Today is a day of opportunity! A message from our Executive Director
Visual of people in the background with the headline Today is a Day of Opportunity, Our Actions? Text: We call our Congress Representatives. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-2131 We voice our cares at SFUSD Board of Education Meeting, 2/25/2025 and Become a #boardwatch team member. We stick together and attend our child’s School Site Council meetings.
We are a democracy that stands for our children and the right to a free and quality education. Our fight for equity is long-standing. Although new measures have been taken to ensure that not all students are being represented- we have been summoned. Today is a day of opportunity—one where we get to choose what we will do to act. We know that some of the individuals who influence our emotions on these issues are elected to office today.
And as the new federal administration transitions making moves on our communities, PPS-SF pushed on SFUSD to implement the structures necessary to protect students so they can show academic progress. Protection to our children from discrimination based on national origin and immigration status in public schools must also be guided by adequate operational infrastructure.
With the attack on public education, deficit budgets and the vacancies on teaching positions, districts are overwhelmed. We recognize that this is more difficult and complex to address from a systems standpoint.
I shared an idea with SFUSD Supt- an Immigration Workgroup plan which aims to create a supportive and inclusive environment for immigrant students and families by integrating expert insights and community perspectives into effective education policies and practices. The opportunity would serve Comprehensive guidance, Policy framework for the district, Training materials and resource, Reports on progress and impact evaluations with community-based organizations who serve families every day.
PPS also met with both the President and Vice President of the SFUSD Board of Education to help them understand needs of students with disabilities, English learners, students in transition and who are unsheltered and Black and Native American focal groups from our perspective. We addressed the issues of alignment within the budget cuts ideas to the Local Contral Accountability Plan (LCAP), the plan of the district.
The 2024, California School Dashboard, reported SFUSD is comprised of 48,736 (48,785 in 2023) students of those 53.9% (53.2% in 2023) are Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, 25.6% (28% in 2023) English Learners, 0.5% Foster Youth (both 2023 and 2024). Given that the demographic warrants for additional funding from LCAP and other sources, it is important to deliver a budget that will meet the need of students attending. Our children are not commodities to be blanketly cut. They are children and young people, each with its unique story. Educational plans are actually influenced by us-their parents. The Board is accountable to us the people that vote, the Supt is accountable to the Board. So, if we are really looking up the chain, we are the determining factor.
Dr. Su: “I have asked our central office leaders to propose reductions to their divisions and teams, starting at a minimum of 20% up to 100%.” reported at the January Board Meeting
These deep reductions would obliterate proven models like the African American Academic Leadership Initiative, Language Pathways and necessary alternative education programs which help the most vulnerable students.
My Question: Where is the Impact Analysis that demonstrates the methods to decide these cuts as well as the short- and long-term impacts that will likely occur because of these cuts? Given the slow progress of the board of education and leadership to effectively support and shape accountabilities, what central decision-making bodies exist to inform on these blatant cuts?
While SFUSD must cut the budget, how it decides what to cut is more critical than the denominator number. Simply stated, our children are more than numbers, they are vibrant testimony of joyful learning experiences which make academic progress. Our school as system must think with a mindset of closing deep opportunity gaps which exist across our communities. As part of my service to the U.S. Department of Education Regional Advisory Committee West, a thorough needs assessment called Identifying and Addressing Priority Education Needs was published underscoring the need for local communities to address opportunity gaps.
The PPS ask of the President and Vice Presidents include a laser like focus on our children guided by workgroups and impact analysis to make effective decisions. Additionally, we need to institute Board Committees, Board Commissioner Office Hours and Board of Education Townhalls. We need more time as a community to grapple with all these plans. Boards across California have these types of structures for good reason, they provide the public with more opportunities to understand what is being discussed and proposed at a board level. They also assure the community of enhanced accountability of the board of education overall.
What do we do about all this? It’s a day that we turn outward.
We call our Congress Representatives. US Capitol Switchboard 202-224-2131 to speak on the proposed changes that will impact our children greatly. There is a trickle-down effect that occurs with federal funding. Making sure your Congress knows what to prioritize is essential.
While the State of California has made forward motions to protect our children, make sure to connect with local Assembly Delegate members and associate members about the needs right in your community.
We must voice our cares to the school district-it is our democratic right. The next Board of Education Meeting is February 25th, 2025, with the Topic of College and Career Readiness. While this is the topic, the public can provide public comments on non-agenda items.
All in all, we stick together. Attend your child’s School Site Council meetings, speak on public comment. All notes must be posted publicly.
My best you all,
Vanessa
Dr. Vanessa Marrero is a national educational equity expert and the executive director of Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco. In August 2023, she was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to serve as member parent representative of the Regional Advisory Committees (RAC) for the Comprehensive Center Program for the West RAC. With strong ties to SFUSD, her past roles include Community Schools Coordinator, Wellness Director, and School Social Worker, Learning Support Professional. Vanessa's leadership at PPS-SF is pivotal in bridging equitable access across school communities.