• Office: Board of Education
• Election Date: June 2, 2026
• Candidate: Virginia Cheung
• Due Date: April 2, 2026
• Printable Version

Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the June 2, 2026 election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city delivered via common sense solutions and effective government. Our work includes running public opinion polls to understand what voters want, advocating for those changes, and ensuring that the SF government represents the people.

The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco.

This questionnaire will be published on growsf.org, and so we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.

Please complete this questionnaire by April 2, 2026 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.

Note: This questionnaire will use the initialism "SFUSD" when referring to the San Francisco Unified School District.

• Your Goals
• Executive Leadership
• The Issues
• Personal
• Thank you

Your Goals

We'd like to get some details about your high-level goals and how you intend to use your elected office to achieve them.

What do you believe is your most relevant experience, perspective(s), or idea(s) that makes you uniquely qualified to be an effective Board Member? How do you intend to use that experience to build a stronger district?

My qualifications come from both lived experience and more than a decade of work across the systems that shape a child's life.

I am the daughter of refugees and first-generation immigrants. I entered school as a non-English-speaking child and was mute through much of my early education. I benefited from literacy support, behavioral intervention, and GATE programming that helped me find my voice and succeed. My older brother did not receive those same supports and dropped out of high school. That contrast shaped my life's work: building systems where a child's future does not depend on luck.

Professionally, I have worked across maternal health, early childhood education, K–8 Mandarin immersion, youth development and antirecidivism. As a former director at Wu Yee Children's Services, I helped grow a $20M organization into an $80M agency by aligning funding, partnerships, and services for children and families. I also helped lead the coalition that passed Baby Prop C, strengthening early education, workforce pipelines, immigrant and women owned small businesses, and family support systems. I co-founded Give a Beat, a nonprofit serving youth and adults impacted by mass incarceration, reinforcing my belief that education is prevention.

As a nonprofit co-founder and the daughter of small business owners, I understand the importance of efficient systems, accessibility, and a reliable workforce. As a public school parent and single mother, I understand how fragmented systems, inconsistent staffing, and uncoordinated schedules impact families.

I will use this experience to build a stronger district through a cradle-to-career, community schools approach that ensures fully funded, fully staffed, stable schools where educators and families are true partners and every child has access to excellent public schools. I understand that student outcomes are shaped not just by what happens in classrooms, but by early brain development, family stability, health, housing, and access to opportunity.

As a Board member, I will focus on aligning systems, strengthening accountability, and ensuring that every child in San Francisco has a clear pathway to success. When our public schools work, our city becomes safer, more stable, and more prosperous.

Will the power of the office of the Board of Education be enough to achieve these goals?

Yes, if the Board exercises strong governance, insists on accountability, and builds cross-sector alignment.

The Board sets policy, approves budgets, and holds the Superintendent accountable for results. Those are powerful levers. But real change requires aligning systems beyond SFUSD. My work has consistently focused on connecting education with health, housing, childcare, and community services because families experience these systems as one.

As a systems thinker and early childhood educator, I understand that student outcomes are shaped long before a child enters kindergarten. The Board must act as a convener, aligning SFUSD with the Department of Early Childhood, Rec and Park, and community-based organizations to ensure families can access coordinated support.

My experience has shown that education cannot operate in isolation. When I worked in maternal health, we saw how early health outcomes impacted cognitive development. In early education, we saw how access to stable childcare allowed parents to work and children to thrive. In K–12 partnerships, we saw how gaps in early learning translated into disparities in literacy and math. Through Give a Beat, I saw how lack of opportunity can lead to involvement in the justice system.

As a parent, I also understand that families make decisions based on whether systems work in practice. If classrooms are not staffed, schedules are not aligned, or communication is unclear, families leave.

The role is not about managing day-to-day operations. It is about setting a clear vision, ensuring resources are aligned to that vision. The Board has enough power to require transparency, prioritize fully staffed classrooms, and hold leadership accountable for outcomes. Success depends on using that power to align systems and rebuild trust.

What is an existing Board of Education policy you would like to reform?

I would reform policies governing reserves and restricted funds to better align financial decisions with student needs.

As a nonprofit leader responsible for stewarding public and private funds, I understand the importance of reserves for stability. However, over-accumulation of reserves can signal gaps in program implementation. When reserves grow while classrooms remain understaffed or programs are delayed, families and educators feel the impact immediately.

As a public school parent, I experienced this firsthand. My child qualified for Transitional Kindergarten, but the hours and program structure did not work for a working family, and language immersion options were limited. I chose private preschool until kindergarten. These are the types of system failures that drive enrollment decline.

Parents and educators should have a voice in how reserves are built and used. There must be transparency around the purpose of reserves and a clear connection to classroom outcomes.

As a nonprofit leader responsible for stewarding public and private funds, I understand the importance of balancing fiscal responsibility with timely investment. Reserves are critical for stability, but they must not come at the expense of current students.

Today's tax dollars must support today's students. Responsible long-term planning should not come at the expense of stable, high-quality classroom experiences.

What is an "out there" change that you would make to state/local government policy, if you could? For the purpose of this question, you are not constrained to the office of the Board of Education.

If I could make one transformative change, I would fully fund and scale a cradle-to-career, community schools model across every school district in California, aligned with how children actually develop and how families experience public systems.

As someone who has worked across maternal health, early childhood education, K–12 systems, and community-based services, I have seen firsthand that student outcomes are not determined by schools alone. They are shaped by access to healthcare, stable housing, mental health support, language access, and family stability. Community schools recognize this reality by integrating education with wraparound services and strong partnerships with families, educators, and community organizations.

Research and implementation across districts have shown that community schools improve attendance, academic outcomes, family engagement, and school climate. But too often, these models are underfunded, inconsistently implemented, or treated as pilot programs rather than core infrastructure.

At the same time, I would reform California's funding model to move beyond Average Daily Attendance toward a more stable, enrollment- and needs-based system that supports these integrated approaches. The current system penalizes districts serving vulnerable families and discourages early intervention.

As the daughter of immigrants who benefited from early support systems, and as a parent navigating fragmented services today, I know that families need coordinated, accessible systems that meet them where they are. A fully funded community schools model, integrated with early education, TK, afterschool, and workforce pipelines, would ensure every child has the support they need at every stage.

If we are serious about improving outcomes, we must invest in systems that reflect how children learn, how families live, and how communities thrive.

Executive Leadership

We'd like to learn more about your leadership style and plan to execute effectively once you assume office.

Please describe your experience running or governing large organizations, managing teams (including hiring, firing, and performance management), driving cultural change and clear communication throughout all levels, effective financial management (budgets, reporting, audit, etc.), and any other relevant experience.

I have led teams, managed complex budgets, and driven organizational growth across education and family services.

At Wu Yee Children's Services, I was part of the executive leadership team during a period of significant expansion. I helped align strategy, communications, fundraising, and operations to support children and families across the city. I have hired and managed staff, implemented performance systems, and led strategic planning processes. I also led a major organizational rebrand and worked across departments to align messaging, operations, and program delivery.

My work required coordinating with internal departments, government agencies, philanthropic partners, and community organizations — often with competing priorities and constraints.

As the daughter of small business owners, I understand operational discipline, accountability, and the importance of delivering reliable services. As a nonprofit leader, I understand stewardship of public funds and the need to align resources with outcomes.

My leadership approach is collaborative, data-driven, and focused on implementation. Strong systems, clear communication, and stable teams are essential to delivering results.

One of the most critical roles for the Board of Education is to hire/fire, evaluate, and hold accountable the Superintendent of Schools. Please describe your experience working with an executive leader to hold them accountable.

Note: Please remember that this questionnaire will be public, so do not include any personally identifiable information.

Accountability requires clear expectations, measurable goals, and consistent communication.

In my leadership roles, I have worked closely with executive teams to align strategy with outcomes and adjust course based on data and stakeholder feedback. I believe leaders must be evaluated on results, not intentions.

As a Board member, I would set clear expectations for the Superintendent tied to student outcomes, staffing, financial stability, and family experience. I would require regular reporting and ensure transparency with the public.

As a parent and community member, I also believe accountability must include listening to educators and families. Systems are only effective if they work for the people they serve.

In general, how do you approach making difficult decisions that you deem necessary even if unpopular? Please share a relevant example, if applicable.

I approach difficult decisions with transparency, data, and a focus on long-term outcomes.

As a single parent, I have made difficult decisions about my child's education based on what works in real life. As a leader, I have made decisions about resource allocation and strategy in complex environments.

Professionally, I have led decisions that required balancing competing priorities, such as allocating limited resources across programs. At Wu Yee, I led a yearlong rebranding process that required balancing diverse perspectives and making decisions that not everyone initially agreed with. We engaged stakeholders through surveys, focus groups, and community meetings, and communicated clearly about the reasons behind decisions.

I believe trust is built when decisions are made openly, with clear reasoning and input from those impacted. Even difficult decisions can strengthen trust if they are grounded in data, communicated clearly, and aligned with student outcomes.

The Issues

Next, we will cover the issues that voters tell us they care about. We hope to gain a better understanding of your policy positions, and we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.

SFUSD remains under fiscal oversight by the California Department of Education (CDE), and continues to experience an ongoing structural deficit. What do you believe is most critical in stabilizing the district's financial and operational challenges in the short and long term?

Financial stability requires both responsible management and rebuilding trust with families. Declining enrollment is both a financial and trust issue. Families leave when schools feel unstable or do not meet their needs.

We must invest in fully staffed classrooms, particularly in early education, where strong TK programs have the greatest potential to attract and retain families. We must coordinate with the Department of Early Childhood, Rec and Park, and community providers to ensure families have access to before- and after-school care. San Francisco has a robust mixed-delivery system of family childcare providers and early education nonprofits. SFUSD should partner with them, not compete.

We must improve budget transparency and decision making, and strengthen oversight of spending. In the long term, we must stabilize enrollment and advocate for local and state funding reform.

As a fundraising professional, I understand managing restricted and unrestricted funds and the importance of reserves. However, reserves must not come at the expense of current students.

Stabilizing enrollment is essential. Families stay when schools are stable, staffed, and high-quality.

SFUSD is off track in meeting student outcome goals. Our reading and math proficiency rates are among the lowest in California. What should our outcome goals be in the short and long term? What do you believe is required to ensure SFUSD improves student outcomes, and what would you do as Board Member to champion closing the achievement gap?

In the short term, our goals should be to increase attendance, ensure stable classroom staffing, and improve literacy and math proficiency beginning in the earliest grades. In the long term, our goals should include stronger third-grade reading outcomes, sustained math readiness well before middle school, higher rates of A–G completion, stronger special education and multilingual learner outcomes, and a much narrower achievement gap across racial, linguistic, and socioeconomic groups.

What is required is not one silver bullet. It is a coordinated cradle-to-career, community schools strategy. We must stop thinking of education as beginning in kindergarten and treat the earliest years as foundational. Brain development is most rapid in the first five years. That is when literacy, language, and early numeracy take root. We cannot wait until third grade to care about reading or eighth grade to care about math. We need strong early childhood partnerships, robust TK programs, aligned afterschool support, and early interventions when students first show signs of need.

My own life reflects this. I benefited from literacy support, behavioral intervention, and GATE programming. My older brother did not. That difference changed both of our educational trajectories. Professionally, I have spent over a decade working to build exactly these systems at scale.

As a Board member, I would champion stronger early benchmarks, require clearer disaggregated data, protect funding for intervention, and insist that equity work focus on concrete student outcomes, not just rhetoric.

Safety and violence prevention remains a top priority for families. As a Board Member, what do you believe is necessary to improve school safety so students are ready to learn?

Students cannot learn if they do not feel safe. Safety is not only about responding to incidents after harm occurs. It is about creating environments where students feel seen, supported, connected, and able to focus on learning.

That means sanctuary city protections and training, expanding mental health services, strengthening Tier I and Tier II interventions, building inclusive school cultures, and improving communication with families. We need more counselors, social workers, paraprofessionals, and behavioral supports. We also need strong anonymous reporting systems, regular school climate surveys, and action plans that schools actually follow through on. Prevention must be a core part of the district's strategy, not an afterthought.

My perspective is shaped by both lived and professional experience. As someone who struggled socially and emotionally in school, I know how much the environment matters. As someone who worked in maternal health, early education, and youth development, I understand how trauma, instability, and unmet basic needs affect behavior and learning. Through Give a Beat, I have also seen how arts and mentorship can create healing and reduce harm for youth impacted by violence and incarceration.

The district must treat safety as part of whole-child development. Children need adults they trust, school communities that affirm them, and systems that intervene early. When families and educators are treated as partners, safety improves because concerns are identified earlier and addressed more effectively.

SFUSD continues to face a teacher shortage, especially in special education, STEM, and bilingual programs. What concrete steps do you recommend the Superintendent, with support from the Board, take to recruit and retain great educators?

We need a cross-sector workforce strategy, because teacher shortages are not just an HR issue. They are a citywide quality-of-life issue and a long-term policy failure. Education has been devalued for decades, and we are now seeing the consequences in unstable classrooms and limited program access.

First, the district must improve compensation, benefits, and working conditions. Retention depends on manageable workloads, strong support staff, and professional dignity and respect. This is especially urgent in special education, bilingual programs, and STEM, where educator burnout and vacancies are often highest.

Second, we need to build educator pipelines from local communities. That means partnerships with City College, universities, credentialing programs, and career pathway initiatives. At Wu Yee, I helped support a workforce pipeline model that recruited parents and young adults into early education through coursework, mentorship, paid experiences, and wraparound support. We need a similar approach in K–12 and special education.

Third, the district must coordinate with city services to address housing, childcare, and family stability for educators. A teacher who cannot afford to live in San Francisco or coordinate care for their own family is less likely to stay.

Finally, we need to restore the sense that education is a valued profession. A stable workforce attracts high-quality talent. Families notice when schools are stable. Students thrive when adults stay. That is why educator recruitment and retention should be one of the district's top strategic priorities.

One reason for the budget deficit is declining enrollment. Approximately 30% of children attend private schools, and that percentage is growing. Each student not in SFUSD takes away nearly $15,000 in State funding. What are the top 3 things you believe SFSUD leadership must do to make SFUSD more attractive to prospective students and parents? In your role as Board Member, how will you advocate for these things?

The first thing SFUSD must do is ensure stable, fully staffed schools. No family wants to enroll their child in a school where they are not sure if there will be a permanent teacher, functioning supports, or a reliable schedule. Stability is the baseline.

Second, SFUSD must make the family experience dramatically better. That means a more transparent and predictable enrollment system, better communication, stronger language access, and coordinated before- and after-school care. As a working single parent, I know how heavily these practical issues weigh on school decisions. My child qualified for TK, but the schedule did not meet the needs of a working family and language immersion options were limited, so I made a different choice. We lose families when systems are not built for real life.

Third, SFUSD must invest in programs families actively seek out: newcomer, dual language immersion, arts and music, STEM, career pathways, strong special education, and community schools with wraparound supports.

As a Board member, I would advocate for these priorities in budget discussions, require regular reporting on staffing and program quality, and push for stronger alignment with the Department of Early Childhood, Rec and Park, and community providers. Enrollment growth is not just a marketing challenge. It is a trust challenge. Families choose schools that feel stable, high-quality, and supportive.

How can SFUSD improve data transparency and performance reporting, particularly around student achievement, attendance, and spending?

SFUSD must move from fragmented reporting to a culture of transparent, actionable public data. Families and educators should not have to piece together information across multiple presentations, delayed reports, or technical documents. The district needs a clearer, more user-friendly approach.

First, the Board should require regular public dashboards that include student achievement, attendance, chronic absenteeism, staffing vacancies, and school-level spending. This data should be disaggregated by race, language, special needs, and other key student groups so the public can see where progress is happening and where inequities persist.

Second, data must be connected to action. Reporting only matters if the district explains what it means, what is being done, and what the timeline is for improvement. Parents want to know how the district is responding, not just what went wrong.

Third, spending transparency must be much stronger. Families should be able to understand how dollars are flowing to classrooms versus central office, what restricted funds are being used for, and how reserves are being built or spent.

My background in advancement and organizational leadership has taught me that transparency is not only a compliance issue. It is a trust-building strategy. When stakeholders understand the numbers and see honest reporting, they are more likely to stay engaged and support the difficult decisions required for long-term success.

What examples of effective leadership from SF, or other California school districts, would you emulate in SFUSD? Please be specific with your examples of their leadership and impact.

I am most drawn to leadership models that combine strong governance with cross-sector coordination and a clear focus on outcomes. Locally, I have long respected the work of leaders like Norman Yee and Jenny Lam, who helped push San Francisco's public systems toward stronger early education infrastructure, multilingual access, and more grounded governance. Their work recognized that schools do not operate in isolation from family stability, early intervention, and civic trust.

I am also inspired by districts that have leaned into community schools and data-informed intervention. That kind of model reflects what I have seen in practice at Wu Yee and through my own policy work: when families can access healthcare, housing support, afterschool programs, and mental health resources through or alongside schools, attendance and outcomes improve.

What I would emulate most is not any one program in isolation, but a style of leadership that is willing to align systems, insist on transparency, and stay focused on implementation. Effective leadership is not just vision. It is follow-through, accountability, and the ability to build trust across educators, families, and institutions. That is the kind of leadership SFUSD needs right now.

Personal

Tell us a bit about yourself!

Do/Did you have children in SFUSD? If so, what have you learned about SFUSD that other parents would benefit from? If not, why not?

I am a public school parent with a child at Alice Fong Yu Alternative School, and my child has also been part of the Wah Mei before- and after-school program. Being a parent in SFUSD has taught me how much school quality is shaped not only by curriculum, but by whether families can actually navigate the system.

What I have learned is that many families are making school decisions based on stability, logistics, communication, and trust just as much as academic reputation. Families are balancing work schedules, transportation, afterschool care, language access, and special education needs. These are not side issues. They are central to whether a public school system works.

I have also learned that there is so much excellence in SFUSD, including language immersion, diverse school communities, and dedicated educators. But access to that excellence often feels uneven and unpredictable. Families need clearer communication, more coordinated supports, and confidence that their child will have a permanent teacher and a functioning classroom from day one.

As a parent, I do not view schools in isolation from the rest of family life. That perspective deeply shapes how I think about governance, budgeting, and district priorities.

Did you attend SFUSD or public primary schools in other cities? How do our schools differ from when you were a student?

I attended public schools in Southern California, not SFUSD. My parents worked extremely hard to move us into the best district they could afford because they saw education as the path to stability. Even then, my own experience was shaped by both opportunity and vulnerability. I was mute through much of my early school years, socially isolated, and deeply unsure of myself. I benefited from reading specialists, behavioral supports, and GATE. Those interventions made all the difference.

Compared to when I was a student, today's schools are navigating much more complexity. Students are facing greater mental health needs, families are under more economic strain, and schools are expected to solve a broader set of social problems. Technology has changed the nature of learning, bullying, and communication. The public also expects more transparency and accountability, which is appropriate.

At the same time, I think one thing has not changed: children still need stable adults, strong instruction, and a sense of belonging. What worries me today is that instability in staffing and systems too often gets in the way of those basics. What gives me hope is that we now understand much more about child development, language acquisition, trauma, and early intervention. We have the tools to do better if we choose to prioritize them.

How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?

I moved to San Francisco in 2008 for work in education, and I have stayed because this city is where I have built my life, my career, and my commitment to public service.

What brought me here initially was the opportunity to work at the Chinese American International School, a pioneering Mandarin immersion institution that reflected my interest in language, culture, and education. Over time, my work expanded into early education, family services, public policy, and nonprofit leadership. San Francisco gave me the opportunity to work alongside educators, organizers, and community leaders who were deeply committed to children and families.

What keeps me here is both personal and civic. My child is being raised here. My relationships, community, and sense of purpose are here. I love the diversity of the city, the mix of cultures and histories, and the way people from different backgrounds live in close proximity. I also believe San Francisco has the potential to be a model for how a city can invest in children from birth through college and career.

That said, I also know how difficult it has become for working families to stay. Housing costs, childcare access, and instability in public systems weigh heavily on families like mine. That is part of why I am running. I want San Francisco to be a city where working families can stay, earn livable wages, afford quality housing and healthcare, and trust their public schools.

What do you love most about San Francisco?

What I love most about San Francisco is its diversity, its beauty, and its density of possibility. This is a city where people from all over the world live alongside one another, where art, activism, language, and culture intersect every day, and where you can still find communities fighting hard for one another.

I love that the city has so many strong community-based organizations and public institutions with deep roots. I love that families can access language immersion programs, arts education, public parks, libraries, and civic spaces in close proximity. I love that San Francisco has a history of being on the leading edge of movements for inclusion, equity, and public investment.

Professionally, I have been fortunate to work in institutions founded by people who imagined something better for the next generation: Chinese American women building family services, educators building bilingual education, organizers building public investments in early care. That spirit of building is what I love most.

For me, San Francisco is not just a place. It is a city of aspiration, contradiction, and potential. It is a place worth fighting for, especially for children and families.

What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?

What I dislike most is how many people are struggling in plain sight in one of the wealthiest cities in the world. I dislike seeing families priced out, workers commuting for hours because they cannot afford to live here, and vulnerable people suffering without shelter, healthcare, or basic stability.

As someone who works across education and family systems, I know these issues do not stay separate. Housing instability affects attendance. Mental health affects learning. Poverty affects development. When the city fails to address these conditions, schools inherit the consequences.

I also dislike how often we accept fragmentation as normal. Too many systems operate in silos, requiring families to navigate childcare, afterschool, health, transportation, and school enrollment separately. That fragmentation punishes working families, especially immigrants, single parents, and families with children who need more support.

San Francisco has the resources and talent to do better. What is often missing is the political will to coordinate systems around people's actual lives. That is something I want to help change.

Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.).

My community involvement has always been deeply connected to children, families, and public institutions. I am a board member of Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco, an elected ADEM Delegate for Assembly District 17, and co-founder and vice president of Give a Beat, a nonprofit that uses music education to support youth and adults impacted by mass incarceration.

I have also worked extensively through civic and professional networks focused on education, immigrant communities, leadership development, and philanthropy. My work has included partnering with parents, educators, labor, policymakers, healthcare providers, housing developers, and community-based organizations to expand access and improve systems.

At Wu Yee, I helped convene coalitions, public awareness campaigns, and advisory bodies focused on early childhood education, family support, and neighborhood-based service delivery. That work was deeply community-centered and required building trust across multiple constituencies.

I stay involved because I believe public leadership should be accountable to real people, not just institutions. Community involvement is how I stay grounded in the challenges families face and the strengths they already bring. It is also how I build the partnerships necessary to turn policy into meaningful change.

Why do you want to run for public office?

I want to run for public office because I believe public institutions matter, and I want to help make them work better for the people who rely on them most.

For many families, public schools are not just one option among many. They are a lifeline. My own life was changed by public education and by adults inside the system who saw my potential and intervened early. My brother's experience showed me what happens when that support is missing. That difference has stayed with me throughout my life.

I have spent more than a decade working in education and family services, often from the outside of government, helping build coalitions, raise funds, and improve systems. Running for office is a natural extension of that work. I am not running because I see the Board as a symbolic platform. I am running because every child deserves an excellent public education. Governance matters. Budgets matter. Staffing decisions matter. Policy follow-through matters.

I want to help build fully funded, fully staffed, stable schools where educators and families are treated as partners and where every child has a pathway to success. I also believe that stronger schools lead to a safer, healthier, and more prosperous city. That is the kind of public leadership I want to help deliver.

Thank you

Thank you for giving us your time and answering our questionnaire. We look forward to reading your answers and considering your candidacy!