Candidates for Board of Education

Not all candidates submit a statement of qualifications. A complete list of candidates appears on the sample ballot. Statements are volunteered by the candidates and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency. Statements are published as submitted. Spelling and grammatical errors have not been corrected.

ROBERT K. COLEMAN

My occupation is Editor / Artist.

My qualifications are:

I would be honored to serve on the Board of Education. I value ethics and inclusive decision-making and will be guided by common sense and the best interest of the students.

I was educated in public schools and later obtained degrees from Columbia, Emory, and Stanford.

I have worked to promote public education, housing, environmental justice, and civil rights. In recent years I supplied all the SF schools with free creative writing teaching materials. Additionally, I have produced youth literacy festivals cosponsored by the public library.

Endorsed by:

--Kim Shuck, SF Poet Laureate / Native-American activist

--Rosemary Manno, SF Public School Teacher

--Matt Gonzalez, former president of the Board of Supervisors

Robert K. Coleman

JENNY LAM

My occupation is School Board Member / Education Advisor to San Francisco Mayor.

My qualifications are:

For twenty years, I have fought to improve access to quality education for all San Franciscans. From empowering young girls to expanding civil rights for immigrants, to bringing technology access to schools nationwide and to my work now on the Board of Education. I am guided by the core belief that all children deserve an equal opportunity to learn and succeed.

As a parent of two children in public schools, I take my role as the Mayor’s Education Advisor and School Board member to heart. What I want for my children is what I want for all children.

I am running for Board of Education to:

• Prioritize student learning

• Empower and support teachers

• Invest in counselors, nurses and social workers

• Build pathways to prepare students for the future

Our children, families and teachers deserve the best. Every student must be cared for in their academic and social-emotional growth. I humbly ask for your vote.

Endorsements:

Mayor London Breed

State Senator Scott Wiener

Assembly members David Chiu and Phil Ting

Assessor Carmen Chu

San Francisco Board of Supervisors:

Vallie Brown, Sandra Lee Fewer, Rafael Mandelman, Gordon Mar, Hillary Ronen, Ahsha Safai, Catherine Stefani, Shamann Walton

Former Supervisor Jane Kim

Board of Education:

Stevon Cook, Mark Sanchez, Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez, Faauuga Moliga, Rachel Norton

Latino Democratic Club

Rose Pak Democratic Club

Jeremiah Jeffries and Karen Zapata, founders of Teachers 4 Social Justice

www.jennylam.org

Jenny Lam

KIRSTEN STROBEL

My occupation is Director, Arts Nonprofit.

My qualifications are:

I have dedicated my career to social impact. I have a deep understanding of the transformative power of a meaningful education and the destructive effects of the opposite. At Legal Services for Children, I regularly saw the NEGATIVE IMPACT AND INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE DISTRICT’S punitive school discipline process - WHICH CONTINUES TO DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT STUDENTS AND FAMILIES BASED ON RACE AND ETHNICITY. At Full Circle Fund, I worked closely with partners like The San Francisco Foundation to amplify impact and use both capital and talent to scale organizations like Beyond 12. Public/private partnerships LIKE THESE work. WE need this approach to BENEFIT OF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.

Equity is the issue and that has ALWAYS been the case in San Francisco. The type of educational experience a student has is determined by what side of Geary they live on, or go to school in. SFUSD’s STUDENTS SHOULD RECEIVE THE SUPPORTS AND SERVICES THEY NEED TO THRIVE REGARDLESS OF ADDRESS. This boils down to resource allocation and we must have an honest dialogue about what that looks like.

I will be a tireless advocate seeking to combat the challenges we face - equity, segregation, and the overall assignment process.

Kirsten Strobel