Lee Romney

Some of San Francisco’s African American families have attended public schools in the City for three generations. They share their personal stories as part of the ongoing series, “Learning While Black: The Fight For Equity In San Francisco Schools.”

Kids around the Bay Area are going back to school. So today, we’re re-airing this story from our series, "Learning While Black: The Fight For Equity In San Francisco Schools." And, it just won an award from the Public Media Journalists Association.

African American students across the country are much more likely than any other student group to be placed in special education, and that’s true at San Francisco Unified too. The district’s troubled history has plenty to teach us about what is and isn’t working for black students with special needs today.

Extreme wildfires fueled by climate change have been spewing more harmful smoke into California’s air in recent years. But not everyone is affected equally. Kids like Ta’Kira Dannette Byrd, who live in unhealthy, high-poverty neighborhoods, suffer more.

The Oakland REACH is a grassroots group of black and Latino parents with kids in district and charter schools. They’ve been pushing for better quality education, especially around reading.

This is the first part of a two-part series on dyslexia. Listen to Part Two here.

Over the past few decades, big scientific advances have helped us identify and understand dyslexia. But overall, public schools around the country are still failing students with the learning disorder -- particularly low-income kids of color.

Tony Thurmond is California’s first black Superintendent of Public Schools in four decades. Since mid-March, he’s spoken publicly only about the coronavirus. On Monday, that changed with an emotional address about racism and implicit bias.

Rolling out full-on distance learning assignments when only more affluent students could participate, SFUSD decided, would only deepen the achievement gap. Step One? Figuring out how many students needed devices. 

All of us are under a shelter-in-place order, but we aren’t living the same experience. Access to resources makes it easier. Scarcity brings hardship. On Treasure Island, one resident is scrambling to make sure her community’s basic needs are met. 

Click the play button to listen to the full story.

Bay Area school districts have scrambled to put plans in place to keep feeding low-income students during virus-related school closures. On Monday, March 16, 2020, the first Grab ‘N Go sites welcomed Oakland families. 

John Templeton’s been leading land tours of SF’s black history for years. Now, he’s launched a Bay tour, to share those hidden stories from the water. He hopes to defy stereotypes and give black youth, in particular, a sense of pride and belonging.

This is part of an ongoing series “Learning While Black: The Fight For Equity In San Francisco Schools.”

City College of San Francisco recently eliminated more than 300 class offerings -- without consulting academic chairs, students or city leaders. Those protesting the cuts say the very identity of the institution is at stake. Sound familiar? It is.

Prop A would let City College of San Francisco borrow up to $845 million by issuing bonds. The money would go to buy or construct new buildings and fix up existing ones at the nine campuses to make them safe and energy efficient.

Governor Gavin Newsom released his proposed budget in early January. It’s his second since he took office and, just like the first one, it focuses on education. 

This is part of an ongoing series “Learning While Black: The Fight For Equity In San Francisco Schools.”

San Francisco Unified’s graduation rate for African American students jumps to nearly 90 percent — well above the state average.

Federal law guarantees public school students experiencing homelessness a host of rights, to bring them educational stability. But a recent state audit found poor compliance and oversight across California.

This is part of an ongoing series “Learning While Black: The Fight For Equity In San Francisco Schools.”

It’s been 40 years since a landmark legal ruling led to a statewide ban on the IQ testing of black students for purposes of placement in special ed. Now, the lead plaintiff in that case, known as “Larry P,” is getting a second chance at an education.

This is part of an ongoing series “Learning While Black: The Fight For Equity In San Francisco Schools.”

The Big Lift, an original KALW documentary, follows Carver Elementary School’s family liaison over the course of a year as she works to support struggling parents and guardians — so their kids can thrive in the classroom.

KALW is listener supported. Donate to support local public radio.  

A big data project led by Stanford University's Sean Reardon aims to crack the code on our nation’s stubborn student achievement gaps by mapping race, ethnicity, poverty and academic test scores.

Click the play button above to listen to the interview.

The State Attorney General recently came to Marin County to announce the first settlement to desegregate a California school in five decades. Meanwhile, 65 years after Brown v. Board of Education, segregation is on the rise nationwide.

In classrooms nationwide, students are learning to pay attention to the present moment. Focus on their breathing. Notice if they’re bored. And consider what that feels like in the body. One San Francisco volunteer walks kids through mindfulness practice. 

This is part of an ongoing series “Learning while black: The fight for equity in San Francisco schools.”

San Francisco Unified Superintendent takes our reporter on a tour of his hometown — to explain why he’s so passionate about boosting the academic success of black students here.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond took office early this year and quickly announced a top goal: closing the achievement gap for students of color. Hear him speak about his vision and why he thinks he can succeed where others have failed.

Hari Srinivasan is autistic and cannot speak. He understands everything. Until he turned 12, no one knew that but him. Then, typing gave him a voice.

This is part of an ongoing series “Learning while black: The fight for equity in San Francisco schools.”

A new intensive SFUSD program helps kids aged three-and-a-half to five regulate and understand their emotions. The goal: to avert an “emotional disturbance” designation, a special ed category where black children are overrepresented.

There’s been a lot of talk about charter schools lately. Public school districts are in financial crisis. And they’re blaming the competition: publicly-funded charters.

Community members came together on Thursday, March 21, for a forum and roundtable discussion of what it takes to navigate San Francisco Unified School District’s Special Education system and to develop an action plan to support African American students with learning differences.

This is part of an ongoing series “Learning while black: The fight for equity in San Francisco schools.”

San Francisco Unified School District’s African American educators have been honoring the achievements of black students who earn a 3.0 grade point average or above for a quarter of a century. This year’s emcees say the event celebrates an often-ignored narrative of excellence.

Oakland teachers won a big pay increase. But over 40% of union members voted not to take the deal, saying it didn’t meet enough of their demands. What’s next for Oakland’s school district, and for the labor movement?

Members of the Oakland teachers union just voted to authorize a strike. The school board voted to close the first of what it expects will be a number of schools — to help keep costs down. These are tough times for Oakland Unified.

Govenor Gavin Newsom early last week announced a new position of state surgeon general. And it’s pretty much custom made for Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, the high-profile San Francisco pediatrician he appointed to fill it.