S.F. schools chief steps down
Both SF Gate and the Examiner have coverage of Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s resignation last night.
San Francisco has become a town of people who mostly live here until they have children of school age, at which time they move north or south. Many feel that Ackerman was turning things around, others disagreed.
SFSOS sent out an email this morning lambasting the political left for their part in driving her out. “Her resignation means that the politics of personal destruction won and children lost. The extremist faction drove her out of town at the end of a pitchfork. Now they can look forward to more family flight, more school closures, more segregation of the schools that remain open, and more excuses for why none of those tragedies is their fault.” Unfortunately, this letter is not yet posted on their web site.
The letter continues with three suggestions:
“We now must move forward. In the wake of her decision, this community of her supporters must ensure that three reactions now occur:”
“First, that Ackerman’s core accomplishments can’t be lost. SFUSD went from “corrupt and make every excuse possible for urban education failing” to “fiscally sound, no excuses for failure, improved education for all groups of children.” The next superintendent MUST be someone with a track record of no-excuses success, rather than any-excuse-will-do for mediocrity.”
“A few possible successors to Ackerman’s post have been suggested, from established and experienced education administrators such as Ackerman’s current assistant Gwen Chan, to lifetime politicians. It has been rumored for months that the extreme left’s agenda is to replace Ackerman with an ideological politician such as San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Tom Ammiano. We cannot allow this to happen.”
“Second, that key leaders stand up and be counted. Supervisors and School Board members must be put on record decrying Ackerman’s departure and standing up for the African-American community and southeast neighborhoods who were benefiting the most from the school improvements sparked by Ackerman’s policies. Supervisor Tom Ammiano must stand up and declare that he has no intention of lobbying for this post. The Board of Education members must publicly confirm that they have every intention of seeking a proven administrator as Ackerman’s successor.”
“Third, that her offenders are not rewarded for their campaigns to destroy her. It is very possible that concerned communities — particularly again those African-American communities and southeast neighborhoods most affected — will organize a recall effort against those Board of Education members responsible for Ackerman’s departure. Whether that happens or not, voters must maintain the pressure of accountability on the School Board throughout the replacement process, and then play a strong roll in the elections of 2006 when Sarah Lipson (an anti-Ackerman force on the School Board) is among those asking for re-election.”
One of the biggest factors in holding a community together is a strong school system. Without it, we’ll become even more of a childless city. Our families deserve a chance to stay in San Francisco and put their children through quality public schools. If you have children, or are planning on having children, now might be a good time to contact the board of education or other powers-that-be and let them know that schools and school leadership is important to you.
Another article in the Examiner is titled ‘Divisive Politics Make Position Undesirable’. No kidding, eh? Sounds like everything else in San Francisco! Perhaps education could become the ONE thing that we don’t fight about. The one thing that people can agree upon. Doesn’t it seem like when everything else is a political disaster that our children should be the one place where we can find common ground?
