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SFUSD board unanimously renames Burnett Child Development Center for educator Leola M. Havard
Summary
The San Francisco Unified School District board voted unanimously April 12 to rename the Burnett Child Development Center as the Leola M. Havard Early Education School, honoring a longtime district educator and the first African American woman to serve as an administrator in SFUSD.
The San Francisco Unified School District board voted unanimously April 12 to rename the Burnett Child Development Center the Leola M. Havard Early Education School, honoring Leola M. Havard’s decades of service as a teacher and the district’s first African American woman administrator.
The board adopted Resolution No. 113-22A1 after commissioners heard more than a dozen public speakers — family members, former colleagues and community leaders — who described Havard’s record of classroom leadership and community engagement. Deborah Sims, Havard’s niece and a former SFUSD teacher and administrator, told the board that Havard “paved the way for others” and set “the bar of excellence with dignity, integrity.” Reverend Brown, who opened the community speakers, framed the renaming as correcting “a historical wrong” tied to the building’s previous namesake.
Commissioner Mathis read the resolution into the record, listing Havard’s service beginning in 1949 and noting her roles as teacher, assistant principal and principal in the district. Several community organizations and former staff praised Havard during the public comment period, citing improved student outcomes and long-term mentorship of district educators.
Board members commended the community effort behind the renaming and added themselves as co-sponsors before taking a roll-call vote. President Mendoza announced that the measure passed unanimously; the board then presented Havard with a certificate of honor and the seal of the city and county of San Francisco was affixed in recognition of the renaming.
The vote resolves a naming exception (the resolution temporarily suspends the board’s policy limiting naming for living honorees) and asks the superintendent to appropriate funds to cover attendant costs of renaming the early-education school.
What’s next: The board’s action is final pending administrative implementation; staff were asked to carry out the logistical steps to change signage and notify the community. No amendments or motions to delay the vote were recorded.
