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Students and community urge board to reinstate Homies Organizing the Mission at Mission High
Summary
Multiple speakers, including youth served by the Homies program and community partners, told the board Homies was removed from Mission High after raising concerns about racial profiling and disciplinary practices and urged immediate reinstatement and mediation with the school.
More than a dozen young people, community organizers and service‑provider representatives implored the San Francisco Board of Education on Jan. 13 to reinstate Homies Organizing the Mission, a community youth program that staff and students said had been removed from Mission High School.
Jose Luis Pavan, associate director with Homies, told the board the organization had been delivering in‑kind violence‑prevention, case management and college‑prep services at Mission High and had been forced out after raising concerns about racial profiling and allegedly unreported expulsions. "We have recently been kicked out of Mission High School because our program began to raise issues about kids being racially profiled on campus," Pavan said. He asked the board to help mediate a reinstatement.
Students who said they had participated in Homies described big personal changes since joining the program. Ruby Tapia, a Mission High student, said, "Before Homies, I used to go to the street. But now since Homies helped me, I stopped, and I've been doing very good in my school." Other speakers — program staff, alumni and community partners — said Homies serves at‑risk youth, supports academic progress and reduces violence but that administrators had curtailed their presence and reached out to the program's funders.
Community groups (Coalition for Fair and Caring Schools and La Raza Centro Legal) supported Homies’ reinstatement and asked the board to pressure the school administration to meet with the organization. Several speakers asked that a board member sit as a mediator at discussions with Mission High and Homies.
Commissioner Yee asked staff for a written memo with two items: a briefing on suspension patterns discussed during public comment, and a factual account of the circumstances that led to the organization being asked to leave Mission High. Deputy Superintendent Lee and other board members committed to follow up and indicated they would provide the PAC and community with further information and meetings.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; the board directed staff to gather facts and report back.
