When Lily Mitchiner ‘26 walked into her first day of Making America, she was surprised at who she found in the room. “I was the only person in my class that came from a public school,” she said, “and I’d never even written a history essay until ninth grade.”
Mitchiner, who went to a public middle school, is a part of UrbanBridge (or Bridge), the Urban program dedicated to helping students who went to non-independent (public, charter and parochial) schools adjust to life at Urban. So how does Bridge help to ease the transition from non-independent schools?
The Bridge community is made up of both students and teachers. It offers a Bridge-specific orientation, Super Study Halls — which are similar to an extra T period — and other lunch events, a tutorial for ninth graders, an E period for sophomores and more. Everything besides the lunch events and orientation – which are strongly recommended – is mandatory for UrbanBridge students.
According to Mitchiner, UrbanBridge helped her with finding a community inside Urban. “I loved Bridge last fall, it was really helpful to see people that I had heard about from my friends so I already knew some familiar faces or names,” she said.
Jessica Yen, UrbanBridge coordinator, explained why she feels there is a need for the program. “The [extra] periods provide another time for building communities that other students can help each other out on,” Yen said. “Students that come from public school may … not have had as much experience … seeking help in a classroom or talking to a teacher.”
Part of this is because of San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, many UrbanBridge students experienced less in-person learning than other students. Almost all schools that are a part of SFUSD – public schools – were shut down for more than a year and a half, returning to in-person school almost a year after many private schools.
Public schools also receive less funding and have less technological support than most private schools. Many Bridge students felt these disparities between public and private education during distance learning. “It’s crazy being here with students that went back to school in November of seventh grade because we didn’t go back to that ‘til the start of the next school year … I don’t know how [Urban] would be if you had a normal middle school experience, but I did not,” said Mitchiner.
During the Bridge orientation, students get to meet students from other public schools and see how things work at Urban before everyone else does. This early event is a way for students to make connections and get the hang of Urban’s rigorous education.
“There’s a lot of games that are played to get to know each other and meeting new people [at orientation],” said Yen. “Then there’s also some presentations and discussions around what students might be able to expect and what might be different.”
Some students also feel like they were put in a more unfavorable position because of their middle school. “I wouldn’t say that I felt isolated, but … in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [STEM] classes I’m definitely at a disadvantage,” said Mitchiner. “There’s definitely just certain aspects that I felt like we could have been better prepared for, especially in science class. I struggled so much and … I did not know how much other people’s backgrounds [were] gonna help.”
While the transition from a public middle school to Urban can feel difficult, Bridge does help to ease some of the discomfort. “Coming to Urban, I feel like math has been kind of a struggle for me [more] than for people that have gone to private middle schools. I didn’t get the most support in middle school,” said Sofia Quintuña ‘27. “If I am struggling with classes, [Bridge will] offer times that I can come in and talk with somebody to help me out.”
While Bridge helps students transition to life at Urban, the program isn’t completely perfect. Bridge does provide study halls during E and T periods for Bridge students to work, but some students feel that they need more support after the initial orientation than Bridge provides. “It was good to have Bridge orientation before ninth grade, but … [I] feel like after that, [the staff] was kind of just like, ‘You’re on your own,’” said Mitchiner.
Some students also feel that it is not easy to focus in the special E2 and Tutorial periods that Bridge provides. “Compared to my E1, it’s louder and less productive, and I felt like that last year too,” said Mitchiner.
During ninth-grade Bridge tutorial periods, teachers and staff sometimes present on how to write lab reports and essays, as well as how to approach studying for midterm exams and finals.
According to Yen, students are always notified verbally of an upcoming presentation by the teachers and told that attending the presentations is optional. However, students say they were not allowed to ignore the presentations or work independently. “I was inside during [the presentation]. I had a ton of work to do and [the teachers] wouldn’t let me do it,” said Bridge Student Katie Carroll ‘27.
“I think it’s great to have [presentations] for people who came from public schools if they are struggling, but I don’t think everybody … needs that, so when it’s mandatory, it just takes away from time people could be spending on more important stuff,” said Carroll.
However, the optional Super Study Halls during lunch that Bridge offers also give students a productive environment to prepare for quizzes, tests and essays. “The best part of Bridge was definitely the Super Study Hall, where it has lots of resources. And that helped me a lot with my finals,” said Quintuña. “[Bridge] definitely helps you manage your time better and helps you with problems that you don’t understand.”
Some students also feel that Bridge teachers treat them differently than non-public school kids. “When I got [into Urban] I didn’t feel less capable … but I feel like [the staff] assumed that we felt that we were less [capable],” said Carroll. “They were saying stuff like, ‘You can do it,’ [emphasis on can]. I know I can do it. Should I be doubting that?”
“I know [the staff] don’t know exactly what schools we’re coming from, but they kind of treated us like we went to school in a cave and now we’re here in a palace,” said Mitchiner. “There was almost too much focus on us like they were expecting that we were lesser or less smart.”
To many students though, Bridge still serves as a safe learning environment. “I think they all wanted us to succeed and doing UrbanBridge will just help us get there. They knew we were all capable,”said Carrol.
Bridge is working towards a better future for its students. Along with Yen, multiple junior and senior student leaders who attended Bridge work to set and attain goals for the program. “I personally did not get to know anyone in Bridge [in ninth or 10th grade], … so we’ve been planning more … team bonding activities,” said UrbanBridge Leader June Wolbach ‘24.
Three weeks into the start of the school year, ninth graders fill out a survey about UrbanBridge Orientation to help Bridge continue to grow as an organization. This year, 88% of UrbanBridge ninth graders believed that the orientation helped them better understand academic expectations at Urban and make social connections that were helpful in the first few weeks..
“[The goal] is just to best acclimate students coming from public and charter schools to private school life,” said Wolbach. “We implemented all our feedback from [previous] underclassmen and I think we have been making those changes.”
Bridge has proven to offer more than just a study space. “[Bridge] definitely helps you manage your time better and helps you with problems that you don’t understand,” said Quintuña.
Despite some negative experiences, Bridge is a close-knit community that helps the public-to-private school transition.“I actually met my friend group from UrbanBridge. I think it helps create strong relationships with other people,” said Quintuña. “Students meet before the school year with a chance to bond and make new friends, and it’s a really good community.”
