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The Lowell

The Student News Site of Lowell High School

The Lowell

The Student News Site of Lowell High School

The Lowell

ELECTION TIME: Which candidates would you choose to make the big decisions for SFUSD?

By Emily Teng

Originally published on November 2, 2014

On Tuesday, voters will decide which three candidates will join current Board members Sandra Fewer, Matt Haney, Rachel Norton and Jill Wynns on the San Francisco Board of Education. Reporters Emily Teng and Luming Yuan caught up with this year’s candidates, who outlined their projects and goals if elected. Out of nine candidates running for election, Emily M. Murase and Hydra Mendoza are both incumbents.

Trevor McNeil

Trevor McNeil

Why are you running to be on the Board of Education?

Trevor McNeil via phone: I’m running to be on the Board because I am a teacher and I’ve dedicated my life to education. I’ve seen well-intentioned policies from the School Board but by the time they get to my classroom, they don’t work perfectly, so I want to make those better.

What would your main priorities be, if elected?

TM: One of my main priorities is vocational education, moving beyond just internships and making sure that internships are really connected with academic work. I am talking a lot about fixing the little things. I see problems in the School District from the substitute assignment system to the lack of more translation on our District website to some inefficiency in the administration. There are lots of very little, not exciting fixes, but I think lots of little things added up would be a pretty big problem, so I want to work on fixing these.

What first steps would you take towards accomplishing these?

TM: One thing that I’ve done in this campaign is visit almost every school in the District. I think that there’s been a problem at the School Board with coming up with ideas and then going to the schools and asking for feedback, so I want to start with the schools; talk to the parents, teachers and students to ask them what’s working and what’s not working and then take it from there.

What do you think is the most important project you have completed in the past and why?

TM: Every day I teach 180 different seventh graders and I think finding a way to work within the system and differentiate my instructions empowers students to lead, encourages them and challenges students who have already risen to the bar that I’ve presented. That takes a lot of multitasking. To be able to do that well is definitely something that I am proud of everyday.

How would your leadership affect SFUSD high schools such as Lowell?

TM: I think that Lowell will see me on its campus more often. One of the things I hear from parents and students at Lowell is a problem with class size. I don’t want to take Lowell for granted, as my sister went there and I love the school. One of the things I am talking about is making sure that each school has publicly published information on how much money they spend on each student, what classes are offered and how many students are in the average class. I want to make sure we do everything we can to be true and caring with schools such as Lowell.

Hydra Mendoza

Hydra Mendoza

Why are you running for another term on the Board of Education?

Hydra Mendoza via phone: We have made some great strides over the years. When I came onto the Board eight years ago, it was pretty dysfunctional; we didn’t have the best relationship with the City. We’ve been able to weather quite a terrible storm of budget cuts and layoffs, and we’ve worked to create a district that’s moving forward, so I want to take the next four years to expand and really solidify the work that I’ve been doing.

What are your main priorities as a board member and why?

HM: I want to make sure all our kids have a well-rounded experience. Not only do I want to be able to offer rigorous curriculum but also to be able to have our kids use the city as their classroom. I want to have more preschool programs for young people because I think it’s really critical for our kids to have a good preschool experience so they’re not falling behind when they enter kindergarten. Technology is another high priority for me. Over the last couple years we’ve been able to put more devices in the hands of our students through private and public partnerships.

What would be your first steps toward accomplishing these?

HM: I want to continue to build partnerships so that people outside the District want to invest in our school district. That way, after you graduate, these jobs will be ready for you and you’ll be ready for the jobs.

What do you think is the most important project you’ve completed on the Board and why?

HM: The best accomplishment that I’ve done thus far is bringing the City and District partnership together and having the city invest more deeply in our public schools. The perfect example is the middle school leadership initiative that the Mayor started, which has raised $8 million to provide access to technology as a tool for our middle school students and to provide training for our teachers. The City has helped make STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) opportunities and experiences possible, which are very critical to the learning process.

How will your current projects affect public schools like Lowell?

HM: What would be helpful is if our young people have these early experiences by the time they reach a school like Lowell. We need to properly implement these changes that I mentioned and do it earlier so that kids will be better prepared for career and college. Everything I want to do will work up towards having students ready for success in high school. Also, both of my kids and my husband went to or go to Lowell, so my family is full of Cardinals!

Emily M. Murase

Why are you running for another term on the Board of Education?

Emily M. Murase via email: I am seeking a second term on the School Board. I am a proud graduate of SFUSD (Lowell Class of ’83), and a parent of a Lowell sophomore and Presidio seventh grader. I currently serve as Vice President of the Board of Education and I am running for a second term to continue my work on my priorities.

What are your main priorities as a board member and why?

EMM: I have an ABC platform. A is for Academic Achievement. San Francisco is one of the top performing school districts in the state, with numerous National Blue Ribbon Schools, like Lowell, and California Distinguished Schools, like Presidio. B is for Bullying. I am committed to addressing bullying, as every students should feel safe at school. C stands for College & Career Ready Graduates. I will continue to support career pathways in our high schools because every student deserves to graduate college and be career ready.

What would be your first steps toward accomplishing these?

EMM: A school board member cannot accomplish much by herself. It takes a team of people, including educators, district staff, families, students and community partners. For each of my priorities, I will assemble a team of stakeholders to work with. The best policies reflect input from a broad range of stakeholders.

What do you think is the most important project you’ve completed on the Board and why?

EMM: I am very proud of the partnership with CommonSense Media which brought $40,000 to the school district to launch an annual Internet Safety Day, including responses to cyberbullying. My family was deeply affected by bullying, to the point where we sought professional help. We got through the experience, but it was extremely challenging. The Internet Safety Day is designed to equip students with tools to respond to cyberbullying.

How will your current projects affect public schools like Lowell?

EMM: Vision 2025 is a vision of what schools and graduates will look like in 2025. All of our schools are undergoing rapid change, with the introduction of the Common Core curriculum, new technologies and a new emphasis on innovation and creativity over mastery of rote learning. This change is designed to disrupt old patterns of education. Disruptive change is easier to pursue in underperforming schools that need to try different approaches to get different outcomes, rather than in high performing schools, like Lowell, where disruptive change is going to be very challenging to embrace.

Mark Murphy

Mark Murphy

Why are you running to be on the Board of Education?

Mark Murphy via email: I am running for the San Francisco Unified School Board to continue advocating for the opportunity for greatness for all our San Francisco children. I believe they must be provided every public education opportunity supported by the entirety of San Francisco.

Established in 1851, our San Francisco Schools have had only two gay men serve on the Board of Education. While our School Board has been very supportive — groundbreaking in many regards, of LGBTQ students and their needs — I intend to serve as a role model and be the leading voice continuing to work to bring forward the many challenges that still exist for our LGBTQ students, including the increased health and safety issues.

What would your main priorities be, if elected?

MM:

  • Continue the laser focus on improving outcomes for our underachieving students.
  • Address larger communications challenges with the District, Union, Parents, and city-at-large
  • Engage city departments and Community Based Organizations in “whole child” conversations to more seamlessly and effectively provide programs and services to children and families throughout all of San Francisco.
  • It is my intent to work with our diverse resources to ensure students come to school healthy and ready to learn, further enriching our children’s academic, social, physical, and emotional selves.

What would be your first steps toward accomplishing these?

MM: Collaboration and coordination are the successful traits both in my personal and professional career allowing me to succeed. My tenure on the San Francisco School Board would continue to model these traits while working hard to address both the challenges and great opportunities with our SFUSD. Building trust is the first step, and that is what I would work to do immediately, with student, parents, educators and the San Francisco community at large.

What do you think is the most important project you’ve completed in the past and why?

MM: My work as a leader on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission LGBT Advisory Committee, working with the San Francisco Youth Commission, and current School Board President Sandra Fewer, spending 18 months writing and ultimately passing a Resolution protecting and supporting the District’s LGBTQ Students. I have worked with our School Board in creating and passing legislation. I currently advise our School Board through the San Francisco’s Prop H (Public Education Enrichment Fund) Community Advisory Committee (PEEF CAC). I am experienced at what it means to be a successful School Board Commissioner.

How will your leadership affect high schools such as Lowell?

MM: As Co-Chair of the PEEF CAC, overseeing $50 million spent in our School District, I understand programs funded, students served, staff hired. Spending 16 years in schools, I understand and appreciate what success looks like from an individual school’s perspective, from students, to teachers and administrators, and parents. Taking part in multiple Mayor- and Superintendent-appointed stakeholder committee and city-wide conversations about what success looks like for the future of San Francisco children and youth, I am prepared to have honest, open and candid conversations about the issues that we address here in San Francisco.

Shamann Walton

Shamann Walton

Why are you running to be on the Board of Education?

Shamann Walton via phone: I am running for the Board of Education because I want every child in San Francisco to be successful and I know that with a quality education, all of our students can be successful and achieve any goal they wish to accomplish. It’s important that we work hard to provide opportunities for all the students in San Francisco.

What would your main priorities be, if elected?

SW: The first is decreasing the achievement gap that exists for African-Americans, Latinos, Pacific Islanders, children in foster care and children with special needs. We have to make learning tangible. The second one is to make sure that we bring quality schools to every neighborhood. We have some good schools here in the city but not in low-income and disenfranchised communities. The third thing is making sure that increased revenues are directed into the classroom.

What first steps would you take towards accomplishing these?

SW: The first thing we’d do is add more opportunities like internships for students to really learn the practical aspects of what their courses are teaching. Right now at my job, we’re doing solar installation training at Marshall High School. Secondly, I would work closely with the Superintendent and the development team of the District to try and bring more resources from outside into the District.

What do you think is the most important project you have completed in the past and why?

SW: The biggest thing I’ve done is being a director towards development organizations for the past four years at Marshall. The name of my organization is Young Community Developers and I am the Executive Director. When I got there we didn’t have a lot of programs directly in schools. Now, for the past three years, hundreds of students have received job training after their regular summer school classes. Creating the pipeline from school to career and making that opportunity happen for hundreds of students is something I’m proud of.

How would your leadership affect SFUSD high schools such as Lowell?

SW: One thing we’re trying to do is bring programming to every high school in San Francisco. For example, they now have solar installation training at Marshall, carpentry programs and construction at O’Connell and mechanics at Washington. I’m working with every high school to find something they can build an expertise in.

Jamie Rafaela Wolfe

Jamie Rafaela Wolfe

Why are you running to be on the Board of Education?

Jamie Rafaela Wolfe via email: As an educator, I am running to effect change to ensure the SFUSD provides equitable access to every child and family in San Francisco.

What would your main priorities be, if elected?

JRW:

  • Ensuring equitable access to our public schools for every child and participation in the school community for every family
  • The support and expansion of existing gardens and the further establishment of organic gardens in all of our public schools
  • Strict oversight of nutritional values in the foods and beverages available in our public schools
  • Transparency and community involvement in matters brought before the Board
  • Advocacy for the distinct needs of children and families involved in special education
  • Focus on increasing the technological infrastructure in our public schools
  • Budget stability to continue summer school programs and increase teacher and paraprofessional pay
  • T&LGBQIA safety

What first steps would you take towards accomplishing these?

JRW: Utilizing my networks and proficiencies to assess and engage each school site to meet my priority expectations and work with all parties to create the change we all want to see.

What do you think is the most important project you’ve completed in the past and why?

JRW: The most important project I have completed recently was being Co-Chair and organizing and producing the hugely successful 2014 Trans March.

How would your leadership affect SFUSD high schools such as Lowell?

JRW: I will work with students and faculty at Lowell to meet the target goals I have set out as well as work with students and staff to identity other goals. I think engaging students to take leadership roles with producing their own change in schools is very relevant to the great motivations of Lowell students.

Dennis Yang

Dennis Yang

Why are you running to be on the Board?

Dennis Yang via email: I am running for the Board of Education because I really want to improve our public schools and the overall educational system. I am a San Francisco native and a proud product of the San Francisco Unified School District, having attended Spring Valley Elementary, Marina Middle School and Lowell High School. My career began in 2000 at Lowell, where I taught for three years, and my motto in teaching has always been “life influencing life,” meaning that while my students learn from me, I am also learning from them at the same time.

What are your main priorities and why?

DY: My main priorities are the student school assignment process, closing the achievement gap and providing teachers with better training and support for Common Core curriculum. The student school assignment process needs to be changed to lessen the burden and trouble that are brought to many families, while the disparity in achievement in the SFUSD is also one of my main concerns. I want all our schools to be great and I want all our students to reach their full potential, so our teachers need the proper training in order to properly teach Common Core.

What would be your first steps toward accomplishing your main priorities?

DY: With regards to the student school assignment process, I propose that elementary school and middle school students attend their neighborhood schools. Once students reach high school age, they can then take public transportation to attend their assigned school. In this way, we can balance the student school assignment process with neighborhood schools. At the Bay School of San Francisco, we have a tutorial time built into the schedule at the end of the day where students go to see their teachers for help with homework or class material, so instituting a tutorial time in schools would be one way to help close the achievement gap. Another practice at the Bay School is meditation, which is done in the morning or at the beginning of classes. Meditation calmly anchors students and helps them focus and concentrate better in classes and throughout the day. I firmly believe that the implementation of tutorial time and meditation will indeed help to close the achievement gap and help all our students reach their full potential. In addition, I will work with the other school board members to ensure that our teachers receive the proper training and support that they need to effectively teach Common Core, which will help our students reach their maximum potential.

What do you think is the most important project you’ve completed in the past and why?

DY: I would say that with regards to teaching, I am most proud of my implementation of the card game Three Kingdoms Attack! into my teaching of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. My teaching method was so unique that the Sing Tao Daily newspaper wrote an article about my project on February 7, 2011. They termed my method “edutainment.” As for a project for the School District, I recently led two teacher housing workshops in partnership with the Mission Economic Development Agency and Consumer Credit Counseling Services, along with Citibank, to let teachers know about programs that would help them buy a home in San Francisco. With rents and housing prices soaring, I wanted to let teachers know that there is hope and there are programs available to help them. The teachers told me after the workshops that they didn’t know there were these different programs available to them, so I was very happy that I was able to help our teachers and give them hope.

How will your projects affect public schools like Lowell?

DY: I believe that the implementation of tutorial time and meditation will be of great benefit to Lowell students as well. The students who need extra time and practice to process the material will get it through tutorial time and with meditation, students will be better able to focus in class and concentrate throughout the day. With the implementation of these items, Lowell students’ grades will improve.

Stevon Cook

Stevon Cook

The reporters set up an interview with Cook but he has not had the time to respond.

You can refer to the candidate’s website for information on him.

Lee Hsu

Lee Hsu

The reporters set up an interview with Hsu but he has not had the time to respond.

You can refer to the candidate’s website for more information on him.

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ELECTION TIME: Which candidates would you choose to make the big decisions for SFUSD?