Inside SFS

The San Francisco School staff has enthusiastically spread the influence of our school across the globe to countless countries and six continents, but they always come home to the Portola.

The school has been an anchor in the Portola District since 1966 years and over that time has developed a genuine and meaningful relationship with both the organizations and people who make up our neighborhood.

Since 1989, Maggie Weis, has been an incredible ambassador to the community. Her infectious energy and ease at building relationships beyond the gates of the school have grown our connections to the neighborhood. Maggie first got interested in the neighborhood when she was a P.E. teacher at the school; “I would take my students to Palega Park,” Maggie says. “Along the walk the neighbors began to recognize us and would wave out their windows as we walked by.”

In the past few years, as the Portola has taken on various revitalization projects, Maggie has been involved, organizing student community service projects and partnering with the school’s Public Purpose Committee to encourage engagement.

This involvement led Maggie to become a Board Member of the Portola Neighborhood Association (PNA) several years ago. Says PNA Corridor Manager Jack Tse, “She’s been fantastic. She has a great capacity for engagement through education– getting kids involved. She is very motivated for engagement – she is patient with fostering more meaningful relationships which is a wonderful asset for the Board.”

Maggie is quick to de-emphasize her own role in the process – pointing out many other adults and kids who have lent their energy and perspective to projects throughout the years. It is true that Maggie may not be the only one, but the role she plays as neighborhood ambassador has made an impact and provides a model for the rest of the school community. The successful partnership with the Portola has been a meaningful one.

Jack adds, “Maggie has helped to form a close knit connection for SFS and the neighborhood. It makes us feel very attached to the school – much closer to us than many of the other schools in the neighborhood. It has been so important for us to find those trusting connections and to know that we have a partner with shared goals and values.”