize and enhance this ongoing cooperation.

Joint Use Cooperative Agreements

On January 16, 2003, the Commission approved a joint use cooperative agreement between the Library and SFUSD for services at the Portola Branch Library focused on the Martin Luther King, Jr., Academic Middle School and the E.R. Taylor Elementary School.  Library staff has developed similar cooperative agreements with schools in the Ingleside, Ortega and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods to support the Proposition 14 applications that are being prepared for these sites.

The State has specific cooperative activities that are outlined in the Proposition 14 regulations. Based on these activities, library staff has worked with teachers, school librarians and administrators at the following schools to develop the cooperative agreements.  Each site selected similar cooperative activities. Please see the following chart:

Branch Library             Public Schools                            Cooperative Activities

Ingleside	Aptos Middle School	Family literacy center, homework center
Ortega	A.P. Gianni Middle School Sunset Elementary School	Family literacy center, homework center
Portola	Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Middle School E.R. Taylor Elementary	Family literacy center, homework center
Visitacion Valley	Visitacion  Valley Middle Visitacion Valley Elementary	Family literacy center, homework center

The activities that all the schools have selected are Family Literacy Center and Homework Center.   Both are very appropriate roles for a branch library.  The Family Literacy Center is based on the Library’s general literacy efforts and expands on those by providing a series of programs designed to establish the branch as an additional, more publicly accessible partner in a community approach to developing strong family literacy within the school’s service area  The Library provides space, resources and focused assistance on a regular basis as part of  the Homework Center, which also includes close cooperation between library and school staff on special assignments, curriculum and library resources so that student and teacher information needs can be met as effectively as possible. These agreements really formalize commitments of cooperation and effort that are currently in place but will be enhanced with these new programs.  These agreements do not require new or additional expenditure of funds from SFUSD or the Library.

Next Steps

The State requires that SFUSD and the Board of Supervisors both approve these agreements.  Hopefully, the Commission will also approve the agreements and the resolutions that urge SFUSD and the Board of Supervisors to approve them as well. We anticipate that all the agreements will be reviewed and approved by SFUSD when they begin to meet after their summer break in August. We also anticipate submitting the joint use agreements to the Board of Supervisors for approval when we submit the full Proposition 14 applications later this year.

I would like to commend Toni Bernardi, OCYS, staff at the Chief of Branches Office and staff at these specific branches for working diligently with their local schools to develop these agreements.  We look forward to providing useful and exciting services in these neighborhoods. 

Attachments