thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is landon dickey, and i'm the special assistant to the superintendent. thank you for allowing us to present on the african american leadership initiative, a. i'm joined up here with three members of my team and the rest are in the audience.

this is a very special team of people that have all been with this initiative from the day that they were hired, so i'm fortunate to present with them today. in terms of our purpose for today, so it is to review the journey of the african american leadership initiative, to provide context on our current projects and programs, to look ahead to what they expect for 2019-2020, and then, to share some of my reflections on the future of sfusd work in support of african american students. and with that, i'm going to turn it over to letitia irving, our program coordinator for the apac. i want to walk you through the

journey, and we are proud of the milestones listed here. in 2015-16, special assistant was passed, our beloved landon dickey. in 2016 and 17, african american student achievement became an express priority of the superintendent's leadership team. our village roundtable, black men's program and horizon program also launched. in 2017, launched a variety of programs, and all of the partnerships up there, among many others were established. in 2018, in partnership with the family empowerment and

partnership team, we launched or partnership academy. we cohosted learning while black at sfusd and soon, we'll be hiring another special assistant to the superintendent to continue building on the work of our lead, but i want to note under mr. dickey's leadership, we went from a one-person team to seven-person team. we went have having no budget to a $1.5 million budget, and we went from very scattered leadership across our schools so in terms -- in terms of african american families and students, to impacts in all schools and b.s.u.s.

black excellence, i'm going to read these out because we hold very dear. black excellence. we honor and recognize the excellence and achievements of black and african american people around the world. high expectations. we hold high expectations for our students as learners and our families as their children's first teacher. we hold accountable all stakeholders that influence african american achievement, and that's throughout the disk. we review and analysis data. we look at the data and we use high quality information to adjustment our programs. our african american students and families in the broader community have unique skills and expertise that benefit our

communities and district as a whole, thus we must partner and collaborate with all stakeholders throughout our district and city as it takes a village to deliver a high quality educational experience to our african american students, and i don't want to forget to mention that we will remain student and family centered. >> one of our focuses was to provide accountability when it comes to students in the district. it was a novel concept in 2015 that twice a year, a group, a team would present to the board about the status of avenue fri american achievement. so as you look at demographic data for african american students, we continue to see a decline in african american

student enrollment in our district. right now, about 3% of students in our schools are african americans, but that does not include students that are mixed or students that decline to state or not specified, so that's to say there are more students that identify than we currently count. below that, you see the breakdown of current populatiopopulatio populations, which we highlight to see that african american students are in a monolith. as you look at our goal scorecard -- over the last five years, we've used our scorecard

to consistently track or launch the same set of measures each year, our progress towards improving african american achievements where we've improved are number of african american students in student suspension, the disproportionality of special education placement particularly as it relates to being identified as emotionally disturbed, and also, the graduation rate has steadily risen over the last five years. we see there's a continuing and urgent need as it comes to addressing chronic absenteeism in our district, and making improvements in these areas. just a note on those numbers is that at the -- back in 2015, we landed on third, eighth, and 11 grade for proxies on those

scorecards, so if you see different numbers, it may be because it's specific to these three grade levels. i'm going to turn it now to linda jordan. >> good evening, board and superintendent the various programs of the aaali team have provided support to students, material support for teachers, and emotional support for families. a few of the highlights that you see before you are 82% of the class of 2022 who participated in our black star rising 2018 summer program finished their freshman fall semester on track. also, 77% of the class of 2018

graduated within four years, not five, not six. the impact of the work is grounded in the belief that solutions to academic achievement for african american students will come from those with direct contact our students and families occur. the data speaks to the analysis of achieving equitiable outcome and analysis. question have narrowed -- we have narrowed the gap in graduation rates between african american students and other student population. this also speaks to the increased efforts by family, community groups, staff, teachers, and creating the necessary conditions for african american students to be prepared for their next step in life, work, or in any or all post secondary opportunities. other highlights of the data is the number of teachers who

engage in professional learning opportunity at their site that have increased student relationships and transformed students mindset. our work is specifically at hand because of the multiple partners that have focused in on their specific area of expertise. for example, black star rising is supported by the human rights commission. they have been an instrumental partner in providing support for our students over the summer, and they now are building out year-round programming to support our students. another example is 100% college prep, who provides additional support services to students at several of the high schools. their programming includes workshops that offers programming and academic support to students. there are many other partners,

and i would remiss to try to call them all, because i might leave one out, and i would not want to do that. but we have seen improvements in our programs, but we have more to do in provide equity education, graduating from high school, and be prepared for post secondary. i would now like to turn it over to anthony amar. >> thank you, and good evening. to the left of this slide, you will see our programs, key partnerships and significant events that are leveraged to fulfill our goals to build trust with our families and prepare our students to succeed beyond their academic years. the programs we have aim to empower students and families, provide comprehensive wraparound support. key representations believe it

takes a village to achieve our goals and this allows us to ensure more resource and equitiable opportunities for african american students and families in our districts. strategies under development include continuing our effort to provide culturally relevant instruction. other partnerships we will deeper include but are not limited to, those listed. finally, we will continue to support our signature programs, african american honor roll, and the college signing day. at the end of the day, this

work is about the people. we hold steadfast in our efforts to remain student and family centered and maintain the same expectation for our external and internal to san francisco unified. a 9th grader from mission high school skattated i get to learo me best. the late nights, the tears, the lies, the hurt will be worth it. these quotes represent the impact of programming on our student mindsets, and what happens when parents have the opportunity to voice their opinions for equity.

one quote represents our effort to work hard in hand to track and implement strategies on behalf of african american students. we understand that those in school sites must be empowered to lead this critical work. >> so in the last couple slides here, i wanted to offer a reflection. i'm just thinking about taking a more global perspective on the challenges we face in supporting african american students. so the first slide is likely now to our newer board members, but it's our slide of system particular board members which we developed in 2016 with sfusd stakeholders and community

stakeholders. these barriers we think reflect some of the larger trends within our system that create barriers to serving african american students, and they include quality teaching, so we identified that there's a need to ensure that there's a stable cadre of high quality teachers in our schools. we also identified school choice, the idea that we are maintaining racial isolation in our stoochools with our school choice system. right now, tier one instruction is not ensuring grade level performance for our african american students. disconnected services. so we need we need to best direct our families more high quality wraparound services to address their needs. and then, implicit bias to

address racial disparities in special education and discipline. so again as we think about these larger issues, i continue to believe this aaali team is necessary for sfusd, and we have worked together a set of strategies and values to support our african american students, but this work to support our african american students is a collective list that will require the effort of every sippingle student and fay in our district. in summarizing some of my reflections over the last few years, i turned to a tool called the sixth circle framework. the framework underscores the fact that organizations function through elements that are reflected above the green line and below the green line. above the green line are more

of the technical systems that organizations use to address its most important priorities. below the green line are elements that relate more closely to the culture of an organization. in reflecting on my time here at sfusd, the following that he see on the -- that you see on the slide are critical in moving arts system toward ones more beneficial for african american students. as we reflect on our structure, the way that our system organizes itself, i'm a little bit biased, but i believe it's critical that we continue to be bold and maintain a multiyear commitment to the african american leadership. i believe really deeply in this team. i believe that the work we have done and the team will do is bold and unique. i believe it's a necessary

condition to maintain our institutional focus on african american students. i also believe that we have to establish a culture in which every school site has a strategic commitment to african americans. we need to ensure that every school site in every department in sfusd has a defined focus on this work. in terms of the patterns that we need to reinforce throughout the district, i believe that our district works towards utilizing continuance improvements, the concepts that we plan our study are more critical. if we think about processes, how do we build consistency and efficiency in our work to support african american students? we need to have a shared lens for what we are looking for in our schools when it comes to

effectively serve african american students. we ae started working -- we need more of this in pitch, and more shared responsibilities and expectations. our work to address african american achievement has to be premised on meaningful relationships with african teachers, families, and students. our identity as an organization will continue to influence how we do this work. aaali has excellence in the lives of all african american

students, and it's true. it it's observable for every african american students in the district if you look. we realize this through our values as an organization and through our discourse. and finally, we have to proactively build a presence in social media because without that, other activities will take hold. we need to be insistent about sharing the bright spots, what is working and what is changing so we can continue to blaze a path forward in this work. it's been an honor to lead a system centered on a more

equitiable system for african american boys and girls in my hometown. i'm very excited that sfusd will be bringing on a new person to this role to maintain this work and to support this team, and i've been very fortunate to work with the leaders -- i've been very fortunate to work with the leaders in this district and to serve a leader as skilled and hands-on as dr. matthews and his team, so that being said, thank you. [applause] >> to close out our aaali presentation, our community has come together to say thank you to landon. we have a short presentation. it couldn't cover everything that you mean to us, everything you do to make sure black

families thrive and work in sfusd, but here it is. we love you, and we appreciate it. [♪] >> hello. i went to mission high school, class of 2016 from sfusd district, and i go to morehouse now, and i'm going to be a senior. i just want to say thank you for everything you've done, landon, for pushing me to

succeed in everything that i do. [please stand by]

>> hi, i'm vince matthews. i just want to say to landon, we will miss you. you are brilliant, you're talented, you're passionate, you are committed to the children and families. the children a unified will sorely miss you. i am glad and blessed that i got those two years with you. thank you, london, i am going to miss you. >> landon, thank you so much for all you have done. it has been a pleasure to work with you. thank you for all you have done. >> hey, landon. i just wanted to say thanks. thank you for loving black students, thank you for loving black families, thank you for fighting so fiercely as you have time and time again. we will miss you. >> love, peace, and light, landon. in these five short months, you have been an inspiration and encouragement. you have show me what it is to be a young, black leader.

i will impart with you this. what do you say to the god of death? not today. >> i am a post- secondary manager at the african-american achievement initiative team. that is only because of you, landon. i don't want to cry, i will be a big girl today, and i just want to you to know that we couldn't have done all that we have done without your leadership. please know that. good luck to you. >> hi, landon, it is any, your wife. and your partner. i have had a front row seat these past four and a half years as you have created and led this team. your leadership really centres the students because they love you and believe in your excellence. they know that. most importantly, you still create foundations so this work

can continue. congratulations on an incredible run. [laughter]. >> thank you, all. i pride myself on knowing when things are going on, but i had no idea that was happening. thank you very much, i really do deeply appreciate it. i have so much respect for all of you, and the tireless and

selfless work that everyone in this room does. it is not just me, it really has taken a village, and i am so grateful to have had this experience and opportunity to work with you all. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> that was lovely. we have some speakers. get ready for more love. hopeful -- [calling names]. two minutes each.

>> we ran out of speaker cards, so i will let my daughter go. >> go ahead. >> hi, i am a student at the base school and i am -- [indiscernible] [indiscernible] >> the team, and having mr. dickey as our leader has also inspired me to push through barriers in the system, and the team is definitely creating a sense of value and appreciation in a time where many times i was , and still am one of the very few black students in an all-white class. thank you, landon. [applause] i just want to say, i know there

will never be a landon. i wish that when i was in sfusd that i had one, but more or less to the board, as you are looking for leadership, as you see my name pops up a lot because he has pushed me not to be silent, to have a sense of excellence in sfusd as an employee, as a parent, into not just strive for african-american students, was see the importance of joining across language, to put down barriers, to see how we can come together in unity, and as you are looking for the next leader, as you are looking, we want to, as parents, for you to hold that same integrity. there won't be anyone like him, but i will tell you, as a parent , as a thank you, i will stand up here every day. i don't mind losing my job if

that's what it means to keep striving for excellence among our students. now mia parent that talks to people. did you know how to do this, i will, i am on treasure island, i am helping parents to fill out applications for enrolment, walking door-to-door to make sure that they are turning in because there was leadership, and train me as an employee, but as a parent that will lead it. my daughter is now part of one of the few women in science, when there wasn't anything, and to be an african-american that sees the excellence, i am grateful for this initiative, i am grateful for this district. you have to continue to take that because it needs to happen. it is a lot of work. thirty years that my mother worked for the district, and i

watched. i suffered because i wasn't important. don't do that to the next generation. [applause] >> hello, again. i will not start crying this time, okay? once again, my name is jordan, and i am also part of the olie program. i am a student. i am part of black scar, which is basically -- [indiscernible] since last year since i started high school, i am a tenth grader now. [laughter] basically, it helped me a lot because when i came from my middle school, i didn't have a math teacher that really cared about me, like if i didn't do it , he didn't care. and if nobody pushed me, i wouldn't do it. i had to retrain myself in being in this group. i didn't really know how to take notes while going to high school and that stuff.

miss mac is sitting over there. she helped me learn how to take notes. math was a big, bagel struggle for me. and being in this group, i got it quicker, my first semester was a breeze, even though i still ahead my challenges, but it was an overwhelming situation that just made me a better person. and the fact i get to be it again this year is just great. it just makes me feel like i can do it, and i could be a scientist, or a mathematician, and help other african-american kids are other kids of different ethnicities be something very cool. thank you. [applause] >> good evening, my name is maja and i am a fourth-grader.

i think there should be more b.s.u. thank you for supporting b.s.u. at b.s.u., we. [indiscernible] we learn to make healthy choices and we also talked about how much sugar there is in soft drinks. the worst are pepsi, coca-cola, and fanta. sometimes i wonder why it is important to be black. i think black can be an acronym. i hope to learn how to become healthier at b.s.u. i hope that we can keep b.s.u. going for as long as we can. thank you for listening. [applause] >> how do you follow that?

so as chair of the community advisory committee for special education, i would like to thank the team for your collaboration. our learning well black event was amazing, and it was a culmination of a whole lot of work and collaboration around intersection alateen between students who receive special education services, and students who are african-american. thank you for all of that. i will put on my hat of being an adoptive parents of african-american students, the team has really, it has been a game changer for my family. my now college freshman, was she would -- when she was in middle school, used to tell people that her dad was jamaican because she was embarrassed of being adopted and didn't want anyone to know, so the difference in my skin

color and hair skin color were because he was so dark because he was jamaican, and that was the story she told, and now, me being involved in this group and my kids being involved in b.s.u. , and us being involved everywhere -- seeing me be accepted has helped my kids feel accepted, and seeing the program like these, and the women empowerment class that my freshman daughter just finished, i mean, foster youth, and students of adoption struggle with identity. i think every elementary school, every middle school, every kid struggles with identity, but them in particular. for them to have such supportive groups, the women's imperative -- empowerment group for my ninth grader is so impactful. it has helped her come out of a shell and she is starting to be a strong leader.

thank you all for the work you do. i wasn't going to cry, i promise [applause] >> good evening, everybody. i want to start by appreciating the work that landon has done. the district has made a lot of positive steps forward since it's initiative. i think the one thing we are challenged with at coleman is how much -- how far we still need to go, and how we find ways to bring more resources to expand these programs to ensure all african-american students can take advantage of the good stuff that is happening here. as a new father of a ten month old, i have to wonder if i will be able to have confidence in sending my child to a public school, and whether or not she will get the quality education that she deserves. i think we see the difference in graduation rates when we look at african-american students here. the district says they are pulling down the rest of the

graduation average, and how do we address that, knowing there are so many, there so few african-american students in the district, that if we need to go ahead and assign 1-1 support to make sure they can be successful and graduate. when we think about the test scores of african-american students, and the fact that their proficiency scores are in the teens, we aren't doing enough. i call on the board to most definitely continue staffing this position, apply more support for african-american students, and also to recommit to black families, and that they can have confidence that when they send their children to you, you aren't going to send them back broken and hurt. too many back families have experience that here in the district. i want us to lift up the success that we have had, in figure out how we will get over that next hurdle to make sure black students get treated equally in this district and can be as successful.

we saw people talking about the impact and experience that the team has had on them. thank you. [applause] >> good evening commissioners. susan solomon, united educators of san francisco. i do want to thank the organization and landon dickey for the work they are doing and will continue to do in however, we want to partner. we want to, for sure. starting last year when we started to hear there were only in the lower 3,000 african-american students in sfusd, one thought went through my head at the same time. one was, oh, my god, there are only 3,000 african-american students in sfusd. as an sfusd student myself, i know how different it is now from a generation ago. but then i also thought, but we have 3,000 students who are

getting what they need and that is way too many. we have too few and too many at the same time, so continuing the efforts of the organization, and everything we can do, we need to do it to continue to make sure that the students we do have get everything they need. thank you again for your work. [applause] >> good evening, everybody. i had to take a second to get myself together because i have been known as the group cry baby landon, we wanted to say thank you. words can't express how much you have meant to us.

you have taken us from being -- [indiscernible] you are so much more than just the assistant superintendent, you are uncle landon. that is forever. know that you will always be part of our family. you committed to us that you are not leaving us, and we have your number, so we will stock you. [laughter] to the board, we want to thank you for your commitment to african-american families. i will finish, and we ask that you continue that commitment and that you know that our babies are brilliant. landon started the work, but we know we have so much more to do, and so much farther to go. we ask that you continue to make

parents voices a strong part of the decision-making process when it comes to our babies because we know it best. we want to be part of this ride for the rest of the time. i thought i was leaving sfusd, i have another four years because my baby will be there. you will continue to cs and we want to continue to see great strides because our babies are so much more than numbers, they are excellence, and we ask that you continue to partner to bring forward that excellence. thank you. [applause] >> hello, good evening everyone. i am from coleman advocates and also. [indiscernible] thank you so much. we appreciate you. i hope we can follow your dream and see you in all the communities.

we appreciate you for that. my daughter had a chance to work with mr. jordan for a time, but she did not really stay in that school. i came to talk about my school situation. there are a lot of kids who are having good experiences with the organization, and i hope my children can. during the school year, they're having a trouble. i have a daughter that goes to mission, and she just turned to -- he just turned 15 and i have another daughter that turned 17. we are hoping that we can have you in more of the schools and more around the community so all african-americans get a chance to achieve and be successful. coleman advocates are required to to push out. would like solutions and not suspensions. we are trying to keep our kids in school. my daughter missed school over the whole school period, and she graduated. she never went to school, and, you know, she is in another grade, and she is happy about it

, but i am not happy about it. because of gba is so low. for her to try to catch up to that g.p.a. next year will be a hard task for her. every nine seconds, there is a child that drops out of school. class sizes are large, and too many teachers are not trained in the subject that is helping our kids or supporting our kids. in our area of low income, in the poorest districts of schools , 78% of fourth-graders, 75% of eighth graders, and 70 9% of 12th graders scored below the national assessment of education. to empower the quality of schools, strengthen develop it for our children, during the most rapid years of developed of the brain, we need to provide them with a solid foundation and achieve in our schools and be focused instead of dropping out of school, being in the wrong areas at the wrong time, not succeed -- not succeeding, not

trying to provide themselves with the necessities they need for when they get older. additional funding to help local school districts and local communities, to help recruit, train, and hire additional teachers to empower the workforce, grant assistance to the community, expand in the homes of low income families with children, and ensure children in poor areas instruction with material curriculum unqualified and qualified teachings, and teachers comparable to their standards or to their curriculum and also, the i.d.p. see. i feel that every child shouldn't be put under an educational placement if they need to be tutored, or they need help with their reading or their curriculum. thank you guys very much. everybody enjoy your night. god bless. >> thank you for this public comment. commissioners, any comments?

>> first and foremost, thank you , landon. i know, you know, you were probably given one of the hardest tasks coming to our job, and, you know, i know it wasn't easy, and i know you guys like to work really, really hard, and people really don't see as much of the work into what you guys are doing, and i just want to, you know, they say you should leave places better than when you got there. i feel like, you know, as i'm going over the presentation, it feels like you definitely made an impact for the district, especially for african-american students and families, and i wish he was here. he would have a bunch of heartfelt things to say, but i

really do think it is one of those things where you are going back in the future and you can be really proud of what you have done here. i am committed to see this work continue to move forward. i don't know how we can make this thing permanent. i am trying to figure that out. i really do want to thank you and thank your team. i did have a couple of questions , but i don't know if i want to ask them. i can save my questions for after. >> i appreciate the work. you guys have been working really hard on this stuff. how many of our african-american students are coming down to public housing? do you guys know that number? >> i do not have that statistic on me.

i know kevin truitt in the audience has it. >> i think we have 2300 african-american kids coming out it is the biggest number out of that 2300 that is african-american, and the biggest percentage. >> okay. >> i think he is look to -- looking it up. >> my second question is, you mentioned some things over here around disconnected services and sfusd has not yet identified and resourced -- you are just looking around for facilities. what facilities are in these programs right now? >> it was written in 2016 where we had a group called the african-american internal oversight committee. when we were talking about facility needs as it related to community schools, i know -- we

had in mind willie brown junior 's campus and some of -- and also tenderloin elementary school where they have a dimple office embedded within the school campus, or students can receive services. there wasn't a specific itemized list of facilities, but i'm thinking about community schools and how it was acknowledging there were ways to upgrade facilities to better reflect the community school model. >> sure. >> and then my follow-up questions so, and the same area was around the mental health work, i know we are getting ready to bring on more social workers, i'm curious to know how that would look if we were to be able to allocate the program so they can build out a row best social work program specifically to support african-american kids how does that look for us right now? i know we talked about -- what

does that look like? >> in terms of allocating social workers, i am curious of how it would look for us to allocate social workers towards the program so that folks can build out a wellness and mental health program specifically catered to supporting african-american kids in our school district. >> i'm not sure any work has been done in that area. i'm not sure if they have looked at that or has talked about that allocating social workers specifically to them, but as a district, we are definitely looking at more social workers. the mayor recently made comments in her proposal, in her budget to allocate more.

resources to schools, so we are definitely looking forward to working with schools joining this team and working with schools so those resources can be allocated in the way that the schools feel better. i don't know if you want to answer the first one. >> yeah. i was just going to say that it was not something that we have explored. i think the one program where we have thought about health and wellness more importantly is african-american heritage support where we partnered with health coalition. but we haven't located -- looked specifically at allocating sources for the team, specifically at this point. i also just wanted to share, kevin truitt shared that there are 856 african-american students in public housing, so i think that is roughly between 20 and 25%. we can do the math, but that is the number that we have. >> my last question was, i know there have been comments earlier today about the mission high school class.

are you guys aware of that? >> i am aware of that. i had a conversation with mission high school administrators back in the month of may, and i know mission high school are preparing a more formal response. mission high school is in the midst of some transition as a think of those types of courses. they do have the intention of ensuring that that type of content is offered in their master schedule for students, but they are looking at exploring courses where it is actually a combination of african-american, black, latin x., simone students that are in courses together, rather than having courses that are focused in single ethnicity.

mission is engaged with a grant right now where they are starting to explore a redesign of the cultural -- culture responsive courses. that was one of the reasons why they decided to pause the program. >> how does that impact african-american kids today? i heard about that, too. i heard it was a rotational kind of thing. how does that affect african-american students year round? >> i think we heard a comment from one student. i think the best way i can answer that is the students who have been in those courses definitely appreciate the content of those courses, and they need access in one way or another to konta than -- content that allows them to connect with their identity. they are unfortunately not yet getting that in other social studies classes. so i would expect that many of

the students may be disappointed the class is not being offered next year, and at the same time, i think mission high school admin has been clear about their commitment to making courses like that available, so that is the situation we are in right now. >> commissioner collins? >> hi, thank you. i appreciate the presentation, and i also just want to personally, as a parent, say i really appreciate you, and specifically leticia irving, as well. i was a member of the african-american parent advisory council at the very beginning, and like many parents, really wanted it to be successful, and it struggled, and then you came onboard, and you guys put in the infrastructure, and to see it is true, the leadership development of many parents within the district, not just one parent, it is many parents.

it has had an impact, not just on our families or our schools, but on the district at large. and even in the way that we practice things. the fact that the special education advisory committee are all now working together, is kind of an extension of that work. it is even spreading to other parents and leadership groups. want to applaud that work and i do feel that parents are a lever for change, and i appreciate the superintendent and the board's support of that work when it is not always comfortable. i know that having parents, you know, you have always been open to me as a parent before it became a board member, and to my leadership, and to my questions, and to my advocacy, and that is not common, because sometimes the questions that we have to ask are uncomfortable, and i want to honor and appreciate that. thank you.

i guess, in that regard, one of the things that i have consistently asked about, you can probably guess, is, you know , leticia irving mentioned the core values that we have, in one of them was black excellence if you could just read that one more time, just the basic for -- just the basics for black excellence, your statements on what that represents. >> we recognize and honor the accomplishments and contributions of african-american and black people. past and present, throughout the world, and believe that excellence is present in every black or african-american child at sfusd. >> thank you. i appreciate the fact that that is a core value for the team, and i am just going to be real, my concern is that it's not a value i feel is evident in every one of our schools, and you are not in charge of all of our

schools, so i also want to recognize you all do the work that you do, you don't manage principles, you don't supervise teachers, but when i ask, and this is to all of us, this is to the entire board, and this is to the superintendent, you know, i have heard some things today, and i'm very thankful for the work that you've done, and i am also sad that i had to run for office in order to ensure that every child in this city gets to celebrate their culture and their history in their school. that's why i ran, because as a parent, i was tired of asking people to celebrate black history, and, you know, chinese-american families, there are resolutions on the board currently that we said that we are going to do it, and yet it still seems to be something that parents and students and teachers have to ask for, and that is unacceptable to me. i know that you're not in charge of all these decisions, but i guess, that's kind of my

outstanding question to the superintendent, is when i ask, you know, is it an expectation for all schools to celebrate black history, and i hear that it is encouraged, but it is not yet an expectation, as far as i understand it that all schools celebrate black history, are all schools celebrate chinese-american history, or that all schools -- i mean, you know, one of the things that came up, i guess the question was, how can kids see that they are loved and valued, that we want students to feel loved and valued. i did not feel loved and valued when i went to school, and i was good in school, i got good grades, i was middle-class, i didn't come from trauma, but when i came to school, i did not feel loved and valued in the educational setting that i was in, and 35 years later, my children don't see their culture as students with african-american heritage, loved and valued in schools, and i do

know that we are doing a lot of that work in bayview schools, which is amazing, and that is something that isn't talked about. the work that we do in bayview schools that isn't happening in other schools. when i look and see that 34% of african-american students are in one area of the city, it makes sense that we are prioritizing, you know, a lot of our efforts of the schools celebrate black culture and black history, that when you are in a neighborhood like mine, where my kids went to school, where one -- where 1% or 2% of students are black, it seems to be, like our district currently feels like it is optional to celebrate black history and when our history books -- also, you know, they contain racist content about native americans, you know, my daughter did not learn about reconstruction, they didn't even learn about the civil war, so, you know, i'm telling you all

this, and you know this is going on, it is not like a new thing, but i would like to understand, if we are going to hire somebody new, we have an amazing team, you guys are doing really good work, you know, with individual teachers and individual families , but i want to see systemic change, and i want to see this in schools on the westside and, you know, and north side, not just on the southeast side, and so, what do we need to do differently? what do we need to do differently as a district in order to ensure that -- because we have a lot of issues that black families are dealing with, but we need to support families there, but we also are in control of what we do as educators, so no matter whether kids come to us from low income homes, or whether they have resources, we are not