Thread by @PPSSFBoardWatch

Joining Committe of the Whole meeting currently in session. Discussion of proposed Black Studies curriculum is happening. The resolution includes a $15 million budget. Superintendent is curious how revenues to be generated for the fund. #BoardWatch

Here are the slides being discussed: go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board… #BoardWatch

Director Steiner: if we want this to become a reality, also need to invest in Pre-K 12 social studies curriculum, then backward map. @JenSFeducator

Public comment: commenter approves of supporting Black students, but wants to make sure all student histories are supported, including new immigrants.

Public comment: commenter thinks focus on race is overstated, says you should tell kids "you determine your income through your grit" #BoardWatch

VP Lopez makes a statement that no racist rhetoric will be tolerated in this meeting. #BoardWatch

Public comment: support black studies resolution, and notes that also need to face anti-black policies in the school. Even in distance learning see teachers policing students inappropriately over zoom and talking to them disrespectfully. Need to look at push-out #BoardWatch

Public comment: shouldn't be spending any money on anything until you have money to reopen schools. My students are multiracial, what they are worried about is that they are not in school. Don't respond well to Zoom. Part of difficulties lie with school structure #BoardWatch

Public comment: This is about Black Studies and that is all. Excited as a parent to know my kids will have a chance to see themselves every day, and I as a parent will be celebrated. AAPAC supports this resolution. Black history is everyone's history. #BoardWatch

Public comment: speaker from Coleman Advocates is in support of resolution. How do we find ways to make this more accessible to the broader community? People would benefit from seeing what students are learning - might not be as uncomfortable. #BoardWatch

Public comment: arts partner org rep is totally in support of this resolution and in helping students explore their own identity. Should lean on arts partners. Hip hop should be part of curriculum as a cultural movement that swept the world and should be celebrated #BoardWatch

Public comment: appreciate this resolution and the implementation details. Would appreciate a curriculum that is culturally responsive and trauma-informed #BoardWatch

Public comment: $15 million is a lot of money when tax revenues are down and students are not even in school in person. How are we measuring the return on investment of this money? Not questioning intent. #BoardWatch

Public comment: behavioral analyst with school district hadn't intended to speak but was surprised and want to uplift the voices of those understand the importance of a resolution like this. #BoardWatch

Public comment (cont.): So important to humanize education for all students. Diversity of comments on this shows how important it is to expand offerings in the school district. #BoardWatch

Public comment: speaker apologizes for comments that board members have had to hear. When people say things like this it highlights the needs for programs like this. I am happy my tax dollars are going towards this. Hope community will support in full. #BoardWatch

Public comment: speaker from CAC for Special Education which fully supports the resolution. This is one way to come together and say in a big strong voice that Black Lives Matter. This will start in PreK and go all the way up to 12th grade. #BoardWatch

Public comment: from 2nd district PTA. Want to partner in the implementation and find more ways for families to be engaged in these shifts. #BoardWatch

Public comment: thanking commissioner Cook for the resolution. This is an amazing opportunity to be an ally. How we spend our money is a great reflection of our values. This is 1.5% of overall budget being allocated not just to educating African American students but all of us.

Public Comment: would like to request that AAPAC and black students and families be part of this conversation going forward. Nothing for us should happen without us. #BoardWatch

Public Comment: PAC coordinator says this is long overdue. Some of the comments today show a lack of education and a lack of understanding that this resolution will hopefully help eleviate. #BoardWatch

Public comment: want to remark on comment in presentation about ethnic studies at state level. Portrayal was disingenuous. Concerns were raised by many ethnic groups. Some things in the model curriculum are dehumanizing Jewish students. #BoardWatch

Public comment: teacher and school leader disturbed by ahistorical and inaccurate representations. $15 million dollars is a small downpayment on decades of white supremacy. The city has a long history of anti-blackness. Thank you for this first step, actually a modest first step.

Public Comment: president of SF alliance of black school educators. On behalf of that org and NAACP, applaud this resolution and sorry it has taken so long. Better late than never. A student can graduate from our schools and never have an African American teacher. #BoardWach

Public Comment: parent and SFUSD alum thinks the initiative is impressive and that it gets funding. Would hope there is funding for music, art, coding etc. Concerned with tone in this meeting that when someone disagrees with this resolution tone is to diminish that person.

Public comment: parent is supportive and have seen that as Black families have opened this conversation at school sites it has open the door to other families sharing their history. Shares that reaction to some speakers is based on a longer history #BoardWatch

Public comment: agree with prior speaker that we should include other students in the city that is very diverse. It is great to learn about Black studies, it is part of our history. But are we also going to learn about Asian American contribution? #BoardWatch

Public comment: two high school students call in to speak in support of the resolution #BoardWatch

Public comment: senior at Lowell believes that a lack of ethnic studies has contributed to fostering of anti-black sentiment among teachers, parents and students. Support this resolution. #BoardWatch

Public comment: parent of Black student in majority Chinese school is concerned about the rhetoric that sounds like "all lives matter." All students need to hear about the contributions Black Americans have made to our culture. #BoardWatch

Now it is time for comments from commissioners. Starting with student delegates. #BoardWatch

Student delegate Hines-Foster: bothered by comment from Lowell parent, especially given that she is friends with speaker's daughter. Thinks speaker needs some Black Studies. #BoardWatch

Student delegate Correa: this resolution is a beautiful thing. It is liberation. Can't imagine how much work this was to bring and so thankful to Commissioner Cook. Hines-Foster: I have yet to see this much opposition to other resolutions about marginalized groups #BoardWatch

Hines-Foster: this anti-black sentiment is spreading to parents #BoardWatch

Commissioner Cook: prefacing with comment about the fact that this school district serves everyone, people have a right to speak as long as they are respectful, questions about money are valid. Want to talk about where money can come from. #BoardWatch

Commissioner Cook: defunding police $15million savings. That is City's not SFUSD's and there is a sentiment of "why should we give that to SFUSD" based on track record. #BoardWatch

Superintendent Matthews: didn't say we can't secure the funds, but Superintendent alone cannot raise that amount of money, if it is supposed to come from outside the district. #BoardWatch

Cook: deadline is important because helps prioritize. Matthews: agree that deadlines help, but are things done with most effectiveness? #BoardWatch

Cook: not willing to change deadline. The idea is to tell a more full history of the origins or our country. To everyone who thinks this may be against a different group, that is not the intent, don't even see how that can happen. #BoardWatch

Commissioner Collins: there are many resolutions we have been passing to support specific communities (Pacific islander, latinx, Chinese literary study, ethnic studies) There are specific needs for different communities. That is the work. We voted on all of these unanimously.

Collins continued: when people have questions about SFUSD actually implementing, I have the same questions. Requested to see how all of these intersect. Are we already supposed to be doing this work? If so it shouldn't be "extra" or cost extra money. Want to see tracking document

Matthews: says there are tracking documents and those will be shared with Commissioner Collins. Collins: how can we sit down and look at all we have committed to, and figure out in partnership with staff what work is aligned and what is different and where costs are. #BoardWatch

VP Lopez suggests putting this issue on an agenda for Committee of the Whole. #BoardWatch

Collins: Question commitment to making this happen, when we haven't been able to get ethnic studies fully implemented #BoardWatch

Superintendent says one of the issues is student selections. Students are not selecting. One aspect is the question of putting ethnic studies in front of students who say they don't want to take ethnic studies. That has been part of the barrier. #BoardWatch

Student Delegate Hines-Foster: my experience (Lowell) is that students don't even know ethnic studies exist. Pres. Sanchez: the resolution actually said it would be a graduation requirement by 2019, has been in Sacramento for many years. #BoardWatch

Coordinator of Ethnic Studies Program: this is what we have been looking at for a long time - how to grow ethnic studies. There is wide variance in the city around what students get to have Ethnic Studies. It is one class. Will not make up for years of dehumanizing experiences.

Cont. Needs to be an institutional commitment to understand how students come through all of our curricula and have it be unavoidable to come across these concepts and diverse history. Not just Ethnic Studies class. #BoardWatch

Cont. Schools like Mission and Academy and every student has Ethnic Studies. At other schools there is one class for entire school. Many reasons for this: staffing, lack of electives, leadership decisions. #BoardWatch

Cont. Students at Lincoln last year demanded Ethnic Studies and won themselves additional Ethnic Studies classes. Needs to be specific resources targeted to uplifting Black students. Need an institutional committement #BoardWatch

Assistant Supe Sanderson: some students get excluded from electives, ability to choose, because of requirements selected for them, like special education or English language instruction. #BoardWatch

Nikhil Laud (Ethnic Studies Dept.): An EL focused ethnic studies program is being piloted at Lincoln. Constrained by some things institutionally. #BoardWatch

Commissioner Norton: thinks that Commissioner Collins raises important issue about implementation. It is not OK to pass a resolution and ask for it to happen and it doesn't happen, but as a board also have to be realistic. #BoardWatch

President Sanchez: speaks to several possible funding sources, including City funds, and states that even if no additional funding sources would want to make this happen #BoardWatch

Commissioner Moliga: curious about intent of resolution and understanding how this relates to Ethnic Studies - conversation seems to have shifted to this. #BoardWatch

Deputy Chief Leigh is answering question about ADA. Notes there was decrease in "unduplicated students" in past LCFF funding cycle. This refers to students who are low-income, foster youth and students learning English. ADA is protected this year because of the pandemic.

Aimee Riechel: speaking to the difference between Black Studies and Ethnic Studies. Traditionally Black Studies is housed under Ethnic Studies. Not here saying that we want to call Black Studies "Ethnic Studies," but do want to understand the intent in the resolution.

Cont. "It should have its own pedagogical framework"#BoardWatch

Commissioner Cook: I read the equity studies resolution when writing this one. In this resolution there is an outline of the types of units that should be introduced starting in Pre-K with the idea of a stand-alone class in High School #BoardWatch