CS-1261(G)
Eco-Literacy and Career Exposure Partnership
with San Francisco Unified School District
Presenting
Blair Randall, External Affairs – Community Benefits, Arts and Education Program Manager Carmen Iton, External Affairs – Community Benefits, Workforce Manager Program Team
Blair Randall, External Affairs – Community Benefits, Arts and Education Program Manager Carmen Iton, External Affairs – Community Benefits, Workforce Manager Metzali Andrade, External Affairs – Community Benefits, College Hill Learning Garden Program Manager Hannah Gordon, External Affairs – Community Benefits, College Hill Learning Garden Program Associate December 10, 2024
1 2
Left: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Right: High School Students at the Southeast Treatment Plant Partnership Vision
All youth have a transformative experience in
ecological stewardship, academic
achievement and career exploration, and are
active participants in the stewardship of
resources entrusted in our care.
This grant seeks to build on the impactful
strategies developed through past
educational partnerships between SFPUC
and SFUSD.
3 Fostering the Next Generation of
Environmental Stewards
Students and teachers plant squash at
the College Hill Learning Garden
Summary of Proposed Action
4 • Seek approval of CS-1261(G), a grant which enables SFPUC to partner with SFUSD to foster environmental stewardship and build student awareness of careers in the utilities industry.
• The grant amount is $742,925 annually with a duration of 3 years.
Utility Purpose
SFPUC Mission
Our mission is to provide our customers with high quality, efficient and reliable water, power, and sewer services in a manner that is inclusive of environmental and community interests, and that sustains the resources entrusted to our care.
Strategic Plan
This partnership supports the SFPUC’s Strategic Plan goal of raising awareness about the utility sector among SFUSD students and positioning the SFPUC as an employer of choice by making career paths visible to the community Environmental Justice Policy (2009)
Community Benefits Policy (2011)
Racial Justice Resolution (2020) 5
Program Goals
This grant enables the SFPUC to work directly with SFUSD toward achieving shared overarching goals:
1. Foster student awareness of careers in the utilities industry through placement of SFUSD Fellows at SFPUC
2. Provide students with real-world connections to SFPUC staff and work- based learning experiences related to the SFPUC
3. Support teacher learning through the Environmental Justice and Climate Action Fellowship
4. Support student learning through the student Climate Action Fellowship
5. Support student learning about green infrastructure and urban watersheds 6 Fostering Environmental Stewards
SFUSD students tour the Living Machine at
525GG
Students tour the Southeast
Treatment Plant
Watershed Stewardship Curriculum
SFPUC supported Green Infrastructure at
SFUSD
Fostering an Awareness of Utility Careers
SFUSD student on a tour of the Southeast Treatment Plant High School students learn from SFPUC staff on a job-site tour Teaching the Teachers
10 SFUSD T eachers wave at College Hill
Learning Garden after a tour
SFUSD T eachers learn about the Lobos Creek
water treatment process at the Presidio Water
Treatment Plant
SFPUC Watershed Keeper points out
features on topographic map of Crystal Springs
Future Environmental Stewards, Future Rate
Payers
11 SFUSD student witness construction
process of the SEP Biosolids Project
Thank You
12 DEPARTMENT External Affairs Bureau AGENDA NO. 16
MEETING DATE December 10, 2024
AGENDA ITEM
Public Utilities Commission
City and County of San Francisco
Calendar: Regular Calendar
Contract/Project Manager: Carmen Iton and Blair Randall CS-1261(G): Award Ecoliteracy and Career Exposure Partnership Grant to San Francisco Unified School District
Summary of
Proposed
Commission Action:
Award Grant Agreement No. CS-1261(G), Ecoliteracy and Career Exposure Partnership Grant, to the San Francisco Unified School District, in an amount not-to-exceed $2,228,775 and with a duration of three years.
Background: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) conducts education and outreach in alignment with internal policies such as the SFPUC Strategic Plan, the Community Benefits Policy (Resolution No. 11-0008), and the Environmental Justice Policy (Resolution No. 09-0170).
Since 2017, the SFPUC has invested in various partnerships with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) . At the high school level, the SFPUC has directed resources to John O’Connell High School , through engagement with teachers, students, and administrative staff to offer water, wastewater, and power related curricula, field trips, work -based learning internships, and guest speakers. And, in 2022, after an extensive partnership, SFUSD updated K-12 science curricula integrating lessons called Big Ideas, built on SFPUC’s water, power, and sewer operations.
The SFPUC seeks to expand educational and career exp osure partnership programming offered to students and teachers district- wide. This proposed grant to SFUSD will expand on the elements of past programs with SFUSD and John O’Connell High School that have had the most impact.
The SFPUC’s Strategic Plan ca lls for an investment in education and workforce strategies through the Effective Workforce Goal: “We attract, retain, and develop an effective workforce, reflective and supportive of our communities, that consistently delivers high quality services to stakeholders.” This expanded educational and career exposure partnership w ill help raise
awareness about careers in the utility sector and environmental stewardship practices among SFUSD students.
This proposed grant coincides with existing priorities identified by SFUSD’s newly updated “Goals and Guardrails” plan, which outlines its intention to partner collaboratively with the City to advance SFUSD’s goals of increasing the number of students involved in intern ship opportunities by 20% and Agenda Title: CS-1261 Ecoliteracy and Career Exposure Partnership with San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Commission Meeting Date: December 10, 2024
increasing the number of students involved in college and career readiness programming from 57.5% in 2020 to 70% by 2027. SFUSD’s College and Career Department and the Science Curriculum Department are well positioned to support the SFPUC and SFUSD in the development of stronger career pathways for students across a variety of critical SFPUC- related career pathways.
Scope of Contract: The proposed grant agreement outlines tasks developed to meet the joint goals of SFUSD and the SFPUC to equip students with knowledge relevant to the utility industry and to make those students aware of utility careers at the SFPUC. The SFPUC and SFUSD share five overarching goals that guide this partnership:
1. Foster student awareness of career opportunities in the utilities industry.
2. Provide students with real-world connections to SFPUC staff and work-based learning experiences related to the SFPUC.
3. Provide teachers with the opportunity to build connections, knowledge, and excitement around work-based learning and integrated career exposure curriculum.
4. Inform students of internship, trainee, pre-apprentice, apprenticeship, and entry-level job opportunities.
5. Improve the quality and rigor of environmental literacy curriculum within SFUSD.
In order to meet these goals, SFUSD and SFPUC will collaborate on the following five tasks which make up the grant’s scope:
1. Foster student awareness of career opportunities in the utilities industry through placement of up to 30 summer interns at the SFPUC through SFUSD’s Summer Fellows Internship Program.
2. Provide high school students with real-world connections to SFPUC staff through career panels and guest speakers as well as work-based learning experiences related to the SFPUC in partnership with SFUSD’s College and Career Readiness Department.
3. Support participation of up to 25 teachers annually in a weeklong, paid professional development experience to learn about the water, power, and sewer operations of the SFPUC, utility career awareness, and the environmental mission of the SFPUC alongside other environmental concepts.
4. Support student learning about climate change, environmental justice, and climate justice, with a focus on water, power, sewer, and green jobs using a project-based approach through the Climate Action Fellowship.
5. Support student learning about green infrastructure and urban watersheds though the development of updated curriculum and accompanying resources i.e., slide decks, learning modules, and activity sets.
Agenda Title: CS-1261 Ecoliteracy and Career Exposure Partnership with San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Commission Meeting Date: December 10, 2024
Through this partnership, the SFPUC will increase the number of students encountering SFPUC aligned lessons and career exposure programming to 1,550 students and 25 teachers annually.
Funding and Costs: Funding Source:
Youth Employment Addback, SFUSD Partnerships Addback, Youth Employment and Environment Operating funds
Total Not-To-Exceed Grant Amount: $2,228,775
Schedule: Estimated Grant Start Date: May 1, 2025
Estimated End Date: April 30, 2028
Duration: Three Years
Environmental
Review:
This action does not constitute a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15978(a) because there would be no physical change to the environment.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
RESOLUTION NO.
WHEREAS, The mission of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is to provide our customers with high-quality, efficient and reliable water, power and sewer services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC is facing a workforce gap and is committed to positioning itself as an employer of choice in accordance with the agency’s Strategic Plan by increasing awareness of and exposure to utility careers through increased engagement with high schools in San Francisco; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC values education and workforce development as core components of its Community Benefits and Environmental Justice Policies and is committed to doing its part to foster the next generation of environmental stewards and utility workers in accordance with those policies; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC, as the City’s provider of water, power, and sewer services, has a goal of investing in the next generation of environmental stewards and helping those students to prepare for careers in Science, Technology, Engineer and Math (STEM) fields, particularly those fields that comprise the workforce of the SFPUC; and
WHEREAS, In alignment with these policies and goals, the SFPUC produced Big Ideas, an educational framework linking the Water, Power and Sewer operations of the SFPUC to K -12 academic standards, including ecoliteracy and STEM topics including water conservation, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, watershed stewardship, and wastewater and stormwater pollution prevention; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC partnered with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to integrate the SFPUC’s Big Ideas educational STEM framework into district- wide science curriculum; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC is equipped to provide valuable exposure to students regarding career awareness and STEM concepts applied projects in the water, power, and sewer industries; and
WHEREAS, Educating students and their parents or guardians about water conservation, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy generation, watershed st ewardship, water pollution and storm water pollution prevention, promotes the sustainability of SFPUC’s operations; and
WHEREAS, SFUSD desires to raise the awareness of teachers, students, and families by providing San Francisco public school teachers wi th an interdisciplinary methodology related to STEM topics including water conservation, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, watershed stewardship, wastewater and stormwater pollution prevention, and utility careers; and
WHEREAS, The SF USD Division of Curriculum & Instruction provides professional development for teachers, materials for classrooms that enable students to participate in hands-on
learning, and engage in STEM learning and Career and College preparedness opportunities for students and families that are aligned with SFUSD Policies, California Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards; and
WHEREAS, SFUSD has expressed its commitment to providing hands -on work experience and project -based learning to its students as part of its “Goals and Guardrails” plan; and
WHEREAS, The SFPUC desires to enter into this grant agreement with SFUSD to authorize the use of SFPUC funding to achieve the SFPUC’s goals and objectives regarding education programs with respect to water conservation, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy generation, watershed stewardship, water pollution and storm water pollution prevention, and SFPUC career awareness and exposure; and
WHEREAS, The grant amount is $2,228,775; and
WHEREAS, Grant services are anticipated to begin May 1, 2025 and end April 30, 2028, with an agreement duration of three years; and
WHEREAS, This grant is available as a sole- source award to SFUSD because it is a governmental entity and the grant is for programs, activities, or services that only SFUSD can practically perform, pursuant to San Francisco Administrative Code section 21G.3(a); and
WHEREAS, This action does not constitute a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15378(a) because there would be no physical change in the environment; and
WHEREAS, Funds for Grant Agreement No. CS-1261 Ecoliteracy and Career Exposure Partnership with SFUSD , will be available from Youth Employment Addback, SFUSD Partnerships Addback, Youth Employment and Environment Operating funds; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Commission hereby awards Grant Agreement No. CS-1261, Ecoliteracy and Career Exposure Partnership, to SFUSD, to provide environmental education and career exposure curricula to SFUSD students in an amount not-to-exceed $2,228,775, and with a duration of three years.
I hereby certify th at the foregoing resolution was adopted by the Public Utilities Commission at its meeting of December 10, 2024.
Director of Commission Affairs
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission