Families press SFUSD to open TK–8 Mandarin immersion school on schedule; district vows September temporary-site announcement

Dozens of parents and community members urged the San Francisco Board of Education to keep the district's commitment to open a dedicated TK–8 Mandarin immersion school on schedule and to publish site information in time for the fall enrollment cycle.

"I'm here to urge the district to open this school on time," said Abby Chow, who identified herself as representing more than 900 families advocating for a dedicated Mandarin immersion school. Multiple speakers said hundreds of children and families are on waitlists and that delaying the program would cause an entire cohort to miss kindergarten immersion opportunities.

Superintendent Hsu and staff responded with a two-track plan: select and announce a temporary site to host TK and kindergarten for 2027, then run a community-driven process to identify a permanent site (24 classrooms minimum) for relocation in 2028. "I want the community to know that while this work about launching a new school is extremely exciting, I need all of us to be really sensitive about what that means for the school that we will be eventually locating this school in," Superintendent Hsu said.

Staff said the district intends to announce a temporary site in September, before the October 24 enrollment fair, and to bring a board resolution and related technical items (CDS codes) to the board in October to support enrollment and budgeting. Staff emphasized trade-offs: permanent-site feasibility requires a building with at least 24 classrooms and TK/K-compliant play and restroom facilities, and some candidate buildings will require renovations that cannot be completed quickly. Board members pressed for clear timelines, community engagement and assurances that the temporary site would not automatically become permanent.