Lowell High students make case for changes

Hundreds of San Francisco students gathered outside Lowell High School Friday afternoon to call for an end to meritbased admissions and to express outrage at what they said is a culture of racism fostered by administrators.

Members of the Black Student Union expressed their support for a plan to eliminate meritbased admissions. The proposal, set for a school board vote on Tuesday, would make admission to Lowell based on random lottery, the same as other San Francisco high schools.

“I hear more about protecting Lowell’s reputation than about addressing racism,” said Hannah Chikere, 14, a freshman and Black Student Union member. “Our trauma has been dismissed, ignored and made fun of. We want change.”

Black students said the district’s failure to address Lowell’s historic lack of diversity had left few other options to remedy what they characterized as a school environment rife with racial tensions stoked by unfair admissions policies. Just 45, or 2%, of the selective high school’s 2,900 students are Black. About a third of students are from lowincome families, compared to about half for the district overall.

The student rally follows an emotionally charged reckoning over the future of the school. Lowell routinely ranks as one of the topperforming public schools in the country, but critics argue that lottery admissions could diminish its toptier status.

“Where is this push for high performance when it comes to leading our school?” said Emmanuel Ching, 17, the student body vice president.

Many speakers pointed to administrators’ handling of a racist outburst on the elite high school’s online forum last month as emblematic of a larger climate of racism at the school.

“Today we say to the administration: Step up or step aside,” Ching said.

A group of Black students led by Shavonne HinesFoster, a senior and student member of the school board, called for sweeping changes to school policies. Wearing matching jackets emblazoned with the Lowell name and reading off a document on their cell phones, HinesFoster, 17, and seven other Black Student Union leaders laid out a list of demands that included more cultural sensitivity training for teachers and the requirement that all Lowell students complete a course in ethnic studies.

Leslie VallejoAvila, 17, was among the many students who voiced their support for Black students’ demands. She said she was moved to speak at Friday’s rally after being asked by school administrators to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

“Lowell only supports change when it supports the image,” she said.

“Our trauma has been dismissed, ignored and made fun of. We want change.” Hannah Chikere, Lowell High School student

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Lowell High School freshmen Hannah Chikere (left) and Arianna Grice listen during a news conference to address recent racist incidents at the school. A group of Black students has called for sweeping changes.