and prepare in very limited time, writing an essay or going in front of people is not as scary as it seems. it gives me the courage to take on more challenging class's. not only has it inspired me to take the class, but it inspired me to do well in the class. i think i will do very well on the test. i would like to introduce the coach from downtown. [applause] the iri>> i stand here today asa former student of debate that could not be here speaking without the confidence and skills that i gained as a debater in high-school.

there is a lot of research out there about how debate affects reading levels. that is one thing to keep in mind. i see that every day as a coach. one thing we have seen in academic research is that seeing the same words over and over again is actually would help students learn that language. you go through this research and you learn it really well. i see the students -- is that our time? anyway, i see our students achieve so mucha nd i -- much and improve so much. i need to compete in the need to be the other team. that is motivation right there.

i want to bring a parent up here. >> i hope you guys will have a wonderful night. it seems really long. i am a graduate of the high school and a youth advocates. the debate is an immaculate outlet for students to learn public speaking, critical thinking, urban politics and the things that affect them daily. we are talking about what is going on now. debate takes you there, and the students of san francisco need that in their curriculum. on top of that, what better to do with b -- it then public speaking? when i left washington and i

went downtown, it is what got me back into education. learning this type of language and going through my humanities class in history, it really helps me make those connections to well as learning in class and how to make it in the real world. i would not have made my career path in public policies with a minor in urban studies. i think that is something that the school board needs to support. we are a well diverse group of people that believe in something. we are not just chanting for this or that, we are chanting for something that can unite people as a whole. support us whether it is through funding or services that they do something that is powerful. it takes them there. we want to be the people arguing for what students need 20 years

from now. it will be me. >> and my introducing anybody else? we have a parent from downtown. >> the evening, i have a senior at a downtown high school. the students in the coaches have been talking about how wonderful this program is, but i have seen the difference in my son. he has been more open who talked about social problems, and even he gets sometimes topics and that we discuss at home. sometimes, he gets annoyed

because we're getting into that. the experience that i have the first time that he went who was that with him, from downtown, as you know, they get trophies for whatever position they get. he showed me the trophies. he said -- it made me cry. but look. i got number 16. i'm proud. he called his family. he was so excited. he knew that he was in the something. the next time, he got to no. 9. i said, this is really working. it is working for other kids.

i am asking you to continue funding this program. as a parent, i can tell you that it is working. >> i had a daughter that ended up debating through high school, went on to berkeley, the time that she was involved in the urban debate league, she completed in a summer program and came of the number one speaker, it allowed her to go to northwestern university. this is a great opportunity for our students. we don't have a lot of these types of programs. i hope that we can extended to every one of our high schools. congratulations, thank you very much.

i emphasize about the argument thing. i haven't won the one argument cents. -- since. >> we have some money programs that we don't tie line, so yours is one that we have not had an opportunity to highlight. we also want to encourage especially the young folks to stay around. we will be honoring one of our wonderful african american leaders who has been in our schools for many years and it would be a great opportunity for you to learn more about what some of our leaders that have come out of our communities. you can use her as a reason why we need to keep our community strong. commissioner maufas: i had the

ability to check out the spring board, and some of the famous debaters included the un secretary in the former president of south africa, nelson mandela. he's the kind of students we are creating. president mendoza: item d -- >> i want to say something about debate, i am very grateful for this program. my husband was the champion debater in high-school. he was the state champion in florida. seeing his debating partner, they are still his best friend. a big it was 1964. it is a program i am very

supportive of and i think the students for coming out tonight. when students tell us about the things that are important to them, it is how we really learn about what is happening. thanks to commissioner fewer. president mendoza: the student delegates report. >> we were talking about college and career class'es. they all thought that taking it in ninth grade since it was an issue, it was too early. ninth grade is more of a transitional year rather than a college planning year. we thought would be best to have the career classically an option to take in tenth or eleventh grade. and of the ninth graders an opportunity to take modern world in their freshman year.

to be finalizing the work on the bathroom policy. we also plan on writing a resolution on improving this provide college counseling services to that all students have the opportunity to get one- on-one time with the counselor. president mendoza: the parent advisory council report. >> i am joining the parent advisory council this year. >> we are excited to talk to you about an initiative that the parent groups have been taking. members have been working with

members of the district pta and parents for public schools to develop a tool kit. it will offer resources and tools for parents to help voice their concerns. will also been working with the district staff, a lot of whom i see here that have been very supportive. along with the leadership to make sure that the materials are accurate and in line with district policy and labor agreements. we conducted several focus groups including meeting with the district parent liaisons'. they have their pulse on the community and know what the concerns are as well. to give you a little background on this initiative, a organizations get a lot of calls all the time about how parents can bridge their concerns at the schools. this issue came to the forefront

when we realized there were many parents that having many issues and did not know what process to walk through to make sure those concerns were that the district. it is really important to develop a system and work within the district to ensure that the parents know what the chain of command looks like. we also found that when we started working with the district and school staff, there were inconsistent messages coming from different people that was leading to an escalation of issues and a lot of ilan will on all sides. we're hoping that this will help resolve some of those issues. the tools that are included in the tool kits include a parent concerns that is a slow start that talk about how parents will go through this.

that helps parents make sure they are documenting all of their efforts a parent's guide to the process, parents know when to bring concerns here and what types of concerns to bring. we will work with the district more on this. >> we have been calling ourselves the current token team. people that have been volunteering, we have many of our personal volunteers, so we are really excited to see something that started as a parent initiative finally get to become a district initiative. we have attended the last two

cabinet meetings. i am really excited about how the district was they're moving it forward. there has not the way for parents to take their concerns. they have been doing it anyway they can. it is sometimes destructive, ballot is really exciting to have a system in place that can be productive for all parties, parents, teachers, administrators, and everybody. at the cabinet meeting, we talked about how it was given to district staff to finalize it. it will be presented to the principles sometime in may as well.

by july, our plan is to posted on the parent websites. and also, as part of the principal institute, the parent engagement plan for the parents, this is going to be part of that. principals will be trained, the teachers will be trained. we are excited to also be working on the way to train parents as well. and hopefully for all of you, you will not get all of those phone calls and e-mail. they know the system on how to do this. we are very excited to see this moving forward. has been really wonderful experience working with them.

thank you for moving with us. next on the report, we will talk about the community engagement and developing pathways. they have held 10 committee meetings and even in cases with 700 people so far. we're beginning to wrap up and we will be sharing power findings and recommendations on may 9. finally, we have open seats coming up. we will have nine seats opening of because of the staggered terms. lee will be sending this through to the parents liaison and community partners that pac works with.

if someone is interested in the advisory council, they can download it from our web site. president mendoza: deputy superintendent. >> i'd just want to reiterate what a pleasure it has been to work with the parent group's. they recognized the need and have done a lot of heavy lifting. the parent community friendly terms, what this bureaucracy called a school district is. where do you access it? and who'd you call? we are very excited about that. we had the official handoff today. that position is the law. we are going to refine and

tweaked and actually roll it out. i don't want to hit too hard, but it is very important to us. this board passed a resolution on the community engagement. when you read that resolution, it calls for a systemic change on how you work with parents, respect parents, and we are very happy with the fact that giving parents tools to access the school system is part of empowering parents. we are very happy with the partnership we have had. and we will have with the administrator institute when we return in the fall. the whole strand of training for all of our school sites and central office administrators on how to use the tools and where to find the tools and post the tools. another big milestone in the strategic planning.

>> thank you for the work you have done. i have noticed the tool kit translated into multiple languages. >> we apologize is only three languages, we will start with three languages. >> if we can have them watch on the radio, they are available. we would love to be able to announce that. >> i would like to remind the public that there are members of the board of education that originally served on the parent advisory council. it seems to be a good training ground for how the government works. >> [speaking spanish]

>> [foreign language]

president mendoza: we appreciate that. a comments? thank you both very much.

public comment and consent items, we have done this evening. the consent calendar, i need a motion and a second. g>> in the program description should read two first grade and one second grade classrooms. not three students. president mendoza: any items removed for first reading? in the items covered? >> k23. page 109.

>> . i have items one, two, three, 8 k. great, thank you. roll call takes place. the superintendent's proposal, there are none tonight. item i is a proposal. this is to honor one of our own. this is the support of renaming the burn at child development center to the leola havard early educational school. we have already voted on this. we will ask reverend ground to

reiterate this and share with you. we were very happy to move this through the building and grounds committee. if at this time, we could have a reading from the commissioners sponsoring this resolution. >> thank you, president. i am honored to read into the record, the resolution in renaming the burnett child development center to the leola havard. she began her career at the san francisco unified school district at 1949 as a school district. -- as a schoolteacher. she was an assistant principal and a principal. she was one of three african-

american educators and the only female during this time to become an administrator. she inspired her students, parted with parents, and supportive teachers and staff to ensure that all children received an equitable education and through the time when our nation struggled to provide much. she and her family dedicated over 50 years to the school district. she served -- attorneys serve as an assistant superintendent was an exemplary teacher and principal and a tireless leader on educational issues. whereas the staff, parents, and community have followed the process in naming school buildings and have garnered widespread support to change the name of the burnett cdc after an

american whose life work has benefited all of the students of the center regardless of their racial and ethnic backgrounds, educational capabilities. it is resolved that we honor leoloa havard by renaming the burnett child development center in her honor. be it further resolved that this resolution suspends the policy of the board of education to allow with all deliberate speed the naming of this energy -- of this school for a living person. [applause]