conferences. we have collaborated together. this is why we applaud and support the resolution. for professional development and education and sponsored by our association to receive our service teachers as family. it is an obligation that we share a common vision and that we are indeed together. thank you. >> i am a member of the latin american association. on behalf of my organization, we support what has been said here

and the commissioners for this resolution and we hope that in addition to what has been said and the support around the resolution, we have more collaborative relationships in the district. >> thank you. board policy 6165. extracurricular activity.

no objections from the board to dealing with the amendment by the student advisory council. mr. reid, would you like to read the acquisition. >> thank you. >> the background section. it has taken up on january 29th. at the senior advisory council. the sat recommendation -- to address the concern about equitable access. the district staff shall collaborate with the council to develop administrative regulations that ensure all students have equitable access to extracurricular and co-curricular activities including athletics and exhibitions. we have attached the policy with the proposed amendment for your consideration tonight. i don't know if the delegates want to add anything to this report.

>> there are no further questions regarding this. we believe we have covered our opinion and our beliefs about the proposal in our delegate report. if there are questions, we would be happy to take them. >> we do have a lot of people that have signed up on this item. we are going to go through the policy to hear people. i apologize in advance.

please come to the podium, that will help sure that everyone is heard. we will go in order. lisa brook-walters. wendy jones. charla schwartz. alexander reid. please make your way to the podium. >> good evening. i taught english and theatre at high school for 25 years. it was at the arts department for ten years. i came out of retirement to

address the vital issue. there is offered a number of courses in extracurricular opportunity to enrich the lives of all students. it was awarded by the department of california education, the award for the arts based on the rich curriculum and the extracurricular activities. i am very thankful to listen to the students who spoke eloquently. i believe the president mentioned that fiscal income study. can you tell us when the study will be published is a question i had. the most important reason i came to speak tonight is to implore you to include the voices of our own san francisco unified school

district teachers and cultures who lead and direct extracurricular activities. these teachers and coaches have the knowledge and expertise that you will need to develop policy and progress. for example, the theatre teacher knows to add scripts, costumes, et cetera, et cetera. not to mention that the schools have to pay the district to use -- for security and janitorial services. huge fees. the heart of education is between teachers and learners. everything should be focussed on making that relationship possible. thank you.

>> good evening. this is my 17th year as a teacher. [cheers and applause] >> i am involved in public education. i believe everyone deserves access to the arts. it is a right. it is my mission to give every student quality advanced education in culture and self-development. a concert costs money. which rental fees, auditorial fees, publicity, et cetera. $8,000. and i don't ask my -- i believe that we are here to serve. they get the experience that they all deserve.

we also offer a performance in the school time as well. i am the choreographer of the musical. a $25,000 production. and the money has to come from somewhere. i never turned anyone way due to lack of funds. and the solution for low income students and their right to experience extracurricular activities as other, we would be proposing a budget that would fully fund arts and music to all public schools. i ask you to please advise the teachers, the students and staff into the conversation to help bring ways to make accessibility to low income and homeless families without compromising

the need to support the performing arts department overall survival. thank you. -- over all survival. thank you. >> i made sure if there was an event, if they could not attend, we had money set aside for those who could not pay for it. all shows are not free. it requires a lot of money to rent for costumes and pay for set designs. the majority of that does come from the...

i want to state that not only does being a part of the shows and a part of the academic and being a part of drama, being a part is not only taking time to present the craft you are passionate about. it is about involving people. at my high school, i participated in 7 performances. it was a large part of my life. my mom came to help with shows, helping with hair and makeup. and when she passed away this summer, the first thing i was surrounded with my family. i was five hours away from san francisco, they made sure i was already. asking when i came back if there was anything i need.

drama is not only where i express myself for a career. i met amazing people who have become family to me. and so after my first show, i was surrounded by friends, family. i definitely know as someone has been through troubling things that having something like drama has been something that helped me get through the situation. and to think there could be a student who doesn't have an outlet like that to fall back on is heartbreaking to me. i am asking to rethink your decision. [applause] >> hi, i am a senior. i want again to thank the board for deciding to work to make our

school more accessible for everyone. and all the art students that you are here to support. i have been in an art program all my life, i know how important art is. without the drama, i would be lost. it gave me a community in my high school. i found students with the same passion as me. i felt welcome and appreciated. as someone in the fast that struggled with low self-esteem and general anxiety. there was one thing that was constant, that was theatre. to imagine that anyone who has dodged the same things i have and is looking for something constant -- it scares me because it is so -- theatre is so incredibly important for so many students and so many of my peers. and i feel the board should consider that when they are

deciding what they are going to continue to do to make it more equitable for everyone. thank you. >> hi, i am chloe. i am a junior at high school. i am part of the dance program there. which is a completely free program. as my teacher said. giving everyone a chance. and part of that training is the show at the end. being in a show, being in a theatre, seeing all your friends and having fun on stage. let me tell you what i started high school, i didn't know who i was. what i wanted to do and be. in that first dance performance, looking around at all of the dancers at every level, every grade, every background, i felt like i was a part of something that really mattered. and i was to proud to show everything that i learned over the years to my friends and family. with out the funding for the

performance, that performance never would have happened. none of the performances that you heard about tonight would have happened. i wouldn't have had the life changing experience. and so many other people would miss out in having that. i would like to thank you for changing the policy, really if we want this policy to be a complete success, if we really want to promote equity, what we need is to have an open conversation with the students and teachers and faculty to decide what is best. and give everyone the chance to succeed like i had. and all the people in the audience and other high schools have had you. thank you. -- thank you. >> please make your way up to the podium.

>> everyone has said it very well, so far, i am the former president of the association of music. and of course you know, band orchestra, it was a great tradition of after school performances. they cost a lot of money. we have funding but it doesn't cover after school events. if we want to print up programs and do everything by -- hire companies and get extra instruments or coaches, we really need to charge. we just won't make the money back. and the programs run the risk of having end the programs after school now. we had in washington, a

wonderful daytime assembly that featured all the performing art programs at washington high school is where i work at the middle school as well. it was completely free for everybody. and it was very much equal access. the auditorium was filled. there is a compromise that can take place. so we can have both -- we can charge students and we cannot charge students. (please stand by)

>> people come to see our show and get immersed into a new life. it helps us get away from our problems. this proposal has tested our drama club and will test the experiences with our plays. so i call on you to see how this potential proposal affects us. we are excited to work with the sac and the district board members for them to help us. thank you. [applause]. >> hello. my name is crimson hartford, and i am a 10th grader at abraham lincoln high school. i'd first like to say thank you for reconsidering the policy, 1k3 we'd like some things for you to consider: when is the committee getting together, who are the district staff members that will be part of this

committee? are they going to entertain public commentary? what are your criteria for developing the plan, and once the committee develops its plan, will the board be voting on it with public commentary or public policy? thank you for listening. >> hello. my name is jeffrey nazara, and i'm an alumni from lincoln high school. so from the first meeting i came in, i heard about this issue, and i would like to thank you for revising your proposal and changing it. so i've been around the block for three years now, and i've seen all those productions and plays that these wonderful drama kids have done, so all that money is funded from drama tickets. we do all this hard work, we fund ourselves, for the most part, we do have little

funding, if some funding, from the school, but that obviously can't pay for royalties, set pieces, props, you've heard it the past few groups. so i believe everything's been touched upon by these previous students. thank you for revising the thing and thank you for listening. [applause] >> we have three more names: is a man that rich, jessie moore, and jill hendricks, please make your way to the podium. we have about five minutes left. >> hello. my name is is a man that rich, and i'm a junior at lowell high school, and i'm a member of the performers and stage for the last three years. getting to put a show on for an

audience is so rewarding. i feel lucky to go to a school where we have so many different performing arts classes and extracurriculars that allows us to put on good quality shows for our peers. that being said, you've heard it's expensive because of costumes, security, and so on. not only that, lowell has to pay a fee for our auditorrium each year . if this resolution passes, there won't be any shows to see, so how this equitiable. when reading the student council's amendment, i was relieved to know you were considering an amendment. what's going to be in charge of making these regulations?

i worry if a person who's not well informed about the arts, they will make decisions that will hurt us rather than making us equal. our school has been committed to making it so all students can see performances by helping out any who can't afford it, and we have been doing everything and running it smoothly for years without any outside help, so why do we need to have outside help? it is very important -- it's very important to anyone -- it's very important to us that anyone can see our shows, so i hope you take these things into consideration when casting your vote. thank you. [applause] >> hello. my name is jessie moor. i'm he junior at lowell high school, and i'm here speaking on behalf of the 40 members of lowell's technical theater program of which i've been a part fore three years. through ticket sales our drama programs are mostly self-sustaining and for our 2017 fall play, where we had multiple ways of selling

tickets, through one of these facets of ticket sales, we made back over half of the money we spent on our play, and if the sale of tickets to students is discontinued, so will our shows, including our upcoming spring musical which student technicians, designers, actors and technicians have been working on upwards of three months. this would be a detrimental loss to money of us. we believe in equitiable access to the arts for all, but this proposed amendment by the student advisory council will only push this problem farther away when most schools already have systems in place to ensure equal access. if this amendment is to pass, i strongly encourage the student advisory council to include students participating in those programs in all their decisions. thank you.

[applause]. >> good evening. my name is joel hendricks. i'm the band and ork extra teacher at washington high school. most of you heard this week by e-mail. i'm going to take it from a slightly difference angle than you've heard from everybody else. as a band and orchestra teacher, my fund raising is very intensive. we basically fund raise all year, every year. the money that we use for the ticket sales for my particular area is for music for not all my groups because it won't pay for all the groups, so interfering with that, the same as everybody else has said, i'm not sure what that accomplishes because i've never turned away an adult or a student either one. if they wanted to come to a concert, and it will continue to be that way, but i hope you will reconsider this resolution. thank you.

[applause]. >> thank you. section f, public comment on general matters. >> did you want to take a vote on that item? >> this is my first day. all right. any comments from commissioners? commissioner? >> i'd just like to say that as a member of choir for four years myself, i just want to reiterate in no way shape or form are we trying to take away these performing arts productions. what we are trying to ensure is the equity for all students, and as was reported with the student del gegate report, we will create an administration to make sure that students' voices will be the driving

factor for regulations to ensure equity as well as stability for the arts. we have representatives from all schools, so i encourage you students to tell your school representatives about your concern or about what you would like to see reflected in this administrative regulation or ask them about when the next fac meeting is. we'll happily give you an agenda, and we'll happily invite you to our next meeting, as well. >> thank you. commissioner wolf? >> thank you, vice president cooke. i want to start out by saying our students are amazing. [applause]. >> your advocacy and your passion for the arts, it definitely comes through as we have this conversation, and so it's just good to see you present when the policy first came forward and here tonight. i do think there's a little bit of comparing apples to oranges

as we're having this conversation. we most certainly here on this board of education, and i don't typically speak for my colleagues, we don't want any of our arts programs to suffer, but the fact is we do have to be concerned about approximately 56,000 students and making sure that opportunities exist 230r all 56,000 students, rich, low income, middle class, across the board. i think the one thing that is missing in some of the advocacy as we have this conversation is the fact that there's a reality for some of our young people, that they can't participate and see some of your amazing work. they can't participate and see some of the things that you have the opportunity to provide or performances that you had the opportunity to participate in. so that's the intent of this

policy, and that's the focus of this policy, to make sure that we allow individuals without certain means in our schools to be able to attend events, but in no way, shape, or form are we trying to eliminate or hamper any of your program. so from my perspective, i think that -- and it was interesting because i did hear someone talk about tickets being set aside for students, and opportunity for students without means to participate in certain events, and i'm wondering, as someone who grew up without means, if some people in this room tonight understand how it is to have to self-identify as someone who does not have an opportunity to be able to pay for something and basically say, let me get one of those tickets that you said aside, and everyone knows and understands that i don't have

means. there's a huge stigma that is associated with that, and i definitely see lack of understanding in some of the advocacy here tonight, that those things apply to some of our students. and so one, as i thought about the amendment, and i had a conversation to briefly chat with mr. ong and miss min about this, is at first, it was something that seemed like i might be inclined to support, but as i sit here, listening to public comment today, i more and more understand that, one, i can't support the amendment, but two, maybe we need to have further conversation about our policy, because if i vote tonight, i'm going to vote for the policy without the amendment, because again, i have a job to make sure all our students have equitiable access. and that's where i stand on

this. [ inaudible ] >> commissioner norton. sorry, sorry, we had public comment. >> excuse me, you had your turn, ma'am. >> ma'am, if you don't -- please, thank you. miss norton? >> so i want to first say that i -- i think it's crazy the situation that we're in. i think that all of us would much prefer that the arts and school's equally funded so we shouldn't have a conversation about who we should charge and who we shouldn't charge to fund or arts programs at our schools. so that feels very -- just sad and upsetting to me that we're basically fighting over the crumbs here, but -- because the state doesn't fund our schools, and certainly doesn't fund our education to the extent that it should be. that said, i also want to appreciate the students who

brought forward i think something that feels like a compromise; and like commissioner walton, i, before the meeting, was inclined to support the students' amendment. i think what i -- in listening to the comments, though, i appreciated commissioner walton for your comments. i do think we should -- we should talk about this a bit more. you know, i think there's a -- there is room for compromise here. i would like to see the fiscal analysis that was requested, and i'm not sure why we didn't get one because the question was asked by a member of the public, you know, where is the school analysis, and i asked the same question before the meeting because i think we were -- we did request that, that we wanted to know sort of how -- what are different schools charging, you know, and what the impact of not charging students would be to the extent

we can determine that. i don't want students to have to self-identify for the charity tickets, and i don't want students to not be able to see their classmates perform, you know, in -- at schools. i mean, maybe the idea about there being after-school performances at some schools. i think that's great that that's available at some schools, but i do think we need to think this through a little bit more comprehensively, because we've hit a nerve here. clearly, we don't want to harm the programs that the students have really spoken really eloquently that are really impactful to them, but we need to think through the impact of students who wouldn't be able to attend performances or who would have to pay for performances. i think i'd be in favor of

sending this fack back to comm one more time to think this through a little bit more and have a more reasoned decision on this to hear from all perspectives, get a little bit more data, and really decide what is our policy goal here. so my -- i'm with commissioner walton, i think we should table it. >> commissioner haney? >> well, the first thing i think we saw tonight exactly why we need to fully fund the arts in our school district. i think this should not be a situation where we are making anyone feel that by ensuring access for all students to these critical wonderful performances that are such a crucial part of the student experience for so many that we would be potentially eliminating all of them together, and i think that it's

sad that that was what we heard tonight, because that's certainly not the intention of this conversation. we want to strengthen and grow these programs, at the same time that we want to make sure that everybody has access to them. i'm grateful for this, the student delegates, and for the student advisory council for stepping up to this. i think this is exactly why we have student delegates and an s.a.c., to be able to step in and get the feedback to hear everyone's voices and to do the right thing and to tell us what the right thing is for students, so i want to applaud you for doing that. and certainly if there is some sort of compromise, i would like to know what it is. i think you've heard from us that we are very open to hearing what the possibilities are, but we're not willing to create a situation where some students don't have access, and that's a bottom line that we have, and we want you all to know that, and we hope that you

hear that. there are many schools that have a process that works, so let's hear what those are and city see if there's an idea that works for everyone. i want not saying that you should show a special i.d. or put tickets aside. that's not a solution that at least in my opinion going to work. somebody brought up athletics, someone yelled out yearbook, student government, prom, graduation. i actually think we need to talk about those things, too. when -- when -- when -- when -- when i visited our school does, and i met with student government, and i asked them what are the things that they're working on and what are the priorities that we have, we're told we actually can't work on challenges on our school because we have to fund raise for our school. which have to fund raise just to be able to go to graduation, just to be able to go to the

prom, just to be able to do basic things that should be available to every single student. i do think if we're going to talk about the arts, we should also talk about these different programs because we tend to balance our budget on our teachers, on our students, and on our parents, and that's not equitiable, and i think as we do have a conversation about the arts, we should also talk about these other programs, because if a student is spending so much time and stressing out and staying late, raising money for things that should be basic and available to every student, that's not fair for that student and that's not fair for those students who cannot pay and do not have access to cover it. so i appreciate those comments that were made around ensuring equitiable access to all students for activities that should be essential and available to all. so i wish you the best of luck. if there is -- if we want to, if there's another solution, i

don't want to undermine personally the work that the student delegates and the s.a.c. have done, so i would like to also hear their view on potentially other opportunities, but i appreciate and applaud your work and thank everyone who's here, and i hope we can work out a solution that works for everybody. >> commissioner morase? >> thank you. i want to thank everybody who came out here tonight and on january 23rd, and those who contacted me on these issues, particularly those students who are passionate about the value of the arts, but it's precisely the value of the arts that we want to make accessible to all of our students, and so in my response to the e-mails that came in, i asked folks to help us brainstorm how do we make these opportunities available to our homeless students, to

our foster kids students, to our low income students so that they, too, can have the same spark that we saw so abundantly clear from the podium from our young people, and that's really the fundamental question. it really strikes me as inequitiable that students going to different schools have to pay to see their classmates be on stage. i think we do need to look at it district side rather than leave it school to school, and i want to thank my colleagues, commissioners walton and haney for introducing a resolution in december to urge the state legislature to make it number one in the country, california number one in the country in perpupil spending instead of in the bottom ten states in the

country. so really, as commissioner norton stating, this is an issue of fully funding our public education so that pta's are not just focused on fund raising, so that band directors don't have to be obsessed with fund raising. so i'm hoping the energy in this room will help us move the state in the direction for better funding for public education. i'm not prepared to take an action tonight until i see the fiscal analysis. i, too, was expecting some kind of fiscal analysis. i predict that it's not going to be pretty. i think we're going to see some schools with a lot of capacity for raising money for tickets and other schools with very, very little capacity, and i think that's an equity issue that we have to struggle with. it's not going to be easy, it's not going to be pretty, but we have to struggle with -- you know, we heard from a number of schools from the west side of

town. i didn't hear from any of the schools on the east side of town, and i think as we ponder this challenge, we have to make sure that all voices are represented, that we are getting input from a lot of different communities. just a final two things, i do like the compromise that was offered of a free daytime performance that's accessible to the entire student body and potentially a fee-based evening performance, but it's something that we should consider among options; and th options. and then finally, i appreciate the student leadership on this. i do think the committee should also review it, so i am not prepared to take an action on this tonight. thank you. >> commissioner sanchez and then commissioner norton? >> thank you, vice president cooke. i want to commend all the students that came out tonight.

i think we have, obviously, amazing drama programs going on in our schools, and other programs that are producing excellent talent, so i'm very proud of that. i do wish -- i want to echo some of thoughts of my fellow commissioners. commissioner merase bringing up the thought that maybe we don't have really strong programs on the west side or on the east side of town because we're not hearing from them. i urge those communities to come out, as well. i want to ensure we have being ses for all of our students and at least be able to attend our performances and not have to worry about the financial aspect. i agree with other comments that this is linked to financing in california education. we are 46th in the nation in perpupil funding, and that means we can't afford to do the things we'd like to do all across the board. prop 13 needs to be revised, so that's one thing that we have

to deal with, to make sure there's public funding for schools. i don't see why the s.e.c. and advisory council can't work as well, and be able to present at that curriculum committee -- and at the rules committee, as well, so i'd like us to urge to consider that happening, at well. again, i really appreciate all the people coming out to have their voices heard on this issue. >> commissioner norton. >> so i'm going to make a formal motion, although i don't really think i need to exactly because i'm hearing consensus, but i'm going to formally move that we postpone action on this tonight, that we send the action back to the rules committee for further discussion, in particular, further analysis from the staff on what would the fiscal impact be on the various programs of not charging students. i realize that that may be --

it may have to be anecdotal data on this, but i think we should see what we have and look at that as part of our discussion. there's been a number of good suggestions made tonight, so i'm sure the committee, you know, is taking -- commissioner sanchez, you're taking note of some of these ideas. and i also really support the idea of having students continue -- the student advisory commission to continue to meet on this issue, so that's my statement, it was kind of long. >> can i ask a point of clarification, are you sure it's rules that the board would like us to turn to, and not analysis since -- >> i think that's a component to this, but it really is a polish for the board, so i think it is more appropriate to go to rules committee, but i think that part of the -- the committee in evaluating potential policies should see

what -- you know, what fiscal impact on the -- on the programs would be, and at least just data on, you know, what are different schools charging for their performances, because in my experience, different schools are charging vastly different amounts to attend performances. it may be that a nominal fee is fine and -- but, you know, what is a nominal fee, so i think just looking at the practices of various schools in those charging for those performances and what those charges are, i think is more of a data point for the polish that we're talking about. >> thank you. >> so we have a motion and a second by commissioner wong. is there any discussion on the motion? >> commissioner norton, i just want to clarify a little bit about the s.a.c.'s stance and the student delegate stance on the motion.

the s.a.c. unders the cost, and the elements of the performances. we are not trying to remove all tickets of performances. we also realize this compromise is a large compromise and trying to force this will undermine the purpose of what a promise is, and we dontherefor believe that it's necessary to-dispel this, and we're happy with having it go back to committee. >> commissioner wong? >> thank you, vice president cooke, and i just wanted to reiterate something that commissioner haney said earlier. we thank you for going back to the table and working together to come up with a solution, but that is also part of why i wanted to move this forward because i did not want to go

forward tonight against the wishes of the is. a.c. and the student delegates and what they propose, and i think we'll have more feedback from rules and our students, and be more inclusive and have a more inclusive conversation from the perspective of our students and schools as we move forward. i hope we see some of our educators and students in the arts at our rules committee, as we move forward because it's he important to have your input as we continue to push the policy, so i did just want to say that. thank you, commissioner walton. we have a motion examine a second. ro role -- motion and a second. roll call, please.

[ roll call. ] >> that's six ayes. >> thank you. section f, public comment on general matters. please note that the public has -- that the public has an opportunity for the board -- my script is a little off. this is an opportunity for the board to hear from the community on matters within the board's jurisdiction. we ask that you refrain from using employee or student names. if you have a complaint about a district employee, you may submit it to the employee's supervisor in accordance with district policy. as a reminder board rules and california law do not allow us to respond to comments or attempts to answer questions during public -- during the public comment time. if appropriate, the superintendent will ask staff to follow up with speakers. so as you hear your name, please make your way to the podium. we have several comments for

general matters, and ruth reynosa, lily beth satina, ingrid floroda, jocelyn portillo, you have two minutes. [ speaking spanish language ] [ speaking through the interpreter ] >> hi.

my name is ana ruth reynosa. i am a mother of two kids. the reason why we see difficult to share this space is basically because of the lack of classrooms that we have. there's not enough for all the children. practically all of them are busy or taken, and this school receives kids during the whole school year, and they need to have a space available. [ speaking spanish language ] [ speaking through the interpreter ] >> and as far as we know, this new school will be needing six classrooms for their students, and in -- in the lower grades.

and our first floor only has three classrooms. [ speaking spanish language ] [ speaking through the interpreter ] >> it would affect us all as parents, as well, as our children, because it will not be given the same services that they've been giving us. it will affect us, as will with, with the budgeting and the funding that we get for the school and for our children. [ speaking native language ] [ speaking through the

interpreter ] >> it also will -- our space as parents will be taken away, and we will be losing the opportunity that we have through this space to communicate with teachers, to bring ideas, and suggestions that will help strengthen the growth -- the academic growth of our children, and also our ability to get trained to be better parents and advocates for our children. [ speaking native language ] [ speaking through the

interpreter ] >> it would also affect the space that we use for special education children because there would be no more available classrooms, and we will have to use the hallways or any other spatial -- space available that we could find. like, it happened when we had another school get into emc a while ago. it is important because in our community, we believe that we become human again, that we can -- we are important, because outside of the city, we are not welcome anymore, and in emc, it's different. here, we are important, here,

we can say what we need, and here, there's always someone to listen and give us a hand. our children get all the help they need. it's a community where we get the strength and where we feel better. [ speaking spanish language ] [ speaking through the interpreter ]

>> thank you for the time that you're giving us. my name is lily beth portillo. i am the mother of a fifth grader in the mission educational center. we would like to express our concern of mec because of the information we received about another school that is going to get interim facilities. our school -- our concern is that it's going to be complicated for our kids, that in this space, they have felt comfortable so far. they have felt cared for, and if you put another school there, they might lose that, and they might lose their space, as well.

[ speaking spanish language ] [ speaking through the interpreter ] >> and another thing will be that the school will have menos -- less space for the kids that will be arriving solidly throughout the year. the classrooms will be saturated. for so many kids, many kids

will not have the same attention. as well, we will have -- we had a project of opening up preschool for all these families that come with very little kids, very small children, and with that, we will not have that opportunity, as well. you know, on the othernd had a, my experience with my children in this school -- on the other hand, my experience with my children in this school has been nothing but the best, and it's putting them on the path for getting this culture and this education that they should. [applause]. [ speaking spanish language ]

[ speaking through the interpreter ] >> good evening -- good evening. my name is ingrid fajardo. i have a daughter in fifth grade in the mission educational center. already my friends have said almost everything. i just want to bring up a highlight the important that mec has for all the new comer

children. mec is a community that every year, it rebuilds itself with new families, new students. the beautiful part of it is the diversity that enriches our community every year and the tri tribulation that we go through to live in this country. teachers are bringing us a lot of different aspects, in many ways. [ speaking spanish language ] [ speaking through the

interpreter ] >> one of our most strong concerns is that with everything that is going on in the country with this new administration, our school will no longer be a cozy place. now that there's more freedom to express hate, and nonacceptance for immigrants, this school brings us that strength and it teaches us how to be strong for when it is our time to enter the real world. our families and students have

not been through only by a problem -- academic problems, it's being added all the problems, emotional, and it adds with all the emotional problems. in this school, they help us. they help us get -- get on with our lives. thanks to the leadership programs that they offer for the families. i just want you -- sorry. [ speaking spanish language ] [ speaking through the interpreter ] >> so it