tv SFUSD Board Of Education SFGTV February 17, 2024 6:00am-10:00am PST
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[music] united unified school district for february 13th, 2024, is now called to order. roll call please. thank you. commissioner boggess. here, commissioner fisher. here. commissioner lamb. here. commissioner sanchez here. commissioner wiseman. ward here. vice president alexander, here. president here. thank you. this evening. public comment on all items will be heard under section e. public comment. this includes public comment for agenda non agenda items, a
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speaker card must be turned in to staff in order to speak. oh if you just took out one of the speakers. oh oh. um okay. accessibility information translation services and information on how to observe the meeting are all posted online at this time before the board goes into closed session, i call for any speakers to the closed session items listed in the agenda. there will be a total of five minutes for speakers at this time. um is there anyone here for public speaking on this item? yes president muhammadu, there's one person in person, so we will have one minute for public comment. can you hear me? great. thank you so much. um, good evening commissioners. my name is kevin ortiz. i'm the co-president of the san francisco latinx democratic club. um, i am here today to urge you to look into the state supreme court case that was mentioned in 2023 of last year. um, particularly around, um,
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proportional representation with it was the pico versus state of santa monica. right, particularly on how santa monica actually pushed back on that. um, the lawsuit that you all are now considering for the cvra, particularly when it comes to santa monica, saying that, um, district elections might not actually be the best approach when it comes to looking at this. and so i would urge you that all to take your time, really explore other avenues like proportional, rcv, and other avenues. for um, you know, um, the creation of these maps. as such, i would also urge that any maps that are finalized one way or another be unified. so that way it's not a separate city college map and school board map. so thank you. so much for your time. thank you. and any online speakers. yes, we do have, um, five hands raised. so a minute each. okay. so each
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speaker will have one minute. i'm going to call the name now. so we know who will be speaking. we, uh, steve, stephen scott, chris and diane again, that's steve stephen, scott, chris and diane. each speaker will have one minute. um, so i will be muting you and moving on to the next speaker at the one minute mark, please. um keep that in mind. thank you so much. steve. go ahead, please. thank you. my name is jason. i'm president of californians for electoral reform and a signer of the coalition letter received yesterday. i'm speaking on item b5, the steve ray threat letter you received from mr. rafferty. i'm concerned that your contract attorney has insufficient experience in this area, that his presentation doesn't mention pico de santa monica and a need
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for a plaintiff to prove dilution, in addition to proving racially polarized voting, indicates his experience indicates his inexperience. he also doesn't seem to be aware of the cities that have successfully resisted severe threat letters without going to districts. the city of albany adopted proportional ranked choice voting as part of a civil settlement in 2022, and continues to use it today. the city of burbank paused its move to districts following the pico decision, and is considering alternative at-large methods of election because they provide greater alternatives for people for voters of color than single member districts. san francisco's voting equipment has already certified for proportional ranked choice voting elections, making this option immediately available. i name other jurisdictions that have successfully resisted. thank you steve. that is your time. i'll be calling now. stephen. stephen. thank you. can you hear me? yes we can hear you. thank you. my name is
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stephen hill. i'm a voting rights expert and also a third year resident in san francisco. um, i'm greatly concerned that the school board seems to be making a rush judgment to just. simply cave in to what appears to be, um, a thrown together effort to get you to go to district elections. um, there's no plaintiff, there's no data. uh, and this is very unusual in voting rights cases. there are a number of cities have resisted this kind of ambulance type, uh, ambulance chasing type lawyer, cvra lawyer, uh, activities. there are a number of experts, like, uh, voting rights attorney and, uh, cvra coauthor robert rubin, who has offered. to uh, to consult with you and to even kevin schekman has even offered to defend you for free. so i urge you to take up on some of these offers, not just simply rush to judgment. there are the california voting rights act was heard by the supreme court last august. the court did make a number of adjustments to the cvra. so the political landscape
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has shifted dramatically. thank you. steven, i'm sorry to have to interrupt. that is your time, scott. good evening. i'm scott rafferty. uh, i've petitioned you. i'm in. what's being referred to as a threat letter, but is actually an opportunity to embrace, uh, district elections as every other, uh, school. board anywhere near your size has. you are the largest jurisdiction in america to elect at large. uh, it will make a stronger board and more well informed board. a more accountable board. it's not about the incumbents. uh, it's about the future. and it's about the voters and giving voters and minority communities that have been neglected. uh an opportunity, an equal opportunity to communicate effectively with the board. it's going to make your life, uh. uh, the board's a much more effective, uh, when you have a
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problem about algebra, you'll go to your local representative and be very ably represented to the entire board. uh, so i hope you move forward. uh, i'd like to be at most of the hearings. i wasn't able to come today. uh, given how crowded it is in olympia. thank you. scott, that is your time. i'll be moving on to chris. good afternoon. i'm commenting on b5. my name is chris jordan. this month i'm finishing serving ten years as the board of supervisors appointee to the elections commission. and i've advocated for better election systems for over 20 years. this issue will have a huge impact on san francisco elections, but i'm concerned you're not being presented. all the options. the california supreme court recently clarified that districts are not the only option to address california voting rights claims. for example, you could use a proportional at large form of ranked choice voting for a city like san francisco, many of you minority communities aren't
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focused in a single geographic area. this would likely be a better option, especially since the districts would be larger than the supervisors. there are a number of experts on this topic who are willing to help you. i urge you to consult with them before committing to a particular path. thank you. thank you. diane. yes? hello? can you hear me? yes we can hear you. thank you. so much. uh, my name is diane silver and i am with fairvote. we're in national, nonpartisan, organized , nonprofit organization that, uh, that has expertise and focuses on ranked choice voting. and i also wanted to comment on item b5. i wanted to, um, echo and support the positions that others have spoken about and reiterate that in jurisdictions where the minority population is dispersed, that we found that districts are not always the best solution for ensuring
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minority representation. and an alternative method like proportional. or ranked choice voting can often be a better method. uh, chris just mentioned experts who can help you in exploring all of these options. and we are one of those organizations. we have voting rights experts and lawyers on our staff who stand by ready to assist. we have 30 years of expertise in ranked choice voting, and so we wanted to offer our availability and urge you to just take time to consider all of the alternatives before you make a decision on this letter. thank you so much. thank you. that does conclude the five minutes allowed for public comment on this item. thank you. um, please note that the board will take a roll call, vote on the recommended student expulsions when we reconvene. can reconvene to open session. i now recess this meeting
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services interpretation en espanol. si necesita interpretation, por favor. el siguiente numero telefonico seguido de acceso uno es uno nueve three otro dos nueve seis siete. si por favor la clave station cinco seis nueve j&j seguido de la mirada. gracias kansas. interpreter please thank you. thank you so. we have only got one. okay. you only have. so you need kumukoa. thank. tahoma high yet. say. but say but say,
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uh. say. sammy. but in general, she fema. hi ya. block lingo. paypal jeong ho gojam. thank you , thank you. okay, so we are now voting reconvening into open session. from closed session, we are voting on expulsion matters. i move approval of the stipulated expulsion agreement for one high school student matter number 2023 dash 2024. dash number 21. for the remainder of the spring 2024 semester. during the expulsion period, the student will attend civic center. can i have a second second roll call? mr. steele? thank you, commissioner. bogus. yes, commissioner. fisher. yes, commissioner. lamb yes, commissioner. sanchez. yes
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commissioner. wiseman. ward. yes vice president. vice president. alexander. yes. president motamedi. yes. seven eyes i move approval of the stipulated expulsion agreement for one high school student. matter number 2023 2024. number 22 for one calendar year from the date of approval of the expulsion, commencing the day immediately following the expulsion order. student will attend civic center during the spring 2024 semester. suspended expulsion status for the remainder of the calendar year. expulsion period begin at the start of the fall 2024 semester and into the spring 2025 semester. can i have a second, second roll call? mr. steele? thank you, commissioner. bogus. yes, commissioner. fisher. yes commissioner. lamb. yes, commissioner. sanchez. yes commissioner. wiseman award. yes. vice president. alexander yes. president. muhammad yes. yes. seven eyes i move approval of the stipulated expulsion
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agreement for one middle school student. matter number 2023, dash 2024, dash number 23. for the remainder of the spring 2024 semester through june 4th, 2024. suspended expulsion status for the fall 2024 semester. can i have a second? second? roll call, mr. steele. thank you. commissioner. bogus. yes yes, commissioner. fisher. yes, commissioner. lamb. yes, commissioner. sanchez yes, commissioner. wiseman. ward yes. vice president. alexander. yes. president muhammad. yes. seven. yes i move approval of the stipulated expulsion agreement for one high school student. matter number 2023 2024. dash number 24 for one calendar year from the date of approval from the expulsion commencing the day immediately following the expulsion order. student will attend civic center during expulsion. can i have a second? second roll call? mr. steele? commissioner. bogus. yes yes, commissioner. fisher. yes commissioner. lamb. yes, commissioner. sanchez yes, commissioner. wiseman. ward yes.
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vice president. alexander yes. president. muhammadu. yes seven eyes, i move approval of the stipulated expulsion agreement for one middle school student. matter number 2023 2024. number 25 for the remainder of the current spring 2024 semester and the following 2024 semester, can i have a second, second roll call? mr. steele? commissioner. bogus yes, commissioner. fisher yes. commissioner. lamb. yes commissioner. sanchez. yes, commissioner. wiseman ward. yes. vice president. alexander. yes. president. muhammadu yes. seven eyes i move approval of the stipulated expulsion agreement for the for one high school student. matter number 2023 dash 2024. number 20 dash number 26 for one calendar year from the date of approval of the expulsion. suspended expulsion status for the spring spring 2024 semester and fall 2024 semester. can i have a second second roll call, mr. steele? commissioner bogus. yes, commissioner. fisher yes, commissioner. lamb. yes
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commissioner. sanchez. yes, commissioner. wiseman. ward. yes vice president. alexander. yes president. motamedi. yes seven. okay report for from closed session in the matter of student mm.mm versus sfusd. oh case number 2023 120251. the board, by a vote of seven eyes, gives the authority of the district to pay up to the stipulated amount in the matter of student tc versus sf, usd oh case number 2023 040687. the board, by a vote of seven eyes, gives the authority of the district to pay up to the stipulated amount in the matter of student et versus sf, usd case number 20 2311 10145. the board by a vote of seven eyes, gives the authority of the district to pay up to the stipulated amount in the matter of student at versus sf, usd oh case number 20 2311 zero 153. the board, by a vote of seven
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eyes, gives the authority of the district to pay up to the stipulated amount in the in three matters of public employee discipline dismissal or release the board by a vote of seven eyes approved a resolution of intent to dismiss certificate. certify certificated employees. woof! okay um. moves on, uh, to the regular agenda. we are now. moving into opening items and i'm going to jump right into the approval of board. minutes is there a motion and a second on the minutes? so moved. second, any corrections. i'm sorry. um doctor wayne, there are none. roll call, mr. steele. all right . student delegate simpson, student delegate toe here. mr.
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alexander. i'm sorry. commissioner. bogus. yes yes. mr. fisher. yes mr. lamb. yes, commissioner. sanchez. yes. uh, commissioner wiseman award. vice president. alexander. yes. president motamedi. yes. six ayes. okay okay. all right. protocol for public comment. just one minute while we get this sorted out. hold on just a moment. you can start with the protocol. all right. um, just want to say thank you to all who are here for usd's business meeting. we intend to conduct our meetings effectively and in view of the public, which means they should be held at a reasonable and predictable hours in order to do so, we will begin board business no later than 8 p.m, meaning the board will begin its discussion and decision making process on agenda items. in addition, our student delegates are only able
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to join us until 9 p.m. it is a loss for decision making and a diminishment of their voice and those they are elected to represent. if they are not able to participate in discussion. i also want to remind everyone that we have updated our board policies over a year ago. since then, our draft agendas for regular scheduled meetings and our items are now published on our sfusd website. 12 days prior to the meeting date with our final agenda posted 72 hours in advance. this enables both you, the public and board members to have more. sorry this is the interpreter. you know what? i'm sorry. i'm going to slow down. thank you very much. i appreciate it. i am so sorry. apologies thank you. yes, i will slow down. this enables you to the public and board members to have more time to review and provide feedback prior to our board meetings. previously our regular agendas had not been shared with board members or the public until final posting 72 hours before our meetings. over a year ago, we began publishing
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a commissioner question and answers document. this document includes the questions that we as commissioners have asked district leadership. and just as important, the district's responses to those questions, because we think transparency is paramount and important to our building and restoring of trust with the community. those questions and answers are now always posted with our final agenda. for example, tonight it can be viewed as item d three. so tonight and going forward we will be prioritizing comments on agenda items at the beginning of our meetings. after that, i will call for non-agenda items if we will reserve time after board business is completed. for additional nine item agenda items to be heard. otherwise, unless otherwise noted or announced, all speakers will receive one minute to speak. we have clocks visible to help you. time and pace yourself, and you will hear a beep when the time ends. i ask that you adhere to both your your time, both out of respect for others time and to allow for as many speakers to be
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heard in the time allotted. i encourage speakers who are speaking on the same topic to collaborate and combine their comments so that the board can hear all viewpoints during their allotted time. um, in order to hear as many viewpoints as possible and avoid reputation, please feel free to raise your hand if you agree with the speaker. we will see and we will understand that you agree. please also note that the board accepts written public comments via email at the board office at sfusd dot edu. so its board office at sfusd.edu. the board and district leadership emails are also posted on our website. at this time, all speaker cards for public comment must be submitted, and i do want to appreciate all of you who are here in this room and participating by other means, and recognize the time you are taking to engage and observe the work of this board and staff. i also recognize that this board does not just represent those in this room or online. we represent that many community members that are not able to participate in this venue, but are likewise invested and affected by actions. this board
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takes. i will now be reviewing the number of anticipate speakers and will provide a timeline in just a minute. i'm. okay, we started a little bit late, so we will commence with 30 minutes of in-person agenda and 30 minutes online agenda. oh, sorry, 30 minutes was that we don't know how many are online. oh, 30% 30. not 30
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okay. we will do 30 minutes of in-person. an agenda. items followed by 15 minutes of online an agenda items. and then we will move to non agenda items in person. 30 minutes in person. agenda and 15 minutes online agenda. then return to in-person for non agenda items. all to be all to be closed out at 815. and then at the close of the business meeting, once we finish our um our, our agenda items and discussion and actions, we will reopen for those who would like to speak on non agenda items at that time. okay great i do.
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we're going to go ahead and get started. so i'm going to call five people up at a time. so please come line up in that order. you'll have one minute each. and please finish out one minute. we're gonna have to cut you off and keep it moving because you see, we do have a lot of people. i'm going to call the one student that i know is here for sure. asante mcallister. you can come on up, please. yeah second, i got nico braman, diane gray, john henry. just here. hold on. sienna dunn and sean foster, please come line up at the podium whenever you're ready, young man. okay. we're getting started. we're getting started. okay. okay
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hello, everyone. my name is asante mcallister. i attend doctor martin luther king junior middle school, and i believe there should be a policy change in the way students are allowed to apply to low and soda high school. i live in oakland, california. that's where i've lived most of my life. all of my life. um, i've been going to school in s.f. usd since the sixth grade, three years and i believe that i should at least have a chance to apply to the soda and low without being denied. um both of my parents work in sfusd. my dad is a para educator and my mother is a teacher at my school and we come to san francisco and we support sfusd every day. so i believe i should at least have a chance to apply to low and soda. thank you . thank you. hi everybody. uh,
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my name is nico bremond. uh, i am a, uh, director of the teen program after school at collective impact. i'm here to talk about ali. i've been working with ali since 2016, when they first started. and uh, you know, one thing i will say is, um, ali is doing the work that needs to be done right? um, it's a movement, a monumental movement. um, during a crisis in our public school system. right. and it's very, extremely necessary to keep that program, um, and initiative thriving. right. and so we're doing the work in the community, in the schools. partnerships are being are happening and students lives are changing. um, let's keep those students lives in our in our hearts and in our minds. let's make sure that the work is still being done on, and let's
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make sure that our school board is making sure that that they can do everything that they can to keep ali alive and well. okay thank you. good evening. uh, superintendent wayne and board commissioners. my name is diane gray, and i'm. i am the director of education for young community developers, the co-founder of 100% college prep and executive board member of the san francisco alliance of black school educators. i am truly grateful for ali and their team and all the important work that they do supporting african american students and their families 100% college prep was at the table at the very beginning. we're blessed to be at the table at the very beginning of this initiative. we are equally impressed by the work of its director, leticia irving, building a great team to continue building bridges to success. thank you. thank you.
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good evening everyone. my name is sienna dunn. i am, um, a parent leader with the apac. i have been in collaboration with ali team. i feel that they are monumental in the in continuing the development and keeping the structure and the avenues in place for black students to be successful in this district. um, being a child of san francisco and growing up in the communities in san francisco and having the resources from ali and from the apac for black families and black students is extremely important. and i think that the district needs to do whatever they need to do to ensure that they are, um, a continued part of this. uh, their the success that's needed for the district to be able to move forward. thank you. good
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evening. my name is sean foster. i work with king, makers of oakland, and i support ali. um, ali is mci course is providing a culturally relevant safe space in the school day where kings and queens can engage in rigorous, culturally relevant coursework that connects students to their peers, builds their academic and historical self esteem, and gives them strategies to achieve in a world that has many challenges. if it's true that our students are our clients and this board as well as this institution exists to serve them and equip them with the tools they need to transform into the beautiful and productive people we know. they will become. are we listening to them in what they really want and have expressed? receiving great value in? or are we pursuing our own agendas without their voice? without their voice? this program is truly a revolution. very um, villata class and see for yourself the question i want to ask the board is are we investing in a moment or a movement? thank you. thank
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you. i'm calling the next group. ursula dyer, a student. ursula, you can come up to the podium, please. greg espy, reverend amos brown, melissa ginn, jessica middleton, please come line up at the podium. have one minute each. got this. i like to it. i like special education because it helps my brother asher a lot. i don't need special education like my brother, but i am grateful to have it because it lets my teacher teach me and it helps kids learn. my name is ursula dyer and i am in second
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grade. my name is gregory espey. i am a facilitator for our martin luther king junior middle school, and i am here to represent the ali program. first and foremost, i just like to say the ali program is a staple to this city. san francisco, as we know, is unique and diverse, and we are leaders in groundbreakers on providing new avenues and new ways for people. the ali program is monumental as it already has been mentioned. it is life changing. it is character developing. it is a force in a world of darkness and without the ali program, we wouldn't have such a people that we have here today. san francisco has already produced great leaders as we see as letitia irving and, um, director bogus and if we continue to have the programs that we have with ali, we will not only continue to see directors like we have now and
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mayors like london breed, but who knows, out of san francisco, out of this ali program, we may see the next president of the united states come through here. i believe in this. i stand firm on this. i hope that you will stand firm with us. thank you. hi. good evening. my name is melissa ju, and i'm the principal of ulua elementary. and the last two years, ulua has been doing a lot of intentional work around deepening the sense of belonging for all of our stakeholders, students, families, and staff. this important work has not been done in isolation, but through working together as a community with great partners and supporters in our effort to increase the sense of belonging and community to our for our bsu families, we reached out to the black families in the neighboring schools. yellow in partnership with aipac, has hosted two sunset family meetups and we plan to hold more. we are
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also thankful for the continued support from ali last night, kpi x showed a feature they did on our bsu facilitator and parent el khalid mccray and highlighted the work he has done with our bsu. we look forward to continuing our school's work in diversity, equity and inclusion with the support from aipac and ali. thank you. hi. good evening. board my name is jessica middleton and i want to be here to support ali and reinforce the services they provide and continue to fund them. my son is a seventh grade biracial student at presidio middle school, and, um, this was the first year that i was aware of mastering the cultural identity course. and i'm so happy and thrilled with this elective as it provides a space for my son to learn with other black and brown students, and
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about how to respond and react based on his skin color. this class has focused on the struggles and achievements of african american history. this is one of his favorite classes where he is able to be himself, engage and participate in teamwork. i'm in favor of keeping this program going citywide across san francisco unified school district and also i'm also here to talk about the eighth grade algebra. um, my son's placed third in the american math competition. so i say let's reinforce it for eighth graders. thank you. thank you. madam chair, members of the board of education, i'm amos brown, president of the san francisco branch of the national association for the advancement of colored people. i rise is even to say ali must live. victor hugo also said love. love
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is action. and it is time that african americans receive action. consistent from this board. as we've given active participation in supporting other interest groups. what's good for the goose is good for the gander. hang in there. let's keep ali alive. miss ervin is doing an outstanding job. the work is impeccable. this dream team must stay alive. so at one time, we can say we did it together. and we made a difference in the lives of black children in the school district. thank you. okay, i'll call the next group. chris chapman, zach manuel, harry jamerson. oh, tony hines and nia of kingmakers, please come to the podium one
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minute each. all right. greetings, directors and superintend. wayne, my name is chris chapman, and i am the founder and ceo of kingmakers of oakland. i was also the founding executive director of ucsd's african american male achievement, the first district in the country to initiate a department centering black students while serving all students. i've been supporting the work of ali since its inception and want to encourage the board and superintendent to continue to invest in ali and the leadership of miss letitia irving and mr. bobby pope. now more than ever, we must center those students furthest from opportunity. and given the results of stanford university's tom d's report on targeted universalism and the impact ali and mci is having on black students, this work needs to be extended, expanded, citywide, and mci is critical to ensuring that our students improve their sense of belonging, cultural identity, self-efficacy, and collective responsibility, which are leading indicators of not only academic success but improved life outcomes for our most vulnerable students. i ask for you to think about how you expand the work citywide to ensure all teachers and staff
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create the conditions, systems, structures, and culture for our black students and families to thrive and experience academic success. thank you. thank you. my name is zack manuel, a proud member of mega black san francisco and a concerned member of the community. and i firmly believe that our black students cannot be left in the margins all has done a fantastic job working with students, parents, and community partners to meet kids where they are and bridge the gap to academic success. but there's work to be done. we need to make sure that students are receiving rigorous grade level guidance, instructional coherence is absolutely paramount to make sure our kids can understand the metrics that ultimately decide the opportunities available to them. how can we expect change if we aim below the bar? our students need to be seen, heard and felt in a sense of belonging that all he protects, promotes and pays forward in everything they do. black and brown students again will not be left in the margins
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and will keep showing up to make sure of it. thank you, thank you . uh, good evening, superintendent. commissioners student delegates and citizens of the city. um, thank you for your time. uh, first off, happy black history month, everybody. there we go. uh, my name is harry jamerson, a proud teacher in the bayview. uh, one sentiment i would like to express is please strongly consider the recommendation of those who are closest to the problem. ali has done phenomenal work in the community, and these recommendations will help alleviate disparities that are often go unaddressed. thank you for your time. go. ali. good evening. my name is nia. i use she her pronouns and i am the curriculum designer for the organization in kingmakers of oakland, where we seek to improve the educational outcomes for black boys in our schools. our collaboration with ali is absolutely critical in achieving
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our collective goal. one i am optimistic we all share in this room. i fully support the recommendations laid out in the 2022 2023 annual report. on page 29, namely, number one, to expand culturally relevant curricula and instruction throughout the district to engage and see our youth in their fullness. i recognize education to be a reciprocal process, one that can occur most effectively when students are fully seen for who they are, have accurate knowledge of where they come from, affirm their belonging in our classrooms and rightful place in the world. we are all co-creating the work of ali must continue to stay uplifted and supported by the district as a success. well-being, livelihood of our black youth and our community at large all depends on it. thank you for your time. good afternoon superintendent. commissioners and student delegates. i'm here in support of the african-american achievement and leadership initiative, aka ali. i am tony
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hines, the african-american parent advisory council parent leader. the ali team trailblazed educational excellence for families with black children. they show how to link school learning to home parent s are the first teachers. please help latisha irving. her team stand in the gap to create positive learning environments throughout fusd. please expand their program happy black history month! laissez les bontemps happy mardi gras, let the good times roll. thank you. calling the next group, please come up and line up at the podium. madam abdulqawi. now please excuse my mispronunciation for now. his last name, julia martin. rory abu, kathy and supriya. ray you go ahead. good evening everyone. my name is martin abdulqawi. i'm the chief program officer for king makers of oakland. prior to that, i was a principal of
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oakland high school, and during my time as a principal of oakland high school, i partnered closely with the office of african-american male achievement at the same department that sister latisha runs here in san francisco. so if you look back at the time of my tenure at oakland high and why we partnered with the office of african american male achievement, our graduation rates went up, our disciplinary actions went down, our school climate and culture went to a whole nother level. and all students, not just our black boys, but all students benefited because we created a space that all students could be seen and heard. the work that latisha and bobby and their department is doing is can help any school transform their school climate and culture to a place where all students can be successful. please continue to support the work. thank you. good evening. um, board. my name is azpeitia
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finau and i'm a parent of a sfusd student and a member of the sfsu isd mature advisors council for the pacific islander community. historically, we've seen our black and brown communities left behind throughout history. i'm here to support and stand behind the mission and the work that ali and aipac does to promote the success of our black and brown community, his children's and families, and by elevating them and, uh, putting effective practices and strategies and helping deconstruct systemic barriers. the collaborative work that ali and aipac is critical to uplift and empower our black and brown communities. please continue supporting them. thank you. hello everyone. my name is
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julia martin and i am the special education ombuds person for sfusd, the cac liaison to are the liaison to the community advisory committee for special ed, the cac and a parent in this district. and i got to know ali and apac as first as a parent through the apac at our school site. but then i really got to know them as a cac member where our apac and ali really led an incredible, um, action at and community effort to raise awareness around dyslexia and their work and leadership literally changed lives of our children and of how school psychologists thought about literacy. it was phenomenal. and as a staff member, i've had the honor of getting to work with ali, and i can't tell you all how how lucky i am to work with you. the dedication that each and every when they say each and
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every, that means that each and every one of them phone calling students as they are so, so dedicated. so i'm in your debt. thank you all mad. respect thank you for your leadership. thank you and cac loves you. so they sent me. come on up. good evening everyone. this is supriya ray. i wanted to talk briefly about two matters. first, quickly about math. i really would urge you to please keep the faith and keep the trust of the community by making sure that algebra and eighth grade is available to anyone who wants to take it. a plan to have it after eighth grade in the summer is not in eighth grade, and a plan to put it online is going to hurt the very communities who are already the most disadvantaged. second thing i want to talk about is the resolution to move to a district based model of elections, which is tremendously concerning to me . we are a model of diversity
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and i don't see where you can better stand up for minority communities than to stand up against this change to district elections. that would actually, if anything, impair minority voting rights. so i suggest we actually defend sfusd values of student centeredness, being united, social justice, diversity, being fearless. and i want to note, mr. rafferty, just today on television, said that latins, latinos and asians are different from the rest of the electorate. he said that both of those communities care a lot more about education. the rest of the electorate. i submit he is wrong. thank you. hi, i'm a math teacher, so we're balancing the budget and i'm going to say you cannot make a dollar out of $0.15. so for example, i'm also on pcac and for everything that you add for example algebra one, which i am in favor of a detract model, um, you have to subtract
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it. so everybody in this room that is complaining about being cut, i have not seen a side by side, which i'll be requesting formally of what is being cut to pay for algebra one in this expedited manner. when we are over $400 million in debt with the state of california. so i am concerned that they canceled last month's meeting. um, they're talking about doing this thing for students, but you're not talking about all these people in the room that are getting their programs cut to pay for something that serves a few number of students. so i am just wanting to hear from the board more details and transparency around what you are cutting to pay for an algebra one program that we all support. but again, dollar $0.15. came calling the next group. please come to the podium. autumn login maya are patrick wolff, jeff lucas, tyra, shu. my name is
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autumn lohan. i'm here to talk about algebra. algebra is going to bring revenue back to our district. by bringing families , e 1 in 7 at middle school if they come back, they will bring their funding with them. but i want to talk about ten years ago this board voted to remove algebra from middle school. for the last decade, sf students have been watching as the bus to science and math careers passes them by. their bay area peers are on that bus, and san francisco's kids get to sit and watch as they're left behind. some of them run like crazy to catch up with that bus, but they shouldn't have to. tonight's algebra plan gets one third of our kids on the bus to the careers they want in science and tech, but it leaves the other two thirds waiting in the cold for at least two years. years i admit that this plan is better than the current system. it is better to fail two thirds of our kids than all of them. just like if your surgeon is low on anesthetic, it's better to numb one third of the incision than none at all. but is that what san francisco's kids deserve? no no, they deserve algebra. every middle school
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without a two year delay. pilot algebra every middle school this fall. hi my name is maya. for a while, everyone took algebra one in eighth. back to school night 2013 at roosevelt middle. my son's algebra one teacher told us it would be delayed tonight. i thought, this can't be true, and if we all go to 555 and explain why it's a really bad idea, would all work out if there are lessons to be learned from this. the minute somebody questions your data, engage. when you hear 40% failed one year, in the very next 7% did that snake oil, everyone should ask to see the raw data. after years of district stonewalling, i finally got the data. 4% failed the last year algebra one was an eight, not 40. somebody likely made a decimal point error and nobody caught it. they later tried to blame an exit exam. no longer given, but even the exam claims can't be reproduced. should not take public data requests, should not take lawsuits. it not should not take someone wearing a metaphorical sandwich board
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standing at the corner screaming repent for ten years. thank you. hi, i'm jeff lucas, eighth grade students are fully capable of successfully completing algebra. prior to 2014, about half of the students in sfusd completed eighth grade algebra successfully. that's not a small number. half current board policy prevents teaching of algebra one in eighth grade. this sets low expectations for our students. it drives families away from the district and it creates a barrier that requires outside outside resources to overcome. the district should support and welcome algebra one. in eighth grade. support the superintendent's requested action. thank you. hi. good evening, patrick wolff. i'll try to speak briefly on two topics. first, on math, i agree with miss abernathy. there's only so
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many minutes and only so many dollars and a budget of time and money is a is a moral document that we have too few in optional minutes for math. it's time not spent on math should be allocated for more math instruction. we also could do a much, much better job of reducing chronic absenteeism, which would actually make us all richer in terms of minutes spent in class. uh, regarding the lawsuit or the threat of a lawsuit to move to district elections, as i'm sure you've all been deluge over the last week, president muhammadu can't even imagine what the last week has been like for you. i'm not going to repeat the arguments that you all know. i just want to tell you something, san francisco loves its public schools. san francisco will not let a carpetbagger lawyer for seeking money bully this district around. do the right thing. thank you. hi. good
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evening. uh, take issue. i am a tsa on special assignment in multilingual pathways with. as a math specialist, i taught for almost 15 years at mission high school. over ten years ago, i came here under different circumstances. we advocated for detracking in san francisco because at mission high school we successfully taught a diverse group of students how to do math at deep, deep levels, including multilingual students, black students, and brown students. and now we're here with an excel two. too much of an accelerated plan to bring back algebra in eighth grade. on one option, we have compression. imagine being a teacher trying to fit two years of curriculum into one year. you get stressed out and you leave kids behind. there's no current plan for the district from the district's end to ensure that all students have access to a compression course, wherein there are multilingual students and students who have not been taught as well as they could have been in previous years of mathematics. another option is to make it an elective. we know what happens when it's an elective. well, resource parents and families are allowed to take the course
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and other students do not, thereby leaving them behind when they come to high school. so please reconsider how to roll this out to support the most needed students and have a plan for multilingual students and black and brown students. thank you. thank you. i'm calling the next group. please come to the podium. hi, my delay. excuse me or jamie. i'm sorry for mispronouncing. i have two cards for you. all right. um medea, steven hill, john trasvina, and patrick wolf. patrick just spoke . well good evening. my name is jamie huling delay. i'm the mother of a dolores huerta first grader, and also an attorney with 15 years of litigation experience, most of which has been defending and suing governments. i'm here to say that the cvra potential lawsuit is eminently winnable, and there's a reason that the
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foremost education and election lawyers in california are coming forward to tell sfusd de that they will offer their services pro bono to defend the district. the district should push back against this lawsuit because it doesn't represent the board's values. the board has recently refocused on outcomes for students and the local experience in sf. with redistricting shows that drawing these districts is going to dramatically distract the board and require a huge amount of time, um, that is focused not on student outcomes. it's going to dilute minority votes in sf seven out of seven citywide elected officials are people of color. the cvra lawsuit is winnable. thank you. good evening. my name is del del medina and i am co-president of
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latinx democratic club. as the previous speaker and many speakers before me have been talking about resources. when we look at the cvra threat letter, the reality is that we have to consider that none of us are minorities. number one, we are the majority. uh, we are a part of this country, and we have a stake in it, including education. and so what does it look like to have the resources at hand be looked at? and so it is, in my opinion, that you should fight back against this lawsuit. and create a system that actually is equitable, not just in pieces of the current, uh, in the current climate, political climate in san francisco. but overall, taking a look at the system overall, not just for today, not for tomorrow, but for the next ten years. thank you. good evening. i'm john trevena. i chair the voting rights act compliance committee for san francisco in the 1980s. and in the 2000, i
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was your appointee to the elections commission. the district, parents and community have a lot of challenges. but how we elect you is not one of them. this board has been the most diverse governing body in san francisco for decades. since you since we first had elections of school board members in 1972. in the last 20 years, two thirds of members of the board have an african american, latino or asian american. the supervisors have been a majority of supervisors elected by district have been a majority white. we don't need a walnut creek lawyer misused the voting rights act to make us less diverse. people have fought for the right to vote and representation for decades. we ask you to stand up for it now. the right to vote is worth more than $40,000 in attorney fees for this out of town lawyer. this lawsuit will harm, not help, and even the settlement will distract from all the challenges we have, all of us ahead of us. tell mr. rafferty no, thank you.
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good evening. commissioners. my name is steven hill, and you have my sympathies for the difficult decision that's been dropped in the middle of your laps. you also have more options than you perhaps realize. the california voting rights act, jurisprudence has shifted dramatically since last august, when the california supreme court issued its pico decision. and at that point it said it's no longer sufficient to simply show racially polarized voting. you have to now show vote dilution. and that's going to be very difficult to do in a city like san francisco that has such a long history of, uh, the protected class having electoral success, including with the current board. um, consequently, cities are starting to fight back against this. this kind of egregious use of the cvra burbank has halted its path to districts after holding public hearings and actually having the
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district lines drawn. uh the city of albany across the bay has negotiated a compromise with the plaintiff attorney to use proportional ranked choice voting and its first election in both seats were won by candidates from the protected class. so i hope you will consult with the expertise that you need to do this. and i have given you some, uh, proposal for to go with your resolution if you want to try and change your resolution. thank you. all right. three more for the section. uh, wesley baker, geraldine, catalina, please come to the podium. catalina. buenas not present me. no. geraldine. mejia. so, miranda venezolano, familia. cuatro esposo importancia e fraccion. estamos tenemos cuatro meses. buena vista las cosas cambiado desde la ultima vez tuvimos aqui. recuerda la compartimos. fotografia donde nuestro dormido una clase no tienen el mismo
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rendimiento como un nino tiene un lugar donde descansar miembro de la junta escolar e superior mejor. jeremy, estudiante escuela john muir, su estudiante hoy necesitan el apoyo usted, jeremy esta representation and representation. esta noche de cientos de ninos estan al igual. él necesitamos apoyo. and look me companera a continuacion y aqui nuestros hijos. su estudiante. hi. good evening. my name is geraldine. i'm from venezuela. i my family is, uh, board members. buenas noches. me nombre. okay me, my husband and my two kids. i also belong for, uh, leaders of actions. we're in a homeless situation. we reported this when we arrived. there has been no changes. uh, we show you the pictures of our sons. uh, they are not able to
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take their classes because they keep falling asleep during class times. so compared to the other students, they are not the same. so we need some support. jeremy here is represents hundreds of other children during the same situation. buenas noches. my name is catalina sequeira. i'm diana estrella high school galileo como lo dijo geraldine. nuestros hijos estan pasando por momentos muy dificiles. por no tener un hogar superintendent. nosotros seguimos esperando tener una reunion con usted y sabemos usted tiene un agenda muy ocupada. pero hoy venimos hacer un invitation. usted a la junta escolar los detalles de esta reunion comunitaria. qué sera dentro de nuestros valores de fe y moral estan dentro de la carta los estudiantes necesita su representantes estén present necessity. la junta escolar este con ellos y sus familias. hoy estamos aqui en representation
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de cientos de familia. estamos solo llegando a dormir a lost por mas de cuatro meses, nuestros hijos en su estudiantes necesitan el distrito, el distrito escolar de san francisco. este hombre como con ellos deciamos tiempo para este evento. muchas gracias. hi, my name is carolina and i have a daughter that goes to galileo high school. my kids are also going through a very difficult time. we're also in a homeless situation, so perintendent, we asked for a meeting with you and the rest of your staff. we have included an agenda with some of the tiny. i know that you have a very busy agenda as well in the letter that with the invitation for this meeting, you will receive our values, faith and morals are reflected. may the school and all of their representatives of each and every one of those schools can
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have a meeting with their families. all of us. together. we can work. we represent representing hundreds of families. we now have a place to sleep and this has been going on for more than four months. our children need as you, as needs for their support and assistance in the least time possible. thank you. good evening. my name is wes baker. i'm the solutions executive for scholastic northern california, especially in its sense of literacy and equity. i'm here to advocate for ali for a few reasons. specifically, and most importantly, the mci program. the mci programs data with regard to attendance and lexile level scores, improving is right on par with what we see nationally at scholastic. i want to just cite a couple of studies that we've seen in the past couple of years. 2016 the national bureau of economic research found that freshman at risk of dropping out, they had a grade point average increase of
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at least one point, and attendance rose by 21% when they were enrolled in an ethnic studies course. that's the power of giving students that sort of representation and the learning objectives that they have every single day. and i just want to congratulate everyone on the team for that work. and congratulate the board. and definitely encourage you to keep that program going. thank you. thank you. okay. and so now we will move to 15 minutes of agenda items on line. at this time i'm. at this time we will take public comment from our virtual participants. each speaker will have one minute. can we please have that repeated in spanish and chinese. mr. mentor comentarios en linea para aquellas personas se quieren hacer puntos relacionados con la
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de cada persona tendra derecho a un muchas gracias. cantonese i know you guys have a long considering. so you know, our country. thank you. stephen. yes my name is steve chesson. i'm president of californians for electoral reform. i'm commenting on item g2 before your closed session today. i mentioned how albany settled at cvra situation with our districts. i also mentioned the city of burbank, burbank is receiving legal advice from marguerite mahoney, vincent hertzberg. she got the cvra lawsuit against burbank, dismissed. kevin shakman, who usually takes the plaintiffs side in these situations, has offered to defend you for free.
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should mr. rafferty actually sue , i urge you to take him up on his offer. i name other jurisdictions that have successfully resisted seabury threat letters, but i don't want to name them. i don't want them to become targets for mr. rafferty. i'll provide them in confidence to your attorney. if you would contact me, you should consider negotiating a citywide proportional solution to mr. rafferty. that would be a lot less expensive than hiring a demographer and holding a public hearings required for adopting districts. and if he refuses, you should ask the board of supervisors to put a charter amendment on the november ballot that would allow you to switch to a proportional method. thank you very much. thank you. aaron. aaron. dorothy. good afternoon.
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good evening. um, i have been an aipac parent for many years, and the supporting tools that they give parents and families to advocate for their children is, is, uh, irreplaceable. the programs that eli offers students are great learning opportunities. my son was fortunate enough to, uh, have the black star rising session twice, and he learned awesome things and amazing things and i wish that it would be around in a few years for my daughter. i fully support. uh mta and hope yes, we. sorry. um, we did designate, um, a certain amount of time to. is there going to be more later? thank you, thank you . caller ending in 5100.
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good evening. good evening. my name is cheryl barton, and i'm with the san francisco, the naacp. um, i'm a divisor and i'm in support of not having the alley alley program. uh everybody needs inclusiveness, especially black students. they are so vulnerable at this time. um, so they definitely need the support of this program. i'm also against, um, district, um, elections for the school board. uh, that just marginalizes, um, more of the disenfranchized communities in san francisco. and as far as algebra in middle school, um, i don't think that that's should be, um, something that's implemented at this time.
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it should be set more because i think what it's going to cause is a bigger, um, achievement gap for the students who are left behind. so thank you. thank you. tom hi. my name is tom anderson. i'm a special education teacher at euroskeptic. i'm over my case limit by a few students, and you keep getting more and more students. i'm also on the special education reopener for bargaining the district requests or bargaining with us yesterday, but they said they couldn't make it. we can't meet next monday because it's a holiday, so the soonest would be the 26th. the district says special education is a priority, but they threw out bargaining and threw out. now they have not made it back. i'm speaking now so hopefully other parents can push the district because i also met a parent the district. but the district mainly listens to parents and not educators who are saying we are drowning here.
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we are burnt out. please walk the walk because you're doing that for math, but you're not doing it for educators in special education. and all teachers help students with special education. but i think the algebra, because you're afraid of certain parents or a certain values, you're taking that on and not special education. i don't know why that is the case. that thank you real quick, alicia, i just want to remind the public this section is for agenda items. you will have time to speak on non agenda items later. so please don't raise your hand right now. if you're here to speak to a non agenda item. we're only speaking to agenda items. you can we please have that repeated in spanish and chinese. um this we are speaking to agenda items only. please lower your hand if you are. if you're wanting to give public comment on a non agenda item. recibiendo los comentarios relacionadas con la agenda. si usted tiene un comentario q no esta relacionado con la agenda por favor. no soberano. con uh, eating
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homework. eating. oh, there you go. hi. legal hi. um eating homework for me. thank you, thank you. vanessa. for hi. good evening everyone. my name is vanessa marrero, and i am the executive director for parents of public school, san francisco. i'm going to get to the point on the program. institute's a rigorous response. live and relatable, um, initiative across certain schools in the district and i recommend that you actually expand this special program. definitely do not consolidate any of its services. if you need additional funds,
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please look at federal dollars and look at state dollars that can support you so that we can continue to serve our children who have been probably the most underserved. thank you. thank you. chris. good evening. my name is chris, sardonic, and i'm commenting on the elections issue g2 this month. i'm finishing ten years of service as the board of supervisors appointee to the elections commission. i've also been an advocate for better election systems for over 20 years. given the magnitude of this issue, i'm concerned that you're rushing the decision and without consulting with knowledgeable experts to give one example, none of the materials in the agenda packet for this item, neither the slide presentation nor the draft resolution mention the possibility of proportional ranked choice voting. the california supreme court recently clarified that proportional systems like pr-stv can also be used to resolve
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california voting rights act claims. these systems are designed for cities like san francisco, where our diversity is spread throughout the city. many minority communities aren't concentrated in high enough numbers in any one area to benefit from districts. districts would just divide these communities further. i urge you to consider these other options and to consult with experts before proceeding down the road for its districts. thank you. thank you. miss marshall, thank you, young sister. good evening. the president of the committee board commissioner of wayne, student delegates, ladies and gentlemen, i join president of naacp. reverend doctor amos brown and our members. and they continued support of all league and the apac. they are doing an excellent, amazing, phenomenal work with our students and families across the district. yes, you heard tonight, whenever i see a parking lot at night for
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cars, for a meeting parent meeting, i know it's an a pac meeting and those meetings are amazing. when a when they start off at harvard some years ago, i'll go downstairs and see if they needed anything. they needed nothing. they were so resourceful. resourceful. i went up back to my office and went back to work. now that i'm retired, i still see them doing amazing work in this heartfelt i commend this a teacher, irving, and her amazing staff for their vision and work. i'm requesting that you implement all five recommendations on page 29 and not cut one penny. thank you, miss marshall. that is your time for the program. thank you. thank you so much. carol. okay. my name is carol kosovar, and i
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want to talk to two items. the first one is algebra one and the eighth grade. and i want to congratulate and say thank you to superintend wayne and all the staff for working to bring finally, algebra back into the eighth grade in san francisco unified school district. uh, it's been inequitable. well, our kids who are high performing haven't had the opportunity to reach their potential. the second issue i want to talk about is this law school, uh, case about voting and. essentially don't take a position tonight. don't get pushed into the corner. don't get pushed because there's a threat of a lot of money. uh, because there are lots of options right now that you didn't know in this first came up. and so i urge you to take
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your time, uh, especially when we have a lawsuit. thank you. carol that is your time. thank you. mark. mark yes. so so, um, appreciate the time here. so i'm a parent of a third grader. i'm going to elementary. uh, this is going to be two parts. we'll stay within one minute, but i wanted to appreciate the album team for their support over the years. uh we've been able to have a black student union at yolo for the last couple of years, and that's because of the resources and guidance that it provided. and just like principal jude talked about the intentional work being done, uh, we're taking things to the next level with an equity equity design team within the new law community to continue to bridge the gap between the families of different backgrounds and the school district. so i would like to say, please continue to
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support that team. and now i'm going to transition to my daughter, who will say a few words. hi, my name is marissa and i go to the school, bulova elementary. i am a third grade and i'm in third grade and i am a part of the class team and older sister maya was in eighth grade, was also part of the black student union when she was at eloa. i'm not sure if you know, but this. you know this, but the bsu was on channel five news this today for black history month. mr. l teaches us how to proud of who we are and that we can be that we can make a difference. thank you aipac for supporting the bsu at enloe this year. i will be on the african american on. this is my
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first time being on an african. the on. i am excited to be i am excited because it it's also at the chase center. thank you apac oliver. thank you thank you. mary hi. good evening. that's my family right there. and i wear several hats in the district on the school social worker. but i'm always a parent. first part of the apac leadership team and a parent of the bsu at wallowa elementary school. i wish we could stand in person before you this evening, but have to participate due to covid. through my times at board meetings, i have come to you with tears, heartache, frustration, especially about the state of anti-blackness in our district and what happened
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at uva several years ago today. i'm glad to share a new story and heartfelt gratitude for the work that has been done to repair the harm and to rebuild that. you will. i am grateful for the lower admin who are leading the way and are here tonight, and for the local community to work through this painful experience and move towards solidarity, inclusion and to create a sense of belonging for all students. none of this would have happened without ali. aipac and the naacp for standing with us and for us and to pivot. i want to uplift and strongly encourage the board to follow through with resolutions passed, especially the safe and supportive resolution and the black studies resolution, which are resolutions that directly impact black students. i'm requesting that there is accountability. thank you. mary that is your time. thank you. hope thank you. i want to just uplift again, ali and just bring to attention the
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need. you've heard the beautiful debates that have broken out, the confidence that is, that has been invested in our children. this is really needed for you to really take an account. the recommendations that they're putting forth, but also put in place as mary was saying, the accountability to sit there and make this stuff happen do not cut. but really look at expanding because the more that you invest in each and every student, the more that you will really bring the value. and i think about as a alumni of usd, i wish that i had this kind of support, but i'm grateful that my children are able to have the benefits of programs that ali and apac bring. the first black book that my child held within kindergarten, and that sparked her the support that i've gotten in navigating dyslexia and understanding how to navigate the sfusd as an employee and as
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a parent has come through the work and the training of ali and apac, it is necessary for us to expand this work. i'm so sorry to have to interrupt you. thank you. hope that is your time. marie. hi. um my name is mariah mills and i am a alumni of de. i just first want to say that i'm approach again to the babies. um, my mother, who previously spoke. i just want to highlight how how much i, lee, has just laid, um, a lot of fundamental groundwork, especially being a black kid and so for usd, um, and now raising a black male, um, just in this in the school district alone, um, ali has given, uh, the basis of allowing
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not just me to have opportunity, but those around me to have opportunity, which is why i so crucial that you would allow ali to keep the funding, keep the resources, keep, um, keep encouraging these babies and keep making sure that they're doing exactly what they need to do. they're uplifting and they're filling in the spots that the school district isn't. and so i'm here to say that both ali and apac working together, but make ali mainly making sure that you guys prioritize our babies because thank you, maria, i'm so sorry to have to cut you off. that is your time. thank you. rhonda good evening. rhonda
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sorry, i am rhonda bettis and i am a very proud apac parent leader. i am calling in tonight to express my full support for the ali recommendations that will be put forth later tonight. i implore the board to actively listen with plans to fully implement the five recommendations with fidelity. it is my sincere hope that this is the year will be the year that we can start the process to ensure that each and every african american black student within usd as well, our babies deserve full access to the support and resources required to thrive within sac usd. just imagine how well our babies will perform when each and every adult views them as scholars and has high expectations for them. thank you. thank you. president motamedi, that does conclude the 15 minutes allowed for agenda items. okay, we will now move to in person non agenda items and we will end at 815. because we
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did start the meeting 15 minutes late okay. thank you. okay. can we have that repeated in. oh no we're in. we're in person i'm sorry. apologies. all right i'm gonna call the first five j&j garcia. seven, and rida garcia may you, ramiro. geronimo cristobal morales, please come to the podium. if you're here, you have one minute each. good evening. everyone i'm voicing my concern in regards to few things that our school have encountered. and we find a bit concerning. for example, our school community has a lot of kids with some sort of speech impediments and have not received proper attention. for example, a speech evaluation and
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therapist that is influenced in spanish and english and will give them the proper care they need. another major concern for guadalupe elementary community is that there is a school bus that stops in front of our school and take our kids from the neighborhood to west portal elementary. this same kids come back in the afternoon and stay in our school program. i really don't find it fair that another school who is not in our district zone is getting more funds than guadalupe, then sorry . and then guadalupe with our neighborhood children's. to my understanding, all schools in san francisco in sfusd are under the same curriculum. i'm sorry. that's your time. one minute. okay thank you. next speaker can go ahead. muy buenas noches. my
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name is ramiro jeronimo aguilar, a padre de gabriel jeronimo de la escuela guadalupe. elemental. este estamos aqui este por una razon. el principio de ano es de la escuela no contaba con una este therapist de lenguaje. entonces este estamos aqui. bueno yo estoy aqui como otros padres queriamos este saber el plan de the si el distrito de un plan para para nuestros hijos puedan recuperar el las terapias no pudieron recibir el principio de ano. muchas gracias. hi, my name is ramiro jeronimo and my child attends guadalupe elementary school and we are concerned because we used to have a speech therapist and we don't have it anymore. so i would like to know what is, uh,
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sfusd is going to do and what is their plan to get back a speech therapist so our children can can, uh, start going, going and attending this therapist. thank you. hi. uh, everyone, uh, go ahead. because because today is the fourth day of the, uh, luna new year. so, uh, my name is mateo. um guadalupe gonzales. sam. samantha, honey, can you come home and go see akabusi? come go come come come. hi. come on. go! sam! tyler. hi the patience required. how come? sam and guadalupe go see how they go to. hi. hi you guys. you need something in your yao zheng? how you guys? yann lecun typo. fine
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i visible come for how? uh you know, they can how they typo? fine. uh hi. hi i'm sorry. you know, they cannot how face gym gong peng heng or yap how come yan yan how honey for me you, uh. hi. thank you. hi. i am you. i work at guadalupe elementary school. uh, i have three children that are graduated from this school. they are very successful. two are engineers. one is a nurse. and i'm very thankful for the school. i have a thankful heart, working hard to give back to the school. ten years ago at guadalupe elementary school, uh, when we have most of our, uh, children, students of chinese descent, almost 150 students, enough to almost start a bilingual pathway. but ten years ago, because appearance of middle
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school feeder system plus other reasons, the majority of the chinese students that would have been here have changed the west portal. and because they have the after school bus and that brings them back to guadalupe elementary school, that has a direct effect on the school's chinese population entering the school, i personally feel the school district is imperfect, and i think it's time for hope. the board of education can make the change to this. thank you. great. thank you. i'm calling the next group. please line up with the podium. yanita curry, catherine toruno, roberto guzman , novia castro and mariella ornelas. good evening. respectful members of the board of education. my name is yanita curry. i live in the excelsior and crocker-amazon neighborhood and i am also a para educator with the san francisco unified school district for the past 16 years, every everybody is familiar with the core values of
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the sfusd and to name a few, social justice equity unit diversity. as we celebrate black history month is hard not to relate to the bus incident of 1955, where one person fought for the desegregation and racial equality for more than 20 years, we have had a yellow bus coming to the doors of guadalupe to pick up a student from our neighborhood, and bus them to another school in the west part of the city. as our school is impacted year after year with enrollment, the bus, the number of students on the bus increased year after year. creating an elitist elite school for the particular racial group outside of our neighborhood. regardless of who is paying for the bus, this is an equity issue because resources from an underserved, underserved community are
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allocated to an affluent one by appealing to you, i will put my trust that you will hear us and make the necessary changes. thank you. next speaker. is catherine. okay. hold on. buenas noches. nombre es catherine. thank behind la escuela guadalupe. estoy aqui para pedir les kanno. recording recursos en nuestra escuela. i mucho estudiante aprendizaje de inglés is indispensable e necessary. yo, jack, nuestros hijos receiving todo el apoyo necesario. gracias. hello. my name is catherine, and? and my daughter attends guadalupe elementary school and i want to ask you not to cut. any programs
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in our school and, um, there's a lot of students that they're english learners, and it's very important and needed to have all these resources for our children. thank you. buenas noches. me nombre es olivia castro. estoy expresado me preocupacion acerca de nuestra escuela. guadalupe por ejemplo, tenemos ninos e ninos con the deficit language. ya ya tenemos mas de cien dias de clase y todo estos ninos no han sido evaluados. también un therapist adecuado y se a just a las necesidades de cada nino y nina. otro detalle q quiero agregar es la escuela guadalupe, un busco a recoger ninos de nuestra comunidad para llevarlos a la escuela west portal. después, los mismos ninos se quedan en los programas de nuestra escuela
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ofrece. después de la escuela se justo otra escuela esté teniendo mas fondos guadalupe con con ninos de nuestro vecindario. tengo entendido el distrito de san francisco tiene el mismo curriculum en la escuela. pero por qué algunas tienen mas estudiantes esas escuelas son las mas dinero tienen y mas programa yo quiero guadalupe si una de esas escuelas. yo no quiero manejar treinta minutos para dejar a me hijo a west portal teniendo guadalupe me vecindario. pero porque west portal tiene mas program de los padres quieren aguas portal para sus hijos. estamos en los estados unidos nuestros hijos derecho de recibir una buena educacion por ciento sin importar, cual escuela tiene mas. quiero todos ofrecen los mismos servicios sin importar en casona este de la escuela. gracias. hi, my name is nadia
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castro and my student goes to guadalupe and i know that we do have a lot of children with, um, some speech impediments and there's been more than 100 days and none of these kids were being assessed in their school. and it's because of the lack of not having a therapist. um, i know that there's a small school bus that takes our students from guadalupe to west portal, and after that, some of the students, they actually stay in the after school program. and so i don't understand what is happening because, uh, i think that we all need to also need to have more funding. i know that as opposed, offered the same curriculum to every school. and so what is happening? why certain schools, they receive more funding and more programs than other schools. the one
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thing is that i don't want to be driving for 30 minutes to pick up my, uh, my child for, uh, from west portal and, and, uh, our we're in the we're in the us. our kids were born here, and we know that they have rights. uh, right to education and to receive the same sort of service . thank you. good afternoon. my name is roberto, and my last name is guzman. i come representing guadalupe school of the parents of guadalupe school. i have three kids in guadalupe. uh, i have two kids in kindergarten. my son is in second grade. uh and the last school, uh, year he started getting in speech therapy, um, for the last, for the past 109 days, haven't been able to get it in. and how important is to
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be able to communicate? imagine how frustrating is not to be able to communicate with you. uh partners in your classroom. imagine not to be able to communicate with your teacher. uh, it has been a hard. second grade. okay uh, i was informed the school district is higher. uh, therapist for guadalupe. uh, but only twice a week, uh, is provided. it's 29 students and need of therapists. thank. thank you, sir. thank you. thank you. buenos noches. hola. estoy muy emocional por el espacio. sonando a los padres. gracias por eso, me nombre es mariella.
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me valentina. alicia. ellos acusando typekit en la escuela guadalupe elementary school. lamentablemente me estoy bien en la necesidad de cambiar a me escuela. ya las escuelas como por tan. west allis, feng-zhou o clarendon tiene el mejor naval académico and mejores recursos de la escuela guadalupe. no entiendo como guadalupe no cuenta con esos mismos recursos y fondos. somos parte del mismo distrito y segun san francisco, presume de la igualdad su guadalupe tuvieras mismo recursos no me la necesidad de manera mija esas escuelas quedan como 20 minutos de distancia. si hay un bus estudiantes and me vecindario para trasladar los escuelas a esas huellas. entonces no tiene sentido tener guadalupe en el vecindario se hacen. eso realmente seria un sueno realidad. poder contar con esos recursos y fondos para nuestra escuela y tener el mismo nivel académico access escuelas
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gracias. hi uh, thank you very much for the opportunity to be here. uh so my name is, uh, mariella, and i have a daughter who attends guadalupe, valentina, and, um, i want to switch my kid to a different school. uh such as clarendon and any others, because i don't understand why these schools, they actually have better resources in guadalupe doesn't, um, it's all about with sfusd talking about equity, and. but what's going on with with the funding and the resources that, uh, different schools have more than others. um, you know, i don't want to i don't want to change my school since, uh, the school is in my neighborhood. but i feel obligated to actually , uh, change its structure to a different school and probably try for 40 minutes, which is
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not, uh, is not a is not resourceful for me. and i know that there's a little bus that takes over from guadalupe to a different to different school grounds. uh for to receive the same, um, the same resources that guadalupe does not have. so it would be a and it just makes no sense. so um, it would be a dream come true if, uh, guadalupe received the same funding and resources as other schools. thank you. great call the next group. samuel nelson, joshua blaine. michelle litke, cassandra
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curiel, chris klaus, please come to the podium one minute each. board thank you for your time. uh, my name is sam nelson. i'm the registered nurse at john o'connell high school. uh, i'm here to speak about the gym facility at our school. i am not going to speak about the special education topic and budget. i have colleagues who will be able to speak to that far better than i can. um, i just stepped into the athletic director role this fall, and i've been trying to support a school that has over 90% people of color, 75% of our students are at poverty line or below, and, uh, quite a few of our students wish they had the space that they need to train to have community to bring in the external community into our space. um, the gym, as any athletic opportunity, provides a way to hold students accountable to each other, to help grades and attendance, to increase uh, accounts ability, as i said, and
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engagement on campus as the request is to complete completion the repairs by august not november if possible. thank you. thank you. and here are 100 letters by students. hello. hello, my name is joshua blake. i'm the assistant varsity boys basketball coach at john o'connell. i am here speaking about the gym access that we don't have currently. and i'm here to say that it's a lot more pros than there is cons to us having access to our facilities. it definitely keep our kids out of trouble. i definitely am one that speaks to make sure that we make our kids not only better players, but better people. um, it's very important to have a great character, but in order to do that, we need resources without those resources, we cannot provide what we need to the students that we do have our students do deal with a lot outside of school, and also to come to school and deal with
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those same things. me, as a coach, i am one of those outlets and those influences that can help them change their lives. um, unfortunately, i didn't have all the resources that i needed, but i want to make sure as long as i'm alive that i could provide all resources needed for every student that come across my path. so i am here to speak up not only for my students, but any students across the district that do need that help. and i hope that you guys stand strong with us, not only with myself, but as long with everyone else in here to make change in that important change that we all need. thank you. thank you. hello, my name is michelle lenski. i was a resource specialist at san francisco unit for ten years. i'm here to speak to, um, to advocate for special education students and more resources. is the job of special education, of a special education teacher is broad. the responsibilities include evaluating new students, writing ieps, and holding parent meetings as well as managing a full caseload. the students i
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taught were often two or more years below grade level in reading and math. their needs were high and required a teacher who was fully responsible for their learning. i did my best to keep up with all these responsibilities. i was at school each morning by six and i didn't leave before five. i wrote initial ieps on weekends and holidays. my students still didn't get the teaching time they needed, and i burned out students with learning disabilities are among the most vulnerable students we desperately need more resources, so that special education teachers are not spread so thin and so thin that students learning suffers and teachers can focus on teaching. thank you . thank you. i'm chris klaus, a special education teacher at
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washington high school in education. you meet and have the privilege of working with some awesome, loving and dedicated people. one of the best things about spd is the close working relationships between educators and families, and that is one of the things that drives us to keep fighting for our students, especially when factors beyond our control interfere. after all, it takes a village to raise a child and nowhere is that more true than in special education, where that village must be even more patient, flexible and determined than ever. i've had the privilege of working with amazing educators, starting with my time as a sub. when i relied on classroom paras to steer me in the right direction, and then during my time as one of those paras where my colleagues taught me the ropes, i continue to be humbled by the resilience and empathy that my colleagues put into this work. every day. thank you to my fellow spd educators and to the students and families that we have the honor and duty to fight for. you are loved and
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seen. thank you. hi. good evening cassandra creel, president of usf, who represents classified and certificated educators. um, we've heard some word of real weight and importance from our colleagues who are special educators and even more important to me than that is actually the families and the students who have been coming and speaking out around special education needs. ultimately, what needs to get taken away from tonight and from what we hope to be a successful bargaining reopener on special education issues is that when educators are voicing and articulating what's needed in the classroom, we're doing that because our students need that, because our families have told us they need more, because the students success is based on how much we can give. now there are only so many hours in the week that we are in school, but those should be maximized for us to be able to provide the resources
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and learning and access and creating the welcoming environment for students that leads to success. when we're in a special education program, what we need from the district is to ensure that we have fully staffed positions. we to fill those vacancies and one of the ways that we can start to chip away at that is in re-envisioning and innovating at this table. the beginning to what is the new special education program that's necessary and we can do that for classified when we need paraeducators we've heard this all year long about how much our paraeducators are impacting our students access. and then on top of that, filling in what we need to do to attract and retain educators so that our colleagues who burn out, we don't keep replicating that system. thank you. thank you. so we went we did move a little bit past 815. we started late. i did want to note that there's a number of different speaker cards, especially hear from you. so if
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we could see a show of hands who came out to speak, who didn't get to speak, that would be helpful. and your affiliation with, um, if you are here with you or otherwise. okay. all right. we can, um, do you want to go to do you want to do it afterwards? okay. okay um, okay. i'm sorry we didn't get to you. um but with you. but we're a parent. um, i'm not affiliated with the union. okay i understand, um, it's we are trying to get started in our business meeting, and we're trying this out. and i wanted to see how many folks were still left. if you'd like, you are able to participate online or to give public comment on non-agenda items. after we close our business, we have a parent and a student that sat through this whole meeting to be able to speak seriously, like it's like 830, a parent and a student. okay. all right. i were going to
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cut the time, right? yes. it was announced at the beginning of the meeting that i was going to cut at 815. it's now 820. you just said that you couldn't go past nine, right? no so the students have to be released at nine. so we're trying to get to board business so the students can participate. so at this time it's past 815. i'm going to conclude, um, public comment for today. just let the parents speak. just let us speak. we have been here for okay. thank you very much. we will have a yes, please. may we hear from the student and then we will conclude public comment for the evening. okay. the student come to the podium, please. one minute. hello. my name is marty baughman. i'm from john o'connell high school. i'm in 11th grade. i am in the special ed classes along with a lot of my other peers. i feel like our students and special ed are not
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getting the support that we need, because we are getting a larger class that i've heard and that it's harder for us, especially for myself, for learning in a bigger class. settings it's harder. and for, as other students, i see, it's harder for us and getting individual support from other from the specific teachers that are assigned to help us as case managers. i feel like that's being unrepresented, unhelpful. i also feel like that the i just believe that qatar is very more important than every other thing . qatar is primarily what is helping us get on role. and for me, i was i was able to achieve two honors as of last year, and i was really able i was really excited to get that as an unexpected thing. and i want to say thank you. thank you. all right. with that, we will move. um, we i skipped over, um, our
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superintendent's report and student delegates report, so we will return to those items at this time. superintendent's report. first. uh, good evening, everyone. thank you for all your comments this evening. i just have a few updates. um at and. all right. and as we heard. we are not presented. we are not. all right, so, as we all know, um, this month is black history month and is a school district that values diversity. we believe black history should be celebrated 365 days a year, and 366in this leap year. we also
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recognize the importance and relevance and origins of black history month and value the fundamental opportunity black history month offers schools to acknowledge african americans as critical to the past, present, and future. and although we've made progress in our efforts, we're going to hear about that in our report from the african american achievement leadership initiative. we know that there are still persistent gaps in access, experience and outcomes for our black students in our district, city, and country. we are proud that there are many examples of school staff, of student staff and school sites and school communities in sfusd who are uplifting the achievements and history of black americans. all year and especially during the month of february. and we are excited about the many ways each of our schools celebrates black history month. and so we heard some comments tonight. and one, if you go to the next slide, want to highlight one of the areas where we're working hard to ensure that our black students feel listened to, heard and seen as the brilliant students they
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are. this is an example from elementary school. is mixed in with learning and business around this table at yellow elementary. all right. and so that's al-khalid mccree, a parent volunteer keeping everyone on track during this get together of the black student union. what do you say every other week to learn about and celebrate black excellence and to build community? the first order of business on this day? can we come up with a date and you guys want to do the drive? they're planning on giving back to the community by collecting and distributing cases of water to those in need. there are two apples and one man. a brief history lesson about two black inventors who's black excellence everywhere that you turn and look, we have only a handful of african american students at school, and we want to give them a safe space where they can, um, find rapport with one another, share, share and
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learn and, um, connect it to the community. we always remember that you guys are bright lights. okay yeah. and again, one example of many in this district. but i appreciate this is an example where it was definitely seen. there is a need to take action. and you see the community come together. the school leadership parent support . and then again working with our district leadership as as well. um, also last week was national school counseling week and just really want to give a shout out to our counselors. you know, i visit our high schools and see the relationship that they have with our students. and so thank you for helping our students achieve school success and plan for a career in college when they leave us here at sfusd . um, if you go to the next slide, uh, it's also the 50th anniversary of the lao versus nichols decision. and this is important as this was a, a us supreme court case that
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originated in san francisco unified school district over 50 years. and the court's decision on january 21st, 1974, continues to require districts across the country to provide programs and services for multilingual learners and their families, and in sfusd, we're committed to ensuring the success of multilingual learners with the multilingual learner roadmap, along as our as our guide, and here in sfusd, we enroll students who speak dozens of different languages, and our public schools benefit from this diversity. multilingualism and multiculturalism are assets we aim to develop and nurture in our students. and if you go to the next slide, we have really incredible multilingual programs across the district. and so, um, now is the time to be applying for schools. the first deadline was february second, but if you didn't get your application in, you have until april 19th for your round two, and we'll be sending out notices, um, shortly about where students will be offered a spot and, um, if you
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go to the next slide, i just also want to recognize and wish everyone a happy lunar new year and say, gong hey fat choi, to everyone who is celebrating during lunar new year, sfusd schools often hold celebrations on their campuses and participate in the annual lunar new year parade in san francisco. i was out there last year with gordon j. lau and plan to be out again and so in the year of the dragon, let's live our shared value of being united . um, and then lastly, just i want to speak. i know there were comments tonight, um, uh, about our special education programs and other services we need to provide in the schools. and, and it's how committed we are to making sure that we are providing the services for our students and families and that we're supporting our staff as well. and so we are committed to continuing those discussions and following through on previous agreements. so i want to remind our community that we're planning to follow through by the end of the month. on the previous agreements to increase compensation for our staff for this year. and again, are
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committed to these continuing these conversations moving forward. uh, so with that, that concludes my report for this evening. and now our report from our student delegate. thank you, president motamedi. um, the student advisory council has been working on planning our annual youth summit. during this event, high school students from across the school district come together for free. leadership workshops, guest speakers, and then also the student delegate candidate panel for next school year. um, we're excited to share this event and look forward to having this take place on april 5th. thank you. now, thank you so much. and we'll now move on to item f annual report on resolution on in support of the achievement and success of all african american students in the san francisco unified school district, doctor wayne will you introduce the item, please? um, thank you. and i'd like to bring up our african american
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achievement leadership initiative team led by leticia irving. we can give them a round of applause. and so this is our annual report on progress. and i just, uh, um, want to share how proud of the progress we have made, recognizing how much more work we have to do. uh, but knowing the commitment we have from as a district and from this team and of our leaders and our staff to make sure we're doing right by our african american students. and so, uh, you the full report is available online. you may be seeing it handed out to us now as well. and tonight's presentation will just provide some highlights of the progress we've made in serving our african american students as well as where we need to make continued progress and redouble our efforts to achieve our goals . thank you. uh director irving.
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thank you, doctor wayne. greetings again. leticia irving, the director of the african american achievement and leadership initiative. i am joined by all team members here at the dais, but also right behind me, this fabulous team, as you can see them standing for me. thank you. um, it is our privilege to present to you tonight the key highlights of our collaborative efforts over the past year. snippets of our program impact, and a glimpse into our future endeavors as a reminder of our ongoing commitment. while this presentation is brief, i'm going to try our dedication to the black community, including students, families, educators, and partners. remain steadfast. our accountability extends beyond this moment. there will be more opportunities to engage. i promise, within our department, our mission is clear to cultivate and nurture the inherent brilliance of our students, coordinate comprehensive supports you can go to the next slide. excuse me,
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coordinate comprehensive supports offered to our brilliant scholars. foster a growth mindset to combat bias and stereotype threat, and ensure culturally responsive and rigorous instruction. additionally we strive to enhance accountability and transparency of the services that are being delivered at our sites as a district office and in our community. next slide please, in the spirit of transparency, let's start with the current state of black students in sfusd. i'll now hand it over to our educational policy analyst, miss laura hinton, to share some collective data, collected data, excuse me, and to provide an overview of our programs and key highlights. thanks, leticia. so last year there were nearly 3000 black students in the district. and when you consider multiracial students, there were nearly 5000 black students in the district. we wanted to highlight two academic outcomes as an area of promise. we saw was the reduction in chronic absenteeism for black students. last year, sfusd reduced chronic
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absenteeism by seven percentage points for black students and students in two of our programs, mastering cultural identity and black star rising saw a 33 percentage point reduction in absenteeism. whoa an area of opportunity we saw was standardized test scores. although we are getting students to attend school more, that hasn't yet translated to academic outcomes. and we'll talk more about why we think that is in our recommendations. but for now, test scores for black students in the district are still about 110 points away from proficiency in ela and 150 points away from proficiency in math. next slide please. uh, now i'd like to give an overview of all these programs. we have aipac, the african american parent advisory council, a parent led organization designed to listen, educate and advocate with and for families of black children. black star rising, which aims to increase access and implementation of culturally relevant, responsive pedagogies and holistic wellness or support in stem. mastering cultural
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identity, a classroom space designed to increase students academic capacity and skills while also building a greater sense of cultural self esteem, sense of belonging, agency leadership and self-efficacy. pitch a multi year commitment to coordinate and resource high impact, sustainable strategies aimed at enhancing the achievement of black students in ten historically underserved schools and ten high equity gap schools. we also have each and every student by name, which you'll hear more about later. next slide please. we're proud of the impact that our main programs had in the last year. we're about to talk about mci more in depth. so on this slide i'm going to highlight aipac and bsr for aipac. i thought that this quote really captured their impact succinctly, which is that aipac is the blueprint for making change in the district and will continue to make strides for black family excellence and equity today, tomorrow and into the future. and for bsr, we were proud to see a 95% average daily attendance rate for the summer,
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and 82% of bsr students are on track to graduate. now i'm going to pass it off to bobby pope, our elementary and middle school partnerships programs manager, to talk about mci more in depth. thank you. laura and good evening to the board members. and to the community. our master and cultural identity course is designed to increase student sense of self and student sense of belonging in increased student agency and efficacy, increased student literacy and decreased the opportunity gap. mci is taught by black educators and located in three elementary schools, eight middle schools, and two high schools with over 450 students enrolled. next slide please. research consistently shows that a strong sense of belonging is a precursor to effective learning, and we build a strong sense of belonging in our students through the implementation of culturally responsive curriculum and culturally responsive pedagogy, which we do in partnership with the kingmakers of oakland via intensive professional development process with our mci instructional
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leaders, we teach literacy for liberation along with self efficacy and agency. we also partner with a26 valencia to assist our students with writing and sharing their authentic stories, and our partnership with the american reading company is designed to ensure our facilitators are trained to assess student rea and coach student reading. aac also provides culturally relevant libraries for mci classrooms. next slide please. we are also very excited to present the findings from research project from from a research project that was recently completed by tom giese and james payne of stanford. they did a causal study looking at the relationship between mci enrollment and student retention in the district, and they found that there is a 14% point increase in the probability of a black student staying in sf, usd due to enrolling in mci. about 1 in 5 or 20% of black sixth graders leave the district by high school. so mci has the
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potential to have a huge impact on student retention in sfusd, allowing the district to retain black students and ultimately revenue. next, we will have a video featuring akeelah and sharing her experience in the mci class. riley is a sharday and 17 years old. i am in my senior year of high school and i live in visitation valley, francisco, participating in the mci class. definitely it it helped my confidence and not only did it help my confidence, it'll help my public speaking. i think definitely learning about my history, black history, definitely like it gave me a different view on myself. it made me want to believe in myself more and it made me
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realize the stance that i have as a young black woman, not only in the bay, but in the united states. it made me realize that i have to have a bigger stance because of who i am, and to use my stance to help people and educate people. um, and they believe in myself more. it made me have a better understanding of other people and their experiences and yeah. yeah let's clap it up for akeelah. um and as a district, we have been talking about street data and making sure that we center and elevate the experiences and knowledge of our students and communities that support them. akeelah's offering is just one example of the data that drives our work, and the level of the impact that our work makes. thank you. akeelah as stewards of accountability and
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transparency, we have been charged with elevating best practices and high impact approaches to black student achievement. for that, we're going to present the following recommendations one. we must expand culturally relevant curriculum and instruction in this district. two we must ensure rigorous instruction and high expectations across pre-k sites. it's important to note that only 28% of classrooms observed in the 2022 tnp audit demonstrated strong instructional practices. only 47% of those classes showed evidence of teachers having high expectations and expectations. excuse me? and in classrooms where there were black, brown and children receiving special education services, they were 2.2 times more likely to have less high expectations. our third recommendation is to strengthen home to school partnerships as the african proverb says, it takes a village to raise a child. we do not do
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this alone. our children come from homes and communities that love them and act as their first and most consistent teachers. we must partner with those core teachers in order to see the outcomes that our children deserve. fourth, recommendation is to continue investing in racial affinity spaces. we have to have these protected spaces. lastly, we must do the work of creating work towards creating safe academic environments for our students to learn across all sfusd sites. sf usd's historic disproportionality roots itself in anti-blackness and implicit bias and unfair, unfair disciplinary practices that create unsafe learning environments for black children. push out or messages that say you do not belong will not get us to our academic goals. next slide please, as an example of the work that we are doing that embeds many of those recommended actions, but also pays attention to the individual needs of black and pacific islander students and their families, is through doctor waynes, each and every by
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name. this initiative aims to support achieving our 48% literacy proficiency goal for black and pacific islander kindergartners by june 2024. our approach involves comprehensive case management, partnership building, data tracking and capacity building for educators. it is a collaborative effort led by ali, heavily supported by aipac and our incredibly committed central office teams. next slide please. there will never and i see that clock there will never be enough time to talk about the brilliance of black students or the work that we are doing to continue cultivating that brilliance. while time constraints prevent a full exploration of our work, please know that it does not stop here. until then, we extend a hearty felt thanks to our partners, many who are listed and printed in the report and many who are in the audience today. we are deeply grateful for your trust and collaboration
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and advancing our collective mission. we must continue together to prioritize the needs and aspiration of our black children and our policies, our practices, and our instructional strategies to the black community who is here and online. this work belongs to you every thing we do within this department and all that we are working towards with our colleagues on this board, our superintendent to produce, should be a reflection of what you have asked for and what you have trusted us with, which is to educate your children. please continue to hold us accountable. please stand up and advocate for our children and please continue to shine. happy black history month again. our full report is linked. there are some printed copies. there's also a qr code you can scan and get it. and we're going to put it online, so be sure. and also last thing be sure to check out that draft apac documentary which was funded with the dream keepers initiative. it is an incredible documentary and we're so very proud of the work of our
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families. thank you. well done and on time to, um, i wanted to, uh, ask my commissioners first if there was any clarifying questions that they heard in the presentation before i offered up to, uh, offer a couple minutes per commissioner to ask any questions. all right. no, it looks like no clarifying questions. so if anybody has questions, please go forward or comments. thank you. so much for your presentation and all your all your hard work. definitely want to appreciate the staff and the families that are really helping to anchor and push the work forward and really appreciate the report and the data and highlighting the
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struggles that black families and black students are seeing and accessing the education that we offer here as a district. uh, my first question, i'll try to keep these brief and quick is to the superintendent, um, kind of understanding the impact that ali is having as well as kind of the programs that kind of branch out from it. what what should african american students and families expect who are outside of the schools that are kind of engaging in these practices? um, so, like, what should we be saying to them, kind of knowing that these things are in particular school sites and not accessible as a parent whose child isn't atch engaged in all these things, i'm curious what you would say and kind of how you balance, i guess, that that that lack of equity of access for families across the district. uh, yes. uh, very good question. because we, you know, value each and every student and their family and so we want to make sure
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we're providing the appropriate services. and so i think one is, as we are seeing these programs and seeing the efficacy of the programs, you know, our efforts to expand them. so for example, in the report, you'll see research how, um, the mastering cultural identity has really helped retain our black students in middle school and create an experience for them. and so this is a course we're looking to offer more sections for. and then i visited myself and can see and you have as well. and you can see that that impact same thing. you'll see in our algebra, our eighth grade math and algebra presentation, an expanding black star rising to lower grades. but then i think what um, letitia spoke to that really the systemic work that needs to happen is what's happening in the classroom and the improved instruction, um, which should be regardless of what school a black student goes to, that they're seeing high quality instruction that's tailored to their needs. and then as well as our each and every initiative, which is starting with kindergartners. but what i want to say to
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families is you should expect you know, year after year, we're getting to know more of you. and, um, all of you, so that then by the time our students are going through the school, they understand that as a district, the systems behind them and they have allies and regardless of which school that they attend appreciate that. i think i just i don't i feel like i heard a full response to my question, and it does seem that there isn't necessarily a lot that is offered to african american students and their families outside of the schools where these programs are offered. and i think for me, that kind of hits. on what is the district's long time commitment to these efforts and ensuring that they are a central part of the district. i don't feel like i have seen as a parent or as a commissioner, a long time commitment to these things or the way that these things are being integrated into the school district. and i think that also, i think go coincides with my disappoint in your leadership, in showing leadership around these things and how we're really anchoring and stabilizing them, not just for african american students,
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but all of our smaller student populations that seem to be left out of the primary focus of the district, whether that's special education, a variety of other groups. and so i'm really curious what you see moving forward that will shift this landscape and really create a different dynamic, both in practice and in the culture in the district to really center the communities that have been historically left back, knowing we have a lot of good stuff happening, but that that is not a reflection of what's happening everywhere in the district. and i would even say, like with black history month, like, what is the quality of black history celebration, education across the district? how much of that is left to parents to do in isolation and not just black history month, but all the other cultural celebrations? and so i guess what i'm curious. i know i said a lot to you, but i'm curious, how do you square these things and how do they fit into all the structural shifts that we have to do, knowing that we're in a time of reduction, of less? right. how do we fit these things in and make them a staple of what we do going forward, and
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not just pay lip service as we have in the past, but actually show a different type of commitment? um, yes. so you did share a lot of questions there, but i'm going to go back to the key point of what we are about as a district, as a board of education, and what we're trying to do as district leadership. and that's we have a commitment to our goals for student outcomes and following through on our guardrails. and so it you know, yes, there are programs that we have that are supporting our students and trying to make up the gap. but what matters is what's happening during the thousand hours our students spend in the classroom each year. that's our time where we have the most opportunity to make an impact, and we need to make and that's the impact for our black students. and for our other groups as well. so not just through programs outside, but what's happening in the classroom as leticia shared, both the tnpa survey showed that the level of instruction that our black students and other students need is not there. um,
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and as well as when you see the outcomes, it's not there. and so that's why we have our targeted goals to show that we're making progress for our black students. so really the answer to your question will be, as we do our progress monitoring reports are we seeing that difference in student outcomes. because that's ultimately what we want. and for our students. and what are our families want is to see those improved outcomes. but you're correct. we have not achieved those yet. and but you're hearing some of the efforts we're making to achieve the academic outcomes, not just providing additional programs. um, commissioner lamb and if you could keep if you could keep your comments and questions to couple minutes. yes, i will be brief. um, no surprise. thank you to the ali team. it's really exciting to see your work. um, over this past year. and as we're into the new initiatives. so i wanted to ask about the each and every by name. i'm so thrilled. from the first time i was in, um, serving as the education advisor to mayor
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breed, these were some of the conversations that we're having with city leaders and with district staff. um, so i'm curious now that, you know, the initiation of the of the initiative, our goal, our targeted interim goal is very ambitious. and to have ali kind of pivot to this new model of, you know, a centralized office support around, um, case management. um, if you all can share with me what are some of the strategies that you're seeing, um, that you're going to need in order to be supported, to be able to fulfill, um, this goal? um, and wanted to offer up also that acknowledging that the ali team cannot do it alone, that you have city partners. um, and so i'll just pause there and let you respond around. um, because i know even putting together coordinated care team during covid district wide was an enormous lift. so i want to hear the practicalities of what you're facing today in this initial call. um, of the each
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and every by name. thank you. i'll try to be brief. commissioner mittermeier, president motamedi. um, so first, doctor wayne has been incredibly like this is what we're doing, like, no question about it. and having his leadership come into our coordinated care team meetings, which meets the fourth monday of every month. it's a part of our think tank that we hold with the coordinated, comprehensive, the comprehensive, coordinated early intervening services case. and so we're in those meetings and superintendent walked in and said to our central office partners, this work is important . this is what you're going to do. and so i think having it from the top made a difference for one two. yesterday i wasn't here. it was a yesterday. on monday, mrs. rice mitchell and the sfsg team came together to make it everybody's priority. so how are we doing this with all of the departments where we're all talking about each individual kid? and one thing i'll note is that we were doing it just for kindergarten. the goal is very ambitious. 48% by 2024. and initially we said we were going to go from 24% to 48. but when we looked at the kids this year, the young people this
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year, they were at 31. so it is not as ambitious. it's still huge, but not as ambitious as it was before. um, so working with rpa, working with central office leaders now going into our schools and talking to our administrators, to say, how can we help you? we're not asking our schools to do more work. we're asking our schools to tell us the strategies that they have put in and then tell us what we need to do to double down on it. so this is where we need your help, right? right. this is an initiative. and i just we have to be real. we just bought $40,000 worth of decodable readers that that aipac is going to facilitate getting out into these families, these pacific islander and black kindergarten families. we're also doing something for sixth grade and for ninth grade. our transitional grades. but for the kindergarten students, we use that $40,000 out of ali's budget . ali is 100% grant funded. as you all know, our positions are paid through the public education enrichment fund and then every other partner salesforce, linkedin, bayer, all these amazing folks who pour into us. but those are grants. when they leave, then what? and
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so how are we to fund this and really do supplemental? because that's a part of the promise of each and every each and every is when the schools uplift. they need additional support. we need to provide it. we can't pay lip service to that either. just saying tell us what you want. tell us what you need. this individual child. and then when they tell us we're like, oh damn, we don't have it. it's unacceptable. and so we're going to need poured into it. and so this is the investment of time from community based organizations. this is an investment of our city to say, what other resources do you need . and it's the investment in financial resources. how do we fund tutoring. how do we fund if we need. so one of the examples was it doesn't really take funding for this. um, they said we couldn't test our kindergarten students. we didn't have enough time. none of the people to do the tests right, to run out the test or the staff was overwhelmed with what was happening. richard's office and rpa said, call us, we'll go do the testing for you. that's not sustainable, though. so what's a sustainable model? and so we're going to need help thinking that
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through. we need finances, we need help and we need our community based organizations who already step up for the black and filipino pacific islander community to step in a little harder and provide that direct service so that we can elevate their achievement. thank you. and i just wanted to comment that, you know, through the city departments, including the department of early childhood, um, is really also thinking about it's investments in supporting black students and their families. so it's really an opportunity for that partnership and alignment. and i also know that under doctor davis and the human rights commission, how important, through the dream keepers initiative has been, not only funding the work of ali, but i also think there's an opportunity around how we wrap around our supports, around the whole child and their household and families. sorry, can i throw one more thing in there? um, laura pulled our data for and richard's office as well for kindergarten readiness. we saw that only 49% of black and
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pacific islander children were ready. that's before they hit sfusd. so sfusd has a herculean job to try to catch young people up right. and differentiate instruction for all of these beautiful minds in the classroom , but that happens before they even get to us. so what are we doing as a city and as a community to make sure those young people get the resources that they need before they get to school? and so that is how we pour into them. and so to hear that the early education department is there, what are we doing? and for those who are not in early education, those who are working or sitting at home with grandma and grandma's babysitting, what are we doing as a community and as a city to make sure grandma has the resources to help those children come in and be kindergarten ready? all right. i believe student delegate toe has a question or a comment. yes. i just want to say thank you for your presentation. i especially admired the recommendation to expand culturally relevant curriculums and instruction in. i have been on multiple walkthroughs with my school administration, and one of the
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boxes when we are discussing, like the performance of like the curriculum and also just instruction in general is cultural relevancy. and typically the box is unchecked because we haven't seen it. i was just wondering, um, what what exactly is the vision for cultural relevancy within curriculum, and how can our boards support that vision? i look back for doctor aguilera for and thinking about what we're doing as a district around curriculum or doctor priestley, if she's in here, but what i will say is that ethnic studies hasn't gone anywhere. but how is ethnic studies not just a singular course that only some kids take? we're mandated to do it 100. i think we're at the time where we're supposed to embed it, and i'm not sure that we're seeing it across our schools, but there is more around curriculum and instruction as we're redoing. so i'll invite and i can chime in. at first i have to say, it really, um, uh, inspires me to hear that you're participating in walkthroughs and that is when
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i talk about improving the thousand hours in the classroom. we have some dimensions that we're looking for of what what should we be seeing in the classroom. and so encouraging to know that your participate in looking for that discouraging to hear that you're not seeing it as frequently as it as it needs to happen. and so, um, doctor aguilera ford is working on what's our professional learning approach to ensure that culturally responsive teaching is part of what we see in the classroom, and that the students get to get to experience. and so that is embedded in our core rubric, and that we use to look at what's going on in the classroom. and i think what you're speaking to and then what director irving was speaking to in response to each and every, i mean, that, you know, again, when the difference we need to see is really around the accountability, like, are we seeing change because we've had this initiative for a while, there's been a commitment for a long time in this district to serving african american students, but we haven't seen that change in terms of the outcomes for students and that's
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where we're, you know, again, this board has said we're going to be holding ourselves accountable to seeing a difference in those areas. so i'm glad to hear that even our students are participating in some of those accountability and support activities. commissioner weisman. i also think it's very cool that you are a part of those walkthroughs. so thank you for that. um, thank you, team, for the presentation. i'm going to keep this really short. i don't actually have questions. i think was one of the questions i had. um, commissioner lamb, um, ask. and i thought that your response was really helpful and insightful in terms of we're looking for initiatives that are supported consistently with cohesion in a holistic way, internally and externally. i think the way that i we want to continue to support that, and we want to start to support more. i support every single one of the recommendations listed at. and one of the things that really struck me in terms of the report is page 17. it's by the numbers.
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and that that there's so much crossover. so when you look at sense of belonging, sense of worth and value is tied to a desire to show up in school, to be in school, to be present, and one of ones ability to engage and to learn like we know we all of our students are capable of. so i really appreciate that these different statistics are shared with an emphasis on how they're related. and just to you, miss irving, i think your leadership, like you, embody leadership, um, with your commitment to cultivate and growing power and your commitment to sharing that power. so thank you. and thank you to your team. commissioner fisher. hello, friends. i should preface my comments with saying that, you know, like in the hair club for men. i'm not, you know, i'm i'm not just a commissioner. i'm also a participant at aipac member. and my kiddo went through, um, uh, black star
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rising this summer and our personal data point was that last year in eighth grade, about, well, i have the data, 50% of his math assignments were turned in late or left incomplete. actually, six by the end of the semester, 6% of his work just didn't get turned in. and right now, just a checked parent view before tonight's meeting. he has zero missing assignments in math and he has a b, so he's not going to appreciate being put on blast like that. by the way. but having said that, you know, thank you for the bright spots tonight. thank you for always highlighting the beauty and the achievement and what amazing, brilliant scholars our students are. and i think we need to hear more of that. and i also think we need to hear more of it from places other than just ali. um, i'm so grateful that we as a district have an ali, but we shouldn't need an ali to support our black and brown students. it is the response ability of each
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and every one of us talking about each and every child, each and every adult that supports our student is responsible for nurturing that black brilliance as well. so i think we need to name that more often as well. um, but also, i appreciated the former comments about the resources. i think that's going to be critical in a year as we're looking resource allocation and resource alignment is the next big conversation. and so as we look to expand this work, thank you to the human rights commission. thank you to the green dream keeper initiative. thank you to all the folks who are providing the grants. but what are we as a district doing with our budget to show that, you know, we're putting our money where our mouth is, budget s are a value statement, right? if we value this work, what are we doing to support it? so um, i right. okay. all right. um, and thank you for this. you know, you've highlighted a lot of wonderful people in here, you know, some amazing, brilliant student scholars are highlighted in here. can't wait to take this
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home and read it with them. so, um, so thank you very much. um, so my real question is really just about about what is resource allocation look like when we're actually talking about expanding this program next year. so. that's not a question i. would you like. yeah. no. so and just in terms of again you um, we appreciate your, uh, citing your own student success. and i don't know if you mentioned it. he was a part of the black star rising over the summer, which i think led to some of that increased confidence in math. and that's why we're wanting to expand that program to fifth grade. and the algebra lab this fall. that was a big part of it. oh, good. okay and so we're expanding that program, um, um, to fifth grade. you'll hear that a bit later, uh, tonight, to help students go into middle school. more confident in math and help our black students go into middle
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school more confidence and prepared in math to ultimately be prepared for algebra in the eighth grade. uh vice president alexander, can i respond to that? oh, sorry, president motamedi. so we have talked about being in conversation about what it takes to expand. and this again, will go to financial resources. it takes a lot to run the black star rising just for our rising eighth graders. and so if we're going if we're going to have this conversation about expanding, we're going to have to put money where it matches, matches, that money and staff and personnel and just right now, we have one amazing. i would be remiss if i didn't shout out brother bay, who is a teacher over at mission high school who teaches our course, but he is doing that in partnership. we even had a parent come in and tutors or teach some math. it's not sustainable. so we're going to have to resource anything that we talk about expanding. and so as we're thinking about what that looks like and then sorry, last thing when we talked about yes, it has to be embedded in our system. that is true right. there shouldn't be an alley. but i'm going to put that plug in
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until it is completely embedded in sustainable and sustainable way. ali must be here to hold us accountable and to make sure the work is happening. all right. um, i am going to just interject for just a minute and say thank you to our student delegate for spending the evening, and it's a little bit after 9:00. so go do homework. um vice president alexander. and i'm going to time myself, too. i've been timing everyone else, so, um, yeah, this is my fourth year on this board, and i feel like every year one of the highlights is hearing from you all. and every year it gets better. um, so thank you for your leadership and really, it is a bright spot in our district. um, and i guess my question is following up on those that were similar to some of my colleagues we spoke about, you know, the words not being followed up by actions all the time. we spoke about ali being a beacon of excellence, but it's not spreading. perhaps everywhere in the district. and we talked about accountability. so i'm curious, um, doctor
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wayne, if you have thoughts on that, what does it look like to take a program like this and really make it the norm, right, and make their their practices the norm across the district? what would accountability look like? what would bringing this to a system level take? so that we can in a few years, get to a point where we're not just celebrating a portion of the district, but we're actually celebrating the entire district. well, and again, that's that's what really the each and every by name initiative is about, because i think for that and as commissioner fisher said, the work of improving black student achievement is not the work of ali. right? it's the work of this district. and if it's seen as just the work of ali, we're never going to be successful because also ali staff, i mean, they work thousands of hours each year, but they're not the ones who are in front of our students for 1000 hours each year in the classroom. so it is that work of bringing the divisions together and then bringing our schools together to , to, um, to see what practices
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in the schools do. we need to make sure we're following through on and then what are we doing on when we see the individual data, what are the steps that we're taking? so the accountability isn't anything flashy in a presentation, but it is like literal spreadsheets of kids who with names next to them where we say, okay, as as latisha said, we see this child is not doing an assessment, okay, how do we make sure the students doing the assessment? but beyond that, that what in the system is preventing the student from doing the assessment. so we can we can fix that. so that's that's really what it it looks like, you know, the system rallying around our black families and students, not just, uh, uh, a department or division. commissioner sanchez, thank you, president mohamed. and thank you for the presentation and all the hard work throughout the years. latisha and your team. um, i'm going to focus a little bit on
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the recommender asians, just retrospectively and prospectively, because every year we get recommendations not just from your organization or ali. and we get them from others. and then we don't necessarily monitor them as a board or as a district. so i'm just wondering, how do you foresee we if you just take these five recommendations, um, how you would grade the district on their implementation? so like just take the first one, expand culturally and relevant curricula and instruction. that's very broad, but it's very necessary. how if you come back, when you come back next year, how are you going to or what metric will you use to show us whether we've done that or not? so i'm going to work with my colleagues. we have, which is beautiful. thing is that i have been going on these learning walks as well and going into observe classrooms and with the middle school team. so middle school is a team. i've been assigned my entire team sits on the each and every by name. and so they're also going into schools and partnering in the work. so that's one way we're
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holding folks accountable. we're at the table with them. we do this in partnership. this isn't just the ali thing leading each and every or asking for this. this is all of us. and so in partnership ship is one. us being at the table to make sure it's happening. and in those classrooms. but i'm going to rely on working with the curriculum instruction department, working with, um, the lead team, and continue doing that to see if it exists. we're doing tallies. we're walking in and like she said, when we're clicking on those boxes, do we see that? then we'll be able to have numbers to come back to you and say, it's not happening, and i can tell you now we're in february. it's not happening and it's not it's happening in some sites, but it's not happening across the board. and so we'll be able to come back with more numbers because we'll actually have evidence because we're in the building. so just thank you. just to a request i guess is for next year's report to have that in the report. so these were the recommendations that we made last year. and this is where we see we've come. this is where we need to go. um because i think that oftentimes, um, like i said earlier, we get a lot of really
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wonderful recommendations. um, but we're we kind of lose them in the shuffle as time goes by. so it'd be really great to see where we are next year compared to this year. you asked me to grade. i think it's unfair for me to do that because i think there's a lot of hard work that's happening in all of our departments that i may not always be aware of, but i do think this is a way to bring it back to the leaders that are in this space. and our superintendent to say in these meetings where we're talking about instruction or we're talking about any of these things within all of the various teams that we have, that we use those recommendations and grade ourselves and not just ali grading, but maybe this is a tipping point or a starting point for some of our other departments to start grading ourselves and just see where we would, you know, across the board, say, and norm around and then go back at it and look at it next year and say, hey, what progress did we make? thank you. so i'm going to go ahead and close this out. and that your last question was actually where my head was going a little bit. um, because while i do, i appreciate the presentations.
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it's the, um, the, the lack of the clear response and, um, and the burden on you to provide the , the updates and the presentations. and so one of one of my observations is i would love to see ali s recommendations be reflected in, for instance, the lcap planning process, because that is a statutorily required place where this district is to respond. and i also think it's an environment where it's not. so one way it's a two way discussion and a place to collaborate with other school communities to learn where you're seeing success and to share where they're seeing success or where they're seeing stumbling blocks. um, because i definitely believe as we go forward with resource alignment, we're going to need to find that alignment, and we're going to need to find all of our bright spots so we can, um, get brighter together faster. so
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that's one of, um, one of the recommendations that i've been making internally is to see, um, your recommendations reflected, especially as we go through the, the new lcap design that's supposed to be aligned with our goals and our guardrails and our student outcomes. so thank you. do you want to respond? yeah, i appreciate the presentation. and um, and these the attendance, um , uh, improvements and the retention is fantastic. so that was really, really great to see in the report this year. um, i just want to say, like, i think that the. yeah, um, that that we are, we are actively a part of the lcap. i'm on the lcap steering committee, so it does not get past me. just so you know, that. and on top of that, i am sitting with the district team and the office of the superintendent who who is really
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think who we're all really thinking about the lcap. and one thing i'll say that tim has done, which is really put an equity lens on it, which i think is really great, and so hopefully we'll be able to go back when we meet as a steering committee. and i will definitely make sure that these are seen or that we can somehow see them in the recommendation lens, as well as the superintendent. and our last meeting shared was we're thinking about what we're doing, tier one and how do we norm equity in all of our tier one practices. and i think that includes these recommendations as well. thank you all so much for staying past nine, staying up later than our student delegate. um, thank you. all right. moving on to section g. our action items. we have two action items this evening. we will begin with item one, which is algebra and eighth grade recommendations. oh, can i have
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a motion, please? and a second. i'll move second. thank you. and we do have a presentation before the board discusses the proposed action. so i'd like to bring up doctor aguilera fort. um, our associate superintendent of educational services and devin krugman, our executive director of content. unfortunately um, doctor priestley was going to be here, but, um, she's tuning in online. uh, and. all right, so can we get the presentation up? thank you. let me get to it. here our.
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um, so tonight we're presenting a recommendation for action from the board of education. around eighth grade. um uh, our middle school math. but i want to step back just to make it clear what we are trying to accomplish as a district. and so if you go to the next slide, you'll see, you know, we've again, the board of education has established ambitious goals for student outcomes, particularly the one in math achievement for our eighth grade. for our eighth grade students and so in order for us to meet that, um, goal, we need to think, what is our vision for math for our middle school students and beyond? and, you know, our vision for students is that when they enter sixth grade, their first of all, they're ready to be, you know, ready for mathematics and to be able to then be prepared for algebra one in the eighth grade. so we're setting up students to
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successfully have access to algebra okay. and then the goal is that students reach math proficiency. um, you know, then by eighth grade and that they're ready for high school and to achieve leave to participate in higher level math and in particular, we want to increase the number of underrepresented students in higher level math. okay now i want to be clear. this is this that goal is a goal we've had for a decade. and we have not yet achieved that goal. and so it requires us to really look at our policies and practices and say, what do we need to do differently to work towards that goal? and so we think in order to achieve this vision, if you go to the next slide, um, you know, we need to really stay focused on our target for eighth grade math proficiency and particularly increase the achievement of our black students and other students of sfusd who have been historically underserved and have not had success in higher
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level math. okay and while we're talking about eighth grade math, we know for them to meet our for us, for them to meet our goal of college and career readiness, we need to increase the number of students who are taking math at higher levels and following through on the recommended a to g courses in mathematics and as well increasing again the number of underrepresented students in high level mathematics and making sure any student who's ready and interested can take algebra in the eighth grade. and so if you go to the next slide, just to be clear on what we're asking for tonight, is that the board of education approves offering algebra one in the eighth grade, beginning in 24, 20 and 2425. school year, and supports the actions necessary to implement the recommendation to revise our middle school math pathways and curriculum over the next three years. um and so as we, we, um, share tonight what we're going to do is share our
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current math, uh, sequence. if you go to the next slide and why we think we need to change the sequence and then in making a change like this is significant. and that's why we're saying over the next three years. so sharing the prototypes will pilot as well as the new math curriculum. and academic support. then we'll talk about the options we're looking at for this next year. as well as share briefly the budget and implementation timeline. so to give us some background on where we are and where we need to go, i'd like to introduce again associate superintendent of educational services, doctor carlene aguilera. fort. thank you. doctor wayne. good evening, commissioners. right now i will speak about the current conditions of our math offerings from middle school and most of you know, because your parents in the district. and so you have experienced this, right now, our offering in middle school
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includes just the three linear math six, seven and eighth grade. then when the students have the possibility of taking algebra. one in ninth grade, then in 10th grade, students can take geometry and from geometry they will have two different ways of, uh, taking algebra one, when they have a compressed course and that compressed course will offer them the possibilities of algebra and pre-calculus. if they do that, they will have the avenue of taking ap calculus and ap statistics. the other option is for students to take algebra two, and if they do that, then they have the opportunity to take ap statistics and then pre-calculus. that's what we have currently. the following slide please. so we are at this
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pivotal moment that based on the data that we have collected and based on that particular research study that was conducted by stanford, our team, the termined, that our approach to math has not led to improve outcomes for middle school students at all levels. the student achievement has declined as students make progress to the sfusd and we have not been able to meaningfully increase the participation of underrepresented students in high level math across our high schools and definitely, this is a very important one. fewer students are taking higher level mathematics in high school, and that's a fact that's based on the information that we have gathered following the slide. so
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we have to make a decision and we have to propose a different path. because this is a major decision. according to the, um, guidelines of the board, this required a meaningful community engagement. to the best of our ability. our team work in a very compressed time frame through this processes, we engage district team. we engage focus group, we engage middle school teachers, and we provided one town hall for community members to provide their perspective and their feedback. given the time frame that we had to do this work, those were the ones that we were able to do. definitely all of this is guided through the office of the superintendent, and we have a central planning team that also works with these different
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groups. next slide please. so here we are right now after collecting the information from the community members and all these different committees, we are offering the following. let's let's go to the next one. this is our plan. so this plan right now has. two possibilities. one is to offer algebra one in eighth grade while at the same time identifying how we are going to support. currently, the students in seventh six and then at the elementary level readiness in math doesn't begin in middle school. it begins in elementary school. and that's why we are making sure that to get to that level, we are addressing the other needs that we have in math at the elementary level as well. so at the middle school level right now is happening, we will consider what are the different
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pathways in math we need to adopt a sound, rigorous math curriculum. and one piece is we want to continue this goal of increasing representation of the students who have not been represented in these courses, that means that we have to adjust the schedule. we have to look at the instructional minutes, and that has been recommended. and at some point there should be a math placement policy. we as the one that we have currently, we have to adjust that next one. please so you will see the prototypes for algebra one in eighth grade. next one please. it cannot be just prototypes. it and just putting math um algebra one in eighth grade without having certain principles that will reflect the values and beliefs of san francisco unified school
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district. hold on, hold on a second. um, so, so, uh, we need to have differentiation. we need to provide access. we need to make it sustainable. and we need equitable representation in all of these. we want to make sure that we also provide support. so the students will have access. next. one please. we look at how other districts are doing. and you have i'm not going to explain because of time all of these you have those in the slides. but we did look at those different offers that the other districts are doing across the state. let's let's go to the next one. so what i would like to do now is to ask, so we can get into the other part of the
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content. uh, miss devin krugman, who leads the content area teams in, in, uh, cni and she will walk us through the different prototype types. good evening. i will attempt to make it brief but detailed. um, so we're going to walk through the prototypes that we would like to propose piloting beginning in the 24, 25 school year. and what i want to start with is that these prototypes are based on the feedback structures, um, that were just shared with community members who engaged in our focus group with middle school educators, administrators, teachers with families. and we've iterated on them multiple times, and we have tried to present a breadth of prototypes that are responsive to the needs raised by various stakeholders within the community. these prototypes represent models that we've seen be successful in other districts, such as long beach, and represent the breadth of acceleration options that we see across these districts. prototype number one is what we
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would call a course skipping option, where we have students going from math seven into algebra one. in the eighth grade, it also represents an all in option, as the district has previously had, where 100% of students are enrolled and we're going to talk about some of the support going with that prototype. two is a compression course where in the eighth grade, students would have a compressed math eight and algebra one course based on both readiness and interest, and prototype number three is a concurrent math course where students are concurrently enrolled in two math courses, one for math eight and one for algebra one. our intention and goal is to pilot these prototypes across the 24, 25, and 2526 school years, engaging in robust analysis and data collection to ensure that the prototypes are living up to the guiding principles that doctor aguilera fought previously shared. i want to say, most notably, this data tracking is meant to ensure that we live up to the equity components of our guidelines. most notably, if we
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can go to the next one. so just to go into more detail around prototype number one, this would be wherein 100% of students are enrolled in algebra one in eighth grade, and those students who are demonstrating proficiency below grade level would also be enrolled in a math eight lab. similar to what we see currently at some of our schools. with our accelerated math course prototype number two is the compression course that students would have the opportunity to be enrolled in in eighth grade. if we can go to the next slide within this one, one of the components that we're going to talk about related to criteria is offering both an opt out as well as the ability to opt in. so this would be a compression course where students would have the option to do either math eight in eighth grade or a math eight. in algebra one, compression option. next slide. and then as i said, prototype three is concurrent enrollment in math eight and algebra one for students. while
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in the eighth grade, across all of these options, if we can go to the next slide, um, is for particularly for prototypes two and three, providing students multiple criteria to enroll within these courses. considering the breadth of assessment data of grades and student family interest and commitment, the quick data analysis tells you of our current seventh grade students. the percentage that would be eligible based on a wide variety of criteria. if we can go to the next slide in particular, one of the things that we want to consider with prototype two and three with the criteria is the opt out so that students would be automatically enrolled and have the ability to opt out. and students who are not automatically enrolled would have the ability to opt in. what we've seen from research and case studies and other districts is that these models of both an opt out and an opt in for interest increase equitable enrollment and decrease tracking by demographic factors within the accelerated pathways and so
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we want to make sure that we are also tracking how these play out within sfusd with regards to prototypes two and three. the next slide with 21 and 22. just want to provide a brief overview of both our comprehensive middle schools and our k eight and current math proficiency levels. so you can see that in comparison to the criteria and students meeting it shared in the previous slide on slide 23. in addition to these three different prototypes, we would also like to offer up two additional options as um, one is support at the central level for an online algebra one course starting in fall of 2024. um, for students who might want a different option than the three prototypes listed. and in addition, the ability to launch in 2025, a summer algebra one intensive course similar to what the district currently offers with summer geometry, and that students would have the ability to take between their eighth and ninth grade years. one of the
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things that we wanted most notably recognize is that with these prototypes, the prototype alone is not the measure of success that these prototypes exist within a robust and interdependent system of student supports and student programs. being the first piece on slide 25 is, we want to name explicitly that we consider this prototyping part of our k eight math curriculum. adoption all of the programs that we are evaluating doing not only provide within k eight, but algebra one courses as well. um, and depending on the program, they also provide a robust array of tier two and tier three supports, as well as different compression courses based on individual programs. so we do anticipate that with these prototypes, teachers would be piloting materials that teachers across grade k through eight and up to. math eight would also be piloting. so they would have a shared high quality instructional set of materials to use within the prototype. on slide 26, um, we also again, want to name that we are
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following the publisher guidelines for high quality instructional materials, offering the prototype alone. phone. um, again, it should exist within an interdependent web of supports. and those high quality instructional materials should ensure that students have adequate opportunities to demonstrate proficient in all standards. on slide 27, as previously noted, we also would like to in order to meet our goals of increased representation, expand and high quality, high performing programs currently existing within the district, such as black star rising and in addition, on slide number 28, our intention is to increase the supports currently available within the system. one of those pieces would be within prototype number one around universal enrollment in algebra one, a math eight lab. as i said before , the district currently has a tier two intervention course available at two middle schools, referred to as accelerated math, and we would like to expand this course into a math eight lab to
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support students in the all in sites to be successful if they're not currently demonstrated. grade level proficiency, which would also thereby increase the number of math instructional minutes that students below grade level have. we also would like to expand high impact tutoring, which is inclusive of our digital platforms. excel includes a high impact tutoring component and in addition, we also want to name that for these to be successful, they have to have a designated time, place and staff member within a student's day. and so our intention, as you can see, named in courses such as advisory, is there is a designated time, place and staff member to deliver these additional supports within a student's instructional day. and i'm going to pass it to doctor wayne. uh, thank you devin. and doctor aguilera. ford. and so the last 30s just highlight this has been a really beneficial process just to look at overall at our practices. and we saw, um, again, not necessarily all students getting the same opportunity for math instruction each week. and you've heard me
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talk about how important those hours our students spend in, in the classroom. um, and so we're updating our expectations to make sure that all middle school students have 205 minutes per week. but then we'll be looking at it and see if we need to increase that more. um, we'll consider doing so. and then if you go to the next slide, um, with this, we'll also be adjusting our math placement policy. so do you want people to know for next year we're going to continue with the same practice we started last year. and then we'll have a new placement policy for the board to consider for 25, 26. um, and then slide 31, just showed some budget projections. i'll end on slide, um, with slide 32, just the implementation timeline. if you go to the next slide, you know, and again, this is a big shift. we're going to be having middle school teachers who haven't taught algebra in ten years teaching algebra. so that's part of the reason why we're starting with a pilot to make sure that we have the capacity to provide the support necessary for this to be successful and learn what's
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going to work. so we know people are eager for this change to happen, but we need to do so in a way that is supportive of our schools and our staff who will be implementing this. and so the immediate next steps, if you go to the next slide, is the board approves this action. um, we'll be working to identify those pilot schools and do that very shortly. um, and then additionally identify additional support for implementation. and then again, we're going to work with our middle schools about what math looks like across the board from the instructional schedule to the curriculum that we're using. so thank you. and we'll turn it back over to the board for questions and discussion and for action. so first i'll ask for any clarifying question. go ahead commissioner. there was a lot of great information in this presentation. so thank you very much. um, i think my well, my clarifying question is what exactly are we voting on? so right now am current board
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policy and our instructional sequence has algebra being offered in the ninth grade. and it does not allow for algebra to be offered in the eighth grade. so if you approve the recommendation we will be able to offer algebra in the eighth grade. and then this the details show you how we'll start doing that. that so that's my i still don't think there's enough details in the presentation to understand exactly what we're voting on. that's really like i think we're all a i don't want to speak for everyone, but, you know, we've heard from so many community members that there's a there is an appetite to do this and move forward and provide algebra in the eighth grade, i there seem to be a lot of different recommendations and option eight in here. and where are we? i mean, are we voting on are we authorizing you to maybe do one, 2 or 3? are we authorizing one of them? i, i don't understand. so yeah. and i appreciate the question because we've talked about the role of the governance team. so you're
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what we need from you is the change in policy. right. because there is a policy right now, if we went out and said, oh, next year we're going to offer algebra in the eighth grade, and we didn't have this conversation here, we'd be in violation of board policy. so that's why it's an actual vote. how we're going to do that is, you know, ultimately staff operationalize it. and so we're showing how we're going to operationalize it through the pilots, um, through those prototypes, through adopting new curriculum, through more targeted support for underrepresented students. so those are all the how that's under our purview. but we wanted to give you an idea. if you give us, uh, if you change policy, here's what that will actually look like in our schools. okay i'm getting to the point of being obtuse here, so i apologize. we where so where is where's the verbiage of the board policy. policy in here that we are revising that that that's where. yeah so can you bring up slide four. and so that
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language actually is uh i went back and looked at the 2014 board action. so it mirrors it's the same kind of language. the board action the board took. but in that in that action, it talked about moving algebra to the ninth grade. this has it in the eighth grade. so i'm sorry. we're revising a policy. so where's the revised version of the policy i think is really my ask. yeah. so when you approve this what you really were you were approving um, allowing us to offer it and then it says it's reflected in the course catalog in our course sequence. so there's not like so you're right, there's not a board policy. there's not like bp. um you know, 6000 that says this, but they're the action of the board then determines what's in our core sequence, which is ultimately the policy that people go and look at. okay thank you. there it is in the final. yeah no, but i understand now what you're saying. there's
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not. so some policy is live actually in the board policy and then others live. you know, you approve and authorize this and move forward with with an action. and then it's how we do that is in this case it's like in the course catalog. right right. commissioner still clarifying or are we comments and questions is a clarifying question okay. yeah. and apologies if this should have been a question that i asked ahead of time. um, thank you so much for all of the details. um and i think it's, you know, as we sort of want to model being being able to acknowledge when things haven't worked and then make adjustments and pivot to do better by our students. um, so i had a clarifying question on, um, in terms of slide 23, where, um, we understand that there are there are limited resources, right? and so the pilot and the,
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the piloting of the various prototypes will not be at every school. um, and so i see that one in order to i think, make sure that there is access for folks, even if they don't happen to be at one of the pilot schools. there's these two other options. is, um, online algebra one and summer intensive course algebra one, which. so i guess my two questions are, is the idea that this is temporary? while the pilot is underway, until it can be rolled out, depending on what prototype works best everywhere. that's one question. and then the second question is, um, for the online algebra one courses this and i hope this isn't getting in the weeds, but is it an idea that this would happen on campus birx or would it happen? would you have to have access to internet in all of the things at home to engage? and then who would be like, is it our normal who is teaching this? um, thank you so much for that. i can
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start with the first overview. um, so as as is noted and i think i may have not spoken to it clearly enough, but on slide 15, um, of the three prototypes, our intent is to pilot them at 2 to 3 schools. um and so, yes, to your point that would not be 100% of student of schools currently offering grades 6 to 8. um, and so part of the intention is to ensure additional offerings for students who would not be at a school with one of those prototypes. um, in addition, i would just name that the availability and the sort of like scope of the prototype is also impacted by things like school size and enrollment size. if we think about the difference between a k-8 who might have 30 students per grade and another school who might have 300. so part of it is to ensure access with regards to the online option in particular, um, that as i sort of named before, our goal is to have a designated time, place and staff member to support student completion of
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that. there are a variety of course offerings that offer algebra one. there's slightly different models depending on the provider in some cases, the courses considered to be on demand where there is a certificated instructional provider, not an sfusd staff member who responds and guides the course and provides students with a final transcript and example of that might be something like a uc scout program. um, and there are other online programs that utilize a sfusd staff member who would be guiding the course and grading course work and things like that. um, so the intention is, you know, one, to evaluate the efficacy and quality of those different products and the level of student outcomes. um, two is to make sure there's a designated staff member and a designated time and place to help the student through that course. should that be the option they're enrolled in. thank you. and i guess my only my hope would be that we are in regular conversation with our union partners about what that
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staffing looks like. and who's doing that. thank you. yeah, this may fall under clarifying. um, i should have flagged it earlier as a question on slide. um, i think it's 29. says all middle school students will have a minimum of 205. wait. sorry. it was 33. it was 205 minutes of to of math, right? yeah um, so that's 41 minutes a day of math. so i'm wondering what if that's more than what's currently happening? so how many minutes are middle schoolers getting in math a day now? no so it varies. so here's what we saw. first of all, we have two different middle school schedules right now. most of our schools have the seven period day. and then so at the schools that had a seven period day, we saw there was a range from 180 to 205
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minutes. and so we're making sure everybody has 205 minutes. so the way that's done is to block periods on two days, and then a single period on a regular on a regular day so and then at our six period days, they have about an average of uh, on the some have some block periods as well too. so it ends up being more of an average of, um, 50 minutes a day for um, yeah. is that right? yeah. uh, yeah. 15 minutes a day. um, though they some of our six period days, schools have like a block schedule onto, you know, modified block schedule as well. but currently we have students in middle school that are getting less than or fewer than 40 minutes a day on average of math. so right now we currently do, which is very odd to me. yeah. so that's where there was again in the school in the seven period day schedule. there were different configurations and we
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wanted to standardize that. but you're right, less than 40 minutes a day of average is uh, we didn't feel like that was ideal. um vice president will note in those days, there are some students taking additional math for support. but yeah, overall, we want to have a clear baseline. vice president alexander. so this is just following up on commissioner sanchez's question because in the in the responses to board questions, um, which are available to the public, right. yeah um, there's an interesting chart. so if members of the public want to see this, um, there was a question that one of my colleagues asked about if there was any correlation in student outcomes among schools with higher math, instructional minutes and those with fewer minutes. and so there's a chart that staff provided in response to that question. um, which is really interesting. and i'm curious if, um, superintendent or any staff want to comment on that. i mean, are we because to
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me, it looks like there's a correlation. i'm just curious, like, what's our thinking? and i mean, it looks like the highest outcomes actually are at schools that don't have 205 minutes, but actually the ones that have 230 and above. so i'm just and i understand i'm going to share. i see doctor connie here. she can come up if she needs to add more. but yes. so that was a good question. so as you see on the slide, if you go back to the slide about math, that's why we want to analyze this. because we weren't in and we um, shared the data about the achievement and the, um, and, and the time, but we weren't able in that quick of a time. we haven't established a correlation like that, actually takes doctor connor's level of expertise to do. but that's why we want to look at the that's why we're saying, okay, let's get everybody to this level. but then we can do this analysis and see maybe that, you know, maybe that is one of the factors that's a difference in achievement that we would have control over, that we would want to then change and standardize and have even more. but correct. we were not able to do a correlation analysis, um, for
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this. i mean, we can do a correlation analysis. the reason we presented you this data was to give you multiple points. so one was around performance and another was around growth or change. so you know we wanted to present multiple indicators and how they relate to data. and we even presented one more indicator which is um their color on the california dashboard. right. so you know, looking at all three lenses, one where it's combined, one in where it's just performance, one where it's just growth. so looking at all three lenses and how number of minutes, um, either changes that or does not impact that. okay. but if you want a correlation on each one of those will be happy to provide that. well, no. my question was really more around staff's analysis of what do you what are you seeing here, and
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how is that informing your thinking? yeah. well again, i think it informed us and changing what the minimum was. and then we and this is also why we're piloting, uh, option three is that that's the additional period. right. because then we'll also see like we're going to be that one. we're really going to be able to see the difference between kids who took algebra just went straight into algebra because they met the criteria or showed interest. and kids who went and only had one period of it, versus kids who had two periods of it. so i think we highlighted it in the recommendations and the presentation to say we definitely need to look, look closely at that. i mean, we really do value the seven period day and that it provides other elective opportunities and provides other intervention opportunities where then kids don't need to miss an elective to take that. um, and so we wanted to make at least this first step of standardize it at a level that does give over an average of 40 minutes per week.
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and then we'll look at and see. and that's why i wanted to be very clear. like by 26, 27, we might need to change our schedule at all of our, our, our middle schools that aren't up to the 230 or 40 minutes of, uh, of math and just one last comment, which is we did do a clear red line line to show you that 205 minutes that we've come up with in our recommended action was indicate by the school rules that performed below the one one how they performed when it was below the, uh, the 205 minutes and how they performed when it became 206 minutes and above right. so that's the reason we had the two sections that we showed you, and we have the recommendation of 205. thank you . um, well, i, i'm looking
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around to see if anybody, um, i just want to, to acknowledge how much work has gone into this and also i appreciate the honesty and the and the, um, the transparency with the data and, and thinking through the different options. i also understand, as far as i've received a lot of questions about which school, which pilot, and i understand that you're working with the various middle schools to both assess, like what's the current state of student and proficiency, what's the current state of capacity, and so forth. and so if you could talk a little bit about that and then also how this dovetails with the overall curricular, um, pilot that's simultaneously taking place, because there's a lot of moving parts. so that's what i'd like some clarification on. so there are three pieces that we are
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looking at right now in terms of the selection of the school sites. so one of those key components is we want to look at geographical locations. so we have diverse representation. that's number one easy number two we are looking at at the readiness level of the students based on the criteria that has been recommended. and based on that then we look at different school sites and we approach those school sites and invite them to be part of this process. so that we can pilot those on those schools. number three is interest expressed by certain schools to collaborate and to be part of the process, whether because they believe this should be the approach or because they are proposing using a different approach. so our intent is to really invite people to be part of this. and as we do that,
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there are schools that meet some of the criteria. and we are personally approaching the leaders and the staff of those schools working with the assistant superintendent for middle schools, so we can have that inclination of the staff and of the leadership to be part of the process. so geographical location based on data readiness of a higher percentage of students, then geographic representation in those ideas of geographic location, and definitely willingness and openness of the staff. because as we are piloting, you also want to make sure that people somehow feel part of the process and not told that this is the process, which is a very delicate balance. regarding the curriculum adoption. just as a quick sort of reminder from the last time we were here for goal two, is that we are currently in the first stage of curriculum
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evaluation. so we started with 5 to 6 programs that all meet expectation on ed reports. those programs also all include an algebra one course as part of their k eight offerings in addition to the algebra one course, some of them include various options of math compression courses. some of them compress different grade levels, some have a compression course, some have compression guidance of how you would compress their two standalone courses. so we're currently evaluating to bring that list of 5 to 6 options, down to 3 to 4 that we're going to put before a site based review committee this spring. that site based review committee is going to evaluate them and help us select two programs. let's call them curriculum a and b, that we're going to pilot beginning in august. the piloting of those materials will be inclusive of the prototypes just listed. so for example, if i am at school xyz and we're piloting curriculum a, we would be piloting curriculum a's, math six, math seven, and let's say algebra one. if we're an all in
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school. so we will be piloting the same program but varying courses of it. thank you. is this clarifying? i mean, i think we're now we're yeah, we're in questions. yeah. yeah. commissioner. bogus cool. thank you. um, definitely want to appreciate staff for all the work and intention that you put into the proposal. well, i think my comment initially, i guess a two part question, i think directed towards the superintendent, i feel like what i'm concerned about is, i guess what i don't see in this and wondering why there isn't an equity analysis that details what does it look like for our current students. if we were already doing this for the different models, and that really makes me wonder where is the targeted universalism and the plan and the approach? where is the districts commitment to equity? why weren't these questions at the forefront of this decision? and why aren't we centering the students that we
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are failing the most? and i don't see any of that in here. and i really wonder how the superintendent is directing staff in ways that are leaving these things out. and how is this reflective of our commitment to target a universalist, um. um, so again, if you can go to slide side. um. slide 28. sorry. slide 27. so again, when, when the district ten years ago went changes math policy. it was in part to with the adoption of common core but also wanting to make sure that more underrepresented students were in higher levels of mathematics and when looking at the data from the last ten years, we weren't successful in achieving that. part of it is we see that our student outcomes didn't improve for our targeted
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groups. and, you know, and we're working towards our goal as as well as our interim goals to improve student outcomes. but i think another thing that that we see is, oh, sorry. yeah. this is slide um, 27. another thing that we are working towards. and what's on slide 27 is there's is the preparing students to being ready, but also making sure that we're creating the aspiration and showing and helping our students understand that they they belong in higher level mathematics, that they see themselves as mathematicians, as scientists and as being prepared for college and career readiness and so, again, you know, black star rising is a program that we see is giving our black students more confidence. and so that's one that we're wanting to expand and we know there's other effective strategies and programs out there that we're looking towards to say, how do
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we make sure that we're getting students not just prepared, but also interested and engaged in and seeing themselves as mathematicians? so i think, you know, besides just the general improvement plans, this is our targeted effort to say, you know, if we're going to increase representation, it's going to need to be more than, you know, than than what we've done before. and so taking some intentional actions in that area . yeah, i appreciate the response. i mean, i think what i would say is i appreciate the intentions, but those aren't a plans and it doesn't make sense to me why we are playing guessing games when we're at such a critical time with our students outcomes. so it's not necessarily about what we do or what we don't do, but it's how we prepare to do it. it doesn't seem to me that we've taken into consideration a lot of factors that affect a lot of students, and it doesn't seem that that is a commitment of you in this moment and bringing this forth and it doesn't reflect, i think what we as a board have directed you to do, and the way that you have approached it, because it
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isn't solving the majority of the issues that we're having as a district. but it does one specific thing that is the easiest thing to do to appease community and not center all of our students. and i think i'm really concerned that this doesn't do enough to show that and reflects a lack of understanding from you and what we need staff to produce for us to reach the goals that we have. and i think it's troubling, and i think it represents something that we need to see addressed. and i don't know if you have this information, you just didn't share it. you've done this analysis. you're aware of what the impact will be on our higher need population, because if not, are you really prepared to present this tonight? are you really prepared for us to make a decision and give you a direction to follow? because if not, you should let us know so we can give you the time to do this properly. we're at a very critical juncture as a district. there's a lot of things that are dependent on the decisions we make in the short time, and it doesn't seem like we've thought them out. it doesn't seem like we are showing leadership from a place of expertise, of being the
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place where we pay educational experts to solve these problems. and i don't see that in this. and i guess i don't need you to respond to that, because you already responded to my first question. but i do just want to raise that concern to my fellow commissioners that we need to set a higher standard of what we accept and what we're seeing here, and that if they're going to bring a proposal to us as staff and they don't include information about our highest need students, we can assume that either they're not focused on them or that the data is so bad it is not worth showing, and that we are hiding it. and so i would just caution us as we move forward in this, that we have a lot of clarity and a lot of understanding, and we set a really high standard for the superinten dent and what he brings to us in the same way, we want high standards for our educators and students and staff at our school sites. thank you. no commissioner fisher. um, i
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appreciate that, commissioner. bogus and that's part of why i was asking to clarifying question. i was asking earlier about what exactly is the plan? right. like what what exactly are we voting on? um, i do have a lot of questions, and i appreciate doctor aguilar for that. you recognized earlier that this is a very compressed timeline and so in in talking to educators and parents, um, i think a lot of people feel that way that this is very, very compressed. um, i've talked to multiple middle school teachers who feel a bit sidelined in this conversation. when one told me that, um, the middle school teacher conversation was 30 minutes. um, and that's not really enough to gather all the feedback. and they're the ones who are going to be implementing this in the front lines. right? so um, there are a lot of questions around, you know, we have schools that don't even have credentialed math teachers. how are we going to pull this off? um, we have how are we paying for this? who's going to
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staff it? um, we're spending all of our pd time on dreambox right now. we're not even talking about what algebra pd would look like. right. so um, cni staff is, you know, we don't know what the central office staff is going to look like next year. who's going to actually implement this? right. there's all these questions that are educators have brought up to me, um, you know, our students are going to have to give up. families are asking, was my student going to have to give up an elective period? and for our students who need acceleration, like my kiddo, if you would have asked him, say, hey, you need acceleration in math, you're going to give up your elective. that that would be a reason why he would not want to go to school anymore if he had. if he was forced into a second. um second section of math, there's no way i could get him to go to school. no way. i mean, just forcing him to do more of what he hates and what's hardest for him. so so, um, anyway, um, which breaks my heart because i love math so much. um, and, you
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know, as we heard in public comment earlier, like, what are the trade offs? we've got some numbers here at the back of the presentation. i'm going to try and find, um, uh, the slide. i um oh my gosh, i went past it, but there were we talked about resource allocation in in one of the later slides. are you committing these resources? i think for me it's really hard to vote on saying yes to something when we don't. i mean, are the numbers on the slide are those what you're committing to? i mean, like the ftes that are on this slide? i'm still furiously trying to find it. um uh, so it's been, i think, three minutes. is there a specific like, do you want to. so yeah, i'm just it's hard for me to commit to a plan without having the resources behind it to make the plan successful. i think is really, um, and i see one slide
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that gives overarching themes, but i don't i think for me, i really, really, really want to make sure that we do this successful and having been a parent in this district, a very engaged parent in this district who sat on district level committees and seen great plans with zero actual resources to implement behind the scenes, i am i want all of our kids to get to the point where they have all the math options open to them. in high school, are we committing to making sure that the millions of dollars that are listed in this presentation are actually going to be put behind these pilots in this math? at the same time we're doing reading, we're doing new reading curriculum. our teachers are saying, this is a lot, so what are we doing to actually invest in this? to make sure that it's done right? and are we taking the right time now to plan for it up front and not rushing it? yeah so you were referring to
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slide 31. and this is what we, you know, are anticipating are the needs to in invest in this. i mean i will note that for middle school the good thing is the teachers who are teaching middle school are not, not um, you know multi subject teachers. so they're just teaching math. so they're not worrying about a language arts adoption. and we've heard from many teachers that the need to update our math curriculum. so that process was already in in place and funding was set aside for that. so then you're seeing some of the additional costs for, for, um, you know, to do the, the, uh, specific to implementing algebra as well as to providing some of the other support for students to be able to be prepared to for algebra and to be able to access it. i have several questions. no surprise. um, thank you to the team in the work. um, one question is related to we've all acknowledged that middle school
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math doesn't the success of middle school math doesn't happen in middle school. so i'm curious if you if the team can share more about the strategy in the thinking about elementary d upper elementary math? um, and then i have a follow up question . turn around. was a prototype considered for acceleration for six seven? um yeah. like in the upper elementary to six seven and the seven eight. and then you would have eighth grade algebra as an option, just so if you could speak to some of those, maybe other prototype considerations that didn't make it tonight. so i'll let i'll speak about the elementary work that we are planning right now in this group, and we'll talk about the
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prototypes. so indeed, as i explained before, we are looking at what will happen in in fifth, fourth, third grade, next school year because we are right now as we speak, uh, by the end of this spring semester, we will have, um, a selection that will be piloted, uh, recommend nation to pilot some of those instructional materials in math. we are counting on those to be used as a framework to teach in fourth and fifth grade. based on the standards and based on instructional materials that are tangible. okay, that's one piece. the other piece is we name some of the specific interventions that we are committing to be implemented during this, uh, summer and by next school year so that we can revamp the kind of teaching that is taking place in fourth and fifth grade in math at the
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elementary level. so those are the initial commitments that we are making. as we do that, we are trying to work with the different vendors so that they can help us to provide accurate, professional learning sessions for our, our staff and one key component that i have not mentioned, which is the professional learning plan that includes math coaching, coaching in content areas for our elementary teachers. so that one is very specific. and we have been clear that we need people who are trained in the content and then can support our teachers into the teaching of the content at those grade levels. as. for the question related to the acceleration beginning in sixth grade, we did , and i believe this is in the appendix. investigate a number of districts, some of whom offer acceleration beginning in six, some in seventh grade, some in eighth grade. um, in the process
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of prototyping, um, with our focus group, we did gather feedback on a prototype in particular that began acceleration in sixth grade. the feedback that we received from members of the focus group was that at this moment, in terms of where we are with student outcomes and where we are in the curriculum, adoption process, they had concerns about beginning the acceleration in sixth grade. um, and i would say a specific part of that is concerns raised related to equitable presentation within courses, particularly from the middle school principal lens. one of the things that they are very concerned about is inequitable representation within courses, not just within the math course. enrollment but how that can roll out into other courses within a student's schedule. um, for the prototype and for sort of like a year, one year, two iteration for those reasons, they wanted to focus on eighth grade. um, but what i would say is that we do see data from other districts who have different prototypes that begin
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in sixth grade for acceleration that do have strong outcomes in terms of equitable representation and equitable outcomes for focal populations of students. so for us, it is not part of the current prototypes that we're proposing, but definitely something that we want to consider for the future based on our experience with curriculum adoption and the data collection around the prototypes . so i would encourage and thank you for sharing that. if we have seen promising practices in other districts, i certainly would want to as we embark on this journey, to continue to have that being a forefront as an option, particularly if we're seeing positive outcomes for focal populations and just given the presentation tonight from ali, um, and what we've learned through the audit around higher expectations of our students is the first foremost, as we all know, a factor that right now that we must overcome as a district. so thank you for that. um, my other comment and question is beyond, i think this team here, but to the
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superintendent and to the district, something that i want to really stress. um, and thank you to the ali team using a theme around the recommendation that link learning to home. so as we are rolling out this initiative and if we're i think a lot of the discussion, as it should be, is anchored, um, of how we're working with our educators, how we're working with our site leaders. and this is a moment also imperative to be able to communicate with families around what their options are, because as a parent now navigating this math sequencing has been very challenging and difficult. and it is a left, an inequity. his because the families that have the resources to be able to navigate this and seeing what options are available to their child or their children, um, i think has had the opposite effect. and so because of that,
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my encouragement is like, we roll out like a pr campaign. i think sending emails, text messages, you know, we have lots of studies. we've done, um, around family engagement that it is not a one size fits all families are going to have to hear things. ten, 15, 20 times in order to even understand, you know, what are my options? and i really appreciate the opting in because i was a student that was tracked and not encouraged to go into higher math or higher english, and so that is going to be really important, not only i think oftentimes as a district, we want our students and our young people to have self-efficacy. and the reality is that a young person is going to need that extra support. so either it be that linked family learning or a mentor in their after school program. um so i just really want to encourage that in thinking about how is the district we're rolling this out is a full on campaign, not
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just really relying on, um, you know, family weekly notices. sorry thank you. laney. so i'll wrap up there. so i'm king and passion. um you guys cyprus. i think a point well taken as we're moving forward with this. so i was going to go ahead and wrap us up. um i think what we are, i think there's is broad agreement that especially based upon what we saw with the tnt studies, we know we need new curriculum. our teachers know that we need new curriculum. our families know that we need new curriculum. and we also need a different kind of approach to math overall for k through 12, coherence. and there's nervousness about implementation
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and our ability to implement. and especially given the many different pilots, um, i do want to echo the math sequencing as it is today is rough to navigate. um our kids would prefer to learn in school, not outside of the school days and even those those kids that are currently doing the workarounds. it's no fun to be staring at a computer screen and not have a cohort and not have a connection with a teacher. the other thing that i do want to emphasize for me, this is all bundled. i'm i am excited about moving forward. i mean, this is what deferred maintenance looks like. it's not you know, it's not glamorous. it's about taking the steps forward. and i appreciate the amount of, um, thought that's gone into this. i do just want to hammer that there's a clear, at least in my mind, the 240 minutes of instruction on even with curriculum that's not standards based is resulting in better outcomes. so time on our
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core curriculum is really important. and also i'm just going to flag advisory minutes. and our use of advisory minutes to claw back instructional time and instructional support, because i saw in the report there's a range between 150 minutes and 60 minutes spent in our class or in our with our kids, in our classrooms. um, and then lastly, just, you know, around interventions and i just look forward to hearing how things are going and i appreciate again the honesty. so the things that are working well, i'd love to hear more about them. but if there's things that are coming up through this pilot that, you know, miss the mark, let's let's, um, acknowledge that too. so thank you for, um. yeah the work and bringing this forward and with that, i have to find my script because i can't think independently anymore. um, can i , um, can i? oh, we know we already have a motion. and a
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second we do. so are we ready for a roll call? vote? okay judgment, please. roll call. vote. thank you. commissioner boggess. no commissioner fisher. yes commissioner. lamb. yes commissioner. sanchez yes. commissioner. wiseman. ward. yes vice president. alexander. yes president. motamedi yes. six ayes. passes. on to our second and last action. oh, thank you very much to staff. i appreciate it. sweet dreams. um think of us . um, so we're on to action. our action item number two. our last one. um regarding, um, san francisco unified school district resolution 242, dash
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13, sp three intend to initiate a transition from at large to by trustee area board elections. may i have a motion and a second, please? so moved. second. okay at this time, i turn it over to our superintendent. um thank you. and to provide a little bit more context, uh, we'd like to introduce to our community our new general counsel, rodney moore. um, and if you can share what is being brought forward, that would be helpful. thank you. uh, this evening, a resolution is being brought forward to respond to a demand letter that the district received related to the civil rights voting act. the demand letter calls for the district to move from at large elections to the board of education, to trustee area elections. as the district has 45 days to respond to the demand letter, the resolution that was published
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with tonight's agenda offered a proposed resolution and that was published on friday. uh, since that time, uh board member lisa wiseman ward has proposed amendments to the resolution that was posted on friday. and we're going to ask that she go through that resolution. the amendments are what you'll see posted is the amended resolution , and she'll explain the amendments that she's proposing. and at that point, i think the process will be, uh, to make a motion first to accept the amendment. s uh, and then a motion to accept that, uh, accept or reject the resolution. okay. but now we're moving. right. make a motion to, um, would you like to make a motion to move the amendment forward? i will make a motion to move the amendment. second. okay um, and
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would you like to introduce it or tell us about it? sure i can. so the amendments have been published, um, to board docs, but, um, because it's probably hard to do a side by side, i'll walk through the proposed amendments, um, that i am making . um, first one would be to move , um, whereas the board understands the importance of fair and accessible elections to move that. right. um, up a paragraph, um, the next is to add a new whereas whereas the california supreme court issued a ruling last august, 23rd, pico neighborhood association versus santa versus city of santa monica that clarified that by trustee elections are not the only remedy to cure a potential cvra violation. uh, an additional whereas whereas it is prudent that the board explore
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other electoral system alternatives following the supreme court's pico decision, um, a change to the next, whereas that begins a large number of school districts um and the edits are are to the second clause cause the board believes that it is in the public's best interest to also begin the process of to explore transition from at large to by trustee area elections as well as other legal methods that were specifically named in the supreme court's pico decision. um, the next, whereas it's a new one. whereas thereafter the board intends to adopt a by trustee area map for implementation in future elections or another legal method that was specifically named in the supreme court's pico decision. the following. whereas that begins whereas the board, with the assistance of demographer, would be amended so that after elections code
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110010, it includes the language or to gather community input regarding another legal method that was specifically named in the supreme court's pico decision, um, the second to last. whereas that begins whereas the adoption of by trustee area elections would include a phrase or or another legal method that was specifically named in the supreme court's pico decision, and then the rest of the amendments come to the recital. so we would remove recital three, which begins trustee area boundary line shall be developed that would be stricken. um, the recital that begins, the district shall commence. the process of transitioning to by trustee area elections. new language would be or another legal method that was specifically named in the supreme court's pico decision. in um, there would be a new
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recital that reads it's recital number four. if trustee area elections are determined to be the best course of action for sfusd, then those boundary lines shall be developed based on the most updated federal decennial census data, with the intent of implementing the boundaries for the 2024 election or as soon as permitted by law. um, the next and final uh amendment would be to recital number five, and it would begin if trustee area elections are determined to be the best course of action for sfusd and then staff is directed. so we i believe that, um, these amendments um, clarify what i think is our vision and our goals to make sure that we are if there is any question about us not being cvra compliant, which i think that that certainly is not, um, a
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settled thing yet, that if there's any question that we will make decisions as, um, as to how to make sure we are compliant again, if we aren't, i'm not saying that we aren't, but if we aren't, how we would make those decisions in a thoughtful way that gives us a number of different options that would be consistent with the supreme court's most recent rulings. any questions or comments. yeah, i think i would just say, um, i think this is a very fast paced thing that is coming to us as a board, and i think it puts us, the public, and a lot of people watching in an awkward position where it doesn't seem like this is about necessarily doing what's best for kids. and i definitely feels that way for me. um, but i definitely feel like that is what the state of california seems to tell us quite often that there are a lot of things
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that are more important than kids in the classroom. um, and so i think it puts us in a really rough spot. i definitely appreciate the amendment, but i would ask my fellow commissioners to reject the amendment. i think we've pretty consistently we have chosen not to go to court and enter a litigation and to prioritize students because of the additional headache and burden that that puts on us as a district. i think the original resolution, as presented in the agenda does a better job of minimizing our fiscal liability around this issue. and given the fact that we are getting ready to experience reductions across our district act, as well as trying to deal with a structural deficit of above $100 million, it's hard for me to take any steps that would potentially put funds away from the classroom, away from learning, away from having staff and i would ask for you to join me in rejecting the
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amendment and doing what is the safest option for our district and for our students, and will allow us to keep our commitment to being grounded, um, in student outcomes. and i think that's what i want to offer up. thank you. i appreciate those comments, but i also appreciate the amendment. um a lot of work was done on that. and i it reflects where i think we should head the amendment. um yeah. i want to say i, i also appreciate my colleague, commissioner bogusz questions or concerns that he's raised and points that he's raised, and i have to admit, you know, i was that's kind of where i've been
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on this as well, although i actually think, um, commissioner weissman wards amends, do a really good job of still adhering to what i think is a is a safe, um, approach because we're making very clear that, um , as it says, we intend to initiate a transition, um, to something that is compliant with the cvra a, um, and so i think, um, you know, and being very clear that that, that we're, we're using the law and the supreme court decision as our guide. so i think that's, um, in my view, i feel like we're on safe, legal ground because of that clarity that we're we're, you know, clear. we support, um, voting rights. we support this california voting rights act, and we support the supreme court of the state of california's interpretation of that act. and
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we're going to act in accordance with that in order to do what's right for san francisco and for our students. so, um, but i agree, you know, this is not something we would have chosen to take on, but i think, um, the amended language and thank you for your work on it. and our and our attorneys as well. um it puts us on a good path to making a decision and preserves the option of, of, as it says in there, considering carefully what the best way to comply with the law is. um, are we ready to, um, take a roll call, vote at this time? any comment from council? no additional comments. just to be clear, we're voting first on the amended resolution and then are on the amendments. and then we'll vote on the amended resolution. correct correct. so voting on the amended resolution first. yeah. and see how that goes. yeah
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whether you accept the amendments, the amended resolution. correct yes. to accept the amendments to the resolution, all right. with that, mr. steele. thank you. commissioner. bogus no. commissioner fisher. yes. commissioner. lamb yes, commissioner. sanchez yes, commissioner. wiseman. ward yes. vice president. alexander. yes. present motamedi. yes. six eyes, it passes. okay to vote on the. now on the resolution as amended . pardon? absolute on the resolution as amended. oh, so now. oh, yes. all right. okay so now we're voting on the resolution as amended. i know it's my second business meeting. so here we go. thank you. it takes a village. um all right. so resolution as amended. thank you. president motamedi. commissioner boggess. no. commissioner fisher. yes.
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commissioner. lamb yes. commissioner. sanchez yes. commissioner. wiseman. ward yes. vice president. alexander yes. president. muhammadu yes. the resolution, as amended, passes with six ayes. so now we move on to item h. advisory committee report and appointments. we have a new appointment to the independent citizens bond oversight committee. doctor wayne, will you introduce the item? um, yes. unfortunately, one of our committee members, um, has moved off. and so we are appointing an alternate that had already gone through the process to be selected as an alternate. and that's. so now we're just moving them to be, uh, an official member of the community of the committee. yes. this actually becomes an action item to accept the, um. yeah so take
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a motion and a second and then, um, to vote motion a second, please. so moved second. roll call. vote, please. thank you. commissioner bogus. yes commissioner. fisher. yes, commissioner. lamb. yes, mr. sanchez yes. vice president. wiseman excuse me. commissioner wiseman award. former. yes yeah. thank you. vice president. alexander. yes president. tammany. yes seven s pass. president um. uh, so now moving on to consent calendar. are there any items withdrawn or corrected by the superintendent? no okay. a motion and a second on the consent calendar, please. so moved. second roll call, please. mr. steel. thank you. commissioner. bogus yes, commissioner. fisher yes, commissioner. lamb. yes commissioner. sanchez. yes
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commissioner. weissbourd yes, vice president. alexander. yes, president. motamedi. yes. seven ayes. um, so now we're in the board member reports. are there any reports from board delegates to membership organizations? any other reports by board members and i believe there is an advisory committee appointment. yes. um, i am appointing sam bass to the fcac. welcome back. um, so at this time, we have come completed our board business. yes. and the meeting is adjourned at ten an just. we should just acknowledge. but we do. we usually talk. we just read that they're they're attached there for. i'm so okay. all right. i'll read to you now.
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um, k information items. there's the quarterly report on williams complaints posted. um, attached to the. so yeah. and then two there's a mid-year report on the annual update to the local control accountability plan as well. um, but we are not discussing them. they're there for the public to see. so we are now adjourning at. 1039 1029. that's right. all right is --
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california, we get less representatives in congress. it's important for san francisco because if we don't have all of the people in our city, if we don't have all of the folks in california, california and san francisco stand to lose billions of dollars in funding. >> it's really important to the city of san francisco that the federal government gets the count right, so we've created count sf to motivate all -- sf count to motivate all citizens to participate in the census.
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>> for the immigrant community, a lot of people aren't sure whether they should take part, whether this is something for u.s. citizens or whether it's something for anybody who's in the united states, and it is something for everybody. census counts the entire population. >> we've given out $2 million to over 30 community-based organizations to help people do the census in the communities where they live and work. we've also partnered with the public libraries here in the city and also the public schools to make sure there are informational materials to make sure the folks do the census at those sites, as well, and we've initiated a campaign to motivate the citizens and make sure they participate in census 2020. because of the language issues that many chinese community and
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families experience, there is a lot of mistrust in the federal government and whether their private information will be kept private and confidential. >> so it's really important that communities like bayview-hunters point participate because in the past, they've been under counted, so what that means is that funding that should have gone to these communities, it wasn't enough. >> we're going to help educate people in the tenderloin, the multicultural residents of the tenderloin. you know, any one of our given blocks, there's 35 different languages spoken, so we are the original u.n. of san francisco. so it's -- our job is to educate people and be able to
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familiarize themselves on doing this census. >> you go on-line and do the census. it's available in 13 languages, and you don't need anything. it's based on household. you put in your address and answer nine simple questions. how many people are in your household, do you rent, and your information. your name, your age, your race, your gender. >> everybody is $2,000 in funding for our child care, housing, food stamps, and medical care. >> all of the residents in the city and county of san francisco need to be counted in census 2020. if you're not counted, then your community is underrepresented and will be underserved.
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