Lowell High School's Admissions Policy Is a 'Looming Question,' Says New SF School Board Member

Lowell High School's merit-based admissions policy is not settled and is instead a "looming question" for the San Francisco Unified School District.

That's according to one of the San Francisco Board of Education's newest members, Alida Fisher, who won her seat on the board in something of an upset this November.

"I think that Lowell is definitely something that we as a board are going to have to address. It is a looming question for sure," Fisher told KQED in an interview.

The board's previous termination of Lowell's merit-based admissions policy is thought to have activated parents, especially those who are Asian American, who were angry at the board for reverting to the same lottery system as other SFUSD schools.

As has been previously reported, the school district's legal counsel warned that the merit-based admissions system — though favored strongly by some in the city — is incompatible with state law and, if sued to end it, the school would likely lose.

And it's especially key as Fisher's win tips the school board's majority to progressive Democrats, who traditionally have been more apt to side with Black students and families who have wanted Lowell High School's admissions process to be lottery-based for the sake of equity.

Fisher won the third of three spots by beating incumbent Ann Hsu, whom Mayor London Breed appointed and who was part of the moderate-Democrat majority that voted to restore merit-based admissions at Lowell in June.

Persistence was key to Fisher's win. She has run for the office twice unsuccessfully but, undeterred, finally won this November. She's a frequent voice at Board of Education meetings and is the advocacy chair on the SFUSD Community Advisory Committee for Special Education. Her decade-long advocacy springs from experience, as one of her four children qualified for special education, according to the SF Standard.

Fisher is a parent volunteer, and her work in the weeds of education policy helped earn her the endorsement of the teachers union (PDF), the United Educators of San Francisco.

From the start, the debate over Lowell High School's admissions process propelled the San Francisco Board of Education election to the front of the city's conversation. Asian parents, partially galvanized by the loss of a merit-based admissions system at the school, pushed to recall three school board members earlier this year. San Francisco's Asian communities often view Lowell as both a symbolic and very real driver of economic success for their kids, while some in Black communities say its merit-based system is skewed in ways that have historically blocked their children from attendance.

For the brief time the school was under a lottery system, Black student enrollment did increase.

In a wide-ranging interview with KQED, Fisher touched on topics including Lowell’s admissions policy as well as SFUSD’s broken payroll system and her early priorities on the board.

The interview below has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

JOE FITZGERALD RODRIGUEZ: So how does it feel to have done what many said could not be done? 

ALIDA FISHER: Well, I don't think it's sunk in yet. I'm still in parent mode, I'm still in (SFUSD Community Advisory Committee for Special Education) board member mode where we're still in the middle of planning for a joint CAC-AAPAC (African American Parent Advisory Council) meeting tonight. And so my focus is there, thinking in two hours I've got to pick up the kids. So I don't think the enormity of what's happened has really sunk in yet.

So what are your first priorities on the board?

I know I have a lot of work to do to catch up with the governance that the current board is focusing on. I really want to dig in and understand what's going on with EMPowerSF (the school district's staff payment system). I'm grateful that the superintendent has built the command center to actually get the issues fixed so that our teachers and our staff members get paid and benefits are offered, and if there's anything I can do to help keep that a priority.

For me, long term, one of my biggest priorities — and an issue that I've been working on for years — is reading. We've got to make sure system-wide, throughout every single school in our district, that we've got the resources, we've got the curriculum, we've got the professional development, we have everything so that our kids are learning to read.

The curriculum in our classroom, the methodology that our teachers are using, it's actually teaching our kids the foundational skills they need to be successful later in life. It's one of our biggest gaps right now. Less than half of our kids are proficient readers, and that's — as far as I'm concerned — one of the biggest mandates our school district has: to teach our kids to read.

There's one thing that folks are wondering openly about Lowell High School's future. Obviously, there's a much-anticipated Supreme Court decision that could strike down affirmative action. And there's a lot of talk about the legality of Lowell's current status now. What's next?

Well, as far as the law goes, I think right now there are issues that take precedence in our district in front of Lowell. But what I am encouraged to see is this high school task force that has been formed and met.

Long term, for me, I think that Lowell is a shining beacon in our system. It has an amazing number of resources. We've got great programs there. We've got a lot of alumni involvement, financially and in other ways. And I want to make sure that whatever we do with our high schools, we are bringing all the rest of our high schools up to those same levels of resources as Lowell and not tear Lowell apart. If every student had the resources at their fingertips that the students at Lowell have, I think we would see a dramatic shift in so many things that happen in our high schools.

But as far as its legal status goes, I mean, is it not something that's open to challenge?

Yes, I think it is open to challenge. I think that Lowell is definitely something that we as a board are going to have to address. It is a looming question for sure.

And like I said, it's one of many, many big issues that we need to tackle as a district. I am one of seven commissioners in a school district with 50,000 students. One of the things that I value most is authentic family engagement and community partnership. And so I expect that this is not work that I would do as one person in a vacuum. It would be work that is informed by many, including the attorneys who are the ones who actually do interpret the education code, not me.

Moving back to the teacher pay issue, are you comfortable with how the district is handling it now? Do you get the sense that they're doing their best and that it's best to just get out of the way and let them do it? Or is there some sense of a need to step in and intervene?

Well, at the beginning of the school year, I was calling for transparency and accountability. And so what I appreciate, and I was not alone in that, is how Superintendent (Matt) Wayne started adding updates about EMPowerSF to every superintendent report at the school board meeting. And then when that wasn't enough and we continued to hear the calls from teachers and we had walkouts at schools, the command center was formed.

And so now we have senior leadership that is working alongside HR, all of our contractors, all of our software vendors, everyone in the same room every day. Not just to close the tickets that have been opened by teachers who weren't getting paid, but to actually address the root causes. And that was very encouraging to me, and hopefully to a lot of other folks. But I think that level of transparency needs to continue.

This has been going on for almost a year now. This is absolutely unacceptable. And I really appreciate that our leadership team have acknowledged that as well.

You went to the NAACP local chapter and talked to the folks there. Can you tell me what you felt the message was coming from Black leaders there?

Well, I was honored to be able to attend the NAACP September meeting and to meet with the community members. The work that is being done and the assets that are being made, the calls to action, there's nothing new. Nothing has changed. The frustration is mounting because the asks are the same year over year.

On Tuesday night, for example, our African American Parent Advisory Council gave a report to the Board of Education, and there were no new asks this year in the report. They highlighted the asks that they have been making over the past few years, the calls for restorative practice for culturally humble and culturally responsive teaching practices, for educators to have high expectations for our Black students and to believe in our Black students.

None of this is new. And that's what I heard at the NAACP meeting as well and many other opportunities that families have to provide their input: "Listen to us. Take us seriously. Include us in the decision-making process. Use us as authentic partners." That's, I think, universally what we hear.

One thing that your opponents and Ann Hsu's supporters might say is, they lost the chance for a critical voice for Chinese parents and Chinese families, specifically those with an immigrant background. What lessons can you take from what they prioritized in their messaging and their policies? And what can you take with you to the board when you represent all families?

I think that there are some things that are universal to all families, whether you're in San Francisco Unified, whether you're in a private school, or whether you're a grandparent or a parent. I think there are some things that just ring true to everybody: We all want our children to achieve the highest level of success that they possibly can. We all want our kids to have more opportunities than we had growing up — I mean, especially anyone who sacrifices anything they had, leaves whatever environment they started in, and makes a conscientious choice to come to California or San Francisco. That sacrifice is nine times out of 10 for the betterment of the next generation.

So especially in San Francisco, a city that has such a large immigrant population, I take the responsibility of making sure that all kids have the support and services and resources and everything they need in our public schools to do everything they need to do to make their ancestors proud. I take that responsibility very seriously.