The San Francisco Board of Education decided to delay renaming 44 schools, admitting they made mistakes “in the building renaming process.”
The school board voted to rename the 44 schools, including one named after President Abraham Lincoln, in January. Parents and city officials exploded because they want the schools to reopen more than anything right now.
From KTVU:
On Sunday, board president Gabriela Lopez announced she was now more focused on getting students back into the classroom.”I’m committed to making sure every student and family at SFUSD is supported through this process,” she tweeted. “I also acknowledge and take responsibility for mistakes made in the building renaming process. We need to slow down and provide more opportunities for community input — that cannot happen until AFTER our schools are back in person.”—“I know families are hurting,” she wrote. “I hear it from each and every parent I’ve spoken to. We’re in negotiations to get the work on returning to in-person learning done and I’m committed to working with city partners to get vaccinations, testing and other resources we need.”
Mayor London Breed called the renaming “offensive” during the pandemic:
Breed said in a statement Wednesday: “This is an important conversation to have, and one that we should involve our communities, our families, and our students. What I cannot understand is why the School Board is advancing a plan to have all these schools renamed by April, when there isn’t a plan to have our kids back in the classroom by then.”
Former educator Erika Sanzi pointed out that San Francisco tops the nation in achievement gaps.
Another chart shows 70% of the students are proficient in math compared to 12% of blacks and 21% of Latinos.
Then the city of San Francisco sued the school board for not having a plan to reopen.
Breed joined the lawsuit with City Attorney Dennis Herrera:
Herrera said they are suing for “violation of administerial duties,” claiming the school district failed to perform its duties in preparing for a return to school. The lawsuit is the first of its kind in California.“The Board of Education and the school district have had more than 10 months to roll out a concrete plan to get these kids back in school. So far they have earned an F,” Herrera said. “Having a plan to make a plan isn’t going to cut it.”Breed said keeping the classrooms closed is hurting Black, Latino, and Asian students, especially low-income students.“This is hurting the mental health of our kids and our families. Our teachers have done an incredible job of trying to support our kids through distance learning, but this isn’t working for anyone,” Breed said.
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