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African American parents urge mandatory restorative practices, more Black history in SFUSD curriculum
Summary
The African American Parent Advisory Council presented recommendations to the San Francisco Board of Education calling for mandatory K–12 restorative practices, more Black-history and ethnic-studies curriculum, monitoring of suspensions by race, a full inventory of required reading, and written responses from the district by December 2017.
The African American Parent Advisory Council told the San Francisco Board of Education on Oct. 24 that the district must take immediate, systemic steps to improve outcomes for Black students.
"It is our goal to empower the lives of all African American children and families," said Rhianda Battiste, one of APAC's co-chairs, as the group outlined a package of requests including mandatory restorative-practices implementation K–12, ongoing monitoring of school-site implementation, and a comparison of schools with high suspension rates to their restorative-practices adoption. APAC also asked that Black history be infused across K–5 curricula and that ethnic-studies courses be offered for grades 6–12.
APAC highlighted other concrete demands: a full inventory of required reading for grades 6–12 to ensure diverse and culturally relevant offerings; tying African American student achievement metrics to contract renewals and evaluations; expanded credit-recovery options; and mandatory cultural-humility and competency training for every principal and teacher in the district. "We will be working very collaboratively with the DELAC and the PAC and the CAC," APAC co-chair Marisha Robinson said, and requested a written response by December 2017.
Board members expressed support and asked for follow-up. Commissioner Haney noted parts of the APAC agenda were aligned with the district's existing Safe and Supportive Schools policy and urged district staff to coordinate implementation. Commissioner Sanchez and others stressed that professional development must be sustained and recurring to account for staff turnover.
The United Educators of San Francisco, the district teachers’ union, spoke during public comment and backed APAC's call for mandatory, ongoing professional development on restorative practices. "The implementation of restorative practices at all schools, K–12, can't happen if there's not the training," UESF president Lita Blanc said.
Several parents and student delegates also urged curriculum changes and clearer reporting of incidents; one parent recounted a classroom episode in which students joked about the KKK and said school staff did not adequately address the matter. "All teachers should be prepared to take on teaching every day. That includes talking about racism, sexism, and homophobia," a parent testified.
The board did not adopt policy changes on the spot but directed staff to work with APAC and relevant departments on responses and implementation planning. APAC's written-request deadline — December 2017 — was noted on the record as the group asked the district to return its responses in writing.
