Education is the foundation of our growth as a community and a city and, at present, one of the most deprioritized components of our government. As supervisor, it is important to acknowledge that my ability to implement changes can be limited. Additionally, education is not relegated only to our city's children. We need to think more holistically about what education and continuing education mean for everyday people and outside formal academic settings. It is my commitment to advocate for sustainable and accessible education in every way available to my role.

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Childhood Education

• Uphold the San Francisco Board of Education's voter-given authority while personally advocating for issues central to parents in District 9 and Citywide.

• Push for up-to-date and comprehensive data collection on key issues facing SFUSD as identified by educators and parents to better learn how to support the school district legislatively.

• Advocate and, when possible, legislate funding to keep SFUSD operational and support the upkeep, safety, and environmental health of SFUSD properties.

• Collaborate with SFUSD administrative leaders and the school board for greater oversight regarding district budget and spending, ensuring that decisions made as a result of budget challenges do not disproportionately impact the most vulnerable students and their families. 

• Ensure that the students and families affected by SFUSD school closures receive information and resources to ensure they remain in SFUSD; support any teachers, counselors, or facilities staff impacted by budget cuts and school closures and push that SFUSD maintains their employment.  

• Help elevate the importance of early childhood education, advocating for expansion of affordable early education and preschool for District 9 families. Ensure that district families receive support and information about affordable childcare and early education options. 

• Advocate to expand before and after-school programs for kids who have no supervision at these times. Our kids, now more than ever, are becoming increasingly disconnected due to the unregulated advances of recreational technology, long term impacts of post-COVID isolation, and lack of community socialization. We must look for ways to supplement these gaps both in and out of school, through programs that give nurture and structure. Look to models like the Childrens After School Arts for expansion.

• Help support the implementation of the middle school algebra program and ensure that all SFUSD students have equitable access to math education.

• Support the expansion of LGBTQ-inclusive resources in K-12 schools and advocate for more institutional support for LGBTQ students, such as gender-neutral bathrooms and locker rooms, LGBTQ cultural competency training for students, teachers, counselors, and administrators, and greater integration of LGBTQ issues in the curriculum.

• Push for the integration of a distinct ethnic studies curriculum pathway at all SFUSD schools. 

• Push for city programs that promote youth employment. We are currently at an intersection of infrastructural collapse and lack of viable and equitable opportunities for youth of working age. Instead of spending excessive amounts on outside contracts, we can reallocate resources for programs that connect our youth with the environment and neighborhoods they live in and help encourage pride and ownership in the community.

• Advocate for increased fluency around civics, local issues, and awareness of renters, homeowners, and workers rights to prepare future generations for adulthood and a continuity of community and generational wealth.

 

Continuing and Higher Education

CCSF is an essential local institution for anyone in San Francisco seeking personal and professional growth; it is particularly important for low and middle income residents. I will continue to advocate for City College of San Francisco as a resource for continuing education and occupational training. It is critical to understand just how invaluable a resource CCSF is for working students of all ages, as well as elders who are becoming increasingly isolated: 

 

• The occupational training programs have provided our city with generations of professionals in the medical, culinary, and technical field and to lose them would close off valuable in-city employment for San Franciscans and force them to seek this training and employment elsewhere. 

• The matriculation program is a valuable tool in California by which students can defray the extreme costs of higher education and incur less debt than if they attended university straight away. Advocate for public education for this as a path for students seeking a university education and encourage matriculation to SF-based colleges like SFSU.

• The Main (Ocean), Evans, and Mission Campuses are extremely important to District 9 residents and I commit to advocate that these stay open and look to them as valuable resource centers for elders and youth.

• I will advocate for partnerships in city employment and the private sector that find correlations and opportunities for certification and training to be accessed through CCSF, including industry sponsorships.

• I will press for the establishment of cost neutral City-run and implemented equitable student housing in collaboration with public and private colleges for all students, including those at CCSF.

• Finally, I support the autonomy of other higher education institutions like SFSU and advocate for their administration-student collaborative models on a CSU-wide level.

 

Community Education and Safety

We continue to learn well after school and I will advocate for community education programs to build awareness and meet many of the challenges we face together.

 

• Supporting and subsidizing multilingual education and outreach around violence and assault, teaching non-violence, restorative practices, and healthy relationships in the community throughout K-12.

• Mobilizing outreach to those with accessibility challenges on available resources. In particular seniors in regard to health and housing who may experience technological and physical barriers to access.

• Advocate for more robust and culturally competent public education campaigns around important social and public health issues in the district from the current overdose crisis, to sexual health, to food scarcity, to climate change to build awareness and compassion.

• Work with existing arts and culture organizations to identify funding and support gaps so as to expand the work they are doing with our most vulnerable community members, especially students.

• Work closely with DCYF to identify funding gaps and ways to expand programs through the advocacy of my office and collaboration with the Mayor and Board of Supervisors.

• Work with the San Francisco Cultural District Program to create stronger connections and cultural continuity between students, elders and community.

• Find ways to ensure safe interim, temporary and permanent housing solutions for our growing houseless student-family population.

 

Improving Education Workforce Policies

Finally, I will continue to advocate and support students, educators, and care providers at all levels of education and push for equitable wages, job protection and representation. This will include but not be limited to:

 

• Regularly meet with student educators representatives during my tenure at the Board of Supervisors to understand challenges at a field level.

• Push for all ways in which the city can ensure the safest, most supportive and most equitable campuses for educators and students. This should include increased data collection on disparities ranging from  protections against gun violence to protecting the most vulnerable, especially sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data.

• Advocate and legislate for full fiscal transparency in the allocation and implementation of city funding in the San Francisco School District and City College of San Francisco.

• Push for deeply affordable housing, city-implemented for educators and educational institution staff, in particular those in SFUSD and CCSF, and other low paid adjunct faculty, especially those in public institutions.

• Advocate for the expansion of services, temporary and interim shelter, and resources for students and educators experiencing homelessness.

• Expand protections and benefits for educators in auxiliary programs through SFUSD.