and cpmc. and i don't know about anyone really but lou girardo would have the talent, the ability and the integrity to really bring it all together. i do think that the idea of a bat sign is something that makes a lot of sense, but i do think that we have to be careful when we use that because i think that one of the things that is clear to me about lou is that you have someone who gives and i am very appreciative of that. in thinking about what i would say, i thought of something that margaret mead said in terms of how you measure the true success of an individual, and this is something that i would guide and how i measure my own level of success, which is i personally measure success in terms of the contributions that an individual and a human

being makes to his or her fellow human beings. and by that measure, lou girardo, you're one of the most successful people i know and it's been an honor to know you. thank you. (applause) >> [speaker not understood]. you always got the final word in mediation, we would like to give you that final word. >> thank you for this honor. thank you for allowing me the opportunity to learn what i learned about san francisco through the eyes of you 11 and the administrators of cpmc. but i would tell you that when i came into this, i had been away from the body politic in san francisco for sometime in terms of being very active aside from writing a check. and i came in with some preconceived notions about personalities and things that i had read in the newspaper.

and i want you to know that today i am convinced as a citizen of san francisco that san francisco is in very, very good hands with the 11 of you and the people across the hall. the sense of community, the sense of common good that came out from your representatives, and then when i had my speed date with each and every one of you to talk about the results, it was so clear to me that you do care about the people of san francisco and that you do care about the common good. it's not that you don't have personal or political ambition, but you were able to put political narcissism and politics aside to make this work. that's why i'm so delighted and happy to be here and it really is a matter of great pride to be honored by such wonderful people. so, i thank you, i thank the coalition, and i thank cpmc.

and i thank the mayor's office for allowing me this great privilege. thank you very much. >> thank you. (applause)

>> thank you, lou girardo. i am honored to also present a second proclamation to the rec and park department. this month it is rec and park department month around the country and i'd like to invite up phil ginsberg who i hope is here. and if he's not, then we may proceed -- oh, you're going to be representing rec and park today? >> yes. >> excellent. well, colleagues, have a proclamation to proclaim june of this year as rec and park month in san francisco. i think we all know how important and critical parks are to the heart of our city. i certainly know that within my district. i know every one of our colleagues recognizes the sen stratev to the vitality of our city rec and parks have. this month rec and park would like to honor an important set

of partners with the activities that they do. in particular, our youth stewardship program which is a program where we have dozens of teachers that work to schedule field trip dates to local parks and to help give back to our community with restorations and [speaker not understood] while taking lessons back into the classroom. and i know our representatives from rec and park also want to acknowledge that as well. so, with that i'd like to acknowledge rec and park. >> thank you, mr. president. my name is kimberly kiefer and i oversee the rec and park department. it is my great honor to celebrate today the 50 youth stewardship teachers who have come out over the years, countless years to give back to our students and to our parks for free. last year we were able to work with almost over 3,000 students that our san francisco unified students, we have teacher kay kerman here who is one of our oldest teachers. she's been involved in --

excuse me. [laughter] >> all the teachers of our program, excuse me. for the past 13 years she has witnessed the power of experiential learning particularly science help close gap in achievement and getting out into important parks. it's been an honor to be involved in this program and i thank you so much for acknowledging us today. and kate is going to say a few words on behalf of the program. >> thank you. it's a real privilege to be here representing the many teachers and thousands of students who are being impacted by this program. we've all participated in the youth stewardship program and it teaches our kids that the green public spaces in san francisco belong to them and that's from the bayview to the ocean, and that with that gift comes certain responsibility. more over, the program gives them critical life lessons for our english language learners who may even just have arrived in the country without learning any english. for kids who struggle in the

classroomses, think of the child who can't sit still, a struggling reader, and children who hadn't previously felt safe outside in the open spaces. so, i've been a participant since 2001 and in 13 years more than 300 of my own students have learned about the history of san francisco's open spaces, to recognize and care for native plant species that inspired a garden at our own elementary school in an ongoing research project, the importance of biodiversity and what that big word means, the human impact on the environment, and our interdependence with it, and the fact that individuals even children can make a difference in their community. teachers at my school are fortunate. we can walk to mount davidson or glenn canyon to participate in yoc. i know teachers who are equally committed to the program and who must travel by bus or more likely muni for quite a distance to get to an open space. the next generation science standards which are likely to be adopted in california call

for students to be critical thinkers as well as to recognize human impact on the environment. [speaker not understood] does that for them and so much more. it teaches our children the joys of hands on science, the importance of working together, and doing community service and the magic of just being outdoors. so, on all our behalf thank you for honoring yofp and all the work that it does. (applause) >> thank you and congratulationses. and i just want to acknowledge one other person and invite up, of course, it's always tough after a teacher has spoken to invite someone who is late to the classroom, but phil ginsberg, the director of the rec and park department would like to ask if you have a few words you'd like to say. >> thank you, president chiu. i thought i could sneak in here, but apparently not. we just wanted to thank this board of supervisors ~ for recognizing this outstanding program. it's one of the things that we are most proud about in our department, and that is making sure that our children have a sense of appreciation of the true wonderment of our open

spaces in san francisco, and that they begin to learn at a very young age the importance of stewarding our parks and open spaces and taking care of our environment. and we're so grateful to our team and all of our schools that participate in this program, over 75 schools touching over 4,000 kids. and again, there's no better way to invest in our parks and open spaces than making sure that our young people have a true appreciation for what it all means. so, thank you very much for taking some time out of your busy calendar to recognize this outstanding program and i do want to give a special thanks to san francisco unified school district with whom we just have a really outstanding partnership in working with our kids. >> thank you, and congratulations. (applause)

>> for our next commendations, every day of the week i think those of us who are elected officials are very proud of the work that our men and women who are in blue perform every day. today we have two commendations to be provided by two different supervisors for distinguished courage within our police force. i'd like to first recognize our district 5 colleague,

supervisor london breed. >> thank you, president chiu. today i have the pleasure to honor officer milbray. would you please come up? this may or may not be a familiar one to us, but just recently on july 4th, he saved a senior from a burning building. he actually ran into the building after alerted of the incident by someone on the street. and although he's not a member of the fire department, he went into the building to make sure that he saved a woman's life. and that is really why i'm so incredibly honored to be the one to acknowledge you for this work because oftentimes every single day our public safety officials put their selves on the line, both the fire and the police department, and without even thinking about their own safety are always looking to

make sure that they are protecting the public. and even in the recent issue we had at the airport, and i know chief suhr and chief joanne hayes white are here today and they spent the entire weekend out at sfo dealing with that issue, but we saw there were officers on television going into this situation as well and risking their lives. so, here today we have a hero and i'm just so happy that you're a part of the organization. i know the captain is here and some of the other folks to acknowledge you. and he is one of the first responders to clearly respond on the scene and save someone. both the woman and officer la braae were taken to the hospital and i'm just so glad that you are okay and she is okay and everyone is living to tell the story. and, so, this is truly amazing. officer la braae has been with the department for 15 years. i know he looks a lot younger than that. [laughter]

>> he's dedicated, and your actions and just basically putting your life on the line to save another person is truly commendable. and i know you've done things like this in the past, but in this particular instance, i want to make sure that as the district 5 supervisor, that you are acknowledged for all that you do, but more importantly going above and beyond in this particular case to save a life. so, here today on behalf of all the members of the san francisco board of supervisors we commend you. (applause) >> thank you very much. again, i'm just grateful, just glad as i said before, to be at the right place at the right time and that it was a positive outcome. and, again, thank you very much. very grateful. >> and i forgot to mention that our public safety officials, both police and fire department, are also very

humble individuals. so, again, thank you so much for your work. >> thank you. (applause) >> thank you, supervisor breed. now we have one more presentation for our police commander. i think we're still waiting for one individual to come.

in the meantime, i'd like to ask tower district 4 colleague, supervisor tang, with a couple of presentations that she has for some of our amazing educators. >> all right. well, thank you very much, mr. president. i guess i'll continue honoring our very humble and modest individuals. this is both a happy and sad moment for me as i will be honoring not just one but two of our beloved district 4 school principals who are leaving their post. so, first i'd like to call up principal or former principal david wong from francis scott key. (applause) >> as many of you know, i think a common question that often comes up time and time again, how do we keep our families in san francisco? we often address this question by talking about things such as housing needs, jobs, transportation, and so forth. but i think one of the most important things that we can do to help us keep our families in san francisco is really education. our education system.

and, so, with that, david wong, he has actually been the principal for about 13 years at my former elementary school, francis scott key. it isal always nice to return to a school that i went to and to see it it in actually better condition than when i had been there. so, that's much credit to you. although i am sad to see mr. wong leave francis scott key, he won't be going far. he is actually going to be the new assistant superintendent for the san francisco unified school district. so, congratulations on that promotion. prior to arriving at francis scott key, mr. wong served as principal at daniel webster elementary school for about eight years and as a former school principal at the elementary middle and high school level since 1989. mr. wong's work shows his commitment to education. he has worked as a special education teacher in hong kong, chinese bilingual teacher at golden gate elementary school and sfusd [speaker not understood].

under his leadership at francis scott key it earned california title 1 achievement eight times, 2001, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. [speaker not understood] he has increased student enrollment. mr. wong was also selected adds one of two principals by the assistant superintendent in 1998 to serve as a principal mentor and he has actually continued to provide that mentor ship to many other principals for the past 15 years. and in 2011 mr. wong received the mayor's principal of the year award. so, i could go on and on about all of mr. wong's accomplishments, but what i think is actually more fascinating is the level of respect, admiration, and appreciation that his colleagues and parents have of mr. wong. many who have worked with mr. wong have been impressed by guitar and tennis skills. they have noted that he is very hands on and has taught his own after school enrichment classes with guitar and kung fu many years.

many consider him a mastermind of organization and budgets and he always made sure his teachers, students and community were well supplied with whatever resource he were needed to effectively teach and enrich children's lives. in fact, every classroom in francis scott key will have a promethian board. for those who don't know what this is, i had to look it up, it's an interactive white board. mr. wong is described as a great visionary and who has brought many new programs to schools and has been leading everyone to excellence. it has been an incredible joy to work with mr. wong who is also a sunset district resident. he has always made me feel very welcome every time i've returned to francis scott key and i know that you will continue to be a great leader in this new role. so, with that i thank you for your service. and before i give you a moment to say a few remarks, i actually want to call up chris arm entrout from the school district. the school district would like to say a few words on your behalf. >> thank you, supervisor tang.

i'm director of planning for sfusd. yes, it is a bitter sweet moment for us but it is also one of gratitude for all that wong, now assistant superintendent wong has done for francis scott key. the thousands of families that he has served, raising api scores, expanding enrollment as supervisor tang had mentioned, keeping families in san francisco, that is one of our greatest roles and charges. and principal wong, assistant superintendent wong has done a fantastic job of serving that charge. so, on behalf of superintendent richard karanza, i want to thank you for staying on and taking a leadership role. i personally look forward to working with you, sir. >> thank you. (applause) >> i thank the superintendent for what he said because i

haven't done my job yet. i still have to prove myself to the district. i just want to thank katy, supervisor tang for, you know, the commendation. i think really flattered and honored to be standing here today. and obviously we all know that currently the [speaker not understood] school is not really the credit of the principal alone, you know. we could not have done our job without the support from all the constituents in the school communities and the teachers, i think parents, you know, that have always been very supportive in the last 14 years, i really wanted to thank you because without your standing behind me, i don't think i could have accomplished what i've accomplished. and as you all know, that a leader needs followers. we need teacher leaders, parent leaders. i'm very fortunate at francis scott key we have all staff. today i'm actually here to receive an honor on your behalf.

i'm really humbled to have you here, to have this commendation standing here with me. and my work as superintendent is to serve more school communities. i'm hoping that i can continue to, you know, carry what we have done in the sunset district and expand it to other districts. and i look forward to doing this real well. and also i will still be a parent. i will not go away and i want to thank you again, supervisor tang, and i'm sure i will see you around. thank you. (applause) >> mr. wong, i also want to call really quickly dianne lau yee at [speaker not understood], and [speaker not understood], francis scott key parent who -- i know they're surprised, but i have a few words for you. >> my name is susie loftus

[speaker not understood]. my husband and i were doing the tours and anxious to figure out whether or not we could make public schoolwork for our family, exactly what supervisor tang explained. we walked into this tiny school in the outer sunset and met this man, mr. wong, who was sitting in a very modest office. doesn't even have a vice principal, even though there's 500 students. so, he can use that money to actually fund literacy programs. and he took us on a tour. it's only two months in the school year and a little boy didn't have his jacket. he called the boy out by name and walks him back into the classroom and takes his jacket. walks us around the school. and you know, the best thing about mr. wong, there are so many things, but you know how he improved all those api scores and the litany of successes he had? he told my husband and i on that day, you know, it's every child. all i ask is that every child

do better than they did the year before. set goals. [speaker not understood]. he didn't have some crazy testing mentality that stressed out the kids. he lifted every child up. he is such a wonderful educator and visionary. i just want to congratulate the school district for promoting him. and i will say on behalf of the parents, we are devastated,ing but we're so glad that the school district recognizes your leadership and i hope all of you will continue to watch his career. thank you, mr. wong. ~ >> thank you. (applause) >> hi, my name is dianne lau yee and i've had the joy of working with david as a teacher 13 years. in spring of '99 i was a teacher with a promising job offer that involved leaving sfk. however, i was told that a very dynamic leader named david wong was coming to lead our community. so, i made the decision to stay at key to learn from david and that decision proved very well worth it as david is truly a

leader worth following. you have been our fearless leader 13 years, fearless because he has courage and follows his convictions and not just the popular or trendy. [speaker not understood] 21st century learning, gave us the tools to confidently use technology to improve our instruction. he's like a kid in the candy store when it comes to education and technology. look at this, look at this gadget, i want you to try it [speaker not understood]. and his enthusiasm is very contagious. so, thank you for that. and on more than one occasion, i have heard other teachers from other schools say, you work for david wong? you are so lucky, because david has a reputation for being very well organized and well prepared. and not only does he have a keen aye for detail and sharp memory, but he is a talented visionary. ~ he has often volunteered our

school to pioneer many new programs in the district. with the support and dedication of our staff, the community has lich, changed and grown over the years. i can talk about countless accounts of how he's been [speaker not understood], but let me just end with this. david, we're so grateful and proud of you. we know that you will continue to uphold excellence wherever you are and that you will advocate for the best interests of san francisco's students and our leaders of tomorrow. thank you for all you've done and all that you will do. thank you. (applause)

>> and the next person i would like to bring up is deborah lee davis. so, as mrs. davis is making her way up, shes what the principal of lawton alternative school

for 12 years. and she is actually now retiring from the san francisco unified school district. and we know she has several family members in attendance today. thank you for taking the time to come out and support her. mrs. douglass has dedicate her life to working with the community, students, and parents [speaker not understood]. prior to serving as principal at lawton, mrs. douglass spent 23 years as a science teacher in daly city and pa city of ka and five years as vice principal at [speaker not understood] daly city. mrs. douglass actually grew up and attended all public schools here in san francisco. she has headed washington irving elementary, presidio and george washington high school. under mrs. douglass''s leadership at lawton, the school has attained the california distinguished school award from the california department of education, attained the science technology engineering and mathematics honor roll school award from the california business school of education hetionv ofexcellence and sustained high

academic performing public school status. mrs. douglass truly believes that for students to excel the high performing scholar and athlete exhibit like habits mind and behavior, that is why she implemented a lawton first tee golf and character development program. through this program students not only learn golf skills and etiquette. they learn and practice character traits such as respect, courtesy, perseverance, sportsmanship and confidence. lawton mrs. douglass cultivated annual lawton tokyo [speaker not understood] visit, expanded middle school leak to include baseball and soccer and enriched the core academic program by adding before and after school mandarin teaching. having worked with mrs. douglass for about six years now through our district 4 office, i have seen the level of commitment she has for building a sense of community around our schools. at lawton mrs. douglass has fostered character and citizenship development as a complement to academic studies where every student participates in many opportunities to develop and demonstrate character and citizenship through taking action by performing service

learning projects. for example, students recycle, tutor, mentor peers, acas reading buddies and so gt foughtv because of mrs. douglass's leadership, performing practice integrated into every single classroom. so, i want to thank mrs. douglass, thank you for your 40 years of service and serving as a teacher, mentor, role model and community leader. (applause) >> first, i'd also like to call up [speaker not understood] again on behalf of the san francisco unified school district to say a few words. >> thank you again, stanchion. okay. ~ supervisor tang this principal is retiring so we are losing your talent and leadership. but after so many years of service, you've earned it. so, as a 45 year plus veteran, 12 year veteran at lawton, all the awards