Ann Hsu
- Office: Board of Education
- Election Date: November 8, 2022
- Candidate: Ann Hsu
- Due Date: Friday, August 19, 2022
- Printable Version
Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the 2022 Board of Education election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city via common sense solutions and effective government.
The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco and have the expertise to enact meaningful policy changes.
We ask that you please complete this questionnaire by Friday, August 19, 2022 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.
Table of Contents
Vision
GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous San Francisco. And we believe that great public schools are necessary for a great and prosperous society.
This section of our questionnaire seeks to help us gain an understanding of your alignment with our vision for San Francisco.
Short-form questions
Please mark the box that best aligns with your position. You may explain any position if you so desire, but this section is designed to be a quick overview of your view of the city's problems and what solutions you might propose.
Education
| In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attend a school of your choosing | X | ||
| Transport children to school | X | ||
| Hire good teachers | X | ||
| Fire bad teachers | X | ||
| Set public education curriculum | X | ||
| Access special needs instruction | X | ||
| Access advanced instruction | X | ||
| Adequately fund public instruction | X | ||
| Ensure adequate instruction is available to all students | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Tell us one thing you think needs to change about education in San Francisco that the average voter wouldn't know about.
I think the current way that public education in San Francisco is funded is adequate. The City is quite generous with its support as are some businesses and philanthropy. What is needed is for the school district to examine how we are spending the money.
Programs need to have metrics that measure their success or failure. Without that, we can keep spending all the money we get but not get the results we want, which is improved student outcomes.
Long-form questions
General
Please explain why San Francisco's Board of Education members Alison Collins, Gabriela López, and Faauuga Moliga were recalled.
Collins, Lopez and Moliga were recalled because they did not focus on student learning and outcomes. Instead, they were playing political games and setting policy by ideology.
In what ways are we succeeding in public education?
We have wonderful teachers who care about their students.
In what ways are we failing in public education?
We are failing the most vulnerable population of students who need the most support. We are failing to share best practices across the school district. We are failing to provide enough support to principals and teachers. There are too many places where we are failing.
Why is SFUSD facing a budget crisis? Please explain the nature of this budget crisis.
As our CA state fiscal expert has pointed out, SFUSD's structural deficit is caused by having too many small schools. We need to seriously consider merging schools so that administration overhead can be reduced. Empty school buildings can then be turned into revenue producing sites and/or teacher housing options.
Instruction and Curriculum
What is your understanding of the results of SFUSD changing the math curriculum in 2014? Should San Francisco reintroduce middle school algebra in public schools? Why or why not?
The result of removing algebra from the 8th grade math curriculum is that students who want to take calculus before graduating high school are forced to either take algebra outside of school before 9th grade (parents have to pay) or double up on math during one year in high school. Forcing students to take algebra outside of school is inequitable, and doubling up in high school math causes needless stress. SFUSD should reintroduce algebra in 8th grade as an option for those students who want to take it.
SFUSD student performance is low, with many students being left unprepared for high school and college. How and why are we failing our students?
The problem starts very early from K-3rd grade. The 3rd grade literacy rate across SFUSD is only 52%. Without being able to read, a student will fall behind in middle and high school. Part of the cause for the low literacy rate may be related to low attendance or chronic absenteeism. If a student is not in school, it doesn't matter how great the teacher or the curriculum is, the student will not learn. We need to address the attendance issue first.
What needs to change to improve SFUSD's poor student performance?
SFUSD has not been focused on student outcomes for the past many years. This needs to change! The Board of Education needs to stop playing politics and be laser focused on student outcomes.
What is your understanding of special needs education at SFUSD, and what could be done to improve it?
The special needs program seems very resource intensive. It is imperative that we ensure students with special needs are having those needs met in our public schools.
What is your understanding of advanced education at SFUSD, and what could be done to improve it? SFUSD's advanced education program seems to be concentrated at Lowell HS. This should not be. Sufficient AP and honors classes need to be available at all high schools. In addition, accelerated classes can be introduced in middle schools too.
What are these programs lacking which the Board of Education could rectify?
The Board of Education has already directed the Superintendent to create a High School Task Force to examine the distribution of resources across all high schools in the district. The Board should now let the Superintendent do his job.
Policy
Now that we know where you align and differ from our vision for San Francisco, we'd like to get some details about how you intend to use your elected office to achieve your goals.
Why are you running for Board of Education?
San Francisco students and families deserve a world-class public school system in this beautiful, vibrant and innovative city. Sadly, the San Francisco school system currently ranks as one of the worst in California, and the school board has been focused on politics rather than on student outcomes. This must change!
I value education. It was education that lifted my immigrant family from poverty to prosperity. It was education that enabled me to become an engineer and entrepreneur. I am running for the San Francisco School Board to ensure that my children and all students have access to a quality education so that they can pursue their own paths in life.
What is your #1 policy goal?
My first priority is student achievement and academic excellence for all. We need to close the achievement gap by supporting those students who need the most help, so that everyone can meet grade level standards, starting from Pre-K through high school.
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?
In the past four months, the entire Board has engaged in governance training during which this has been the stated and agreed upon goal. We are already in the process of defining the specifics of this goal and getting community feedback.
Will the power of the office of Board of Education Commissioner be enough to achieve this goal?
How to achieve the above goal is the job of the superintendent. The Board needs to monitor progress and hold the superintendent accountable.
What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
My second priority is safe schools, both physically and psychologically. Covid is still among us, and wildfire season is around the corner. We need more and better air purifiers to protect our students and teachers. The pandemic has also caused a great deal of mental health challenges for students and teachers. We need to provide appropriate mental health support.
My third priority is fiscal discipline and operational excellence. Our school district needs to function well in order to deliver better student outcomes. We need better systems and processes to ensure consistent results. Central office needs to support site leaders and teachers with customer service mentality, and school sites need to support students and parents with the same mentality.
Will the power of the office of Board of Education Commissioner be enough to achieve these goals?
The goals in my second and third priority areas, if they are achieved, will help deliver the student outcomes named in my first priority area. The Board of Education used to use resolutions to mandate policies such as those in my second and third priority. However, that is not the right way to govern. Starting from now, we will hold the superintendent accountable for the first priority of student outcomes and encourage him to work on the second and third priorities as a means to the end of better student outcomes.
What is an existing policy you would like to reform?
I would like to void all past board resolutions that do not directly relate to student outcomes!
What is an "out there" change that you would make to state/local government policy, if you could? (For example: changing how elections work, creating a Bay Area regional government, etc.)
Personal
Tell us a bit about yourself!
Do you have any children who are currently enrolled in an SFUSD school(s)? Which school(s)?
Yes, I have twin sons who are 11th graders this year.
How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?
I came to Berkeley for graduate school in 1989. I have lived in San Francisco since 1998, although I worked in Silicon Valley for many years. I started living full time in San Francisco in 2015. It is a beautiful city, and all of my family is now here.
What do you love most about California and/or San Francisco?
I love San Francisco most for its diversity of people and cultures.
What do you dislike the most about California and/or San Francisco?
I dislike the extreme ideology of some people in San Francisco and their push for policies that deviate from common sense.
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
I am the former President of Galileo High School Parent Teacher Student Association. I am a Board member of the Cal Alumni Association Chinese Chapter. I also volunteer as a mentor to UC Berkeley students.
Thank you
Thank you for giving us your time and answering our questionnaire. We look forward to reading your answers and considering your candidacy!
If you see any errors on this page, please let us know at contact@growsf.org.