THE SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (10/09/12)

The prevailing state of our students; getting an inferior education at our San Francisco Unified School District - far from getting better is the worst ever and totally off track. Those pretending to represent should get out of the way. Those on the SFUSD Board have been using the seat to propel them into politics - next level - SF Board of Supervisor. At one time the constituents of San Francisco had some respect for the SFUSD Board - not any more. Going back 20 years the performance our students in San Francisco; mainly Blacks, Latinos, and Polynesian has got worse. Again and again - the SFUSD, has wasted thousands of dollars - hiring consultants and others to present Power Point presentations - that sugar coat the statistics. When the recent data was presented and stated clearly that the majority; nay over seventy percent of the Black students were NOT being prepared for college. That from the seventh and eighth grade onwards - students were taking classes that did not prepare them for college - parents were shocked but not the advocates who have been following these shenanigans for the longest time ever. Every time we requested the data - delaying tactics were used. There was a time when the SFUSD hired qualified teachers and treated them well. Not anymore. Year after year; trained teachers who love teaching but do not have a ten or fifteen years of teaching are let go. Mediocre teachers who have managed to remain in the system; pander to the corrupt system - are kept to foster inferior teaching and ruin the education of thousands of our students. The SFUSD Board meetings are long - lots of emphasis on the agenda; convoluted process that defeats the purpose - diatribe. Much of the talk is fluff and very little emphasis on quality teaching, operations of the Public School - solutions and things that matter; like attendance, supporting teachers, fighting truancy, and preparing our students to do well in college and life. Audits have been done and a few of these SFUSD Board have misused Credit Cards given them to spend on matters related to their work; and found to be used for things that are not related to their work. One did it again; knowing well that this does not bode well; students not do appreciate such behavior and more the tax payers; parents and those that want to support the SFUSD. The City and County of San Francisco and more the SF Health Department has failed miserably to study contamination, stress, killings and shooting, loud noises at all times ˆ and a whole serious of factors that would take pages to note - that adversely affect - Quality of Life issues - and our student more those that live in Public Housing. The system in recent years more the last 10 years has driven over 40,000 decent families away. Not only Blacks, as a recent hearing revealed - paradoxically called Out Migration; but families that are White, Asian, others who want their children to do well outside San Francisco; far away from the inferior education offered by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). There are Internet sites that reveal the scores of the schools in the San Francisco area; all Public Schools and the rating scores are pathetic. Yet; we have inept folks like Hydra Mendonca - a point person to the Mayor of San Francisco - failing to do her job - pandering to join politics and do disservice all her life. Parents are ignored when they complain about the inferior education. The students those that speak up; are shunned and often just give up. San Francisco attracts some of the best minds in the world. Parents who have degrees often shun Public Schools; and pay more money to put their children in private schools; making great sacrifice and shelling out thousands of dollars more - every month. For parents that care - education come first. In the last ten years more Charter Schools have sprouted. Some last a few years and fade away. Some parents are fed up with the SFUSD and its Public schools. Superintendents come and go; and no one seems to care. In the interim the SFUSC Board thinks they can get away with murder in broad daylight. They have been lying to us and more sugar coating the statistics that are despicable. Imagine wasting thousands of dollars; and failing to prepare our students for college. Failing to prepare our students so that they can prepare themselves and contribute to Society. That is what decent constituents want. Assembly person Tom Ammiano a good teacher himself; initiated the Rainy Day fund; sensing when the State fails to do justice and does not compensate the SFUSD. Tom Ammiano did this with great difficulty as President of the SF Board of Supervisors - cajoling the SF Board of Supervisors and the City and County of San Francisco with a budget that runs into the Billions ˆ to come to the rescue of the San Francisco School District - by setting aside some millions - today well know as the Rainy Day Fund. Not a year passes; more, in the last eight years - when teachers who are on the list to be fired are retained because of the Rainy Day Fund. Other necessary operations survive because of the Rainy Day Fund; thanks to Tom Ammiano a fighter for children and those that need help most. Tom a good teacher and man who still works very hard in Sacramento and has compassion; protecting immigrants - initiating Bills linked to health services for children who would not otherwise not have health services; parents of poor children paying a minimum amount and receiving good health services. Recently; the SFUSD Board members tried to persuade those listening to them that they were trying and doing their best. They are not. And they must pinch themselves to understand that the saturation point has long passed and gone ˆ and that we the people are fed up with the SFUSD Board ˆ all of them. And it is despicable when some of them are known to be immoral and yet think they can hoodwink those parents who are decent and fear that immoral policies are pushing them to the brink ˆ and have forced them to remove their children from our Public Schools. Enough of this life style emphasis when the children must grow normally and not infused and brainwashed to adhere to the immoral concepts, ways of some of the SFUSD Board members and their immoral ploys In years past; I visited all the SFUSD schools and worked with teachers and principals to educate the students on Environmental and other issues. I soon found that the students looked forward to my visits; but not the Principals who feared that someone like me and others would learn more about how dysfunctional the schools were under them - found hurdles to keep the advocates away. One principal or Chinese origin messed things at Thurgood Marshal and then was transferred to Dr. Martin Luther King Middle School; where he continued his nonsense adversely impacting the students with the Superintendent of the SFUSD taking his time to remove him. The SF Weekly wrote about him and this led to his being transferred to another school - where lo and behold he was transferred again. The SFUSD has been responsible adversely impacting the lives of many students. For sure the Polynesian students; many of them land in jail and soon followed to prisons meant for the adults - and from there to serving more terms. Hundreds of families, friends, supporters, advocates are impacted - when a youth - girls and boys are doing well in school; then suddenly the SFUSD impacts them negatively and for the worse. I deal with such cases and know what I am talking about. The SFUSD public schools comes under the State of California; which has deprived the Public Schools of San Francisco funding comparable to what they once received before. Forcing SF public schools to raise funds and survive. Once decent people; contributed to the funding process; no more. Again and again the SFUSD has failed the constituents of San Francisco and more the supporters who want to help and support our youth in San Francisco. The Mayor and others have tried appointing committees to talk about our Public Schools. All that takes place in these setting at City Hall in Room 250 - is diatribe. No one SFUSD Board wants to take responsibility. Truancy is on the rise. Many students do not want to do to school. The reasons are many and many of them are valid; sad to say. When over seventy percent of the students are slated to not qualify to go to college; this is something to take serious note of - the adverse factors must be investigated; corrected on a war footing - remedied and put on track. Internationally; as it is the United States is 24th and some say 27th among world Nations when it comes to our standard of education. Why is it that a Superpower cannot offer sound education to its citizens? If we can indulge in war and waste billions ˆ it does not take much to comprehend that education is important so that our citizens are educated on issues; and other priorities other then wasting money on war are put on the back burner. With all the money we spent on War and filling the pockets of the rich that invest in the War operation and production - as a Nation we could have given quality education to our students. Rehabilitated and built new schools; with state of art facilities and done justice to our Constitution. Nationwide; in the United States - San Francisco is low on the totem pole; the SFUSD Board talks a lot - but has a despicable record when it comes to the welfare of our students. You could reveal to them their own track record but these morons put blinders and openly tell you - all is well. All is not well and the sooner you all who sit on the SFUSD Board and especially folks like Hydra and Kim - must step aside and bid adieu. You two especially do disservice the others will not tell you - but, enough is enough.

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