‘I feel betrayed': The new SF school that turned away its neighbors episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 21, 2026 · 31 MIN

‘I feel betrayed': The new SF school that turned away its neighbors

from Pacific Standard Time · host The San Francisco Standard

San Francisco just opened its first brand-new elementary school in decades – Mission Bay School. But nearly 100 neighborhood families couldn't get in. Why? Because in SFUSD, even a brand-new school down the street doesn't guarantee your kid a spot. In this episode of PST, host Emily Dreyfuss sits down with SF Standard reporter Ezra Wallach to break down San Francisco's infamous school lottery, which is the enrollment system that determines where your child goes to school. Together they explain how it works, who gets priority, and why 31% of SFUSD families don't get their top school pick. They also dig into the history: how San Francisco's school choice system grew out of desegregation efforts in the 1970s, why it hasn't actually integrated schools, and why the district has been promising to fix it since 2018, with the latest timeline now pushed all the way to 2028. For more information and episode transcripts, visit: https://sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time/ Support this podcast from The San Francisco Standard by becoming a subscriber: ⁠https://sfstandard.com/subscriber

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‘I feel betrayed': The new SF school that turned away its neighbors

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