A SPECIAL PLEA!: Regarding OUR Sports Program.

ATTENTION: All former athletes and Bucs. We wish we didn't have to ask for
help, but the cutbacks are worse than ever. Other schools have affluent
parents who fill in the gaps, and our parents do the best they can; but, it is a
struggle. Please send your TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation to Balboa Alumni,
(Attn: Legends Fund --this is our special sports fund!)
---Dedicated Student Association Sponsor, Shari Balisi, and the S.A. officers invite Alums to come to Balboa and talk about the careers they have had, or are working on (or in) now! It is hoped that this plan will WIDEN the horizons of possibility for our students. You need only talk five to ten minutes -- Whatever your career has been: Psychiatrist, Accountant, Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter, Contractor, Firefighter, Police Officer, TEACHER, Computer Expert, Secretary, Medical Assistant, Sales, Scientist, Engineers of all types, Lawyer, Judge, Rocket Scientist, Graphic Artist, Musicians, Pilots, Pirates, Actors, Truck Drivers and other Teamsters, Nurses, Mechanics, Brain Surgeions, Radio, T.V., Real Estate, Dentists, Chiropractors -- you get the picture, "You name it, We want it!" Don't be shy, Call Emily today at 650-851-8101. (As a bonus, we'll take you on a tour of Balboa and our museum--Ask Eric Thiele of F '45. He LOVED his tour!)

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL


Balboa High School is sustaining a culture of continuous improvement. This is in part, due to the students, staff, parents, and administration holding each other accountable for the academic growth of our students. We have improved from an Academic Performance Index (API) of 438 to 680 in 2006 to a projected API of over 700 for last year’s Standardized Tests.

The school’s culture and climate provide a safe, rigorous, relevant, and supportive environment in which all of our students may reach their greatest potential. This year Balboa graduates will be attending some of the most prestigious universities in the country, including Stanford, UCLA, Cal Berkeley, NYCU, Wellesley, and many others. We have ten Advance Placement (AP) classes, competitive with San Francisco’s top high schools.

For two consecutive years, Balboa has had a waiting list of students desiring to enter our school, ranking us as the third most requested high school in the city. Twenty-five percent of Balboa students are identified as Gifted and Talented (GATE) as well as thirty percent of the incoming freshman class.

Our extraordinary staff has contributed significantly to the impressive transformation that Balboa has undergone. In spite of all the changes, Balboa has managed to maintain its rich traditions and history due largely in part to the commitment of our generous and devoted Balboa Alumni Association. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for contributing your time, talent, treasure, and the resources of your hearts to the betterment of our beloved Balboa High School.

Patricia James Gray, Principal
The below letter is from Emily Powell to the Commissioners and School Board for SFUSD. Below is a sample letter and the email addresses of the Board Members.

Dear Commissioner (Insert commissioners name):

Please, please do not support this proposal. This will not be a good "mix" – we fear I would be a disastrous one – with "turf" and other problems brought to the now excellent learning environment at Balboa.

Balboa is doing so well. After much hard work, we have once again become a "School of Choice" with our enrollment increasing and high student and faculty morale.

We foresee that such a move would demoralize our students and faculty and tend to destroy what we have worked so hard to achieve for our students:
AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION IN A GOOD AND SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.

Why is the Board even considering such a move? Has it something to do with satisfying the needs of charter schools or June Jordan, or what?

THERE MUST BE A BETTER SOLUTION TO WHATEVER THIS PROBLEM IS. ONE THAT DOES NOT SACRIFICE THE EDUCATION OF OUR STUDENTS AT BALBOA.

We believe that you and the Board can come up with a better solution to whatever this "problem" is.

Please don’t let anyone rush to approve of this move. Remember what BenFranklin said: "Great Hast makes Great Waste".

PLEASE DON’T PARTICIATE IN THE WASTING OF THE FUTURE OF BALBOA AND ITS STUDENTS.

Thank you,

Contact information: Mail to 555 Franklin Street, Rm. 106, San Francisco, CA 94102, or Fax to 415-241-6429, or email as noted below:
Mark Sanchez, President
Norman Yee

Names & Email

Jane Kim
Eric Mar
Kim-Shree Maufas
Hydra Mendoza

MaufasKS@sfusd.edu

Jill Wynns
You can either type in the email address, in your email program, or press the button below.

Class

Class

Fall '65/Spr. '66
1978
1981
1983
1985
1988
1990
1994
1997
2002

1973
1980
1982
1984
1987
1989
1991
1993
1996
2003

Galleons for Sale!!

(Do you have your class Galleon?)

The Balboa Alumni Association maintains an inventory of all Galleons the permanent Museum collection from 1929 to 2007 and "extra copies" that can be sold, which are brand new, never used Galleons, that must have been from classes over-printing or not sold--We have a substantial amount of those class Galleons as listed below. If you are interested in purchasing one of these listed below, please mail us your request, along with your check for $30 payable to: Balboa Alumni Association, P.O. Box 31866, San Francisco, CA 94131. We also have other Galleons for resale. If you are interested in purchasing any clas Galleon, please call Dorothy at: 707-762-6162. Dorothy maintains an up-to-date inventory of all "extra copies" available for sale; some brand new, others have been used. All monies received from sales of Galleons, is given to Balboa to defray the cost of the current galleon, so that the students there today pay less for their Galleon yearbook. Again, we help Balboa a lot!

FRIENDS OF JROTC
Choice for Students


Name _________________________________________________________ Grad Class/other_______
Address ____________________________________________________________________________
City, State Zip________________________________________________________________________

Subject: Choice for Students
Dear ____________________________,
High school students need more choices, not less. Educators and principals all agree that when students make social connections at school, they avoid at-risk behavior and remain in school. This is why we must fight to give students more choices, not less!
Junior ROTC (JROTC) is one of those choices. Alumni, parents and teachers credit JROTC with providing students that very opportunity to connect, saving many at-risk students. JROTC, a leadership program with a 90-year history in the San Francisco
Unified School District teaches students discipline, leadership skills, and civic responsibility.It is both a during and after-school program that currently serves over 1,600 high school students, 90% of whom are minorities.Seventy percent (70%) of the JROTC instructors are African American males who serve as role models for minority students in and outside of the JROTC program. How the School Board could vote to take away this choice -- a funded and successful program serving minority at-risk students -- is outrageous!
We must hold our elected School Board accountable! We need a Board that puts students first and offers our students more choices, not less. San Francisco students need your support.
If you believe that students need choice, become part of our group whose goals is to help elect a School Board that will give students more choices. Get plugged in and receive information on how you can help San Francisco students by registering online at http://choiceforstudentssf.org or by completing and returning this letter to Friends of JROTC, P.O. Box 16265, San Francisco, CA 94116.
We look forward to working with you for our students
Sincerely,


Mike Bernick      Quincy Yu        Steve Ziman         Co-Chair/HS Parents

This page last modified on Sunday, April 20, 2008