support staff and administrators. welcome back, happy new year, 2013 is well underway. i would like to welcome you back to what i know is a successful spring this year. and i hope you enjoyed your break. you got your rest, because we will need it. we have a lot of work ahead of us. and exciting work nonetheless. and congratulations to president norton and vice president fewer. as i share other comments, i want to remind us of a tragic event that happened at the close of the last semester. we were shocked and saddened by the tragedy that took the lives at sandy hook elementary school. we want to give our most sincere condolences to our colleagues

and friends and fellow americans in connecticut. but we are very fortunate in san francisco, as we have had an opportunity to reflect with the established partnerships we have in this city. not only with the city of san francisco and the mayor's office. but the police department. the department of public health. our community-based organizations. and all the multitudes of others in this community that work with us arm in arm to provide services to our students and community. we strive to bring safety to our workplaces. and safety to our schools. so that our students can thrive. and our educators can teach. we are fortunate to have trained professionals on our campuses. including social workers and nurses and wellness services. and ladies and gentlemen, if not for the largess of the san francisco voting community, we would not be able to do this.

we want to thank you for the voting of our schools. when you go to the ballot box and vote for the parcel tax and bonds, this is what you vote for. the systems that keep people safe. and we want to thank you. and we have wellness centers and as you know it takes a village. we will stand with those in our community and across the great state of california. to ensure that students have safe places to learn and thrive and adults have great place to work. as you know i had the honor last friday to serve as the master of ceremonies of our board commissioners, and it was great to see family and friends and supporters to come out to support our board of seeducatio. we look forward to have a productive year for with all of

you. and i want to thank ester costo with the work she did organizing. and the principal, julie salaha, i think it was a wonderful evening. ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a revolution, it's a new time. all of us have a tray. because it's revolution time in san francisco unified. and what people have in front of them is tomorrow's lunch for everyone in san francisco. and i have to tell you what the lunch is going to be. i am excited about this. i am excited about food often. but in front of us we have spaghetti with meat balls, and this is all natural beef meat balls, and a fresh tomato sauce and steamed butternut squash and

fresh fruit and whole grain crisps. i will ask everyone to partake of the meal. and i want to say a few words, we think about what goes in to make a successful school. kids that are hungry in schools are not prepared to learn. so the time is here, and our students when they returned to school yesterday. they were served fresh -- not frozen, school lunches. in december the board approved a new meal contract and they are a phenomenal partner with us, and they are nutrition rich for the students. that promotes good eating habits and provides access to

high-quality food. and this will fuel our academic excellence. we look forward, and i look forward to feedback from our school communities. and it's been, interesting, ladies and gentlemen, of the hundreds of e-mails i receive on a daily basis. i want share a few comments from yesterday and today. from brett hart, teachers e-mailed me and said they never had seen but one mail on the shared table. this is amazing, exclamation point. from lowell high school they said, the food was great. and tenderloin elementary school, the hot dogs are great. can i get another one. and one who missed school regularly and on the spot ate her first school lunch ever. we had two teachers from everett

middle school that were excited to try the food lunch for the first time, their response, keep it up. and we hope to reform in the public school and increase the number of students that eat school meals. we know that students who are fed and not hungry can be successful. we want to provide to the teachers and paraprofessionals and to get the word out that sfusd meals are fresh and tasty. and with that, i would like to say bon apetite.

>> thank you, we have item c. superintendent. >> thank you, we would like to call first to the microphone. we would like to recognize alice fong yu as being a national blue ribbon recipient. as you know the blue ribbon -- [applause] alice fong yu joins a very select group of schools nationally to be recognized as national blue ribbon schools. alice fong yu in the san francisco school district has the distinction of being the

first chinese emergent school in the nation, and in san francisco. and here is their fabulous leader, principal seto, my first language is spanish. i apologize, to share a few words. and i understand that we have some of our constituents from alice fong yu as well. >> well, thank you. superintendent carranza. president norton. vice president fewer. commissioners. i am honored to receive this recognition on behalf of the parents, the students and the staff at alice fong yu. at this time i would like to share my time with the school council, chair person, and some of my student leaders. [applause]

>> good evening, i am lillian fong and i chair this school. and i am here with the community leaders to share blue ribbon. in addition to being exemified as a high-providing school, through emersion education afy students have the unique opportunity to acquire education in cantonese and mandarin. particularly through the chinese exchange program. in addition to high excellence led by faculty and engaged parent and body, and this includes full after-class

programs and fine arts, and after-school tutoring and multidance groups. we would like to thank superintendent carranza and board members of education to your continued support to afy. we have an invitation to give to the board members and now our students will tell you why they love afy. >> i would make a quick announcement, on march 2, from 3-6 p.m., we will have a big party at alice fong yu school, and you are all invited. we will have jazz and hors d'oeuvres and say, yay, we did a great job in 2012.

>> [speaking foreign language] [applause] >> good evening, my name is faith peterson bailey, i attend alice fong yu and i am the chief of staff.

i want to thank you for giving my school a blue ribbon award. and giving my principal a bell award. during school time i like learning math and science, because my teacher uses chinese to explain. if the teachers didn't teach my cousins and my sisters and me how to speak chinese, we wouldn't be able to speak in restaurants. once again, thank you. [applause] [speaking foreign language]

>> good evening, everyone, i am winnie chi, i am the body president of alice fong yu, this is like a second home to me. the teachers and my friends support me and they make me feel special. and also staff members and teachers guarantee that we have a safe environment to learn. and they make us feel comfortable and safe to share our feelings. i enjoy math and science, because the teachers teach us in

chinese. and they teach us step by step. i am proud to be a student at alice fong yu. thank you. [speaking foreign language] [applause] >> hello, everyone, i am maze. i a seventh grader at alice fong yu, and i am peer mediator.

afy is an amazing school. the chinese i learned there has been helpful in so many situations. if not for me being able to speak chinese, i would not be able to communicate with people that can only speak chinese. and it will definitely help me in the later years. i am so happy that alice fong yu has the national blue ribbon award. it definitely deserves it. [applause] [speaking chinese]

[applause] >> good evening, i am may, i was born in raised here in san francisco, and i live in bay-view hunter's point. i am an eighth grader attending ali alice fong yu, we are given a great experience to learn chinese. in my grade we have seven subjects, math, social studies and candnies -- cantonese and mandarin. the help and support i get from the teacher and staff. when i have problems with homework or class work or projects i don't hesitate ask for help.

90% of the time my teachers help me, and the other time is when they are absent that day. i think that my school has given you a jump start with my future, helping with social skills and diversity and many other factors in life. all of my friends and i went to great high schools. and after i checked, they are doing well. i want to continue to pursue my career in chinese. thank you to the help of alice fong yu and the teachers, thank you. [applause] [speaking chinese]

>> ladies and gentlemen, good evening, i am victoiar young. an eighth grade student at afy, and current body president. i am glad to be here on behalf the students at the school. i want you to know that afy is a

great school. under the leadership of the staff and teachers, everyone student has an opportunity to learn and meet new friends. and it's because of the dedication that our school received the blue ribbon award. and i want to say thanks and to the most talented principal in our district. thank you. [applause] >> what a wonderful transition, speaking of the very talented principal seto along with alice fong yu being selected and szeto received an award due to their

process, and we would like to present two certificates to you. on behalf of the board of education and the san francisco unified school district. [applause] >> i talked to ester this morning, and i promise i will not take too long. but i will first share my time with two of my outstanding staff members. mrs. jeanna chow and mr. taylor. >> hi, i am jena chou, and i am

a kindergarten teacher. i would like to share a few quick reflections. i remember when alice fong yu didn't have enough student and we had to sell the program. and now we don't have to sell the program, in fact we are all sold out. i remember when students went to chinatown to practice the skills and the culture. and now students travel to china to speak the language and live the culture. and none of this it would be without liana szeto. i remember her tireless way to be sure of this success. and determined and still has tireless energy and still have the vision. only now she needs to see it in a slightly larger font. i am -- [laughter]

i was going to take that out, but my staff said to keep it in. i am so honored to be a part of alice fong yu's past and present. and look forward to the future. many thanks to the students, parent and staff to make alice fong yu such an awesome place. i speak for all of us, truly no place we would rather be. congratulations to the afy school community and to liana szeto, our fearless leader forever. thank you. [applause] >> hello, good evening, i am jay taylor. i am the student advisor for alice fong yu, i have been there for -- years. it has been a while. i would like to start by saying,

quote, whether our action is wholeless or unwholeless, depends on whether the action or deed arises from a disciplined or undisciplined mind. and it's felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to negative. and i thought about that quote, i think about all the things that this stands for and what these awards and accolades stand for. it's a testament to her hard work and dream. a lot of times we dream and never see the end. liana has dreamed it and lived it and struggled through it and this is where it is. this is where her dream lies. she told me earlier, this isn't about me. and it never is. it's about or dream and what she

instills in all of us. it's about the discipline. it's about the honor. the respect. it's about who she is. and who she wants us to become. as professionals, as people, as leaders, as student leaders, as a generation for all to be able to communicate and touch other people. so we want to thank her for that, and i want to leave you with this. because some people say she's a disciplinarian. so discipline is a symbol of caring to a child. discipline is guidance. if there is love, there is no such thing as being too tough with a child. this is by betty davis. thank you for your time. [applause]

>> thank you. wow. sorry, esther. i may take longer than you planned. wow. i will try to go through this without tears. i have been saying that it's an out-of-body experience from the process of nomination to getting the phone call. a few months ago. to attending the ceremony at d.c., and sitting across the table from secretary duncan. it's all been just a dream-like. i am really, really abit overwhelmed at times. and it's okay to take my picture

off the website now, okay. but seriously, i want to -- please indulge me. i want to share some highlights from my bell award narrative. quote, why would you teach chinese to them? they can barely speak english, she said. with 12 words, a colleague, a fellow professional educator defined my professional path. when i recalled this dismissal in those two sentences, i am reminded of the thing that (inaudible) in the intervening years. however these 12 words are not only enough to express the challenges that my team and i have faced, but they stand for our triumphs as well.

despite a skeptical and hostile environment, we survived. starting in the 80s with just 25 students started as the first chinese public school opened in san francisco in 1985. as i remember, i remember the quote, which would you teach chinese to them? i try to recall that and to what my colleague said has grown from a small pocket of multi-ethnic students to a student body comprised of many diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. i try to recall how hard we fought, administrator and parents and students and teachers alike. and what we each sacrificed to

be be where -- to be where we are today. today i am humbled by my students who excel in two languages and our students are asked to demonstrate their chinese skills. today our graduates go to beijing, china to build bridges using their skills. today educators can answer the question, why teach chinese to them? by simply responding, why not. i share this very prestigious bell award proudly with my students and my staff. because they are the ones helping me make my dream come true every single day. above all, i remain grateful for

the opportunity to do the work that i love. at a place that i helped create. lastly, i like to remind all of us that emersion education takes on many forms in today's educational arena. the focus is sometimes blurred. by different interpretations. or political agendas. i hope that the emersion education model as conceptualized and exemplified by the alice fong yu community, will help provide standards of all emersion education programs everywhere. thank you very much. [applause]