Achieve or Leave

I’m waiting to board my flight at San Diego International Airport back to San Francisco. The flight is about 1 hour and 15 minutes. My last time in San Diego was 2013, I got here on a solo bicycle ride from San Francisco coming down Route 1 on the California coast. That trip took 11 days and tested me in ways I’ll never forget. It continues to serve as a reminder for the mindset required for a difficult journey. I need that reminder more now than ever.

I traveled here with a delegation from the San Francisco Unified School District to participate in a Conference hosted by the California Association of Black School Educators. I recently joined their Board of Governors. My goal is to further the effort of building a coalition statewide around issues that affect black students and their families. Our team from SFUSD got to connect with and learn from policy makers, academics and long time educators about a variety of strategies that have been effective at improving outcomes in our communities. 

As I sit here at the airport, I have a renewed energy on the call to action to ensure our public schools are making good on it’s promise to educate our children. The timing couldn’t be better given the release of Smarter Balanced Assessment, which measures the proficiency levels in English and Math across California. In San Francisco, our black students continue to perform considerably well below their white and asian counterparts. This compounds with a growing rate of chronic absenteeism and suspensions continue to disproportionately affect black students.

There are no excuses and any effort to make them instead of offering solutions would distract from the long and difficult work ahead of us as a city. I have been debating whether or not to run again for school board. I haven’t made a final decision about running again, but I am committed to making this my life’s work and a top priority as I finish out my first term.

Book Recommendations: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria

Four Disciples of Execution: Achieving Widely Important Goals