Lainie Motamedi

• Office: Board of Education
• Election Date: November 8, 2022
• Candidate: Lainie Motamedi
• 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
• Short-form questions
  • Education
• Long-form questions
  • General
  • Instruction and Curriculum
  • Policy
  • Personal
• Thank you

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
Set public education curriculum	x
Access special needs education	x
Access advanced education	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.

SFUSD does not have a clear baseline of programs, courses, or services that every student will receive at every site. For instance, SFUSD stopped publishing a high school course catalog in 2014 and has declined public requests to do so. In addition, its school webpages are not kept regularly up to date. This lack of information, coupled with a citywide lottery for high schools (no neighborhood preference) creates a tremendous lack of transparency and uncertainty for our secondary students. As a student or family member, it is very difficult to navigate the system and understand what will be offered, where, and for which students - or which school site a student will be assigned to attend. This has led to divestment for many families, and frustration for many others. While co-chairing the Public Education Enrichment Fund advisory committee, I helped lead unanimous recommendations requesting this information. As a commissioner, I am continuing to advocate for this basic information to be transparent and shared publicly.

And here's a bonus example…

Every CA school district is required to submit a three year student and budget plan to the CA Dept of Education, and report on progress annually. This is called the LCAP.

Throughout the year, each school's School Site Council (principals, teachers, families, students, and other school site staff) develops a plan for student achievement, the site budget, and monitors progress on student success. The school site plans collectively are supposed to inform district priorities and decision-making. In addition, the community broadly is supposed to have the opportunity to provide input and hear updates on the plan and process.

Normally, a city district has to submit its plan to the county office for review. Because we are a city and a county, we bypass that oversight step.

For years, SFUSD has declined to meaningfully engage our school sites and families in this process. The result has been a lack of school site voice and top-down decision making from the District. In many years, no members of the public have been given the opportunity to see even a draft LCAP prior to its completion, or give input in any meaningful way.

I am working to change this as I believe in good governance. Those who know our students best should have opportunities to inform decision-making and see their voice and feedback reflected in student priorities, student success plans and results, and budget alignment.

More info about what the LCAP is can be found here: http://downloads.capta.org/edu/e-school-finance/LCFF_LCAP_Seasons.pdf

https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lc/planninglcapschoolplan.asp

Long-form questions

General

Please explain why San Francisco's Board of Education members Alison Collins, Gabriela López, and Faauuga Moliga were recalled.

The previous board did not prioritize or acknowledge the needs of students, families, and educators.

In what ways are we succeeding in public education?

We have incredibly talented, dedicated, and impactful educators and school site staff. We have many happy families and students.

We should learn from, highlight, and expand the successes at our schools, like Mission High and John Muir Elementary. I am pleased that my colleagues and I voted 7-0 to direct the Superintendent to examine, investigate, and evaluate our high school portfolio for the purpose of improving all of our high school programs. These recommendations are due to the board by April, 2023 so we can begin making necessary investments to improve our students' opportunity for success.

In what ways are we failing in public education?

The current system, although ostensibly designed to promote equity and integration, has not. I am committed to doing the work to improve outcomes for all of our students, at all of our sites. I understand that we have a diversity of students that we must set up for success.

The district has suffered from very real budget challenges coupled with a lack of focus on core educational services and outcomes for students. This combination has both failed our learners who we know need additional support as well as a much broader range of students.

For instance, 40% of our 8th grade graduates are designated as "not prepared for high school." We need to build our systems and practices to ensure we are providing coherent educational instruction and supports for all of our students.

As a board, we have committed to collaboratively working to establish priorities, review objective data and information, and align our priorities and systems to deliver for our students.

Why is SFUSD facing a budget crisis? Please explain the nature of this budget crisis.

We were able to submit a balanced budget to the state, in large part due to an infusion of federal funding for pandemic recovery. SFUSD has been directed by the CA Dept of Education to change its budgeting practices to conform to state regulations and financial accounting norms.

SFUSD historically has provided very little transparency about budget to actual expenditures or how spending aligns with student priorities or outcomes. This needs to change. The state has increasingly pushed pension and liabilities costs to local school districts, and also provides woefully inadequate reimbursements for growing statewide special education costs that make up approximately 25% of SFUSD's annual budget. These dynamics are not unique to SFUSD. That said, our lack of clarity about student priorities and student impacts is inexcusable. All of our funding choices should be informed by our students' educational success and needs, and we need to be intentional and purposeful in our allocations.

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?

SFUSD has taken a unique and bespoke approach to math curriculum and pathways beginning in middle school and continuing through high school. We need to adhere to best practices statewide and nationally, and focus on student success, grade level progress, and access and support for accelerated learning. I believe in providing more options for our students, and that our academic curriculum should align with UC and CSU standards and recommendations. Math pathways and STEM opportunities should be clearly communicated and committed to across school sites and through academic counseling and family communication. I have heard from far too many students and families who didn't understand the math pathways, did not have access to coursework, and were negatively impacted both as students and as college applicants.

SFUSD student performance is low, with many students being left unprepared for high school and college. How and why are we failing our students?

We need transparency regarding what we are offering at all of our high schools and community input into what our students, families, and educators recommend going forward. We need transparency and clear commitments and support for career and college pathways, enrichment programs, and athletics. And we need transparency about how we are supporting our students and educators to ensure our children's success. I am pleased that my colleagues and I voted 7- 0 to direct the Superintendent to examine, investigate, and evaluate our high school portfolio for the purpose of improving all of our high school programs. These recommendations are due to the board by April, 2023 so we can begin making necessary investments to improve our students' opportunity for success.

What needs to change to improve SFUSD's poor student performance?

See above

What is your understanding of special needs education at SFUSD, and what could be done to improve it?

Approximately, 13% of SFUSD students have qualified for special education services. Approximately 25% of our budget is allocated to special education services. The state does not compensate districts adequately for what is needed to serve our special education students well. I have met with families, teachers, principals, and district leadership on this matter and it is clear that staff is working hard but more help and resources are needed. I would like to better understand if we can work more effectively to provide supportive interventions earlier and to have general education services take increased leadership in identifying learning needs and potential supports prior to referral.

We need to assess what we can do better as adults to foster our students' success. For instance, I am concerned by our disproportionate over-referral which has led the state to intervene via its Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS). I am pushing on what we need to do differently to improve our support of all students.

We need student-centered early interventions- ensuring our students are progressing on grade, and supporting them early and often when not. This can be through tutoring, 1:1 support, and assessments to catch learning differences early on. When we do see performance improvements for our focal students - we should highlight, learn, and expand what is working.

What is your understanding of advanced education at SFUSD, and what could be done to improve it?

We need excellent educational opportunities for all of our students at all of our school sites. Currently, we see huge gaps in student success for many of our student populations and at many of our school sites. All of our students should be progressing at grade level or above in literacy and math, all of our students should have access to tutoring and educational and wellness support and advanced learning opportunities. In addition, all of our students should have access to enrichment, elective, and sports opportunities. SFUSD currently does not have clear commitments about what all of our students will experience at all of our sites. Other large districts provide this information and commit with transparency, we need to do the same. Our students have the aspiration, aptitude, and ability. The fact that only 53% of our 8th graders are high school ready by the District's own assessment reflects failures of the system, not our students.

Professional opportunities. Currently 40% of our students graduate from high school lacking in career or college readiness. This needs to turn around. Our students should be prepared and ready to thrive upon graduation and have a clear sense of agency in their future. I support college readiness preparation. I also am a big advocate of internships and other hands-on learning experiences in the workplace, with the trades, and other career pathways. I'd love to increase the partnership with CCSF so students can earn college and career pathways while in school.

What are these programs lacking which the Board of Education could rectify?

We have hired a new Superintendent who is very focused on student success.

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?

In the last four months since taking office, I've been working hard to move the priorities above forward. We've hired a new superintendent, approved a balanced budget, rescinded teacher layoff notices, committed to in-person instruction for our students, embarked upon a process to improve all high schools, and are working with our city partners to share resources and shore up financial support.

I'm a parent with a decade of engagement in school sites and the District - including PTA and SSC leadership. At the District level, I served a four-year term, including as co-chair, on the Public Education Enrichment Fund Committee. While on the PEEF CAC, I advocated for accountability and transparency reform to ensure that San Francisco City funds are utilized for student benefit as mandated by the City Charter. In this role, I also reviewed SFUSD programming, advised the Board of Education, and provided recommendations to best serve our students. In addition, I actively participated in the District's Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Task Force.

I have over twenty years professional experience in state government, business, and nonprofits. I grew up in Los Angeles, where my mom and stepfather were teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District – serving for a combined 56 years. And I'm the daughter of an immigrant. My father moved to San Francisco from Iran when he was 17. California's public education system enabled him to learn English and achieve his professional aspirations.

A more complete bio is here: www.lainieforsfboe.com/bio

What is your #1 policy goal?

How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal? Will the power of the office of Board of Education Commissioner be enough to achieve this goal?

What are your #2 and #3 policy goals? Will the power of the office of Board of Education Commissioner be enough to achieve these goals?

My top priorities are

1. Focus on student success

2. Fiscal responsibility,

3. Engaging with students, families, educators, and the community at large.

In the last four months since taking office, I've been working hard to move these priorities forward. We've hired a new superintendent, approved a balanced budget, committed to in person instruction for our students, restored criteria-based enrollment at Lowell High School, embarked upon a process to improve all high schools, settled the Washington High School murals lawsuit, and are working with our city partners to share resources and shore up financial support.

I have also visited at least a dozen schools and talked with countless educators and site administrators about their experiences and needs. I have continued to engage with our district leadership to ensure that our financial decisions are sound and I have worked collaboratively with our Dept of Education colleagues to ensure we are headed in the right direction. I have met with numerous parents and community groups who are invested in our student success.

In short, I am deeply committed to ensuring that our district is run and managed for the benefit and educational success of our students. This is an all hands on deck effort as the problems we see didn't happen overnight. This will take sustained and supported collective effort to focus on our students and the resources, skills, and experiences they need to be successful.

What is an existing policy you would like to reform?

I am very enthusiastic about the work the board is undertaking to update our governance practices. As chair of this Ad Hoc committee I, alongside my colleagues, will be putting forward recommendations to improve transparency and implement best practices around board behavior and policy-making.

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.)

I am singularly focused on our kids and their education, and how we can support our educators and school sites for success. Just having this opportunity to serve on the Board of Education is an "out there" and much needed change!

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. AP Giannini. (Have also attended Presidio EEC, McKinley ES, and Grattan ES).

How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here? What do you love most about California and/or San Francisco?

Over the last twenty+ years in San Francisco, I have lived in six neighborhoods and five districts. And every time I have moved to a new part of the city, I fall in love with San Francisco all over again and have a new appreciation for the diversity and vibrancy of our city. I love how gorgeous and dynamic our city is. And I love Karla the Fog. I love all of our parks and greenspaces, and I love the ocean and the bay. This city is a gorgeous phoenix and it is where I chose to have and raise my kids.

What do you dislike the most about California and/or San Francisco?

There is so much talking and fighting about problems facing our city - housing access and affordability, drug issues plaguing our community, public safety issues, and public education, and so on. Politics has polarized our decision-making to the detriment of those of us who stand for good governance and who want to build our community up - rather than tear it apart.

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

I have been an active parent in SFUSD for a decade - volunteering in classrooms, leading fundraising efforts, and serving on Student Site Councils and PTAs. I recently completed a four-year term serving as the Co-Chair of the Public Education Enrichment Fund Committee (PEEF), where I advocated for accountability and transparency reform to ensure that San Francisco City funds are utilized for student benefit as mandated by the City Charter.

I also served on the Bicycle Coalition board (8 years, including President and Treasurer roles) and Botanical Garden board (3 years) as they underwent organizational change and growth. I am currently the personnel manager and a park ranger with the National Park Service's volunteer horse patrol program in the Marin Headlands (over 10 years). Earlier this year, I was honored to receive the Presidential Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in recognition of my ongoing contributions.

Thank you

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