Dear Community,

City College is an engine of opportunity for working and middle class families across this city. And right now, City College is growing! We saw 12% enrollment growth last semester and are looking at 14% this fall–and we should be growing even more.

English 1A: College Reading & Writing is a foundational course for San Francisco students: it is a prerequisite for transferring to UCs, SF State, & other 4-year schools, and it is required for future nurses, mechanics, engineers, and construction professionals.

But this past year alone, hundreds of students were locked out of English 1A. 230 City College students sat on waitlists for this essential course and were unable to enroll, and that doesn’t count all the students who saw the full waitlists and gave up.

In response, CCSF students and teachers have taken action: we have spent the summer advocating and meeting with Board of Trustee members and candidates.

And now we are thrilled to report that CCSF College Board candidates Luis Zamora, Heather McCarty, Ruth Ferguson, and Trustee Murrell Green have all committed to calling for action on English 1A.

These candidates understand that English 1A is the first step for San Franciscans to serve the needs of the city and secure stable futures for their families.

Now the current CCSF Board must follow their lead: City College needs to take urgent action right now to add more English 1A classes to the fall schedule, or else we will again shut students out. And that is counter to City College’s mission and counter to our long-term financial stability.

Now is the moment for effective leadership and action. Let’s add the classes San Francisco students need, and let’s grow this city together.

San Francisco Needs Free City and Free City Needs You

At Tuesday’s SF Board of Supervisors meeting, Myrna Melgar introduced a resolution “Urging the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families to Expeditiously Negotiate an Updated MOU for the Free City College Program.”

The resolution, if adopted, will put on record the current Board’s continued commitment to the value and core tenets of the Free City College program, stating that despite recent budget changes, “The City is still obligated to fulfill its commitment to the purpose and vision for Free City College, which is based on the premise that every San Franciscan should have access to advancing their educational and career goals.” It urges the City to negotiate with the College in good faith and acknowledges CCSF’s already increasing enrollment and the importance of Free City to the future of the College and the future of San Francisco.

The resolution already has several co-sponsors listed: Connie Chan, Hillary Ronen, President Aaron Peskin, and Catherine Stefani. We encourage you to contact your supervisor and either thank them (if listed above), or ask for their support for Free City. “We want to embrace the basic tenet that education should be universal,” Melgar said in her introduction, adding that there should be “zero barriers for all San Francisco residents.”

Supervisors are expected to vote on this resolution next Tuesday afternoon, 7/23. The resolution comes after Mayor Breed broke the 2019 Free City MOU and made cuts to the Free City budget last month, despite CCSF’s double-digit enrollment growth in recent semesters. Negotiations for an updated Free City MOU have not yet been scheduled, and the College has received little information about the City’s intent or plans.