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Mei Lam takes over as the executive director of the EPC from Tony Anderson, who has moved on to head the Grants Development Office.
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Educational Placement Center Still On Ropes
SFUSD administration hopes new APA placement director will bring improvement
By Ethen Lieser
AsianWeek Staff Writer
Last week during the Board of Education meeting, several frustrated parents stepped up to the podium to voice their displeasure in the educational placement process at the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). One brave-hearted soul was 14-year-old Sonny Li, a former student at Herbert Hoover Middle School, who now wants to enroll as a ninth-grader at Lincoln High School.
Li, who lives in the Sunset district, said he only lives a couple blocks away from Lincoln, which could be a welcomed convenience for his family. That’s because Li’s aunt takes care of him in addition to her own children. And Li is needed to help with household duties.
“I know she will get worried if I go to a school far away,” he said. “If I get into a school closer to home, it might put her feelings more at ease. She has a lot to do, a lot to handle.”
With the first day of school right around the corner on Aug. 26, Li knows he doesn’t have much time. After three appeals, Li says he has not yet received a placement. “It makes me very worried,” he said. “I really wouldn’t want to carry all these high-school books on a bunch of bus rides.”
It makes it even tougher if Li, who doesn’t take public transportation regularly, is assigned to an Eastside school. Li, however, shouldn’t put too much hope in getting into Lincoln. At the Board meeting, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said that Washington and Lincoln high schools are already overenrolled and have been since spring.
“We tried to wait through the summer to see if those spots opened up, but they didn’t,” she said.
Ackerman said that the Educational Placement Center (EPC) would make runs all week in its last effort to get all students placements. Though the controversial diversity index, a court-ordered mandate that tries to diversify the school district, has been a headache to many parents who didn’t get their child into their schools of choice, there is only a handful left who need placements. Ackerman said all parents who are still waiting would be receiving placements soon.
Much of that arduous process is on the shoulders of Mei Lam, the new executive director of the EPC. She takes over from Tony Anderson, who has moved on to head the Grants Development Office. A former staff member at SFUSD, Lam will now be in charge of mollifying the problems with the placements, with many complaints coming from angry Westside Chinese American parents.
Ackerman said Lam, who is fluent in Cantonese, would be a solid addition to the EPC because of her ability to communicate with Chinese Americans, who comprise close to 40 percent of all students in SFUSD.
“That was important to me because part of what we’re trying to address is communication issues that were raised,” Ackerman said. “We thought that would be important particularly when dealing with the Asian American population.”
Board Commissioner Eric Mar acknowledged that Lam is a veteran in the SFUSD and has shown in the past her ability to be in touch with the SFUSD community.
“She knows a lot about the school district,” he said. “That is one of her big strengths. She is able to talk about all the different school sites and choices to the parents. She does a good job in promoting different schools.”
Lam could not be reached for comment. But Ackerman has already seen firsthand her work ethic.
“She is a 7:30-in-the-morning-to-10:30-at-night type of person,” she said. “She has definitely been a good choice for us.”
The SFUSD will hold its Back to School Rally on Friday, Aug. 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mayor Willie Brown and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary are scheduled to attend.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com.
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