SF Unified gives A’s to student who was enrolled elsewhere

A middle school in San Francisco Unified gave A’s to a sixth grader who never attended class because she was enrolled at a nearby parochial school, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The student received an A in social studies and an A in physical education despite never attending Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. The rest of her grades were “pass” or F’s, the paper reported. Her absences varied from 51 to 82, depending on the class.

The student had attended fifth grade in the district but enrolled at a parochial school for sixth grade. The district assigned her to a middle school anyway, and she remained enrolled even after her mother told the district the girl was attending school elsewhere.

Michael Essien, principal of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School and a veteran educator, said his staff has been overwhelmed this school year due to the teacher shortage, helping students who fell behind during distance learning, low morale and the omicron variant surge.

“We’ve never had a situation like this. Never,” Essien told the newspaper. “Just to be clear, it’s still not an excuse. That means at some point in the system, we failed at our jobs at the school site with taking basic steps and doing our due diligence.”