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Parents, students and alumni urge board to preserve Young Scholars program and retain its director
Summary
Dozens of students, parents, alumni and clergy urged the San Francisco Unified School District board to keep the Young Scholars program intact and to retain its longtime director, saying the program materially improves college access and community outcomes.
John Knox, a volunteer with the Young Scholars program since 1998, told the San Francisco Unified School District Board on March 27 that staff messaging suggesting the program was being eliminated was misleading and harmful. "To eliminate a program doesn't mean that you're gonna eliminate the name of the program," Knox said, urging the board to visit program events on April 20 and 29 so members could "see what the program is about."
Alumnus Nelson Williams, who said he was admitted to college with help from the program's director, echoed that appeal: "She is very integral into the acceptance of so many other young students," Williams said, asking the board to reconsider proposed changes and to provide more resources.
Students described concrete outcomes they credit to the program. Christina Calloway said her GPA rose from about 2.33 to 3.67 after joining Young Scholars and that the director taught students how to complete financial-aid forms and applications. "If you take this away from me, where else would I be as soon as I get to college?" she asked.
Pastor Hugo Dorn and other community leaders framed the issue as both local and procedural, objecting to any decisions made outside public view. Dorn warned that he and other clergy would return to the board if the program were closed and said, "It's time out for people going behind closed doors that don't look like me, that make decisions about me."
Superintendent Chan told the board earlier in the meeting that there has never been an intention to close the Young Scholars program and that staff are evaluating the program "to make sure the mission ... is being implemented and to expand the outreach to more San Francisco Unified School District students." Chan asked the board and public to allow an evaluation to proceed before concluding the program's fate.
Board members asked staff for follow-up information, including counts of participants from district vs. private schools and GPA-discrepancy details. President Sanchez said the district would prepare updates on program composition and performance metrics.
The public comment portion of the meeting included a long list of speakers who provided personal testimonies, data points and event invitations; several speakers left DVDs and letters for board review.
