In partnership with TogetherSF, the SF Ed Fund held our inaugural panel series, “Educational Equity in San Francisco,” in January. Given all of the debate and discourse around the district’s budget complexities, we sought to gather expert panelists to provide insight and perspective into the historic inequities in the funding of SF public schools and how that has impacted SF schools to this day. These sessions were an opportunity for San Franciscans to gain insight into a complicated history and to get involved in these important conversations. We hope participants walked away with a deeper understanding about the variables that need to shift to build a stronger education system in San Francisco.
The first segment in this two-part series – School Segregation and Educational Equity in San Francisco – was held on Thurs., January 13. Panelists included Dr. Donald Frazier, Equity and Professional Development Coach for Professional Learning & Leadership within San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD); Stephen Menendian, Assistant Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute and lead author of “The Roots of Structural Racism Project”; and Debby Lu, public sector consultant and SF Ed Fund board member. Moderated by SF Education Fund CEO Stacey Wang, the panelists dove into the history of segregation in San Francisco public schools and how that has profoundly impacted SF schools to this day.
If you missed it, or if you’d like to watch it again, it’s published on our YouTube channel here:
We held part two of the series, SFUSD Budget and Funding Complexities, on January 27. The panel was moderated by SF Ed Fund CEO, and the panelists were Irina Okhremtchouk, Associate Professor of Educational Administration at SF State; Carol Kocivar, journalist and former President of the California State PTA; and Debby Lu. We encourage you to watch it here:
As many of you know, this was the first time the SF Ed Fund held a panel series – but it certainly won’t be our last! We are in the process of planning more inspiring and educational panel sessions in 2022. Make sure you stay up to speed on our upcoming activities and events via our social media channels and the Events & Activities section of our website.
