our elected officials, jeff adachi, the public defender, the recorder assessor, hydra mendoza, and emilythankful for the chief of police, thank you. i would like to also acknowledges someone that has been a very special friend of mine, someone that has given me a lot of support and advice over the years. and also someone who has not missed one of these asian pacific heritage month associations, mayor willie brown. >> this evening, we are celebrating our communities from all over the world. i am so lucky to be the mayor of an international city. we talked a lot about diversity, but we also celebrates in so many ways. it is marvelous to hear the names of all these council generals from all around the world. we also have some invaluable participants that represent the city relations. from osaka, singapore, shanghai, taipei, and seoul, korea. they're working with our offices and communities to promote education, trade, allow ourselves to educate ourselves continuously about the need to have a more advanced, smarter immigration policy for our country. and also one that we enjoy celebrating be

school board member hydra mendoza. the san francisco education fund.r amazing sponsors for joining me tonight to honor the mayor's teacher of the month award winners. it is my pleasure to a knowledge and honor the dedication of our superb public school teachers in san francisco. the 10 teachers being honored here tonight are standing behind me and were nominated by parents, students, peers, and community members to understand the value of an excellent teacher. the 10 teachers standing here have exceeded all standards. they have dedicated themselves to creating a classroom environment that fosters learning, diversity, and character development. these teachers are shaping this generation of youth into leaders who will create a better world. they have one of the most important jobs in america and this award is our symbol of our immense gratitude for all of their tireless work. in collaboration with the san francisco education fund, thank a teacher campaign, it is my privilege to present this month's -- this year's teacher of the month award winners. [appl

our elected officials, jeff adachi, the public defender, the recorder assessor, hydra mendoza, and emilythankful for the chief of police, thank you. chief of police, thank you. i would like to also

the next speaker is school board commissioner and the mayor's adviser on families and education, hydra mendozahank you. i had a chance to see this this morning and i am just so proud to be in a city where the leadership has taken this courageous step to talk about something, particularly for our youth, that we have had a really difficult time confronting. for the last 20 years, san francisco unified has been a leader around adopting curriculum, making wellness' centers and your resource centers available to our youth. it has not been enough. the court to all of this is always about the caring adults. what you have demonstrated for us today is the ability to reach out and connect with our youth and let them know that there is a caring faction in our community and every part of san francisco that is going to be there to help and not judge but to support. i am proud and honored to be standing here. i want to rattle off a couple of statistics that make this so much more important than some -- than anyone realized. nine out of our 10 lgbt youth in our schools continue to get harassed. one-third of

hydra mendoza, the mayor's education adviser. please welcome her to the stage. >> thank you. how are you doing? are you doing as well in school as you are doing on the field? are you doing as well in school as you are doing for others? are you doing as well in school as you are doing as leaders? because we are counting on you. we are counting on you in so many ways. we are investing in you and we are appreciating and supporting everything you do. the one thing i want you to think about is, as you are doing or community service, writing letters to people who need your support and love and care, think about how this would make you feel if someone was doing it for you. that is what a big heart is and that is exactly what you have them -- what you have demonstrated here today on the steps of city hall. all of us are very proud of you. keep up the good work. i think we also need to do a big shot to state farm because they are also investing in everything that you are doing from your hearts to the hearts of others. let's give them a big hand for investing in you. i just want to say

to her left is our mayors education adviser and a member of our school board, hydra mendoza. a man who is responsible for cleaning and repairing our streets and other public works in our city, the director of public works, mohammed nuru puerto rico director of rec and park department, philip ginsburg. [applause] from hr san francisco mta -- and from our mayor's office on housing, olson lee. in addition, i want to thank all of the volunteers who are here. i also want to think the mayor's office on a neighborhood services, disability. bud from media services. and sfgtv for helping to broadcast tonight's town hall. with that, it is my pleasure to introduce our moderator. we have one major neighborhood that is shared by district 3 and district two, and the head of one of the largest ethnic associations in both districts is the president of russian hill neighbors, tina. thank you, tina. [applause] >> i do not know whether to stand in front of you or in front of you. either way, i have my back. i wanted to point out first that we have translators. so i would like everyone to speak

i will talk a lot about that with the new president of our school board, norman yee and hydra mendoza. i will talk about how our schools can participate and make sure there are generations of kids who do not lose hope in the city. do not look elsewhere when the best jobs are created right here. all they have to do is do their part and when they do their part and complete that education, the education they need will be there for them. i want to say one thing about our infrastructure. something i want you to remember as you leave today's room. it is -- want to mention something about hetch hetchy. there is dialogue out there that some people are suggesting that we can tear down our hetch hetchy dam and still survive as a city. i want to let you know that as insane as that is, it is in fact, insane. [applause] there are going to be some leaders that approach you, suggests that tearing down the hetch hetchy is a good idea. they will grow pew into some discussion about water sustainability issues. but know this. not only do we have the cleanest water, not only have we spent serious amounts

i was talking with my education adviser, hydra mendoza. it doesn't go a week that we don't talk to each other about the value of education. whether it is hurt, carlos garcia, or the incoming superintendent, we will always place education at the center of our agendas. that is what we have to do. i can't conceive of any city in the country who would not place education the highest part of their agenda. it just doesn't seem like you are a city if you don't do that. in san francisco, we value that because we are knowledgeable. we know how important it is not only for our kids, but the role of education and everything that we do. and the fact that our community school concept is alive and well and our city -- in our city. we have had those years where we look at the school district and we say, wait a minute, we don't have to work with them. they are a state agency. and the state gave it up and they keep giving it up. we keep having to respond. for me, i am sick and tired of responding to what the state is not going to do that we have to anticip