>> and the san francisco unified school district provides -- we will have our equipment back. this message will be reviewed in both languages. [spanish speaking]

>> [foreign language] thank you.

>> the meeting is now called to order. i was about to call roll call.

i started very quickly. roll call, please. >> miss mendoza? miss wynns? mr. yee? miss kim? thank you. >> if you would like, please join us up in the pledge of allegiance.

thank you, i see that we have a larger audience tonight. we will be having public comment under item j. i will try to move it up if we can so we can accommodate all of the families. our first item is the approval of board minutes for september 14, 2010. any corrections? seeing none, roll call, please. >> miss fewer? miss maufas? miss mendoza? miss norton? miss wynns? mr. yee? miss kim? >> next, superintendent garcia.

superintendent garcia: this last weekend, we had a retreat. i want to thank the staff for making this one of the most successful retreat's we have ever had. one of the main goals was to identify the top priorities of the district and in times of economic times, identifying three or four things that we must do it to do them right, to make this district one of the top in the country. we will be focusing this year -- the priorities will be the core curriculum and assessment, the special-education redesign, and also quality and middle school pathways. we kind of put that off to make a decision this coming year. we had an opportunity to look at how to better communicate

these things. throughout the year, we will be reporting about progress in these areas. there are basically ones that we are doing simultaneously. only focusing on these things can we make social justice a reality. i want to remind everybody, i know that we're finally feeling what the fiscal crisis is about in california. the fact is, 113 million we're cutting this year and next year to balance the budget.

when you think about it, we don't even know what the state budget is yet. we have never gone this late on having a budget. for people i know, they are saying, why don't you use the education jobs bill? it is pretty hard to do anything when you don't know what the budget is. it is difficult to go out and try to spend money that they don't have. it is certainly not the federal government. we are all starting to feel the pinch. our frustration needs to be -- we are already almost into the

school year. californians ought to be mad as hell. that is the situation we are in. i think the public because you have the right to question this or question me as a superintendent and ask for better things. we still don't even have a budget. it is hard for us to make decisions. especially when we don't know what the decisions will be based on. commissioner kim: we now spend this time to recognize outstanding servants and educators. the special service award and a distinguished service award. superintendent garcia: the first

is michelle chang. >> green or red? it wasn't a huge surprise when i was told that ec -- he received an award because he is a great teacher. i worked with him the last three years. every time i walk into the classroom, i feel the joy that his students feel. i have to comment about the amount of work he has, and it is always very demonstrative of how hard he works. parents are bringing down my door every year. he is so passionate about children. i can walk in, it is my great

pleasure to introduce him. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. i thought you were joking. the principles that i might have to say something. the only thing i would say is that i keep three tools. patience, humor, a lot of love. that is how i get through my

day. thank you. [applause] >> that is great, thanks. lucky kids. lucky us for having you here. the next award -- whenever i think i have a tough job, i think of people that might have that a little tougher. i want to introduce a archie -- introduce archie. >> when i heard she was nominated for a rave, she is just the greatest person to get it. she has direct responsibility for managing the process. overseeing the change of address is -- addresses. oftentimes, she will stay later

to get the job done. she has us all wading pools. you are a wonderful person and you deserve it. thank you for all of your hard work. [applause] >> i appreciate this acknowledgement, but i want to acknowledge how hard the entire office works, the whole educational center staff is really dedicated. don't get acknowledged -- they don't get a knowledge for the positive things. -- they don't get acknowledged for the positive things so i want to share with them. [applause] >> is your mom here?

she was an administrator in our district. thank you. [applause] >> i always enjoy the review because it is time to highlight the amazing work that happens, thank you to both of you. we actually have a student delegate appointee tonight. [inaudible] >> hi, i'm excited to be here. [inaudible] the first report is announcing elected members of the cabinet. bobby atkins who is also the

secretary. jessica is the public relations officer. the historian -- and our treasurer. also, we had a youth advocacy coordinator come talk to us. yeah. and also about collaboration with the youth commission subcommitee that we can talk about what is going on in the district and in the city. yesterday was the board of education candidate forum.

>> what were some of the top issues that came up last night for students that they were interested in hearing? >> some of them included proposition d, also environmental issues like green projects. and how we can get some students to come to their own community schools. >> thank you very much. >> we are planning retreats for the pacific leadership institute. the curriculum is more rigorous , and also cafeteria food.

and then promoting the wellness center. any questions or -- >> any questions or comments from the board? >> i am really glad to hear that your attending burton high school. we are wanting to see some more leadership from our other high schools, too. >> i also want to welcome you, and offer on behalf of the board, if you need any information or you would like a meeting, any of us would like to help you orient yourself. >> just so you know how much we care about you, you were a topic

of discussion on the board retreat on sunday. think we can continue that discussion on the next board meeting. >> my name is michelle, i am the parent of two students, a member of the parent advisory council. this is the illness of her daughter.

i would also like to welcome the new student delegates. you're welcome at any time to attend a meeting. i will pretty much run through the report that was e-mail to you. this fall, members are going through strategic planning process. especially as it relates to student achievement, considering issues that we have heard parents concerned about identified through the community out reach over the past few years. and parents can effectively support the success of the achievement gap. there are a lot of new

initiatives in the community. and following the priorities of access, and can be a little confusing to understand how these initiatives are being coordinated among the staff. and how the opportunities are being communicated to family. even though that includes parent empowerment. it is really heartening to hear the superintendent's comments. we are not quite there yet. we want to decide how to be strategic and effective in these initiatives to decide which are the most to focus the community engagement energy on. we will work on advising our own procedures and clarifying our own functioning for teachers and administrators, communicating with families about this. there are quality after-school

programs. supporting timely implementation of the engagement plan, following up on the recent report to improve services for families with special ed. are you paying attention out there? they are available in english, spanish, and chinese. if anyone out there is interested or you notice someone, send them our way. we also include reviewing proposals for district transportation policies, monitoring [unintelligible] in cajun families in the process, services and -- educating families in the

process. we will be deciding on our priorities on october 19. we are speaking with district staff and commissioners on how we can represent parent perspective to inform and strengthen these positions. if you vote later this evening to attend the timeline, we really feel that this is an opportunity to conduct a thorough and transparent process for all of our middle schools, and we hope we can take this chance to inform families as well as teachers and other staff. and also, i wanted to talk briefly about the auditors' report on special ed. it reinforced what others have

heard over the past several years during discussions about school quality. what we know about special ed is the annual report. i want to go through them here. we really want to commend the superintendent for commissioning this audit. we are glad to see the district become the oldest to engage families. members are going to be participating in the community meeting on october 18, and really afford to see more discussion on how to forward this process. i know it is a tricky process. i want to thank you again for the opportunity to provide a current perspective.

>> i know there are many parents in this room. are there any comments? thank you so much for being here. our next item is item f, public comment on consent calendar items. i have no speaker cards for this item. just as a reminder to the audience, if you have a list of speakers signed up previous to the meeting and would like to speak -- you could not call our office. any items withdrawn or corrected by the superintendent? any items removed by the board? any items severed by the board

or superintendent? commissioner norton: i would like to sever 14. >> i would like to sever k1. >> seeing none, we have severed k1 and k14. next is item h. it has already been moved and seconded. may we have a brief report from the chair? commissioner wynns: i reported at the last meeting.

>> is also televised, right? it was not televised. we have a reading. >> good evening, commissioners and the superintendent. i am going to read the substitute motion. the requested action is, pursuant to the policy, the board of education of the san francisco unified school district hereby approved the design for new attendance areas for elementary schools, an extension for implementation,