A Parent’s Fight Against S.F. Schools
May 30, 2003
The San Francisco Unified School District’s diversity index lottery procedure — a method of assigning students to schools based upon socioeconomic status, test scores, mother’s education, language status and prior school ranking — is supposed to benefit students regardless of their race. However, many parents and students find that Asian Pacific American students are the most affected by this new system. Not only will this process have a tremendously negative impact on student academic achievement, it will create severe, unnecessary emotional distress for parents and family as well.
I find this system to be unreasonable and unjust. In my opinion, the sole purpose of implementing this system is to qualify for the $45 million in federal desegregation funds. When assignments were made for students entering elementary, middle and high school for fall 2003, students who live in the Richmond and Sunset Districts, and who happen to be predominantly APA, were sent across town to attend schools in the Bayview-Hunters Point, Mission, Mission Terrace or Cow Hollow Districts. These schools are so far away that students have to take at least two buses to get there. On average, the commute time is about three hours roundtrip.
As an APA parent whose daughter will be attending high school next year, I have encountered the same nightmare that many APA parents are facing: My daughter is being assigned to Philip and Sala Burton High School, which is about 10 miles from my residence. I live just a few blocks away from Lincoln High School. I decided to rally the community, parents, students and relatives so we can collectively demonstrate to the San Francisco Unified School District and the school board that their decisions are wrong and unjust.
We demand that neighborhood schools be re-established. If our children have to wake up at 5:30 each morning, they will not have the energy to pay attention in class. Cutting down on the commute time also allows our children to have sufficient time to do their homework and participate in extracurricular activities. Several hundred students, parents and concerned citizens have protested at the steps of City Hall, in front of the Unified School District and at the School of the Arts during the past three months. Our concerns, dissatisfaction and frustration have also been brought to the attention of and have won support from the Board of Supervisors, Mayor Willie Brown, State Assemblyman Dr. Leland Yee, Supervisor Fiona Ma and from various APA associations throughout the city.
I have always wondered, what are Dr. Arlene Ackerman, the superintendent of the school district, as well as the people of the school board thinking? Have they lost their common sense? How can they expect a 5-year-old kid to take public transit from the Sunset District to Bayview-Hunters Point? When I asked the school board members what they plan to do about transportation for our kids, they replied that they are working with MUNI to figure something out. August is just two months away. I would say good luck putting your faith in the hands of the MUNI folks to figure something out in two months.
All this fuss boils down to one thing. The folks at SFUSD have no clue as to what they are doing. First, they don’t have an answer for transportation. Then, they don’t have an answer to the safety of our kids. What would happen if our kids get kidnapped on the way to school or get beat up for their lunch money? They don’t care because they aren’t the ones holding news conferences begging for the safe return of our kids. What would happen if the kids get run over by cars while chasing down the MUNI buses that these public officials so desperately want the kids to take? The officials don’t care because they aren’t the ones preparing funeral arrangements.
SFUSD leaves us with few choices. We can either choose to (1) shut up and move out of the city, (2) push for private school vouchers and send our kids to private neighborhood schools or (3) vote out all current school board members when the election comes around. Lastly, if the school district is not willing to work with us in placing our children in schools in our neighborhoods, we would have no other option but to organize an opposition to a November 2003 school bond. We must show the school district that they ought to stop taking this community for granted. It is time to work with us to find an amicable solution for our children.
We all know that this is a controversial issue. It has pitted school against school and parent against parent. Parents from other parts of the city probably accuse us of being selfish. I certainly feel that I speak out because I am a responsible parent who cares for the health and well-being of my daughter. If SFUSD expects me to shut up and look the other way, they are asking me not to be a parent.
— John Zhao
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