January 26, 2011 SECF
ADOPTED MINUTES
SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY FACILITY COMMISSION
Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:00 PM
1.0 CALL TO ORDER AND SUNSHINE ORDINANCE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy called the Wednesday, January 26, 2011 meeting to order at 6:16 p.m. in the Earl P. Mills Community Room at
1.2 ROLL CALL
At 6:17 p.m. roll was called by Commission Secretary – Carla Vaughn
Commissioners Present: Kennedy, B. Brown, Chung, Ellington (Arrived 6:22pm), LeBlanc, Norman
Commissioners Excused: A. Brown
Staff Present: Toye Moses, Executive Director
Frances Starr, Senior Management Assistant
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary
1.3 CONSENT CALENDAR
Commissioner Kennedy read the Consent Calendar and the Sunshine Ordinance.
1.4 PROPOSED ACTION
It was moved by Commissioner Chung and seconded by Commissioner Norman to accept the Consent Calendar and the minutes for Thursday, January 13, 2011. The vote to accept the minutes and Consent Calendar was unanimous.
2.0 PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
3.0 COMMUNICATIONS
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary announced the following:
a) Edwin M. Lee Sworn In As 43rd Mayor Of
b) Mayor Lee Issues Executive Directive On City Commitment To Host The 34th
c) Mayor Lee Announces $18.7 Million In
3.1 CORRESPONDENCE
· Invitation Letter to PUC General Manager, Ed Harrington
· Invitation Letter to San Francisco Redevelopment Agency Executive Director, Fred Blackwell
· Letter to E.P. Mills Auditorium Tenants From Commission President Kennedy/copies to DHS and Department of Children, Youth & Their Families
· Letter of Invitation & Congratulations to newly appointed Mayor Edwin M. Lee
· Letter of Invitation & Congratulations to newly elected District 10 Supervisor, Malia Cohen
· Letter of Invitation to Get Acquainted with the new Assistant General Manager/External Affairs, Juliet Ellis
4.0 PRESENTATION
Commission Chair Kennedy introduced Dr. Patricia Gray, Assistant Superintendent of the
Dr. Gray provided an update regarding
The $45 million grant was specifically written to address the needs of the schools in the bottom 5% of schools in
However, in order to get a literacy coach you have to pay the money. We have some coaches in the district. We have coaches from Academics and Professional Development that we did not have to add money to get. Those coaches have been deployed to the non-SIG schools. Following are the three School Improvement Grant (SIG) schools, along with the amounts they received:
This school is closing. They received $50,000 which is paying for a student advisor that rotates between
cost in benefits/salary.
Dr. George Washington Carver & Paul Revere - $1.5 Million
The SIG grant provides support for the above named schools for one year as. Please note Paul Revere is not in the BayView Zone.
|
District Funding 1st Year Support |
Community Schools Approach |
Extended Learning Time For Students |
Intensive Professional Development |
Additional Staffing At School Sites |
Instructional Resources & Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Carver |
$80,000 |
$221,000 |
$208,000 |
$800,000 |
$170,000 |
Dr. Gray provided an organizational chart of staff that has been hired to implement the Superintendent’s Zone K – 12 in the Bay View. She reported some positions were provided by the school district and some were available through the SIG Grant. Dr. Gray also provided a synopsis of the SIG Grant.
Dr. Gray reported on school attendance and noted that in order for children to learn they had to be in school. She noted the position of Emily Wade-Thompson who will be a part of her team working specifically in the area of Community Outreach. Dr. Gray reported attendance was up in every school except Dr. George Washington Carver. She advised this is because kindergarten parents are not bringing their children to school.
Dr. Gray advised all the schools were encouraged to continue to focus on English language arts and mathematics especially since these are the areas where children are falling behind. In an effort to close this education/learning gap the EPGY Stanford Math Program has been implemented. EPGY is a computer based supplemental way of helping students do mathematics.
Since the program has begun there have been grade level increases per school and per student. Dr. Gray discussed the change of principals at
Dr. Gray reported that 85% of the African American kids at Thurgood Marshall are not proficient in English. Even more disturbing 99% of the African American children at Thurgood Marshall are not proficient in math. This is unacceptable. In high school it is worse, because they stop coming to school because they are discouraged. Dr. Gray has asked Superintendant Garcia for an additional $10,000 earmarked for Thurgood Marshall, which is not an SIG school.
Dr. Gray stated that the outreach efforts sparked the following increase in attendance:
Bret Harte 93%
Charles Drew 92%
Malcolm X 94%
Thurgood
Willie Brown 93.5%
Dr. Gray reported quarterly exams (MAPS) are benchmark tests given to determine how the students are achieving. Most of the schools have gone up, but a few have not. There is a need to make sure the focus on English language arts and math continues.
Dr. Gray said she expects the children to pass the high school equivalency test. She advised they take it early and if they don’t pass they are allowed to take the test again.
Referring back to the SIG grant Dr. Gray advised that in order to get the grant the principal had to be changed if they had been at their school for more that two years, and also 50% of the teachers would change. This was to happen by September 1st.
Dr. Gray provided a job description for District Zone teachers and said it was time for the children to do what they were capable of doing. Eighty-five percent of the African-American children at Thurgood Marshall are not proficient in English. Even more disturbing 99% of the same children are not proficient in math. That is unacceptable. High school is worse because they stop coming to school.
A request has been made to Superintendant Garcia for $10,000 to put into a reading program at Thurgood Marshall, which is not a SIG school. A response has finally come from the department and they are taking another look at the budget. Dr. Gray is certain the funds will be allocated. The funds will provide teacher training and flexibility in scheduling the children so they don’t have to stay longer than necessary.
The floor was open for questions from the Commissioners.
Commissioner Norman asked why his little grandchildren and other children were bused across town when there was a school nearby.
Dr. Gray responded the children were probably attending the school chosen by their parents, however, every year there is a process and a form must be signed showing their choices. Traditionally it takes a tremendous effort to get students signed up for school. Dr. Gray suggested keeping an eye on the deadlines and getting the forms in before February 11th.
Commissioner LeBlanc requested the status of summer school, specifically for high schools.
Dr. Gray advised there would be SIG money for John O’Connell and
Commissioner Ellington wanted to know what plan was in place to continue the program after the three year period was up.
Dr. Gray responded that sustainability is major and they are building capacity for what is being done right now so the people at the schools can provide their own professional development in house and not have to spend so much money on outside consultants. Dr. Gray asked how an extra $1.5 million a year for schools could be brought in. She said it is that age old problem that once you get there, how do you stay there. Unless there are more resources made available the struggle will continue again in years to come. It is a harsh reality.
Commissioner LeBlanc had a question regarding the new student assignments and how it would affect the students in the Southeast Sector.
Dr. Gray hopes the students will stay in the Bay View Zone because there is a neighborhood school policy for elementary school. The current middle school policy is still in effect except with Willie Brown. Since the school is closing they have first choice of where they want to go. Dr. Gray met with them and they asked to go to Denman, Lick, and Martin Luther King. They can go to any school they want but those are the main schools they want to go to.
Dr. Gray said there is a need to find a place for the fourth graders. They are all over the city and they want to go to different places and they can do that because Willie Brown is closing. The new student assignments only affect elementary schools right now. There is a neighborhood schools policy and then they are going to establish the new middle schools policy.
As far as Willie Brown is concerned Dr. Gray advised she cannot campaign for the bond issue that is going to come up in November, but if the community wants the increase for our schools, as far as building Willie Brown back to the state of the art, the Superintendent has the money to build Willie Brown back, but not as the state of the art school. Willie Brown is closing because it cannot be retrofitted. By law this has to be done by the end of the year and they cannot retrofit it because it has slanted slopes. It will be rebuilt as part of the bond issue in November 2011. If the bond issue passes Willie Brown will be torn down a year from today and it will be rebuilt within three years. There will be a state of the art medical clinic like the one at
Ms. Wade-Thompson has community meetings scheduled for the spring with parents and community members who will be invited to come out and talk about what they want in the school in addition to what Dr. Gray would like. Hopefully, the parents will like it because if the child is sick, come to school, the doctor is there. If the child has a toothache the dentist is there. Those are the things Dr. Gray wants. The parents and community leaders are going on a field trip to Tenderloin and to
Commission President Kennedy thanked the public for their attendance. She said it made her heart proud to see such a turn out, and to know that they are interested in the education of their children. Commissioner Kennedy noted that we all know that education should be the number one priority in the state of
Commissioner Kennedy said in other parts of the world education is a priority, but not in our part of the world. She encouraged those present to go places and speak up about what was needed for the children. She noted when budgets are created there are only X number of dollars to work with and now the Governor is talking about cutting the schools even more.
Commissioner Kennedy suggested the parents start a campaign before the election to make sure the Governor does not cut education anymore. She reminded the audience that when the lottery started it was suppose to be to help education, but it did not. What that Governor did was take away money from education and filled it in with the lottery money, so it really didn’t help. Commissioner Kennedy said this is her number one subject.
The number one topic Commissioner Kennedy is now fighting for is an after school program at
Public Comments:
Patricia Koka, ten year Bay View resident, parent/grandparent, has three children in SFUSD schools. She requested an after school program for youth in the Bay View that they would want to participate in. She thanked the Commission and Dr. Gray for what has been done and said she has seen some advances in the community. She lives in the heart of the Bay View and within her immediate family there are youth caught up in the juvenile and adult court system because they are living street life. Ms. Koka’s children have not been able to play out in front of their house for several years because of constant drive-by shootings. The youth are out there hustling, slinging, and doing whatever they can to get money. They are sent across town and see what everybody else has, but what do they have? As the parent liaison at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Middle School, Ms. Koka said she cannot get parents to come out to meetings and they need to be heard.
Commissioner Kennedy announced there will be a joint meeting with PAC/Citizen’s Advisory Committee and the Southeast Community Facility Commission in the near future. It will be a community awareness meeting that will include officials from City Hall, who need to hear the concerns of the community.
Nancy Folaiwoo, parent and SFUSD employee said the children do not trust people that do not look like them. She requested support for the teachers that might not know the culture of the school. Ms. Folaiwoo suggested hiring community ambassadors similar to the ones hired by City Hall. She said they could be parents/grandparents, individuals the children would obey and respect. Ms. Folaiwoo said there was only one African-American teacher in her school
Dr. Gray responded noting that on March 1st she would be traveling to
Rita Johnese, grandparent of Bret Harte students, expressed frustration with the current school system and asked Dr. Gray if she had visited the classrooms to see what was really going on in the schools.
Dr. Gray advised she did visit the schools on a regular basis.
Lorraine Hanks, parent with 4 children in the SFUSD said she didn’t understand why schools are closing and why the achievement is low. She said the Bay View is being cheated out of a decent education. She noted Ruby Bridges was educated by an Anglo-Saxon and the only thing the woman needed was to walk into the classroom and have compassion. The color of the teacher does not matter. We all know of the struggles in the Bay View. The children go to school and when they leave it is all about violence. Ms. Hanks said she is tired of wondering if her children are going to make it home. In closing, Ms. Hanks expressed disappointment with previous politicians and wondered what happened to the money that was supposed to filter into the Bay View.
Commission President Kennedy responded the Commission was established without certain privileges and the authority provided other city department Commissions. She noted the Commission is more like a citizen’s advisory committee. The Commission has requested and been denied the authority that would make it a viable Commission. The support of the community is needed to encourage the new administration to grant such authority.
Mr. Lin, Bret Harte parent, had a question regarding how teacher performance is being assessed and how often teachers are observed.
Dr. Gray advised she visits classrooms as much as her schedule will allow, at least 2 to 3 times a week.
Iman Robinson-Harris, Carver parent/Burnett staff asked if parents have the right to know when/how the SIG grant is spent.
Dr. Gray provided a comprehensive hand-out that responded to the question in detail with regard to how the SIG grant will be spent.
Commission President Kennedy read a question from the public regarding the responsibility of parents with regard to their children’s education.
Dr. Gray said parents were absolutely responsible and the school district must do what is in their circle of control. If a parent is not actively involved that does not mean the child does not receive 100% of what they need.
Betty Robinson-Harris, representative of Carver Village/First Five Commissioner, commented on the disappointment of not being involved in the SIG process. She asked how parents of community groups could partner and be involved in the process. In closing, Ms Robinson-Harris expressed appreciation for the Carver teachers and said she knows they are there because they want to be there.
Dr. Gray advised the SIG grant/application process information can be found on-line.
Commission President Kennedy read a question from a parent regarding the ability of students to complete 90 minutes of the EPGY Stanford Math Program when their school computers do not work well.
Dr. Gray said the teachers have been advised to contact their principals who will notify her office directly to receive help with the computer systems within an hour.
Alvin Reid, Bret Harte staff commented on the rumors regarding the principal Ms. Franklin, and expressed support for her.
Dr. Gray advised the audience that Ms. Franklin was not fired.
Freshie B. Fields, Bret Harte parent, expressed support for Ms. Franklin and math teacher, Mr. Ben.
Mr. Ben, Bret Harte math teacher commented regarding the EPGY program replacing the core curriculum.
Dr. Gray responded EPGY is required, but does not take the place of core instruction.
Jill Hudson, Carver parent, asked how long a teacher would be allowed to have a class when they cannot handle the class. She said there was a teacher who had experience teaching the 2nd grade, but not the 5th grade and a lot of time was wasted for students because the teacher did not have experience. She noted the teacher was eventually moved, but meanwhile a lot of time had been wasted. Ms. Hudson also had questions regarding a parent’s ability to be hired as a parent liaison.
Dr. Gray noted that within the SIG grant teachers must have at least three years experience. With regard to the parent/liaison positions the job qualifications were available through
Kevin Batiste, Bret Harte staff commented on the community turn out and stated the EPGY program is used every morning. He stated that change is not always good and it was more important for the children to experience familiarity with staff and the support system of their community. Also, he spoke in support of Ms. Franklin.
Dr. Gray responded there was no plan to remove Ms. Franklin. There are certain requirements principals must fulfill, such as teacher evaluations, making sure the school runs properly, etc. If principals do what is required there is no problem.
Rosa Marshall expressed interest in meeting Ms. Franklin. She stated on January 6 there was an article in the Chronicle regarding city budget cuts that would affect school buses.
Dr. Gray responded the school buses for the SIG schools would not be touched.
Stephanie Horwitz, a special education teacher at
Dr. Gray advised she would have Ms. Wade-Thompson look into the matter.
Deedra Watkins, Bret Harte teacher, said achievement is important however, it was unfair to continue to compare all the Bay View Zone schools to Malcolm X because they have less than 100 students. The 12 students in the Malcolm X first grade class receive guided reading everyday because they have a reading specialist that helps the teacher. Meanwhile, the Bret Harte teachers are juggling three groups a day so all of the students are not seen everyday. This is unfair. There needs to be an understanding that if there are 12 students in every class at all of the schools the test scores would go up.
Devoni Watkins, student, commented regarding her ability to learn and her desire to learn.
Muszetta Jones, teacher
Dr. Gray assured the audience the buses would not be removed from Bay View students. And regarding moving teachers, Dr. Gray responded teachers were moved at their own request. She said teachers should not be forced to stay if they wanted to leave. Dr. Gray noted that Ms. Jones made a valid point regarding the use of the English language.
Dr. Gray said in order to do well in school children need to learn to code switch. When you are with your friends you do not speak the same way that you do when you are on your job. Dr. Gray advised she has requested funds to address this matter.
Latoya Carpenter asked what could be done regarding the lack of resources and good teachers at Bret Harte school. She expressed her high regard and respect for the work Ms. Franklin was doing at the school.
Dr. Gray said she would continue to request funds for the non-Sig schools.
Commissioner Kennedy said some teachers and parents do not care about the children. She acknowledged the parents in attendance clearly care and want the best for their children. Commissioner Kennedy said there were many success stories of young people from the Bay View community. However, the press seemed to only want to talk about the negative aspects. She assured the audience the same negative situations were also happening in other communities throughout
Commissioner LeBlanc encouraged the parents to continue to fight the fight. She said she was a product of the Bay View and she thanked Dr. Gray for the work she was doing within the school district.
Commissioner Kennedy said at the upcoming joint community meeting with PAC/CAC they would bring in individuals from City hall that could change things.
5.0 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Commissioner Kennedy said the Citizen’s Advisory Committee is the one that takes care of the information from the shipyard and the letters go out at the beginning of every month. The shipyard is going to be built up and it will be another excellent part of the community. The second phase will be starting soon and the first phase is just about finished. The public is invited to be a part of determining what will happen during the second phase.
6.0 AD-HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS & UPDATES
· Facility Committee, (Chair, Willie Kennedy)
Commissioner Kennedy reported the next Facility Committee meeting would be held on February 7th to discuss E.P. Mills Auditorium and the Alex Pitcher Room located at
· Community Advisory Group, (Chair Bobbrie Brown, Co-Chair Shirley Jones, Community Activist)
No report.
· Health and Housing Committee, (Chair Brigette LeBlanc, Co-Chair Bobbrie Brown, Member Theo Ellington)
No report.
· Community Outreach & Public Safety (Chair Al Norman, Co-Chair
Brigette LeBlanc)
· Economic Development Committee, (Chair Karen Chung)
No report.
7.0 STAFF/DIRECTOR REPORT
Francis Starr, Senior Management Assistant thanked Dr. Patricia Gray and Ms. Emily Wade-Thompson for their assistance in distributing flyers regarding the meeting, which facilitated a great turnout and a successful meeting.
Mr. Starr provided an update on the activities and operations of the SECFC services, including personnel. He advised the search was on to fill the budgeted positions and we are moving toward another hold-over. No word has been received from our Human Resources Department. There is one candidate for the as-needed position who will be interviewed soon. The Alex Pitcher room is moving ahead of schedule due to our Maintenance and Operations department.
Mr. Starr reported there has been some scheduling of the Ad-Hoc committee meetings and the unscheduled committees are in process.
The letters to the new Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Deputy City Attorney John Roddy are in process.
8.0
None.
9.0 NEW AND ONGOING BUSINESS
Commissioner LeBlanc requested staff forward letters of congratulations to Supervisors Farrell, Kim, and Weiner. She also announced two community meetings would be held by the Citizen’s Advisory Committee regarding the status of the Redevelopment Agency.
Commissioner Kennedy suggested forwarding an invitation to Fred Blackwell, Director, Redevelopment Agency , and other departments such as the PUC and the City Attorney’s Department, and possibly the Superintendant of Schools.
10.0 NEW BUSINESS REQUESTS
Commissioner Kennedy directed staff to extend an invitation to the City Attorney or his designee for a brief informational presentation on the SF Administrative Code Chapter 54.1 that created this Commission. The presentation will be useful to the Commissioners and most especially the new Commissioners.
11.0 PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
12.0 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ms. Emily Wade-Thompson announced the African American Honor Roll celebration would be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral on February 9th.
13.0 ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Kennedy adjourned the meeting at 8:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
___________________
Carla Vaughn
Southeast Community Facility
Commission Secretary
