We are joining the SFUSD Board of Education Special Meeting. The board will be discussing a resolution on reopening schools. #BoardWatch
The resolution is being read into the record now. It has been amended as of today. You can find the resolution here: go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board… #BoardWatch
Commissioner Lam adds an additional change to the resolution that would require that any survey sent to families to understand their return to school or distance learning preferences would include detailed information about the district's plans #BoardWatch
Another correction from @jennyhlam: was a little garbled, but I think it is about having ongoing workgroups to monitor the plan which would include admins, reps from teachers union, and several parent advisory council groups (AAPAC, DELAC, PAC, CAC) #BoardWatch
Public comment starting now: speaker notes that it is important to consider difficulty of safely bringing back some students in mod/severe special education classrooms #BoardWatch
Comment: behavior analyst notes only 33 school days to prepare for return of students with moderate/severe disabilities. Not enough time to figure out all the many details. Before setting a date, determine if it is safe for these most vulnerable students #BoardWatch
Comment: student nutrition services worker says should take labor agreements seriously. Timeline should be driven by science, not an arbitrary date. This is political, not based on best advice. #BoardWatch
Comment: leader from Alliance of Black School Educators applauds for selecting a date, but please proceed cautiously with this most vulnerable group. Follow the science. #BoardWatch
Comment: important to have labor agreements in place before returning to the classroom. Not meet and confer. It is these bodies that will be on the front line. #BoardWatch
Comment: president of United Administrators stands with other union partners thanks for adding some suggested language to the resolution. #BoardWatch
Comment: parent of a 1st and 4th grader and SFUSD alum thanks board for resolution and encourages board to ask district to release information to the public about current enrollment and participation rates to assess how well students are doing in distance learning #BoardWatch
Comment: president of UESF thanks the authors for including some suggested language. Plans are important, but the virus doesn't have timelines. Data cited in resolution from New York is now outdated. Need agreements from all labor unions. #BoardWatch
Comment: (through Spanish translator) Parent of three students. Safety is priority, should not rush going back into schools. Can continue taking virtual classes for a while. #Boardwatch
Comment: paraeducator does not want to rush return. Personal circumstances make it risky, and some of the students don't have the best personal hygiene. Love working with students, but feel return to in-person learning is not in anyone's best interest #BoardWatch
Comment: feel there is a false dichotomy between the issue of health and safety and return to school. There are huge harms to students that flow from keeping students in distance learning. Violence in homes. More disinterest in learning #BoardWatch
Comment: educator suggests that there is a better way to support struggling kids than through reopening schools #BoardWatch
Comment: coordinator of the Parent Advisory Council understands the urgency for some groups of students to gain access to in-person learning, but has concerns about the rush, especially given rising case rates. #BoardWatch
Comment: clerk at two pre-k sites and parent of 2 students calling as a union rep. In solidarity with all unions. SEIU does not have a Covid protection MOU. Feel district is 2 steps ahead. #BoardWatch
Comment: special educator wants a plan that includes educator voices. Concerned with the lack of safety in the resolution. Students need help with feeding, changing, and learning. Not a typical situation. #BoardWatch
Comment: partners at SEIU and paraprofessionals will be most impacted by opening. The science behind how to reopen needs to be responsive to what is happening in real-time, not the calendar date. #BoardWatch
Comment: Parent at Tenderloin public school. Happy remote learning is still seen as a priority. Concerned about too many resources going to opening schools instead of helping those most at risk. Emphasize surveying families and seeing which families want to return #BoardWatch
Comment: We should be challenging some of the biases that being at home is similar to being in prison #BoardWatch
Comment: Parent to 3 SFUSD students. Thank you for this resolution, it shows lots of progress. Disappointed that it happened at 8 months into the pandemic. There are unions representing employees. Who is representing the children in this situation? #BoardWatch
Comment: Many many professions are back to work with covid precautions. Schools should be no different #BoardWatch
Comment: Principle at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy. Thank you board members, Superintendent Matthews, & President Sanchez. As school leaders we know how difficult it can be to measure school success. We are charged with many goals and aspirations and transparency #BoardWatch
Comment, continued from last tweet: Asking for that same transparency from Board of Education when it comes to opening schools. Please work with all unions to make sure we are doing this as safe as possible. Use CDC recommendations & SF Health Dept recs please #BoardWatch
Comment: Special education parent. As an educator knows how important it is to meet the needs of students. This resolution needs to be safe for all families, students, educators, and district employees before we return. As an older woman of color, w/ asthma, continued #BoardWatch
Comment, continued from last tweet: We know how covid affects communities of colors. Many SFUSD administrators are people of color. Has grandparents with IEPs and knows the important of getting those students back to the classroom but it must be safely #BoardWatch
Comment: Reading a statement. Stressing the importance of creating a plan that is safe for all students and educators. The current resolution is not safe for all people. Want to reach an agreement that is safe for everyone. #BoardWatch
That concludes public comment #BoardWatch
@lopez4schools thank you to everyone that called in with their thoughts and concerns. As a co-author we want transparency and clarity throughout this process. This resolution is to uplift the numerous details if we do want to return to in-person instruction #BoardWatch
@lopez4schools we want families to know that there will be a choice between remote or going back to in-person. We will ensure safety and that is why we are doing so much planning right now #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins don't know if this is a good time to bring up the new amendment to be added to the resolution? Decided it will be looked at after board comments #BoardWatch
@stevoncook There are many people working hard, working long hours. Trying to offer a very clear plan, @SFUSD_Supe has worked very hard on the reopening dashboard. We are not going to just pick a date and stick with it, using science to figure out a plan #BoardWatch
@SFUSD_Supe thank you to members of the public who came out to speak on the resolution. One aspect of the current resolution that I have reservations about: establishment of the additional work group. There are a number of work groups already in place #BoardWatch
@jennyhlam we did expand on additional membership to those work groups, that is what is listed in the amendments. Bringing on health experts to those working groups. So no additional working groups just bringing on more people #BoardWatch
@jennyhlam had a conversation with our labor partners earlier. We cannot do this work without our work force and labor partners. Ensuring workers are protected is incredibly important. We would not go down a path without our labor partners #BoardWatch
@stevoncook a lot of this dashboard and this collaboration is already happening with labor. Wants to continue to have those conversations #BoardWatch
@SFUSD_Supe meet and confer is happening and that leads to MOU #BoardWatch
Meet and confer is part of the process of getting to an MOU. With all of our groups right now, going back and working on getting MOUs. MOU= understanding between the district and labor partners #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins lack of federal leadership means each state is doing their own thing. Which means that each district is on its own. Really important for people to be involved in the decision making process. Voice of different community members is important #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins thank you to everyone that came out tonight. Very dynamic work in supporting SFUSD and the SFUSD community. Adding an amendment to the resolution that includes a staff position that reports directly to the board #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins being a commissioner is a volunteer position. The dynamic nature of this challenge means being more actively involved and allows for more cohesion. Things are changing quickly, helpful to have someone to make sure we are aligned with our priorities #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins reads the amendment to the resolution. Below is the link to the amendment go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board…
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@AliMCollins we have changing numbers of covid rates in SF. The role is to provide more support to us given how often things are changing #BoardWatch
@SFUSD_Supe I spoke with @AliMCollins and @jennyhlam. In other districts boards usually have one employee: the superintendent. Concern around clarity of roles and assignment. When additional positions are added, it can cause confusion. #BoardWatch
@SFUSD_Supe it sounds like this role is supposed to align the board, but usually it is the other way around. The board has to be willing to be aligned. If the board isn't already cohesive around priorities, it will be hard for this role to bring cohesion #WithLove #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins I think as a board we are cohesive. Things are just changing so rapidly, we all work full time jobs and juggle family, and with this dynamic crisis, we need more capacity. Not a lack of willingness, but a lack of capacity #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins don't want to take staff away from their other role. Want to track goals and progress in a way that does not over tax @SFUSD_Supe and other staff members. Important for us to be responsive #BoardWatch
@stevoncook questions for @SFUSD_Supe : Reality of the capacity of the board to manage anyone effectively and the need for additional personnel to keep the board informed. Has there been any new personnel hired since the pandemic started? #BoardWatch
@SFUSD_Supe no we did not hire anyone new #BoardWatch
There was an emergency manager but currently seeking out someone to fill that role #BoardWatch
Consulting SFUSD legal to get a better understanding about how this new potential board hire will interact with the Brown Act #BoardWatch
Have no idea what The Brown Act is? I'm in the same boat! Learn a little bit about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Act #BoardWatch
@lopez4schools wanted to point out that there are numerous staff that have been told can't communicate with commissioners. There are blocks and fear tactics being used in the district. If we could specify who we can and cannot talk to, that would be great #BoardWatch
@FaauugaMoliga Thank you @AliMCollins In full time support of this amendment! Full time father, full time employee. Realistically it is not possible. Advocate of building out a team, this is a great start. Step in a good direction #BoardWatch
@marksanchezsf just to give some perspective to the public. Board members are elected for this role, given a $500 stipend a month, option for health care but many of us have jobs that we use for health care. In this era of covid we are stretched very thin #BoardWatch
@marksanchezsf we need this support. Thank you for this amendment @AliMCollins and @jennyhlam! #BoardWatch
@SFUSD_Supe several corrections that @jennyhlam read are not on the version that is on Board Docs. Just want to make sure we have the correct document in Board Docs #BoardWatch
Discussion around labor will happen in closed session #BoardWatch
Voting on the resolution with amendment. And the resolution passes! #BoardWatch
Moving into Item C Discussion of Informational Items. First there will be a discussion for the plan to return to in-person instruction in Phase 2A #BoardWatch
Here are the slides that are being used in the discussion go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board…
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All of these have to be Yes before we bring 2a students back to in-person instruction #BoardWatch
@SFUSD_Supe how will the public be made aware of things taking place? There are two different dashboards that show the progress of each phase #BoardWatch
Here is the dashboard for Phase 2B: public.tableau.com/profile/thu.cu… #BoardWatch
Information on next steps for the reopening of SFUSD: 
Public Comment: "We want to send our kids back to school [...] but we just can't. Minimizing risk just isn't enough for some of our kids. [...] Minimized risk is still a huge risk for our families."
A tearful parent expresses frustration at lockdown. "We can't wait until we prove that COVID is fully gone. I need my kids to be back in school. We're in the same storm, but we're not in the same boat."
Public comment: "Me, personally, I am not prepared to send my kids back to school. I can see that the families who need it would be able to go back with the insistence of safety in place for them."
Public comment: "I think it's critical for in-person schooling to open as soon as possible. Domestic violence is a real issue and kids are counting on us to do the right thing."
Public comment has concluded.
Enikia Ford Morthel clarifies that the "hybrid" schedule is vague because it is still in the works what that schedule will look like for pre-K and K students.
@AliMCollins thank you to staff for putting this together & providing more clarity. We do need to mobilize quickly but right now we are planning around buildings and not around students and we need to be planning around students. Concerned that certain areas #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins concerned about the Tenderloin, Excelsior, Soma, The Mission, and China Town #BoardWatch
Trying to accommodate students back at their home sites and that's how certain schools were chosen. Went through a due diligence exercise #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins the total we are looking to accommodate after 2a is 10,000 students, correct? But we can accommodate 15,000, correct? Why are we not considering 2nd grade? #BoardWatch
@EnikiaM 2nd grade was considered at the beginning but to try and scale quickly we wanted to focus on the youngest students. 2nd grade might still be considered but it depends #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins felt like more of a spectator than a participant. How many kids are in 2nd grade? #BoardWatch
There are between 3,800 and 3,900 2nd graders in the district #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins feels like an incomplete assessment if we are not asking all of the families if they want to come back or not. Waiting is going to delay our ability to plan fully #BoardWatch
@lopez4schools important for me to know where everyone in the district falls. Need to know a clear number of who all wants to return and then we can plan accurately. We should ask not only TK-1 but all elementary, middle, and high school #BoardWatch
@jennyhlam I don't want to slow down the planning process but I want to be strategic and intentional #BoardWatch
@EnikiaM we will take it back to the team and get back to you all about the impact, what is lost or slow downed, about looking at also 2nd grade. The request was to bring in groups in phases and gradually to do things safely #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins 2 questions:
1. Can we include 2nd graders in this?
2. Can we have more dialogue about geographic location? Can we follow up on specific areas in a curriculum meeting and do a deeper dive? #BoardWatch
1. Can we include 2nd graders in this?
2. Can we have more dialogue about geographic location? Can we follow up on specific areas in a curriculum meeting and do a deeper dive? #BoardWatch
Second grade will be looked into #BoardWatch
@marksanchezsf thank you again to @SFUSD_Supe and all staff who have been working on this! #BoardWatch
Now moving onto our last discussion item: Update on the Work of Coordinated Care Teams #BoardWatch
Actively works toward anti-racist work #BoardWatch
Coordinated care team works on educating students and families about anti-racist practices #BoardWatch
Developing central supports where more support is needed #BoardWatch
Working on alignment and collaboration to best institutionalize this process #BoardWatch
Meeting monthly and regularly with all staff in this process #BoardWatch
This is the first time there has been a cross division support so lots of communication to avoid confusion and ensure clarity #BoardWatch
Set up school based consultation teams can request consultation and support from SFCSD WPT Team members #BoardWatch
Tried to look at our systems and see where our own practices support white-supremacy or there is implicit bias #BoardWatch
This will look different at each school site. Really leaning into the idea of anti-racist work as changing and redesigning systems #BoardWatch
Opening up to public comment at this time #BoardWatch
Two people and each will get two minutes #BoardWatch
Comment: Appreciate this presentation and how we are trying to align with various stake holders. This seemed to connect with the needs assessment. How will these align? When will we see data of the needs assessment? #BoardWatch
Comment, continued from last tweet: Hope we would align data with the need assessment when it comes to learning. Please try to center historically underrepresented neighborhoods #BoardWatch
Comment: Thank you for the presentation and for putting a name to the process. Looks forward to their actually being resources, and training for staff especially family liaisons #BoardWatch
Comment: Teacher in SFUSD. Appreciate all efforts being made to open schools safely. Where can teachers find resources about what type of PPE there will be, will there be a hybrid model, how will teachers be tested? #BoardWatch
End of public comment #BoardWatch
@FaauugaMoliga are we rolling this out already or is it in the works? #BoardWatch
Begun it but still building on it. Currently doing check-ins #BoardWatch
By the end of this school year want to identify that each school has a coordinated care team and know who is on that team. The change management at over 100 schools, it just depends. Might take one year and another year to embed the processes #BoardWatch
Want to resist the sense of urgency to make intentional decisions that come from a place of family partnership #BoardWatch
Started working on what data systems we can create to keep track of things. It was hard when the pandemic hit and the main person went on sabbatical. But going to work on things again come January #BoardWatch
Goal of anti-oppressive institutionalization. It is not a system you can built in a year. You can wedge it in, in three years. It can take awhile to change the way people do things #BoardWatch
A lot of the work is looking at one's own paternalistic and personal practices that support white-supremacy #BoardWatch
Moving into division wide systems. Have staff that are very dedicated at keeping us aligned but also very stretched. Got a fair amount of cuts last year. Trying to be smarter about the way we align our resources #BoardWatch
@jennyhlam what does the student journey look like? Tonight seemed like a lot of the how and what. With these systems in place, what will be different because of this? #BoardWatch
Continual feedback loop between students and families #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins you've taken something we needed to get done and you've done it in an authentic way #BoardWatch
@AliMCollins what do you need right now? This is the part of us making sure we are being a resource for those middle school and high schools students who are not high priorities #BoardWatch
Asking for your grace and patience to get back to you because we are in the budget process and knowing after this process will be helpful. Appreciate the comments. This work is not mine, it is the entire division. Extremely grateful for the people doing this work #BoardWatch
Absolutely want to work with family liaisons, school advisors, they would be a part of the community care team. Trying to be inclusive not exclusive #BoardWatch
Public comment about the item on closed session which is about labor agreements #BoardWatch
Comment: I want to thank you everybody and I know you are doing it for our students and our community through Spanish translator #BoardWatch
@marksanchezsf It's nice to hear nice things sometimes #BoardWatch
The board is going into closed session and at #BoardWatch we are logging off for the night. Hope everyone has a great rest of their night! #BoardWatch
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