We Are SFUSD

I’m proud of how much work and how far the facilities department has come - it’s pretty amazing to see all the collaboration to get our school buildings open and ready.

If there's anything I want the world to know about school lunch workers, it's that we care and we're here, and no matter what, we'll always be here.

Partnership starts with families and the student, respecting where they’re at, where they come from and the fabric that makes them who they are in that moment.

My job as a teacher is to arrange for victories for my students.  I may present them with a task, but as an educator I try to envision the way forward. 

 

Representation is really important. Books should be mirrors for students, content should be mirrors for students, they should see themselves represented in the curriculum.

As a teacher, I have always believed that equity and justice meant being the best possible teacher I could be for my students.

I wanted to take a minute to thank all who were involved in providing Chromebooks for the students to borrow. I have a third grade daughter who is benefiting from this decision. My husband and I both grew up in San Francisco and honestly, I am so pleased with all of the efforts that SFUSD always seems to make. Thank you again for giving our family one less thing to stress about during these changing times.

I want to study Political Science in college because I want to be a Civil Rights attorney. America needs more people who are able to fix it - things like police brutality, the prison system, and sentencing laws.

My supervisor trusts me to do the work, knowing that I understand the vision and I'm going to truly partner with the children and families.

The key to dealing with kids is you talk up to them, you don’t talk down. Things like that build trust with kids, and if they don’t trust you then they can’t identify with you and they won’t deal with you.

I think being fearless makes you the best player you can be. You’re fearless to make mistakes and trust your teammates, which is a big part of volleyball. Being fearless is something that contributes to the game and is one of the most important factors that got us to win the championship.

My granddaughter loves it here, and she’s always a good student. The school is more like a family school, because you can work out your issues and they look out for my granddaughter.

When I’m out on the field, I just want to play hard for everyone on my team. I do it for everyone out there, the people at home, all the friends I’ve made since I came to Lincoln. It’s been really fun.

I want to raise up a champion generation, to get our students to understand who they really are and how they could reach the moon. Let’s celebrate and build on each other’s strengths, because united we can move forward. We are SFUSD, we are Pacific Islanders.

We do young people a disservice when we do not believe in them. We do a disservice to them when we do not show and prove to them that they are capable. I believe if we spent time listening and building with them, they are ready to make this world better.

I am so grateful for the spaces that have helped to nurture my love for my family and communities. Therefore, my work in education hopes to help build and support these spaces for students--that not only honors the legacies of learning and knowledge but also reminds them that their roots are nothing to be ashamed of.

I come from a family of teachers, and I feel that I’m following in that tradition of giving back to the community. I know exactly what path I want to send my students on, because I’ve been on that path myself.

I tell my students’ parents that I teach their kids like they were my own kids. I tell them I have three kids who went through the public school system, I really have faith in this system, and I want the best for their kids the same way I want the best for my kids.

The impact that I want to have in the world is for the world to know who I am. What I mean by this is If that is in sports by playing soccer or in serving in a government seat, or even if I am a garbage man, I want to make sure that I create change for the better.

My friend and I always sat on the bleachers and we looked at the Golden Gate bridge while we ate lunch. We liked it. It was a good place to eat lunch. 

I remember that everyone liked Ms. Garin for her good sense of humor. When I recall her face she’s always smiling. I went into teaching myself and that may have been her influence.
 

“Ole ala ile pule, ole tautua” which translates “the path to leadership is through service”. Throughout my lifetime of work within the community and education, I have prided myself in helping others. It is that action that I lead with to change the world, having the ability to serve. The changes that we seek to make on a macro level are only possible through the interpersonal.

I remember vividly learning about wealth inequality with Peer Resources. I was a student at Lowell High School, and while I knew that inequality existed, that poverty impacted some communities more than others, and that such inequality caused deep harm, this workshop was the first time I had been given a framework, tools, and language with which to describe it, and consider my own role and privilege in this country’s economic system. This moment—that I remember so clearly more than 20 years later—marked an awakening for me, and Peer Resources deserves some of the credit for my early political development.

I believe in using the Community School Model and a ‘whole school approach’ to address challenges for both students and teachers. As an educator, my goal is to provide opportunities for youth to exercise student agency. It is through student agency that we disrupt the harmful social reproductive nature of schooling and liberate children.

My aunt and uncle worked at SFUSD for many, many years. My aunt for years had been telling me to work for the district because I’d get to work with kids. I finally got tired of what I was doing and I thought, ‘I’ll try it.’ And I just love it. I try to encourage the students to participate in activities and let them know, ‘Hey, this is memorable. You’re going to talk about this when you’re my age. You’ll remember and laugh.’ I try to encourage students to show school spirit by showing school spirit myself.  Once you tell them, ‘We’re going to do this, we’ll be a part of it,’ they’ll say, ‘Ok, I’ll be there. I’ll participate too.’ ”