everyone. we are adjourned. >> good evening, everybody.

san francisco unified school district january 23, 2018 this meeting is now called to order. roll call, please. [roll call] >> thank you. please join me for the pledge of allegiance. [pledge of allegiance] >> thank you. item 1 is the approval of board

minutes. there is none. if the members of the public want to address the board of education, individual can complete a speaker card prior to the item being called and presented to the executive assistant. according to the board rules and procedures, speaker cards will not be accepted for an item already on the board. so if you have plans to speak on any of the items, be sure you pick up one of these orange cards and give it to us at the end of the dais. item 2, superintendent report. dr. matthews. >> good evening, everyone. first, let me begin by stating that there's been unconfirmed reports that immigration and customs enforcement, i.c.e., may conduct a major sweep in san francisco. there can be no access to

students or student records on our grounds without permission from our office. there are links to this on our main district webpage and a reminder that we as a district have a sanctuary policy. this board passed the undocumented, unafraid and united student red resolution and i'm reaffirming our commitment to this tonight. [applause] tomorrow night, there's an on track career expo from 4:00 to 7:00 at adobe. it's co-hosted by the united way bay area, adobe and african-american achievement and leadership initiative. 9-12 grade students of color interested in exploring careers in s.t.e.m., manufacturing and

healthcare are invited to attend the event. next thursday, we'd like to invite the community to our career technical education showcase. this will take place from 5:00 to 7:00 at the palace hotel at 2 new montgomery street. as i mentioned in my article in the san francisco examiner, 40 new career pathways are examples of how we're actualizing vision 2025. the multiyear programs include fields like health, bio technology, digital media, game design, law, engineering, world music, education, public service and so, so much more. the showcase will be a chance to celebrate and learn from teachers, students and partners of our current pathways. middle school families, check out the great options available

in high school, business industry or community partners. come join and find out how you can get involved with one or more of our pathways. hope to see everyone there. february 5-9 is national school counsellor week. we celebrate our school counsellors for their unique contributions to schools. school counsellors help prepare our graduates to live, thrive and succeed. they help with them with career, social, emotional development. counsellors collaborate with teachers and other educators to explore their potential and develop the skills, capacities and dispositions from the 21st century success. they collaborate with caregivers to focus on the educational and social growth of their children. school councillors identify and utilize community resources that can enhance and complement

programs and give students a sense of purpose and sense of self. it's considered an integral part of quality instruction and equitable support that enable all students to achieve success in school. i would like to thank all of our district's hardworking counsellors and i look forward to celebrating your work during school counsellor week from february 5-9. [applause] finally, i would like to congratulate willie brown middle school. [cheers and applause] they took first prize for their presentation in a statementwide event for black student union of california united. congratulations, willie brown middle school. [cheers and applause]

president mendoza, that ends my comments for this evening. >> vice-president mendoza-mcdonnell: thank you. next is recognition awards. >> we'll begin with the willie brown middle school steel band ensemble. i would like you to come forward. [cheers and applause] the steel band ensemble at willie brown middle school is a pilot program developed in an effort to bring viable, culturally and socially relevant music programs to our students in the bayview and mission districts. it's directed by the school music teacher benjamin kotalak with support from artists in residence derek smith.

congratulations, the willie brown steel pan ensemble. [applause] >> we're going to play two short songs for you. this is a well-known song from the caribbean. ♪

♪

♪

[cheers and applause] ♪ ♪

[cheers and applause] >> that's awesome, give it up for the ensemble!

willie brown middle school has not had a music ensemble like this before. so we appreciate you coming out with the courage to play in front of a large audience and we hope to have you back. give it up one more time. [cheers and applause] see, this is how we should start all school board meetings. [laughter] superintendent matthews? >> next i'd like to welcome the galileo lions varsity football team. [cheers and applause] lions are aaa san francisco section varsity football champion and they also took home the cif state division 6a champions with the 38-20 win over vincent memorial.

their first-ever state title and first-ever state title in football for a san francisco section team. so give them a big round of applause. [cheers and applause] i'd like to introduce to you coming to the podium, their coach, mark wynn and their principal, tammy bidow. [cheers and applause] >> first of all, thank you so much to the board and superintendent for having us and acknowledging this great success for the team. i want to say something to the

team. i really want to convey to you how inspiring it was to watch your games over the semester as well as i saw two of the championship games and what was so inspiring to me was the teamwork that i saw. i don't know much about football. i've not been a sports person, but i could see the teamwork that you had and how well you were able to work together and collaborate and what i saw, what was inspiring, is the choice you were making to work together. and i want you to hold this moment for the future. to know that that choice you made to work together is really what makes our society work. i want to leave you with a quote from vince lombardi, who was a football player and coach of the green bay packers for many years. "individual commitment to a group effort, that's what makes

a team work, a society work and a civilization work." so what you did in this effort, you improved and supported our community and our society. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you for having us. before i speak, i would rather have one of my players say a few things, so he doesn't get too nervous. i want to introduce one of our senior receivers, all-city first team two years in a row, jackie goe. [cheers and applause] to make it easier for him, i'm going to answer the question. my question is, what does it feel like to work four years and get to the city championship and win that and go to a state championship and go to that, too? >> it feels great to win a state championship, but i never had the idea that we'd ever go

there. my goal during the off season was to win the city championship. [laughter] >> perfect. perfect. for me as a coach, i told the principal, people look at me and don't think that i'm the football coach, or head varsity coach. i also teach at the school and i teach art at the school. i grew up in the city. i went to school in the city. and i have been coaching for a long time and i never thought that i could bring a team and go win a state championship. winning a city championship, sometimes you think is easy. now that we've gone to the top,

it's a goal and it's a goal for the city teams and we're glad to pave the way for the city and for those that want to be an athlete and do something positive at the school and represent the school in what they do. so we're glad that we're the first to do it for the city. [cheers and applause] thank you. >> so we have a certificate from the board of education for each of our athletes and champions, so we're happy to be able to give that to you. how many of you are seniors? wow. look at that. how many of you were captains? why don't you stand up if you are a captain. let's see your leadership here. [cheers and applause]

i think one of the things that was noted is that galileo high school was the first public high school in san francisco to win the state championship. 5 want to give me colleagues an opportunity to any opportunities that they would like. >> first of all, congratulations. i will be very brief, but this has been a wonderful year for us, 2017/2018 in terms of championships. so you will get us used to this winning spirit here in san francisco. like i told the boys from mission basketball team last year, i will tell you the same thing. i couldn't be more proud of you than if you are my own children and really you are in some ways, so thank you for your spirit, working together to accomplish something great. you will remember this the rest of your lives. and i hope that you cherish the moment and continue to grow and be everything that you want to

be, so thank you. [applause] >> anybody else? vice president cook? >> commissioner cook: i didn't know the story of your coach and that's a beautiful thing to come to the story and come back and to teach art and that was masterful. that was a work of art the way y'all did mission in the championship game. [laughter] no shade. i went to thurgood marshal high school. and we never made it to the championship. we were used to losing. at the time galileo wasn't -- i see you, junior. i got you. [laughter] one of the assistant coaches at galileo, his father was a huge

inspiration on my life and former principal. to see that still associated with the school and with football, how i met his father was through football. he was my high school football coach. i didn't play much. [laughter] and i remember i used to see young marcus at the field. he was maybe 8 or 10 -- i won't make it a personal story because it's about the entire unit, but i think it's connected, the stories of all you coming up in the city, going beyond your expectations, achieving something that inspires the entire city. every young football player in san francisco wants to do what gal did. they all heard your story and want to replicate your success. that's something to be proud of and we stand behind you as students, athletes, members of our community. i really want to see y'all go on

and expect excellence in watch you do. if i can be a part of your journey, let me know. this goes for all the students in san francisco, but this is your moment. congratulations. i'm very proud of you. [applause] >> can the coaches please stand up? there are other coaches here. excellent. thank you for guiding our young people. nice job. any other comments? >> hi, guys. i wanted to congratulate you again on your victory. i come from academy, a field complete with football uprights, but doesn't have a field at all. you have made the district and city proud and going all the way to state and winning may have been unexpected, but you really are champions and you deserved

it. thank you so much and keep on fighting. >> acting mayor breed, who was a graduate of galileo high school, will be honoring the team at the capital rotunda, so hope you will again join us. [cheers and applause] >> so your coach has your certificates. if you would like to sneak out now, this is a good time. [laughter] keep up the good work, guys. [cheers and applause] thank you. good night.

study hard. stay out of trouble. [laughter] we have one more recognition. it's a recognition all valuable employees, our rave awards. superintendent? >> tonight, we're recognizing for our all-valuable employee, mr. roberto hernandez. he is a 4th-5th grade teacher at leonard flynn. and presenting the award is his principal, tyler woods. let's give them both a round of applause. [applause] >> good evening. i'm excited to introduce tonight's rave award winner, mr. hernandez. he has high standards for his 4th and 5th grade students and

seeks to support each student's individual needs. he teaches them to be excellent learners and thoughtful young people. he does this by motivating each student with his own deep deepen enthusiasm. a student said, "mr. hernandez doesn't teach us like little kids. he respects us and wants us to do better." he uses humor with his students and they love being in his class, but at the same time holds them to high expectations. mr. h loves his job and makes it clear to his students. he cares deeply about each of them and they know that. deep respect for and belief in each of his students, motivates them to do their best work. year after year, mr. hernandez's students make significant personal and academic gains, his students, most of them latino, achieve at a high rate. 86% of his students scored

proficient or advance on the language arts aspect test and 70% in math. [applause] he does this while celebrating and promoting bilingualism, biliteracy and fostering an inclusive learning environment for his students. mr. hernandez is the kind of teacher that makes me proud to work alongside. he epitomizes what it means to be a great teacher. mr. hernandez, 4th and 5th grade teacher, for his outstanding work. [cheers and applause] >> hello. good evening. i did not prepare anything. so i apologize. i had a few people that i wanted to thank. well, i wanted to thank a lot of people, but don't have enough time for that. i want to thank my mother. my mother on the way over here

was telling me, 32 years at sfusd. so thank you, mom. [cheers and applause] and everyone at leonard flynn, my colleagues, miss judy, mr mr. omar, mr. fox. the 4-5 team. everyone that has helped me in some way. thank you so much. i appreciate it. similar to other people here, i'm a product of sfusd, so it gives me great honor and pleasure to continue this tradition and continue to work here. i would also like to thank ms. blank, who has been a part of my life forever. she goes way back with my mother. also excellent educator. so every time that i meet someone or get a chance to meet with someone, i take that with me. i would like to thank everyone in my life.

my son, my sister, my family, my dad. okay. i think that's it. i appreciate it. thank you, again. [cheers and applause] >> thank you and congratulations. mr. hernandez, did you good to leonard flynn? >> i did not. i was at massoni, everett and we didn't have a football team but had a good soccer royalry with

thurgood marshall. >> great. it's great seeing you in our school district having gone through our school district. congratulations. [applause] item 5 is our student delegates report. >> thank you, president mendoza-mcdonne mendoza-mcdonnell. we have an appointee that will be in the student delegate report that will be later on. >> our 2018-2019 candidates have been released. all must attend a training session at 555 franklin and come to the youth summit to give a short speech. i encourage you to share this opportunity and the application will be due on the same day as the training session, march 2. >> also planning to ensure that

is student body representation at the retreat. we want to be sure that they can continue to planning for the next school year. and >> and our final topic, the annual work summit is quickly approaching. our theme this year is operation make your mark. mark your calendars if you would like to attend, contact our supervisor. our next meeting will be on february 12 at 5:00 p.m. in the board of ed work. it's a public council and everyone is welcome to attend their meetings. if you would like to attend, or want a copy, please contact our supervisor. thank you. >> you guys were able to do that separated. i appreciate that.

very nice. [laughter] item 6 is our advisory commity report and appointments by board members. item 1 under that, a report from our title 7 indian education advisory committee. superintendent, you have a representative from the committee to present? >> we would like to welcome the parent advisory council to give their presentation. we ask that the members come to the dais. [applause]

>> hello, everybody. i'm the parent advisory committee chairperson. i am from south dakota. and this is my son. >> hi. i'm a student at galileo high school and i'm the student representative. >> hello. i'm paloma flores.

i'm the program coordinator for sfusd indian education program. >> good evening. i'm melanie anton-gordon. i have two children that represent gateway high school and middle school and i'm a p.a.c. member. >> i'm amy anderson. i'm metis. and member of the p.a.c. and i have a child who attends george washington high school. >> thank you, again, for having us here for our annual report. i wanted to take a moment to represent or show you who represents on the cover of the program. so on the bottom, we have

lucien, pit river. and donovan, dene nation. to the right of him, the lacoda nation. and tanu, blackfoot nation of montana. going to the next page. >> the indian education program supports the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of american-indian and alaska native students as it connects to their social and emotional well-being in the san francisco unified school district. the center is at sanchez elementary school. >> a little bit of american-indian education history for you. in 1879, the first indian school

named carlisle indian school was created. at this time, indian school was for the purpose of getting rid of indian people. in 1924, indian citizenship act happened, the first time that american-indians were considered citizens. in 1968, indians civil rights act happened. in 1972, the title 7 indian education act. 1975, the indian self-determination act. 1978, the american-indian religious freedom act. and in 1991, a report was created to state that indian

education was at risk at that time. >> for 2017 highlight and successes. i wanted to -- there's quite a few on the list, but i wanted to shout out a couple that really is new to our program so i will just say them. new multimedia dene library. student representatives american-indian cultural center board of directors. just so you know, it's raziel. so congratulations to him. [applause] we tipped monthly official p.a.c. meetings and working group meetings. the last is in collaboration with the indian ed program. our prospect students met with

american-indian student association, learned about opportunities and resources available to them. and it's in the 32nd annual ucla pow-wow. the next slide shows the 2017 end of the year celebration. each year we celebrate our students' successful school year, promotions and the p.a.c. arranged for each high school graduate to be given an honor blanket. that was new and it's a big thing for the native community to honor these students with the blankets and our community wanted to support the group and they donated 10 blankets.

the indian ed students have participated in a conference world renowned indigenous forum. we'd like to thank the collective for providing our program with this opportunity. so it's a huge investment in our children for us to participate and we've been one of the groups that has the largest students participating every year and it's getting bigger. so it's a huge win for us. >> the picture above is indian ed being honored by the board of supervisors and mayor's office for preserving native-american cultures and planning an annual dancing feathers pow-wow. this is the first time youth were honored at the event. to the right, you can see the

indian ed program coordinator receiving the 2017 local unsung heroes award. we're grateful for all of the support given to our community by the late san francisco mayor ed lee. >> continuing on. there's a list of multiple, ongoing programs and events that happen, but i wanted to highlight a few. cultural nights have included instruction in beading, basketweaving and sewing of ceremonial clothing. it features culturally relevant books and computers for the students' use. we're proud of our ongoing collaboration with the native-american health center,

friendship house. this collaboration is integral to supporting our students and families as a whole. it takes a village. american-indian community challenges. trauma layered with historical intergenerational trauma. we have the lowest graduate rates nationwide. cultural appropriation. need for curriculum rooted in cultural humility and inclusivity. and the sf bay area housing crisis. here we have the graduation rates and dropout rates and the rates of our students going to college. as you can see, graduate rate for american-indian students in

2014-2015 was 52.6. the next year, 77.8. our dropout rate for american-indian students went from 15.8% to 16.7%. and program graduates that went to college in 2016, we had three students go to four-year universities and eight go to two-year university. the following year, we had one good to a four-year, and six go to a two-year. we'd like to note that these numbers are skewed by the san francisco housing crisis. we've lost a number of american-indian families in san francisco because they cannot

afford to live here anymore. >> i'm a member of the rose bud sioux tribe and here's a snapshot of the nations that represent in the program. >> our top priorities, cultural competency, humility, training for all sfusd employees. tipped input into curricular development through regular interaction with advisory committee and barriers in the american-indian community. to adopt a supportive policy with the wearing of sacred feathers during graduation ceremony. to remove the racially insensitive murals at washington high school. our academic and social, emotional support, to increase staff support at the indian education center from part time

to full time. policy and operations. thanks, everybody. we welcome questions. and we'd like to invite you to the indian education program moving forward cultural event, honoring our students and our culture, saturday, june 2, 12:00 to 3:00 at sanchez auditorium. >> the list of nations you see there represent many tribal nations. san francisco has the the latest, one of the largest on the west coast, intertribal, inter generational, and here's what you see and that's a snapshot. take a note of what you see,

here and outside the state of california. and the invitation to the event is right there. thank you. [applause] >> okay. thank you very much. before we go into any discussion or comments, i'm going to call up -- we have four public comments on this item. we have several speakers. michelle anton and celeste aguilar. come on up and press the red button. robert martin. alexis bunton. janeer alewa. amy anderson. and mary travis allen. so you have 2 minutes and press the button for the red light to

go on. >> good evening. i'm michelle anton. community leader and parent of a graduate from galileo high school. i wanted to reiterate about the murals at washington high school. recently it was brought to our attention a mural in their lobby, which is of a dead indian. we would like to see that removed. it's very detrimental -- it can be detrimental to the learning of our students having to walk past that every day. there is also other murals there that are regarding other races. it made us think what other murals are listed in our high schools or even buildings, we

wanted to know and have an inventory so we know what murals are in our schools and what we can do by taking them out of our schools, because that cannot be helpful at all to our students. i want to reiterate the resources on our top priorities page. using the indian museum and cultural center in santa rosa can be a valuable resource to help with curricular information and training for teachers. they are an excellent resource to use and we would reach out to them for you if you would like to make that connection, to have them come in and do some training in the school district. they have made that offer to us previously and we would love to recommend them as a resource for

the school district. there's a bill in the legislative -- being worked on right now involving regalia. when my daughter graduated, she wore an eagle feather and she was honored for and we'd like to have that san francisco take a stand and approve and make a formal statement that our students would be able to wear their eagle feathers in honor of their graduation and we would like the school district to take a stand on that. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. next speaker. >> my name is robert martin. i'm from the cherokee nation of oklahoma and teacher for

american-indian program for beading. i think it's very important to have this curriculum to teach our students of their background, their culture, for emotional and spiritual reasons. when i was a kid, we never had anything lining this. i think it's important that the negative images that we see in the media and movies be put aside and more positive images for people to teach our students and our youth. so that's what i have to say for now. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. next speaker. >> good evening. i'm janine luwa, graduate of galileo, 1979. congratulations. and i'm here because i want to

support the native children in our community and i'm very proud of them. and i want them to know that i'm an elder in the community and i really admire your work and keep up the great work that you're doing. it's an honor that you are a board member. and i would like to respectfully request that the mural at washington high school be removed as it is very insensitive. i wanted to point that out to you, folks, and i'm just here to support the community. i'm a san francisco resident born and raised and very proud of my city. thank you very much. [applause] >> hello. i'm alexis bunten. i manage a program mentioned in

the speech. last year we is served 107 local indian youth. we empowered them with mentorship and meeting amazing change makers. my ancestors were enslaved by the russians at the barrel of a gun. they had to come down here to hunt otters. my grandmother was forced from her village in alaska to boring school in oregon. and had i been forced to make a model of an indian boarding school, i would have been traumatized. so i want to remind you that san francisco has the largest urban indian populations in the

country and continue to experience ingoing and systemic oppression on a daily basis. i was raised by a single mother. we were poor, affected by alcoholism, drug use, mental illness. i do have a bachelor's degree from dartmouth and ph.d. from ucla. i ignored my teachers in public school that told me i was disruptive and sent me out to the hallway and told me i would never reach my goals. i had positive native role models at home that told me that columbus is not what we were learning in school and san francisco unified school district need to learn the truth, too. they need to know what happened in california. they need to understand the language of oppression so they can speak to power especially in this current national

administration. i hope that we can lead the way for the rest of the country to do what's right. it reflects a responsibility that the government owes the first nations of the country. thanks for hearing my remarks. [cheers and applause] >> my name is amy anderson. i'm grateful to be here. i am here to talk about the mural at washington high school, where my son attends 10th grade.

i will describe pieces of the mural. bear with me. if you need to close your eyes to imagine what it looks like, feel free. in the mural, scalps of humans adorn the belts of american-indians. scalping began with an english colonial settleer. indigenous warriors attacking white soldiers erases the reality that george washington ordered all-out war without diplomacy against indigenous people. it depicts american indians committing the hideous tactics of warfare. it glorifies colonialism and

whiteness. in short, this landmark-making mural perpetuates white supremacy. the size and placement of the mural shows a deep sadness for indigenous people that were killed. frontiersman walk over the lifeless body of a warrior. george washington stands beside the fallen warrior, but not a single eye is diverted. [cheers and applause] >> i have two more speakers on this item. mary and celeste.

>> looks like i don't have to push a button. i like pushing buttons. [laughter] i've been here a few times and i've been on this earth for 62 years. i'm a mother and a grandmother. my blood comes from central america. my children are enrolled members of sioux nation, pine ridge. you will have to forget my voice. i know it sounds sexy, but i'm dealing with a virus, so entertain me here. if i have a coughing spasm, give me a couple more moments. so to that end, my granddaughter proceeded as the student leader

for indian ed. and she is now second year at ucla. there were times she was told she would not succeed because she did not conform to some of the things she was being taught or told to be quiet about. she's a very strong woman now and strong leader and you will hear from her again. i have to say, some of the items on this list have been here a few years. it's time to proceed to action. that's what i will challenge you about. i have 62 years. i don't want to come back a couple more years and just talk about the list incomplete. the other thing i want to talk about, i was at the board of

supervisors meeting today. and you guys took a landmark decision to rename columbus day as indigenous people. they did like ways today. [cheers and applause] so there's a prophecy. and there's a prophecy about the condor and the eagle. the eagle lives in the north. condor in the south. and it represents a time of the two coming back together and bringing the nations together. remember, we didn't put the borders. other people put them there. and in that, right now, san francisco is stating over and over again about being the sanctuary city. representing and protectioning ,

not the illegals that trump represents. that's coming together. and i want each of you to remember that. and that's something to the children need to know and they need to release and stop the racial bias and stereotyping that's being taught in schools because that's what makes trump being elected because people believe those lies and those falsehoods and those stereotypes and they live in fear. stop the fear. educate. educate yourselves. and next year i want to give you a better report card. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. i have one final speaker. mary travis allen. sorry, mary. celeste aguilar okay. she's not here. all right. thank you very much for that. >> can i substitute?

>> no, i'm sorry. thank you. all right. commissioners, comments, questions? commissioner walton? >> president walton: thank you for coming tonight. one statement and a question. it's good to see you collaborating and going off on trips together and working together and hopefully we can see more of that collaboration. and then just a question on slide 9. we don't see graduation rates for '16/'17. are we waiting on those? okay. >> commissioner murase: thank you. i was on the board when the facility having an indian education center, a physical

space, was a very big issue. and i was pleased when we were able to carve out that space and be at the opening. and there are other communities, pacific islander community, that's seeking space. i want to know what difference that's made to have a physical space where you can meet and teach from. >> the difference is everything. it is, as the name implies, the center. the center that brings many together. the center being that in the middle of the serbingle. it's the hub, not only for the academic school program that supports k-12 and their needs after school, but it is the family center space. it is the cultural night. it is professional development. it is a safe space in this