Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: No Grades, No teachers, No School Lunches: More 'AI Schools' Coming To Bay Area: Report

Make time for Berner Concert on the San Francisco Patch calendar

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Saturday December 20th Patch AM
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Hello San Francisco! Here's our latest buzz. Let's get into it. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • AI-powered Marina school challenges traditional classrooms and $75,000 tuition norms
  • French bulldog Hank still missing after Castro Street armed dognapping arrest
  • Why a federal judge says San Francisco must rehire this fired worker

Also on today's calendar: Virtuoso Concerto Holiday Celebration and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in San Franciscofor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: Last night I had a dream. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in San Franciscofor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Saturday: Occasional rain and drizzle, with a high of 60 and low of 55 degrees.
  • Sunday: Periods of rain, temps: high: 62, low: 53.
  • Monday: Rain; breezy in the morning, with a high of 57 and low of 50 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. No Grades, No teachers, No School Lunches: More 'AI Schools' Coming To Bay Area: Report (patch.com) — San Francisco families are getting a close-up look at Alpha School, an AI-driven private academy in the Marina district that replaces traditional teachers and grades with individualized laptop-based learning and human “guides.” The school, which charges $75,000 a year and offers cash rewards for perfect scores, plans to expand to Palo Alto and the East Bay, raising questions about screen time, equity, and the future of public education.
   

2. Beloved French Bulldog Still Missing After Armed Dognapping Suspect Arrested (patch.com) — San Franciscans are being urged to help find Hank, a fawn-colored French bulldog stolen at gunpoint during a late-night walk on Castro Street. Police have arrested an Oakland man on grand theft charges, but the dog remains missing, and investigators are asking anyone with information to contact SFPD.
   

3. Judge orders SF to rehire Muslim worker fired over Covid vax (legalnewsline.com) — A federal judge has ordered the City and County of San Francisco to reinstate a former 311 call center worker who was fired in 2021 after refusing a COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds. The ruling follows a Ninth Circuit decision criticizing the city’s handling of religious accommodation requests and could influence how San Francisco addresses other vaccine-mandate lawsuits from former employees.
   

4. Man charged with arson for fire at S.F. Hillel (sfchronicle.com) — San Francisco prosecutors have charged a 36-year-old man with arson for a December 5 fire that damaged the San Francisco Hillel building serving local Jewish students, including those at San Francisco State. Fire officials say the blaze started in an outdoor trash area, caused about $20,000 in damage, and forced a full building closure while staff assess smoke damage to sacred items.
   

5. Hundreds of asylum-seekers may be sent to Honduras, Ecuador, Uganda following S.F. immigration ruling (missionlocal.org) — A San Francisco immigration judge has begun ordering several asylum-seekers removed to Honduras under new “pretermit” rulings, with hundreds more Bay Area immigrants potentially affected. Local attorneys, including those from UC Law San Francisco and the Bar Association of San Francisco, are scrambling to file responses and appeals, warning that many unrepresented migrants could quickly end up detained and deported.
   

📸 Around San Francisco

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🗓 Upcoming Events in San Francisco

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★ Featured events ★

    Saturday December 20
  • Berner Concert
    The Warfield, 982 Market St, San Francisco
    8:00 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

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📣 San Francisco Shout Outs!

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Epiq Systems, Inc. posted a job opening for Service Specialist - Legal Office Services in San Francisco. Apply here.
  • Great American Insurance Group posted a job opening for Production Underwriting Specialist/Senior Specialist Marine Cargo in San Francisco. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near San Francisco here.

Ok San Francisco! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I dreamed I was swimming in a pool of orange soda, but it was just a Fanta-sea.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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