San Francisco's reparations committee envisions a Black-centered K-12 school
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San Francisco's reparations committee is pitching a K-12 school in the city that would focus on Black student enrollment, potentially modeled after LeBron James' I Promise School in Akron, Ohio.
Driving the news: The San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee detailed its idea for the school in its final reparations report last week as part of its objective to invest in educational infrastructure to ensure public school students have equitable access to quality school buildings and resources.
Why it matters: The committee argues the city has failed to adequately serve Black children in San Francisco.
Details: Per the report's recommendation, the city could model this new school after I Promise or the East Coast-based iLearn Remediation Intervention and Scholastic Enrichment, both of which have curriculums that aim to help students that need additional support.
- The school, if created as proposed, would be "designed to counter negative images of Black people and descendants of slaves that are pushed by media, history books, education systems and policy," according to the report.
- Unlike other language departments in the school district, the school would offer Swahili and Zulu.
- Meanwhile, English classes would prioritize Black writers and offer a curriculum that includes works outside of the Western classics.
Between the lines: Beyond a Black-centered school, the committee also recommends the San Francisco Unified School District introduce a mandatory Black history and culture curriculum, and do more to recruit and retain Black educators throughout the entire district.
What's next: As with the other recommendations, the city's board of supervisors and Mayor London Breed have the final say.
Go deeper: San Francisco reparations committee urges city to address harm to Black community