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Parents, staff and students press SFUSD on credit recovery, school climate and a proposed charter campus share
Summary
Counselors, parents and residents used public comment to criticize district credit-recovery programs, oppose a Creative Arts charter sharing Gateway Middle School's campus, and describe problems at Martin Luther King School; a student read an original poem about identity.
Multiple speakers used general public comment at the Feb. 12 SFUSD board meeting to raise program and school-site concerns.
Jay Kozak, a counselor at George Washington High School, criticized the district's credit-recovery offerings and urged the board to align programs with student needs, calling the current mix "disorganized" and insufficient for students who require advanced coursework now rather than in summer school.
Nathan Apple, a Bayview parent and business owner, asked the board to reconsider a proposal to have the Creative Arts charter share Gateway Middle School's campus, saying he feared safety and age-mix issues if 300 middle-school students were added to the campus and urging the board to explore alternatives.
Linda Cooks raised multiple concerns about Martin Luther King School — including cuts to music and arts programs, increased security, staffing problems and poor student behavior captured on social media — and asked the board what steps were being taken to support affected students and families.
Earlier in the comment period, student Matthew Gerrick recited an original poem about identity and the right to be seen and heard in school, which board members acknowledged as a welcome expression of student voice.
The transcript records these concerns and the student performance but contains no immediate board policy changes in response; commissioners noted planned committee meetings and a possible future budget presentation to address districtwide program questions.
