The campaign begins!

Last week, I filed the official paperwork to begin my campaign for San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner in November. This is a step I’ve been contemplating for a long time, and I’ve been encouraged by many other parents and public school advocates in San Francisco who have pledged their support.

Why am I running?

• We need more parents of current SFUSD students on the Board. Being at my daughters’ school every day, communicating with their teachers and helping set our school’s budget and academic priorities as co-chair of the site council have helped me to understand how our schools actually work, and where the strengths and needs are. Unless we elect more parents of current students to the Board in November, next year only one out of the seven Commissioners will have a child actually attending a San Francisco public school.
  
• I care deeply about the right of every child to access a quality education. My experience as a special education parent and advocate has taught me first-hand about the barriers many children face in their educational environment. Equity issues I will address as a Commissioner:
  • The achievement gap for African-American and Latino students;
  • The lack of transparency and parent input in our special education programs;
  • The need to ensure that each child attends a school that is safe, well-equipped and well-staffed;
  • The need to provide enrichment in art, music and physical education to every child;
  • The obligation to support and encourage parent involvement in every school community.

• I am a champion of public schools and our public schools in particular. Though we still face some very tough and pressing problems –a state budget crisis, declining enrollment, and the achievement gap — the news is not all bad:
  • San Francisco is still the highest scoring urban district in California, and our district’s test scores have steadily risen over the past five years;
    
  • All over San Francisco there are dedicated parents, teachers, students and administrators working hard in our schools;
  • We can see in the enrollment data that parents are choosing a wider variety of schools than ever before;
  • There is a new leadership team in place.

  With hard work, advocacy and collaboration between all stakeholders, I believe the future for our schools will be bright. I want to be part of that work and encourage others across San Francisco to do the same.