Despite strides, still a ways to go
Black, Latino students left behind; we need your help
In San Francisco, we are deeply committed to creating a top-tier education system that provides everyone with the opportunities and resources needed for success, both while attending San Francisco Unified School District schools and after graduation. Everyone means everyone.
In the past few weeks, approximately 4,000 students graduated from San Francisco’s public schools. They comprise San Francisco’s 86.5 percent graduation rate, which sits 3.3 percent higher than the state average. They are more academically qualified and better prepared than any class before them.
Yet, before we celebrate, let’s consider two more facts.
The graduation rate for Latino students in San Francisco is 11.6 percent lower than the city average and, for African American students, 15.4 percent lower. African American and Latino students in San Francisco are significantly less likely to graduate from high school than their white and Asian classmates. To that extent, we have been working tirelessly to support both populations.
Our ultimate goal is getting graduation rates as close to 100 percent as humanly possible. San Francisco must now set a second goal: Getting graduation rates for Latino and African American students up to the city average. We cannot be a city that provides opportunities for some students, but not all.
We have made huge strides in recent years thanks to restorative strategies that provide students with structured support rather than discipline, improved and expanded job training programs, and coding and computer science classes that prepare students for the 21st century job market.
We have created an African American Achievement and Leadership Initiative, which includes resources and a dedicated team to support our black students. We are working hard on accelerated language programs and increased supports for our Latino students and English learners, as well as developing career pipeline programs in the schools that guarantee students that graduate from SFUSD are ready for higher education or ready to work at a living wage.
We need dynamic ideas and we need to see them through, but we must also find ways to rebalance our existing programs and make sure that all students have access to the basics. Those basics include mentorship, community support and activism, which is where you, the reader, come in.
We need you to support our black and Latino students by becoming mentors, volunteering at after-school programs and finding ways to use your skills to benefit our students. You can advocate for students: If you see a disparity in school quality or the resources available, speak up.
Call your supervisor, join community forums, participate in City Hall hearings and discussions, and add your voice to the “Public Comment” portion of our school board meetings, held at 6 p.m. every second and fourth Tuesday.
As a resident of our city, you are a member of the SFUSD community and we want to hear your voice. Also know that if we are going to make positive change for our students who need us the most, we need all city policymakers working together.
Let’s consider this graduation season a less-than-subtle reminder that we need to recommit to lifting up our Latino and African American students. Not by taking resources away from other students, but by ensuring that every single student, regardless of race, ethnicity and background, has access to the resources to succeed, including opportunities for growth, properly outfitted classrooms and school facilities, a structured support system, and teachers who are qualified, passionate and deeply invested.