As the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) works to approve a new staffing allocation model in response to the crippling $113 million budget deficit, PTA-funded class size reductions are also on the chopping block for the 2025–2026 school year.

The SFUSD Board of Education is currently considering a proposal to disallow PTAs from funding class size reduction (CSR)  teachers, consolidating three classes into two for each affected grade. This will have a direct impact on our kids, our teachers, and our school’s academic performance (which ironically, may impact future district funding to our school).

While the traditional role of the PTA is to fund extracurricular activities and build community, for many years in San Francisco, PTAs have stepped up to fill budget gaps for a variety of operating costs. These PTA-funded resources have allowed schools to continue performing well academically despite inadequate funding and continued uncertainty.

SFUSD leans on the generous donations of San Francisco parents to our local PTA‘s to fund critical positions, like noon-time monitors and literacy specialists during budget downfall years. But the BOE is now considering eliminating a PTA’s ability to fund teacher positions. This is nonsensical. 

Like many other schools in the city, the Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila (CISDA) PTA funds smaller class sizes for 4th and 5th grade students by annually fundraising the salaries for two additional teachers. These CSR positions are made possible through a detailed plan voted on by PTA members and approved by SFUSD. Every year, the CISDA PTA works tirelessly to ensure we meet the minimum fundraising necessary to sustain this vital resource for our kids. Families with students in TK/kindergarten through 3rd grade “pay it forward” every year so that CIS can continue excelling as one of only four elementary school Cantonese dual language immersion programs in the district.

As a language immersion school, smaller class sizes at CIS are critical for ALL grades to succeed and a key reason why CIS is ranked one of the top 100 elementary schools in the state (and #1 in the SFUSD).

Join us in opposing the elimination of PTA sponsored CSR for the upcoming school year so the money our community has already raised may be used to minimize disruption and maintain the high quality education we provide to our kids during these continually challenging times.

Please sign this petition today. Help us convince the San Francisco Board of Education to:

Maintain existing staff levels at CIS to ensure manageable class sizes and improved outcomes for our multilingual kids.
Honor agreements made between schools and the SFUSD regarding PTA-funded teacher positions so there is no reduction in staffing for our 4th and 5th grade classes.
Honor the purpose for which parents have generously donated to their schools, as many did so with the understanding they were funding CSR specifically.

三藩市聯合校區（SFUSD）正在推進批准一個新的教職員編制分配模式，以應對高達1.13億美元的嚴重預算赤字，由家長教師協會（PTA）資助的小班教學計劃也面臨被削減的危機，預計將影響 2025–2026 學年。

三藩市聯合校區教育董事會現正考慮一項提案，不允許家教會資助小班教學（CSR）教師，將每個受影響年級的三個班合併為兩個班。這將會直接影響我們的孩子、老師和我們學校的學業成績（諷刺的是，這可能會進一步影響學校未來從校區獲得的資金）。

雖然家長教師會的傳統角色是資助課外活動和促進社區凝聚力，但在三藩市的許多學校，家長教師會多年來已經承擔起填補預算缺口的責任，資助各種營運開支。這些由家長教師會提供的資源，使學校在經費不足和持續的不確定性的情況下，仍能保持優異的學業成績。

三藩市聯合校區長期以來依靠三藩市家長對家長教師會的慷慨捐助，在預算短缺的年份資助關鍵職位，例如午間監察員和讀寫專家。然而，如今教育董事會考慮取消家長教師會資助教師職位的權限，這是毫無道理的。

與三藩市許多其他學校一樣，中文沉浸學校（CISDA）的家長教師會透過每年的籌款來支付兩名額外教師的薪水，從而維持四年級和五年級的小班教學。這些小班教學的職位是透過家長教師會會員投票通過並經三藩市聯合校區批准的詳細計劃來實現的。每年，中文沉浸學校家長教師會都不遺餘力地籌措最低所需資金，以確保這項對孩子至關重要的資源得以持續。即使學前班（TK）/幼稚園到三年級的家庭，每年都「預先回饋」，以確保中文沉浸學校能夠繼續作為校區內僅有的四所粵語雙語沉浸式小學之一保持卓越表現。

作為一所沉浸式語言學校，中文沉浸學校在所有年級都需要小班教學，這對學生的成功至關重要，這也是中文沉浸學校被評為全州前100名小學之一（三藩市聯合校區排名第一）的關鍵因素。

我們誠摯邀請您加入我們，一同反對取消家長教師會資助的小班教學計劃，讓我們社區已經籌集的資金能夠用於減少混亂，並在這個持續充滿挑戰的時期，維持我們為孩子提供的優質教育。

請立即簽署這份請願書，幫助我們說服三藩市聯合校區教育董事會：

維持中文沉浸學校現有的師資水平，確保合理的班級規模，並提升我們多語種學生的學習成果。
尊重學校與三藩市聯合校區之間關於家長教師會資助教師職位的協議，確保四年級和五年級的師資不被削減。
尊重家長們對學校慷慨捐款的目的，因為許多家長正是基於資助小班教學的承諾才進行捐款的。