The Randy Seriguchi Story
“You have to wake the people up first, then you’ll get action.” - Malcolm X
Randy Seriguchi is creating a solution to the pervasive issue around addressing the student achievement gap for black boys in public education. In San Francisco, we have the largest achievement in the State of California, with African American males having the lowest proficiency levels in English and Math. As a Commissioner on the Board of Education, our collective inability to move this in a positive direction deeply troubles me. We do see progress in some areas, but for many, this issue has been normalized. It’s not being addressed with the outrage, urgency, nor media attention that it deserves.
Leaders like Randy refuse to accept the status quo and what he’s been building at Urban Ed Academy is evidence of that. In our conversation, Randy and I talk about his upbringing in New Jersey, and the self-discovery he went through at University of Michigan and American University Law School. He shares how what he saw happening in public education compelled him to forgo a career as a lawyer and instead pursue policy changes that would improve the lives of more students.
That work led him to Urban Ed Academy, which has a mission of improving academic outcomes for black and brown boys in San Francisco. But that’s not all- if solving a multi-generation achievement gap wasn’t enough, Urban Ed Academy is also trying to address educator housing and the lack of diversity in the profession by recruiting black males from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to move to San Francisco to teach.
In the interview, Randy explains the partnership he secured with a private landowner along the 3rd Street Corridor in Bayview’s Hunters Point to create housing for black males to teach in San Francisco, and a commercial storefront that’s being converted into a STEM space for the students they serve.
The need to recruit black males to teach in schools is backed by research-based evidence. In a study by Johns Hopkins University, the graduation rate for black students increases by 32% if they have two black teachers by the 6th grade. The dropout rate for those students decreases by nearly 40%. An NPR study from 2016 indicates students themselves are asking for more black educators to shape their academic careers: students across the country have more positive perceptions of black educators compared to white teachers.
Our black students need black teachers, our black teachers need housing, and our district needs to make this achievement gap an issue of the past. Randy Seriguchi doesn’t just believe that, he’s making it happen.
Randy’s Recommendations:
Book:The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Music: BUBBA by KAYTRANADA