By 2005, when a federal judge lifted the most recent desegregation orders, San Francisco Unified School District had been trying for more than three decades to make its schools more racially and socioeconomically diverse, starting in 1971 with forced busing. San Francisco schools no longer exhibit the level of racial isolation they once did, but they are now resegregating, as are many others across the country. In 2013–2014, in more than one-quarter of city schools, 60 percent of the students were of one race. That is a far cry from 1966, when more than one-third of the schools had student populations with 80 percent or more belonging to a single racial group. (In 2014, just three schools were segregated to that degree.)
Author Archives: Sanne Bergh
Sanne Bergh graduated with a degree in Literary Journalism from UC Irvine, where she was a staff writer and photographer for the New University weekly newspaper. She has also written for the San Mateo Daily Journal, Orange Coast Magazine, and she was editor for Kiosk Magazine, an online literary journal. Find her on Twitter: @sanne_bergh
Posted inCity Hall, Homelessness, Homelessness and Mental Health, Neighborhoods, Public Safety
As Neighbors Decry Spread of Homeless Encampments, One Mission Resident Opens Her Home Instead
Potrero Hill and Mission District residents complain about nearby homeless encampments, which have grown in sheltered areas as winter approaches. Police and city officials say the problem is too big to solve. One resident took matters into her own hands. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco in the fall 2014 print edition.
Posted inElections, Homelessness and Mental Health, Law & Justice, Social Services
Sentencing Reform Side Benefit: Behavioral Health Court Expansion
A state law approved by voters on Election Day will reduce tough sentences for some felonies. But it could also provide a financial windfall to local community courts, which divert people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.