the teachers. we tried to, as the administrative team, give the support to the teachers. the most important work that goes on here is not in my office. it is in the classroom. that is over and over. it is with great pleasure -- the african-american performance rate -- i have been jumping up and down since i saw it -- is at 24.8% this year. latinos went up 5.9%. in our mass, we have moved incredible numbers of students from the algebra in to the geometry and advanced algebra, and this comes as a team approach. it is the parents, the teachers, the students, our beacon support from the rest -- richmond district neighborhood. it is from the league office. it is from the benchmark assessments we have been given. at the end run, we have seen

that 82% of our parents, when asked if they love this school, say yes, they love this school. [applause] i want to invite some of our students up. these are the real deal. these are the ones that you hog as they walk down the hall because they have done such good work. we were very strategic in this. we made sure we pulled together groups of students, and we found a name and a face with them. we put together a special form. their pictures, test scores, grades, what they did work on it, and we took the information and gave it to the district, and they change their formats so that we can know and get closer to the students. this is jordan wilson, and he

will speak for the students. tell us how it changed. >> how it changed? well, first of all, good afternoon. we have the star performer, which is very important to me because they came in, mentored me, help me -- helped me and taught me everything i needed to know. that is how it improved all my scores. i would like to thank them first. they also just give you all the support you need to succeed, and they just want to help you. that is all they want to do. then, we also have the beacon, which is an after-school program, but they also provide tutoring, which really helps. they provide help on your homework, on your class work, and they help you and mentor you. they want the best for you just like the staff and teachers. they always prepare you for everything you need to know,

everything you need to do for the test. they want the best for you. they want to help you a lot. they just want to see you succeed. they've not ever want to see you fail. they always want you to keep on going and for you to succeed during the test, during their test, during -- doing the class work and doing your homework. they will do everything to get you to that level. they always want you to be at the top so you can perform the best. all the staff and the teachers and all the extra activities that they have around washington -- i hope we can always have this every single year. i hope star performer will be there for me next year because i need it. i will keep on going to the beacon, which is a great thing, and keep on going to my teachers and staff for help. [applause] >> i would be remiss if i did not mention that last year, our

sports teams also did well. we won the quadrifecta for football, baseball, basketball, and track. one of the things we did was we looked at our high-school exit exam rate, which is very high here. one of the highest within the district. we look at how come our rate on the cst's was not as high. we had to talk to the students about why it was important to them. it was a little bit of marketing, a lot of understanding and mentor ship, which jordan mentioned, and really working the program, closing the achievement gap and having the whole entire school focusing on that. thank you. thank you for being here. [applause] >> thank you. i get to close it out, which is

really sweet for me because i am a washingtonian. it was 27 years ago that i graduated from washington high school, and the library actually looks a lot smaller now that i am older. i cannot say that i contributed to the proficiency rate back then, but i am is so proud of our students and teachers and how wonderful they have done. i am the president of the board of education and also mayor lee 's education adviser, but my most important job has been as a parent. i am pleased and proud to be a parent here in san francisco unified and to join my colleagues who also have kids in our public school system either now or have had them graduate, as well as our mayor, who had his kids in our public schools. he was telling me they are now graduating from graduate school. they have moved on to that next

level, and it is a real wonderful place to be as a parent and to have somebody at the helm who has also sent his kids to public schools all these years. we continue to struggle with the challenges of our school system, and to see this kind of growth over the last several years has just been tremendous. especially with our targeted students. we really wanted to put a lot of our energy and resources in the places that needed it the most, but we did not lose sight of all of our students. i think that the growth really indicates that we as a district have grown substantially, and it has been an honor to be on the school board during this time to see how well our kids have done. i really want to thank my colleagues. our vice-president is here as well, who has been on the board for several years.

our school board has been really focused, and we have been purposely thinking about what our priorities are and making sure that the work we do in our schools falls under one of these priorities. we cannot be distracted any longer. our kids are our biggest concern, and i think over the last several years, we have release said -- really said, "enough is enough." we have fought with parents about what they think is good and we think is good. we have really had to think about what kinds of tools and support we need to give it our teachers and principals as well as the tools and what jordan was talking about that we need to give to our students and ask them what they need and want in order to achieve. we're taking a very different approach to the way we are educating our kids, and it is not just about test scores. these look beautiful and wonderful, and i am really proud of them, but it is also about educating kids holistic lead.

how are we making sure their families are safe and secure and employed? how we are working with our unions and supporting our teachers? it is a holistic approach in the way in which we want to serve our kids. we have been in schools all morning, and it has been terrific to hear some of the services that the city has been able to provide that enables us to make sure that you as students are succeeding, whether it is the wellness centers, which we are beautifully equipped to bring in our kids to talk about the challenges they are having. the after-school programs. we have had a lot of adults in our schools, and during times when we have had to unfortunately sent pink slips out to some of our adults, we've had many back in our schools. we were thanking them for showing up, thanking them for being our round. the mayor has been reminding kids to thank their parents when they get home. this is a really big responsibility for us as parents, to insure that our kids

are actually showing up to school. the absenteeism and truancy peace is something that both the school district and city are supporting, making sure you guys are not only in schools, but that what we have to offer you once you are here is something you want to learn and be part up. we will continue to look to you to tell us what it is that you need. because we need to keep you here. i think our responsibility is to set those policies that will matter in the long run. we will be looking once again to our administrators union and our teachers union to help us direct our resources and figure out what it is we can do to keep all of the cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. richard, you have been integral to helping us understand this in layman's terms. we appreciate all you have done. to the teachers and students and parents, congratulations. this has been a wonderful thing for us to see. there's a lot of senior staff here also, and without the

senior staff, we would not have been able to support you in any way we have been. congratulations, erica. great job. bill, eagles -- go, eagles. my daughter would not appreciate that since she is elsewhere. it is really great to see. we want to be able to raise the standards. we want to be able to offer more aid the glasses. we want to see our kids graduate. we're also looking at it from early childhood education to 20. we want to make sure that once you graduate from here, we get you through college and you graduate college. we have a lot of mechanisms in place, many things we are doing collectively and collaboratively to make sure our kids are doing well. starting in preschool because we want to make sure it does not start. as we start to narrow it on the

high levels, we want to make sure it does not start on our lower levels. this is a great time to be able to say that 10 years in a row, we have been seeing high achievement, and i am is so proud, as we all are. congratulations to the teachers and students. [applause] them a week ca questions, and then hopefully, a few of you who spoke and maybe some students could stick around a little bit in case any members of the media want to interview you individually -- >> we can take a few quick questions. there's a lot of pressure to ask in front of the group. we will disperse. thank you for coming and had a great day.

there are so many ways that the internet provides real access to real people and resources and that's what we're try to go accomplish. >> i was interested in technology like video production. it's interesting, you get to create your own work and it reflects what you feel about saying things so it gives perspective on issues. >> we work really hard to develop very in depth content, but if they don't have a venue, they do not have a way to show us, then this work is only staying here inside and nobody knows the brilliance and the amazing work that the students are doing. >> the term has changed over time from a very basic who has a computer and who doesn't have a computer to now who has

access to the internet, especially high speed internet, as well as the skills and the knowledge to use those tools effectively. . >> the city is charged with coming up with digital inclusion. the department of telecommunications put together a 15 member san francisco tech connect task force. we want the digital inclusion program to make sure we address the needs of underserved vulnerable communities, not communities that are already very tech savvy. we are here to provide a, b and c to the seniors. a stands for access. b stands for basic skills and c stands for content. and unless we have all three, the monolingual chinese seniors are never going to be able to use the computer or the internet. >> a lot of the barrier is knowledge. people don't know that these computers are available to them, plus they don't know what

is useful. >> there are so many businesses in the bay area that are constantly retiring their computer equipment that's perfectly good for home use. computers and internet access are helping everybody in the community and people who don't have it can come to us to help with that. one of the biggest problems we see isn't whether people can get computers through programs like ours, but whether they can understand why they need a computer. really the biggest issue we are facing today is helping people understand the value of having a computer. >> immediately they would say can i afford a computer? i don't speak any english. how do i use it. then they will start to learn how to do email or how to go back to chinese newspaper to read all the chinese newspaper. >> a lot of the barrier still is around lack of knowledge or confusion or intimidation and not having people in their peer network who use computers in their lives. >> the important thing i

learned from caminos was to improve myself personally. when i first came to caminos, i didn't know anything about computers. the second thing is i have become -- i have made some great achievements as an individual in my family and in things of the world. >> it's a real issue of self-empowerment where new immigrant families are able to communicate with their families at home, able to receive news and information in their own home language, really become more and more connected with the world as well as connected even inside their local communities. >> if we value the diversity of our city and we value our diverse neighborhoods in the city, we need to ensure that they remain economically viable. equiping them and equiping residents in those areas with jobs that will enable them to stay in san francisco is critical to that. >> the important thing that i

see here at caminos is it helps the low income community, it helps the women who wouldn't have this opportunity otherwise. >> the workers with more education in san francisco are more likely to be able to working that knowledge sector. where they are going to need that familiarity with the internet, they are going to find value with it and use it and be productive with it every day. and half of the city's population that's in the other boat is disconnected from all that potential prosperity. >> we really need to promote content and provide applications that are really relevant to people's lives here. so a lot of the inspiration, especially among the immigrant community, we see is communications with people from their home country but we as much want to use the internet as a tool for people to connect within the local san francisco community. >> i think it's our job as public educators to give them this access and give them this opportunity to see that their efforts are being appreciated

beyond their immediate reach. >> you have to blend this idea of community network with computer equipment with training and with support. we can pull all that together, then we've got it. >> it's as much about social and economic justice -- in fact it's more about social and economic justice than just

>> ladies and gentlemen, good

morning. welcome to the fresh and easy third capital opening. thank you for being here. there are some fantastic displays of green clothing in this building. i have seen the most wonderful pair of green shoes. melissa has got green hearings, fingernails, everything, to show the green spirit of fresh and easy. well done, melissa. magnificent. [applause] the reason that we all like to wear green, the reason we are so proud of green, is because we like to be the change we want to be.

mayor lee, thank you so much for coming. we are delighted that you are here. i am going to introduce most of our distinguished guests. a number of them are going to say a few words to you in a bit. i would like to welcome the city attorney dennis hora. i want to welcome herb schultze, and the region 9 director of health and human services. i would like to welcome former supervisors over the maxwell. she and i did the original brown working together. she says she remembers something a lot about me, but does not remember what it was, which is probably good. i want to welcome the chair of the bayview project committee. [applause] i think we were a bit slow off

the mark, so let us please have a round of applause for the mayor, city attorney. [applause] i never thought i would have to do this -- where is he? how i would like to welcome alexander, our broker. i would like to welcome the president of the board, david chiu. [applause] i would like to welcome malia cohen, -- sorry, she is not here, but her staff is here. she has been a great supporter. i would like to welcome emily, a school board member. [applause] i would like to welcome rev. townsend and were really is whopper.

i would also like to welcome michael for his assistance. anyhow, what i would really like to do -- it had been an awful long time since we agreed to do this project. i want to thank the mayor's office for their consistency and steadfastness. and i also want to thank, in particular, amy cohen and roberto munoz for their contribution. [applause] amy said that roberta did not have a gray hair when we started the project. [laughter] i am delighted that we are doing this project, an amazing event. it is an absolute privilege to be able to do these sorts of things with people who are happy, feel they are making a difference. supervisor maxwell was so

positive and charming when we started out. i am delighted that we made it. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> that is certainly true. for every store we open, we make a $1,000 donation. the donation we are making today will go to bayview hunters point ymca. i met some of those people today. [applause] we have opened 177 stores since we started in november 2007, and we have invested over $2 billion, and we have created over 4500 jobs, mainly in california, particularly in our production facilities in riverside, but also in arizona. we have worked hard to create a thoughtful business that can

make a difference to communities, a business that is both economic and social sense. we have set out to create a modern 21st century business, a business that is great to work in, and great to shop in. one of the things that people said to us when we did our original research is food today is too messed around with. do not put stuff in that i cannot read, that i cannot announce, ingredients that i cannot pronounce. have a look at the ingredient labels, if you have a moment. our mashed potatoes as potatoes, cream, salt, pepper. nearly every other mashed potato that you have eaten has something else in it that you have not heard of. so have a look around and enjoy. the food even tastes cleaner.

when you eat fresh and easy food -- you get that feeling -- what is missing? what is missing is all of the additive that coat your mouth. i promise there is a difference. every week we sell 98 said produce, $1.99 chicken breasts. we have the key, fresh food basics that you need to run a family for everyday cooking here in the store, the prices are good. you can see in the back where we make sushi, pizza, soup, entrees. you name it -- we even make sliders. they are fantastic. it is all just so good. i just want to roll around in it and enjoy it.

even a microwaves. if you live nearby, you do not have to get fast food, you can get real food and put it in the microwave. no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, trans fat, no high fructose corn syrup. we took them away. [applause] as i said early on, we have tried to make this a great place to work. trust me, wherever you go, the parking lot of the grocery store, the garden center, what ever it is, if you get that service, it is because the boss designed a bad business and the staff cannot do what they were intended to do. what i have tried to do with these people is to design a business where service can be delivered day in and day out without stressing the living

hell out of them. i hope that we have been successful in that, i think that we have. we try to reward them well, give them benefits. i hope you are all taking your benefits. 70% of our employees to take health care. another 15% or so get it from their family, another 15 percent so young and foolish. we hired from the neighborhood. we had an agreement with the mayor's office. somebody said to me over half of the staff comes from the subject code. [applause] we are really happy about that. -- this zipcode. even with this many people in one of our stores -- which i wish we could have it every minute every day, all with carts full -- it is very unusual to feel warm. the reason why is because of

these doors. normally, the chillers keep you cold, but this is an initiative that we are using to store all of that energy. it is an environmental initiative we are introducing into all of our stores. the beauty is, it significantly reduces the energy we use in our refrigerators, and customers like it. they think that the food is fresher, bolder. it is an absolute win-win. -- colder. i just want to take a timeout to say to my staff here, to everyone here, we have never opened up a better store. it looks fantastic. thank you. [applause] in a minute, we will watch shop for schools. for