meeting in honor of local firefighters. >> second to the motion. >> all those in favor, please say aye. >> aye. >> the meeting is adjourned at 4:28.

years ago on this project. back then, it was an unusual thing to have puc, muni, wastewater -- all those people come together and build up the streets and not come back and tear everything up. now, it is part of how we do business. whenever we have the possibility of doing some work in the streets, we figure out how to do it together and have as little disruption to the people of san francisco as possible. great to be part of this. thank you to the team on this. thank you, everybody. [applause] >> how about that? we would be remiss if we did not also thank the operators and cable car division staff that not only have provided this lovely backdrop for today's event, but they also provide the

great california alliance service that has been running behind you. they also have been instrumental of ensuring continuous service even on buses along cable car lines during the shutdowns and communicating our plans to our customers, with a transport every day. i also want to thank the teams with the cable car project for their diligence in helping san francisco maintain these important -- maintain this important infrastructure. also i want to thank the hyatt regency behind you, garrett delhi chocolates, and all of sfmta staff for making this a success -- chirar -- ghirardeli chocolates. thank you. >> i believe we are going to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony

now? >> 1. 2. 3. all right. [applause]

i would like to welcome you to the san francisco board of the education regular meeting. to date is june 28. this meeting is called to order.

commissioner fewer: here. commissioner maufas: here. commissioner murase: here. commissioner wynns: here. elvina fan: here. >> please join me for the pledge of allegiance. president mendoza: thank you. item a is the approval of board meetings -- board minutes. any corrections tax roll call, please. -- any corrections? roll call, please.

[roll is called] >> 5 ayes. president mendoza: the next item is a presentation by the superintendent. superintendent garcia is out of town and we are blessed with the presence of the deputy superintendent. >> you did that well. you have practiced. thank you, president mendoza. superintendent garcia is out of town and unable to make the meeting tonight. he has asked me to share the following thoughts with all of you. regarding the 20112012 budget, the board will be taking action tonight on the budget for the 2011-2012 school year recommended budget. we may be close to having a state budget. all school districts must submit a three-year budget to the state by july 1. the one we are recommending is based on the governor's proposed budget. our recommendation is that we

schedule a meeting of the full board after the meeting to discuss any differences between the proposed budget and the final state budget and consider any changes on board prior to is. this is our last meeting of the school year. as this is our last meeting of the school year, i would like to think the board, students, parents, and community members, and faculty, staff, and administrators for a productive school year. working together and keeping our focus on students, we have made progress this year. just to name a few of the accomplishments this year, if i could list them -- after receiving a critical review of special education services, we we delivered a special services. in kindergarten through ninth grade, we expect exclusive options for all students. we are developing a core curriculum and not maps, but

common learning assessments that provide teachers and students with timely feedback on student learning. nearly 15,000 students were assessed in english language arts, and nearly 27,000 students were assessed in math. that help teachers develop curriculum according to a student needs. measures will effectively use our resources to support education of preschool students. we also were able to implement a new student assignment system and finalized the middle of school student assignment design. as a continue with -- continue to update our schools, we cannot help but think our

constituencies, our families, and our communities for all the support they have given our schools and school district this year. i would like to wish everyone a restful summer and would like to see everyone rested and ready to go next year. commissioner maufas: thank you. the next item is the recognitions of resolutions and commendations. it is our wonderful pleasure to welcome the masons of the california masonic foundation. they have been a tremendous partner to our school district. on a personal note, it was jim durkee who brought them over. we have flourished into a wonderful relationship. they have in many -- have been in many of our schools and are honoring many of our students this evening.

i would like to welcome alan to the podium. >> good evening, commissioners. it is a pleasure to be here tonight on what i know is an important night for the school district. as the grand secretary of the nations of california, i have the opportunity to work with school districts all over the state. i am proud to be from san francisco. there are lots of challenges facing schools, particularly in san francisco. but the leadership is exceptional. starting with your president and superintendent, they have provided not only good leadership to the school district, but to the community. your leadership has helped us find a way to help. thanks to the leadership of hydrogen and carlos garcia, we have a plan we are implementing all over the state to work with schools in advancing literacy in

elementary schools, middle school, math and college pathways. these are now having an effect all over the state. we are doing this with our members in various communities. we have a council here in san francisco. i would like to recommend it -- lee members of our -- our members that are here tonight on a graduate from the school district. ron erickson graduated from balboa high school in 1960. ed lim credit from galileo academy of science and technology in 1966. he was smart enough to marry a wonderful woman named and that who served for many years as a principal of our school district.

one of the important jobs i had this year was launching a new scholarship program. thank you so much. the nations of california grant about $1.30 million in scholarships every year. we were caused to stop and think about what we are doing and to make a more profound district. we were able to carve off this year $157,000 for a new program called investment success. no longer was it just about gpa and financial need. it was about understanding students and their circumstances and who could use a hand up. the students we recognize tonight were referred by guidance counselors and principles. we interviewed each of them to understand them. they have shown character and a willingness to support our

community that is exemplary. i am reminded of a "buy my angelou -- of a quote by maya angelou. "if you do not like your path, cut your own swath." jasmine lives in the tenderloin in san francisco. her first two years of high school were not very good. it would be fair to say she was a failing student. on her own, she realized the only way she was going to get out of her environment is if she did it hurt -- did it herself. by her junior year, she was an a student. she continued that in her senior year. she is going to go to city college in san francisco and wants to go to san francisco state university and serving our community as a nurse.

jazzman, welcome. -- jasmine, welcome. adrianna ferrerra ruiz has a situation most high-school students do not. in addition to going to school, she has to work 30 hours a week and is the primary caregiver in her family. she gradually did from abraham lincoln high school and plans to go to skyline community college before transferring to san francisco state to obtain a degree in criminal justice and be a probation officer. you can tell she has been raising our brothers and sisters. she is going to make a career out of it. let us have a hand for her. [applause] nice to have you here. congratulations.

we were also pleased to recognize elise, who graduated from the high school of arts. on her own, she challenged herself and those around her, saying she was never afraid to express her own opinions. she will attend city college and transfer to the university of santa monica to study theater. demonte calvin was motivated by his mother. he graduated from civic center secondary school and will go to city college this fall. romi youngquist emigrated with her mother from the ivory coast, where her family still lives, threatened by civil war. she realized that in san francisco she had opportunities that her family back home did not that inspired her to do well in school. she graduated also from the

school of arts and plans to go to ucla to study dentistry. she lives in richmond. is that correct? she was going to have to take two buses and probably a cab to get here. it was her plan to be here. when she got to her one-year-old child, she said it would not worked out. she is a single mother who takes care of herself. her parents had their own situation going on, being incarcerated. at the age of 14, she filed to be independent. this year, she graduate from help of high-school and plans on studying creative writing at city college while taking care of her 1-year-old son. i think she deserves our applause even though she could not be for tonight. [applause] this is just the beginning of

what is going to be an incredible program and journey for us. we look forward to helping students every year who are in the same situation. they are not the students everyone is going to point to. they are not the ones that will get every award. they are students that have incredible promise and just need somebody to say we believe in you. but we believe in these kids and we think the school district for giving us the idea and encouragement. we are going to make you proud of the work that you do. thank you very much. commissioner maufas: before you go, can you share with us what you are giving to the students? >> each of the students is getting a $7,000 award to help them through two years of community college and two years of a four-year college. [applause] commissioner maufas: comments

from commissioners? >> thank you very, very much. commissioner wynns: i wanted to add my thanks, and particularly reiterate what you said. this is not the story we usually hear. these are not the students that others focus on. the are the ones who really need it. i think you deeply for doing this. and congratulations to the students. commissioner murase: i want to congratulate the students very much. they have overcome real challenges in their lives. it is wonderful to see the foundation recognize that. thank you all. >> thank you and congratulations. we are here to support you. we do not leave you after you graduate. i want to acknowledge doug, who is here. we have been working closely together for a few years. we have these very funny conversations over lunch about

where the need is and how to support the students. over the years, you have stepped up in ways that -- we are eternally grateful because you had the resources to really tapped into -- tap into not only funds from the foundation, but human bodies to support a and mentor. you have refurbished classrooms and family rooms and have volunteered and brought people out. you've contributed in so many different ways i'm glad we had the opportunity to run into each other and grow this relationship. for you to do such wonderful things for our kids is really powerful. on behalf of the board, please accept our deep gratitude for all the work you do as masons. jim, thank you for bringing this together in the first place. it was meaningful and powerful. congratulations for not giving

up. you have had tough times and did not give up. you have already made as proud. make this product. thanks for coming up and sharing all the -- make us proud there. thanks for coming out and sharing all your stories with us. >> item d is our student delegates report, and we have a student here, which we did not expect to have. elvina fan: i do not have much to report on since the student advisory council had our last meeting in may and the school year is over. it is summer. commissioner maufas: do you want to share with us what you are doing for the summer? elvina fan: i have a bank of america leadership internship. basically, the partner with the

boys and girls club of san francisco. they are giving me a trip to washington, d.c. i am excited. president mendoza: how long will you be in washington, d.c.? >> one week. president mendoza: item e is the current advisory council pac report. we have michelle. >> good evening, commissioners and deputy superintendent. i am the proud parent of two public school students, the coordinator of an after-school program, and a member of the parent of kaiser accounts will. -- parents advisory council. we appreciate the california masonic council supporting our students.

this is the last pack report -- pac report for this school year, and i conclude my term at the end of this month. it has been an honor to serve, although i did not know what i was getting myself into when i signed up. i have had the opportunity to hear from and represent parent concerns and perspectives from across the district. observing where and why they were different or the same, i have learned a great deal of the past four years. i am a different and better person because of it. i have a greater understanding of education policies, procedures, budgets, and the agenda. i still do not completely understand all of it. i have the privilege of reading and learning from a wide cross- section of people, parents, board members, community

advocates, legislators. i am grateful for this opportunity and encourage others to undertake what has been for me an amazing journey. it is with this perspective that i present the report for 2010- 2011. the role of the parent advisory council is to present parent voices and perspectives to inform policy decisions. this it summarizes our work for this school year and issues we will take up again in the fall. the last page includes a table showing our specific goals and achievements over the year. i know this was emailed earlier. there are paper copies as well. we want to achieve student achievement, equitable access, and accountability.

we support these parties and have focused to engage parents in several of these initiatives. we are concerned that we are still hearing from a lot of parents that are not seeing social justice at high standards or effective instruction to close the achievement gap in practice. our work is aligned with the goals of the balanced scorecard , and we have reached out to hear from families across the city. at the beginning of the last school year, we reviewed strategic initiatives for the year before setting our own priorities, which included public engagement in middle school placements, parent inclusion in the superintendent zone schools, informing changes to the transportation policy, addressing a teacher and administrator standards and accountability, supporting the current engagement plan, supporting access to after-

school, and aligning after- school programs. we worked closely with district staff and parents for public schools over most of the last school year to plan and conduct neighborhood forums, developing k-eight pathways with a goal of improving middle schools. however goal was to increase middle school quality for all students, strength and implementation of new policies and systems, and build trust between the board of education, parents, and the community. we have mixed feelings about the community engagement initiative. we know we accomplished an enormous project. we engaged over 900 parents, educators, and committee members in discussions over proposals for student assignment, expanding language pathways, and supporting the school students. we conducted 12 community forums and seven targeted focus groups that directly engaged

over 850 participants to discuss student assignment, language pathways, and other issues. we also helped lead community updates and workshops where over 60 parents, teachers, principals, and other community leaders shared questions. following the meetings, we led a process to develop a report of findings, and develop recommendations for the board that included the suggestions of parent partners, and present these findings and recommendations to the board and other district leaders. we also met with district staff yesterday to evaluate our partnership and discuss steps for moving forward on future work. however, as we look at other goals for this initiative, we feel proposals put forward did not necessarily reflect our recommendations or address questions raised by community members who participated in the forms.

we believe this initiative did not achieve the objective of building trust for the district among families in the community. for many parents, the chasing presentation of the district's proposal, lack of consistency, and missed deadlines for providing information has resulted in less trust and confidence in the district than before. to many in the community, it appears the staff and board of education ignored our questions regarding equitable access to my good programs, resource issues, and lack of transparent implementation plans to improve school quality. this is discouraging, especially because of the amount of time, effort, and resources that were put into this initiative, postponing other important issues we hoped to focus on this year. just to highlight some of that just to highlight some of that are put in more personal face