increased teacher sense of belonging in the bayview schools, closing the gap between our schools and other schools in the district. moreover we've met our teacher retention goal, keeping all teach enters in the classroom. i'll now turn it back over to the -- not a doctor yet. >> not a doctor yet. so along with some of what we've seen in our school narratives and in our bayview schools, we just wanted to lift up some highlights and challenges that are covered in much greater depth than the annual report. so this provides a snapshot of what's contained in the report along the strategy areas that we focus on. as we think about transforming mindsets, i'll highlight implementation of the perspectives experience program, which is a professional development comprised of two on-line modules that allow educators to reflect on their impacts on

forming positive relationships to students. in looking at wraparound supports, we're seeing disproportionality in suspensions is lowering for african american students in comparison to the previous year, but this is particularly for the fidelity of students -- referrals and suspensions are also dropping for students in the manhood development program. looking at academic supports, there have been increased investments in instructional resources that support teachers in support issing the comprehensive approach to literacy. and then, at the high school level, we see that more of our african american students are

enroling in advanced math classes and we've also seen the four-year graduation rate for african american students continue to increase over the last four years. as we think about the challenges in this work, we are still struggling to identify the proper delivery model as we think about implicit bias training, and weigh the ability to get skilled with the ability to do indepth training for staff. another challenge it fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness among african american students and families. we -- and then also, we obviously have to acknowledge that our math and e.l.a. results for african american

students have continued to remain flat over the next several years we necessitates a deeper commitment and focus how we're providing that academic support at the elementary, middle and high school level. with that, i'll turn it to linda jordan, our post secondary manager to close it out. >> thank you, landon. we have to keep in the front of our minds that our greatest asset is our african american students. many are counting on us to deliver what we've promised to them. i had the pleasure of working with an organization called alliance from girls to hear from 97 young women across eight schools in the district about what they need to be successful in school. it just so happened that last week, a letter was shared with us from one of the sites where we conducted a focus group and also one of the sites where we implement our manhood development program. i'd like to share that -- i'd

like to share the young lady's letter with the board right now. i realize that m.l.k. middle school only has a boy african american social studies class. as an african american myself, i feel the need that we should have a black woman teach girls at m.l.k., too. talking to multiple teachers in their perspective, they will agree, too. it will open so many black girls' eyes for a black woman to come in here and teach us. having only a boy's class isn't fair enough to the girls who also want to learn stuff. learning about these things can help them. most african american students here are having trouble figuring out their background and where they come from, and this will help them figure it

out. this was written by a middle school young lady by the name of miji williams. she led a social movement with ten other young people to draft this letter and present it to their principal, and she ended it with #blackgirlmagic. the revolution has always been in the hands of the young. we do this work to improve their education experience now, to inspire them leadership for the few -- their leadership for the future and to fundamentally change what school means to thousands of black and african american children in the city of st. francis. i'd like to turn it back over to dr. dickie. >> you're going to confuse some people. so -- so before we turn to public comment and comments from the board, i just want to extend my thanks to a few people.

to first of all to commissioners, haney, walton, and merase in prioritizing this work. i would like to thank the ali team, many of which are up here with me and in the front row to implement some -- many of the strategies that are in this report. i'd like to permanently call out gerald baldomero who tolerated a lot of late night requests and calls from me to pull this report together, and our community partners, the san francisco alliance of black school educators, naacp, the african american parent advisory council, my brother and sister's keeper, many of our partner sites. i saw michael essian in the room, and then of course our students and families who we do this work for. >> president cook: thank you for your report. we have a few cards on public

comment, so when you hear your name, please make your way to the podium. we have virginia marshall, rhon rhonda baptiste, and alita fisher, excuse me. >> good evening commissioners, superintendent, ali team, apac members. my name is alita fisher, and i am a proud apaac member. i'm the adoptive parent of multiple children within sfusd, four. and all of whom are african american. and i'm so grateful for this work because one of the things that you pointed out were the need to recognize parents as

their students first teacher, and that's so critical. but for a small subset of us families in the district, us parents can't always teach our children everything they need. we don't have the same historical experience that our children have lived and are living, and my second daughter is now a freshman at mission, and she's currently taking an african american women's heritage course. just in the course of one semester, i've watched her blossom from a very shy incoming freshman to a blossoming, confident young woman. the fact that she struggled in her first semester, she's got a 3.8 g.p.a., i think you can directly tie that to what she's

learning in ethnic studies and women's empowerment. i'm so grateful for this work and it's helped her become what i'm sure is going to be an amazing young kick-ass woman. so thank you for this work, thank you for the resolution that got this work, and i'm here just to -- to be one family's experience of the result, i'm sure, that have helped support many. thank you all. >> good evening, commissioners, educators and everyone else in the room. i'm here tonight as the coshare of the african american parent advisory council, and we just want to recognize the ali team for all the great work that you do in partnership with us and in conjunction with us and all the things you do in the background for us when we're calling and texting you in the

middle of the night. as you've said it, we don't work for them, they work for us. because we have requests up and down and backwards. i'm a personal person. i need phone numbers, so i'm texting all night long, and they answer. and he wouldn't be able to do what we do without your full-time support and advocacy, and we are so grateful. [applause] >> i put a comment card, but my name wasn't requested. my name is allison collins. >> mrs. collins, can you explain it again? >> i had a card -- that i submitted. >> for an earlier item? >> no, for this item specifically. i want to reiterate as a black parent, i've seen changes in the district. i worked here 20 years ago as a black educator and have seen tremendous changes and i real to wanty recognize the work,

the consistent work that ali has been doing, and they've been there for me at my school when i have issues and also as a resource to refer other parents and families. and i appreciate a lot of the games that we're seeing. one of the things that i want to call out is john muir. i think they're doing exceptional work there, and we're seeing in the results. one of the things that they're doing there that's exceptional is addressing race and antiblack racism, and i think we need to say that. it's not just about mindset, it's not just about behaviors. we have professional development. it sounds like we're doing that on-line. it's not enough, and it's not enough that parents have to keep asking for it year after year after year. we need to get serious as a district if we are going to address social injustice. we need to address implicit bias. parents and students also bring in antiblack racism into our schools and it's a part of the

conversation. in order for us to have safe and supportive schools, we need to do that work. and like i said, we're talking a lot about pbis, which is behavioral. it focuses on individual student behavior, skb ittic at thats the focus off of us as he haddate -- and it takes the focus off of us as educators. i think that's our next step. i look forward to working with the ali team and the support team because they're also involved in this work. it's not just up to you, it is also up to the district and the entire lead team to ensure that all principals are leading this conversation about race and taking us to the next level, so thank you very much. [applause] >> well, good evening. i'm virginia marshall, the alliance of black school

educators. i just want to say president cook, it seems wonderful. it sounds nice to look tat you see you there, one of our high school students as president of the board of education and superintendent matthews and another commissioner that i don't see sitter hoe at the moment. but i felt sad when this committee, led by dr. landon dickie, started to present -- i said, where are the commissioners? half of you are not sitting there? i thought it's like a high school senior sitting up all night working on an essay, and they turn it in, and the teacher says, i don't have time to read it. when people put their heart and soul in this great report, the work, the work, the work, the work. that we, the community want to

see you all sitting up there. i think if you stop and have a five-minute break, have a five-minute break. but i think it's rather disrespectful when we talk about the african american achievement, and we look up, and our leaders are not in your chairs -- three of you were there, we saw you, and we thank you for being there, dr. merase, commissioner haney, and the doctor, we saw you sitting there. but i want to thank this team. this team earns a gold star all the time because we see them do the work. the work is on the board. and i want to commend the apac, and i'm always talking about the phenomenal apac, because these -- aapac, because these parents are working all the time. i say reverend brown, there are more than 100 schools. so i think the work is there. we say all children with learn,

and they want to learn. so the ali team has done the work, the aapac has done the work, but we have to retrain, to teach them principles. i know my time is up, but that's where we are. i think we need to let the naacp president share his views. thank you, president. [applaus [applause] >> president cook: any comments from commissioners? commissioner moliga? >> what happened to my card? >> commissioner lee? >> personally, i know this work is not easy, and i know it's

like we usually celebrate every little victory that we can get, but there is 's a lot more wor do. i just -- i know you guys see this too, when you're out there in the field. i just had a question around our -- this is for the african american kids, the p.i. kids, the one that have i.e.p.s and are in special ed. normally, i do crisis work, and when i get calls, they are specially special education kids that have these i.e.p.s, so i was just looking over the work, you know, is one, do we -- is there a wellness approach? i know the second -- second -- second step was p.b.s., but i know for some of our students and our families, the more indepth work -- right, and i'm pretty sure you guys got that

in place. but i'm curious to know what's in place, and then, are we -- are we specifically working around, you know, making sure that, you know, our students in special educations, their i.e.p.s are being met, etc.s, etc.s, and so forth? >> so at this point, if kevin truitt is in the audience, or jean robertson, i think either of them could speak in depth to the work that we're doing as it relates to wellness, and then the question around i.e.p.s and how it's being guaranteed that those are being met for african american students as some an anecdotal comments but not the system i view. [inaudible] >> all these years, i've never

been called dr. truitt. all right. commissioner moliga, you know, one of the things that i do want to say is that we are very fortunate to have social workers, and social workers and nurses at -- well, social workers at all of our schools and nurses at most of our schools to help with the socio emotional needs. we've done -- and you'll hear about this more because your first board presentation in january is going to be on safe and supportive schools, so i'm going to be able to go into more detail there, but one of the things i am able to say is this one, we did institute the t-3 consult, so it's a better way for schools to look at the interventions interventions. in our basis tracking system, we monitor or interventions, and we have a system in place that is much more intentional in looking up that student and

in looking at all the assistant superintendents' notes, and saying okay, this happened, but what have you tried at this school? we're fortunate to have the partnerships that we do have at the city. as you know many of our c.b.o. programs, our afterschool programs, our beacon programs -- we've expanded that from nine to 27 programs. so again, i can talk in more detail about that, but i think it's -- for us, it's about school connectedness, it's not making sure that student feels connected to that school. there's a strong sense of belonging, not only for them, but their family, and that's what i want to strive for as much possible. >> excuse me, mr. president, mr. president, would you please let me speak. >> president cook: we have comments from commissioners right now. >> no, but there's a point where we have --

[inaudible] >> president cook: i'm sorry. [inaudible] >> president cook: dr. brown, dr. brown, can you please let me conduct the meeting? [inaudible] >> president cook: thank you, dr. brown. thank you. [inaudible] >> president cook: do we have

any other -- do we have any other comments from

commissioners? [audio difficulties] >> president cook: dr. brown, dr. brown.

reverend brown. i hear you, reverend brown, and we're trying to -- [inaudible] >> president cook: we're trying to conduct a meeting, mr. brown. we're trying to conduct a meeting, mr. brown. [inaudible] >> president cook: noted. thank you. [inaudible] >> president cook: noted. thank you. [inaudible] >> president cook: okay. do we have any other comments from commissioners? commissioner norton? >> commissioner norton: thank you. i wanted to just ask a question about the school narratives -- first, i should say thank you

for the report, and i really do appreciate that we have you twice a year to report on -- on your work. it's really important. but my question is how did we choose these four schools for the school narrative? >> yeah. so it's done in a combination of ways. so one, the research, planning and assessment team puts together a report every year about schools that are deemed at bright spots because they have shown outcomes that exceed the district average. we have a longer list of schools that we initially reached out to, so this is not to say that these are the only schools in the district that are doing positive work, whether it be chronic absenteeism, or other things, but these were the schools that

we were able to have lengthy conversations. again, i don't want to give the impression that this was an exhaustive list. yeah, and then, we're also looking at school sites that have at least ten students within the testing grades. there is a -- yeah, a variety -- we stick to the standard of an inside's greater than ten. >> commissioner norton: so were these -- 'cause i notice that you're focusing on the proficiency on the lbat. >> they were among the highest, yeah, in terms of individual school sites. >> commissioner norton: and then, i just wanted to ask for a little bit of follow up on

the course at mission high school. i think miss jordan, you were teaching that the last time you came before us. am i wrong on that. >> yes, you are wrong on part of that. i am not the teacher on record. the teacher on record is alina, amad. we sat down and did focus groups with the young woman at mission high school, and the primary factor that came out of it for all of them was their identity, so that's how this course was birthed. >> commissioner norton: do we have any plans to expand the plans to other schools that may be interested? >> there is a plan. we're going slow to go fast.

we are looking to standard an academy next stem enter with principals from other schools because there are certain plans that have to be in place in order for that to be successful. we don't want to go in and hand a curriculum to someone, and the conditions are not there for the class to be successful for students. so yes, we are looking to do an academy to get that going. we've had a couple of schools that are very interested. middle schools, i've even had a request from an elementary schools, and we're still trying to figure out how we're going to do the elementary portion versus the middle school. >> commissioner norton: well, i love the letter that you read from the student -- the young female student about the course, so i'm glad to hear we're going to expand that. i think it's really worthwhile for students. >> i didn't read it. i read it as -- edit it, i read it as written. >> president cook: commissioner merase?

>> commissioner murase: thank you very much for this report. i have to say over the two terms that i've served on this board, this area has shown the most progress. when i first came on board there wasn't this level of focus and commitment and staffing, and so i'm very pleased to be part of this effort? and i am very optimistic that the lessons that we glean from this effort can be transferred to other underserved, unperforming groups, such as our latino students, our pacific islander students, our low-income asian american students. so i'm really hoping that we can capture all the good work that's being done for african american students and use those learnings to really lift up all of those student groups. thank you very much for this report. >> president cook: commissioner haney? >> commissioner haney: i want to thank you for all your -- i

was going to call you dr. dickie. i thought maybe we had something to congratulate you on. wouldn't be surprised if you were getting a ph.d. statement. you know, echoing commissioner murase, i think the scope of the work and how comprehensive and holistic it is, it's extraordinary. when we created the initiative, we knew we couldn't think about the supports and the challenges and the disruption of the systemic racism in our district in silos, and that we had to do it in a way that was comprehensive, that didn't leave out any particular part of the equation in how we ensured the success of our african american students. and we also did it in a way that, i think sought to create a real partnership with the community, so i think that the

aapac has absolutely been an essential part of this and the leadership team. so i'm grateful for how we've gone about it. i know that we have a long way to go. there's a lot of areas of success. the teacher retention numbers are incredibly impressive. i'm also looking at some of the growth in staff recruitment and recruiting more african american teachers. there's a lot more here to be proud of, but i do think, again, since this'll be my last meeting, i hope that we do everything that we can as a board to support your work and to resource it and to really continue to have that urgency because we know that we have a long way to go. as we create the systems that allow us to be successful, we actually have to double down and triple down on that. so i hope that this board and the superintendent, i know, really, really continues to support this work. i also just wanted to flag one

thing that was interesting to me around the access to courses and thinking about how with language immersion and other opportunities in our district that we're really pushing to make sure that african american students have full and equitiable access to that because that's been a concern as well. thank you for your leadership. it was a privilege to work with you on the resolution and to see it come into fruition. i'll be across the street, but if there's anything that i can do as a supervisor to support your work, i know that a big part of this has been also thinking about the role of the city and having a more collaborative approach. so i hope that i can continue to support you from there and that we're all in this together. thank you.

>> president cook: i appreciate all of the collaboration and be able to see the action. i visited a number of the courses. i've visited the all-girls class in mission and the all boys class at mission and m.l.k., and at vis valley, so as much as i can do to continue to be a presence for the students throughout the course of those courses and, you know, please let me know. state of african american students in the city is -- you know, we have these -- we definitely have these bright spo spots and educators and young people with so much potential, a lot of sites are working hard to unleash. and you know, this is, like, a very long and hard and difficult and important effort. and there's so much possibility, you know, so i

think what we do here is going to help inform what happens in classrooms across the country. you guys are at the forefront of that work. thank you, i appreciate you, and i look forward to the next report. >> i just actually wanted to make one comment. so assistant superintendent reminded me that in the -- in this powerpoint deck, we had a last-minute update to the belonging in the staff survey. so just note in the purchaower deck, those are the actual numbers for staff in belonging. unfortunately the numbers on your printed powerpoint are not correct. those actually reflect students' sense of belonging numbers. just wanted to reflect that. also wanted to thank c-3, which i don't think i did when i said my thank yous.

>> president cook: thank you. >> so before we move into the next item, we just have a brief presentation that we want to do info for our outgoing commissioners. so as miss casco goes to bring some special guests from the back, as we all know, this is the last meeting of commissioner haney, commissioner merase, and commissioner walton. let's give them a round of applause. they're leaving, yes.

[applause] >> president cook: and as i mentioned before, we do have a really, really long meeting tonight, but i did want to give commissioners an opportunity to say some formal good-byes. commissioner norton? >> commissioner norton: i can't believe we're saying good-bye to three on the same night. that's -- that's bittersweet. i -- i am so sorry that commissioner walton had to leave. i'll have to catch up with him later, but i would just like to convey to both of you how much i have enjoyed serving with you, and i'm very sorry to see you go, although i am sure -- well, commissioner haney doesn't get his tuesday nights back, you're just going to take them across the street. you get your tuesday nights back, at least for a while, commissioner merase. so my very best wishes to you, and my thanks to you for all of the great work you both have

done on this board. and if i can ever be of help to either of you in your future endeavors, please let me know, and please stay in touch. i will stay in touch with you, definitely, commissioner haney, and you, i hope, as well, commissioner merase. >> president cook: commissioner sanchez? >> i was hoping to have the opportunity to roast shamann. i want to thank you for your service on the board, for your initiatives that you have authored over the years that have made our district a better place for students and families. just like commissioner norton said, to have three board members leaving, it's kind of a hit, and having four new board members will be an upward climb

for a lot of us. i don't think it's happened in the last 50 years for us, having four new board members, one already on board with us. but again, thank you for your commitment. and also, i, too, will be peeking in to see what the supervisors do, particularly with funding efforts for the school district. >> president cook: commissioner moliga? [inaudible] >> thank you. you guys want to hear a song or you want a poem? i can't do neither. but like i said earlier, you know, matt's great. i've known matt for a very long time. like, i'm sitting up here because of matt haney. he's a leader in the schools, he issy a lead

he is a leader in the community, and i appreciate him, and i do want his parking spot. and then emily, just thank you so much. just to serve the way you did, and dedicate all these years for our school district. i think i came in when you were passing the world language resolution. i thought that was really cool. so blessings to you both, and matt, we're going to put an e-mail together with you on this one, so -- but good luck out this. >> president cook: miss ariana? >> hi. i've only been on the board a few months, but i can say truthfully, i've been blessed to experience and get to meet adults who truly keep students in their vision, in their work, and i'm just really glad that i've been able to work with you guys in my time on the board, so thank you. >> president cook: mr. mah? >> hi again.

same. i've only been on the board for a few months, but it's really been a one in a life experience for me to also sit on the board, to collaborate with adults who are true at row indicates for our student body, for our school district, and i really appreciate the work you have done for everyone in the school district. thank you so much. >> president cook: and i -- this is definitely, you know, a tough moment because commissioner haney and commissioner walton have been very instrumental in my entering the public service. i met matt back in 2006, when he was volunteering for -- no, 2011. that's too far back, when he was volunteering for the san francisco education department doing read aloud and toy drives and trying to build interests in schools.

i think he was behind his back called resolution haney because he continued to write a bunch of different resolutions to push really important ideas through the school district. a short list is the solutions not suspensions resolution, which ended the use of willful defiance as a suspension tool in the district, mandated computer science k-12, and the initiative for homeless youth and the marginalized across the city. so we are losing a great advocate, but the city is continuing to have a great advocate. and for commissioner merase, she's just been, like, such a diligent member of the board and really cares about how the board functions. whenever we talk to commissioner merase, her proudest accomplishment is we have no findings in our audit,

and that's somebody that really cares. we have one this year, but that's the one that really cares that the business of the district is being done well. she participated in all of the statewide board gatherings, and has been a tireless advocate for all students, but especially young girls. so as a person who has appreciated really having a colleague, even though we didn't always see eye to sigh, was always polite and cordial and respectful, i'll turn it over to you guys if you have anything you want to share. >> commissioner murase: thank you very much for those really generous words. i never imagined i would become the first japanese american to serve on this 160-year-old body, and it's been a true

honor and a privilege. i want to thank the superintendent, our best decision ever, hiring vince matthews as our superintendent. [please stand by].

>> commissioner murase: the e-mail notifications of incidents and accidents that happens at schools, it's such a drag, like, getting all these notices, and hearing from angry people at the microphone twice a month. i think we've had a little dose of that tonight. but for the past eight years, it's really been an honor serving for one of the top performing urban school districts in the state, and finally, i want to thank my family for being there for me even when i was hardly around at home. now i can be home in the evenings for dinner and get a chance to know them again.

so thank you very much. [applause] >> well, i'll be brief. i remember six years ago when i first started on the board being the only new board member. at the time, i was actually the only new male board member at the time, and by far the youngest. and just the experience of coming onto this board and having such tremendous colleagues that i could look to, that i could learn from, commissioner merase was here, commissioner norton was here. i also want to give a shout out to commissioners moffis, winns, and fewer who were here at the time and helped me become a board member and helped me become a member of the sfusd

family and contribute. i think without a doubt this has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. i think that especially at a time when the public institutions across the country are under attack, democracy itself is under attack, i look at this board and the way we've done it. and every member that i've had the privilege to serve with has served with integrity. we're here late, but everybody is working all the time. i think of those 15-hour retreats we've had, and the level of commitment that people on this board have, this is a volunteer position, and how much time people put into it has just been an inspiration, and i think everybody here is really the epitome of public

service. i think that they really represent the best of who we are as sfusd and to have you both up here on the board, representing, speaking from your experiences and your truth, and fighting for students and families is just -- makes me very proud and makes me feel okay about leaving. and commissioner sanchez, you've just been such a champion for kids. and i want to say to commissioners collins and lopez who will be joining the board, that i know that you're going to continue that tradition on this board of really, i think, maintaining a focus on our students, a focus on equity, and you know, i'm not worried about this district, and it's in good hands with our superintendent, and -- and the tremendous staff that we have here. i said this earlier, but i apologize for all of the work

that i have asked you to do with all of those resolutions, but you all have done it with just such incredible skill and integrity, and there's so much left to do, but i know that we're committed to it. [please stand by]

>> i can't believe it's my last board meeting. you are all in great hands with all of you. [applause] >> i probably could speak for him. i wanted to do that for which i

can't make them anymore. i still can pick with that i will excuse our student delegates. i am going to move up section f. , public comment. we have a number of people who signed up for a public comment, so it looks like we have a lot of people here from the valley. so because there are café looks like 40 cards here, i will have -- i will call out names, and hopefully you will hear the inspect directions. we know how -- i will read out the instructions for public comment. section f., public comment on general matters.

please note public comment is an opportunity for the board to hear from the community on matters within the board's jurisdiction. we ask you refrain from using employee and student names, if you have a complaint about a district employee, you may submit it to the employee his supervisor in accordance with district policy. as a reminder, board rules in california law would not allow us to respond to comments or attempt to answer questions during public comment time. if appropriate, the superintendent will ask staff to follow up with speakers. each speaker will get one minute hopefully everyone can build on one another's comments and if you hear your comments heard and said before you speak, you don't

have to come up to speak. it is up to you. everyone will only get one minute. okay? i will start to read names. susie chow, jenny the plaza, maria ellen, vincent gomez, marita gomez. we will start with those and then we will continue to move forward. please state your name, and if you heard your name, come to the podium.

>> anyone who needs translation, we will get to it. [speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language] >> voice of translator: good evening, commissioners and all attendees and superintendents. i think all of us come out from the institution at the elementary school to report some issues and catch your attention. our kids get affected and we have to send them to see

psychologists and they are not willing to go to school, and also, all this will affect our routine, daily routine as a parent. this is getting serious. >> thank you. [speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language] >> i'm very, very worried because my son is going to be in this school next year, and also my daughter is graduating from the school next year. but during that the parent-teacher conference, i was

told my daughter's performance is not that good, and i will worry about her future. i wonder, should i trust the school, or should i transfer my kids out of the school club. [speaking foreign language] >> that affects my health to and i am a childcare worker and i am so stressed that it affects my health condition and i will have a problem frequently going to the bathroom now with all of this stress. >> thank you. >> good evening, my name is jenny and i am an active parent

at the visitation valley community elementary elementary school. i have been a parent for 11 years. i stand here with my family, with my children, regarding some issues going around in the school. i was the pta president last year and i'm trying to bring up to you guys some funding issues that are going around with the principal. we need outside help. we need you guys to help us out. there is funding questions that we have regarding our principal at the school. i have proof of staff that i want to turn into somebody that is not the superintendent. it is not her supervisor. i'm asking and pleading you guys to pleas reach out to me so i can turn in the proof that i have to someone else. my kids go to this school and my kids go to the unified school district. they are right here. my family is right here. they are billing problems at the school. there are 14 staff members that were gone last year. we have no secretary.

three of them are gone. we are asking for help in reaching out as a diverse community. we are asking for you guys to cs and look at us and help us out. we are asking for outside help and we are asking for an audit for our school. [applause] >> good evening board members pay a good evening everyone. let me read a letter to you. there is a concern from all of the parents in our school. to the board of education, we have -- >> sir, can you share your name for the record? >> my name is ben. i am eighth father of three kids that are attending the school. we are concerned about our principal. he is not a good principle for our school. last year was the first year at our school. after the first year, many

teacher left. the school secretary left. our interpreter left. our spanish interpreter left. our social worker left. they left because they don't want to work for the present principal. we have three customers who don't have teachers. or fourth-grade class has five substitute teachers in four months which means they didn't have teachers at the first day. our chinese bilingual frisk grade class teacher -- >> thank you. again, if you hear your comments said before, we have a lot of comments and a lot of cards here i was assuming that if i mention one of your names already, please come to the podium. we have maria vincent and morticia.

are you ready? >> good evening. i am a parent at the elementary school and i can't because there is some really big bullying issues going on at the school. my daughter has been bullied since the beginning of the school year and i have brought this up to the principal. nobody is helping. i have been waiting since the beginning of the school year until now to get the principal to talk to me about what will she do about the issue? also, parents have come and threatens my sun at the school and still nothing has been done about this. so we need help to get things going. our kids need help. they don't feel safe. my daughter doesn't want to go to school and my sun doesn't -- my son doesn't feel safe. we need help with all this.

the principal is not doing anything to help us. thank you. >> if i called you, i am assuming no one heard the name. i will continue. go ahead. did i call your name? >> i'm also a parent visitation valley elementary school. we have a lot of issues with the principal up there. we have a lot of issues with the principal up there regarding our kids' safety. some parents got into the school grounds, threatened my kid, and i had told her, i brought it up to the principal two or three times already. she said i will get back to you. it's been almost half a year now and i haven't heard anything from her. either we can do something about the principal, or something is going on. mike kids are safe at school.

my daughter doesn't want to go to school. my son doesn't want to go to school because they don't feel safe in class. any time i take my kids to school in the morning, there's always a substitute teacher, and a substitute teacher can deal with it, then they sent my kids to the principal office. the principal suspends my kids for no reason. it is an ongoing situation all the time. we need some help. >> thank you. [applause] >> julie lee, maria to rideau, esmeralda sabella, chow away.