Editor:

I am not a D4 resident. This isn’t a letter about the recall. It is to set the record straight about Algebra I in eighth grade and Supervisor Joel Engardio’s odd claim he brought it back. See this ad: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16erIsd4G_o

Until 2014, California was an Algebra I for all state. 
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/california-board-mandates-algebra-1-for-all-8th-graders/2008/07

During our time in the district, SFUSD was trying to place almost everyone in Algebra I in eighth grade because they wanted to eliminate tracking. My son was the last cohort taking Algebra I in eighth grade in 2013-14. It was delayed to ninth grade in the fall of 2014. My daughter, two years younger, was the second group who had to wait until ninth grade.

We parents tried to talk reason to SFUSD to no avail. The City got involved too with then-Supervisors Scott Wiener and Katy Tang sending a letter asking the district not to do this. 
https://web.archive.org/web/20160103014502/https://www.scottwiener.com/letter_to_sfusd_math_curriculum

They were ignored.

The district, over the years, claimed a success in the delay which didn’t exist. I spent years filing public data requests because they refused to provide proof of their claims in the form of raw data. In June 2021 I received data which showed the district was not being honest. Here is a brief history of what happened: 
https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-how-san-francisco-public-schools-got-math-instruction-wrong/

In 2023 a family sued the district over forcing students who received As, Bs and Cs in approved UC external high school Algebra I classes in eighth grade to repeat it in ninth if they didn’t pass a non standardized math validation test. 
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/education/parents-challenge-sf-math-policy-in-court/article_150412e6-c813-11ed-a51b-eb86f5512993.html

This violated the state math placement act. 
https://capta.org/resource/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-math-placement-law/

This lawsuit was key in forcing the district to answer to their misinformation. A study was also conducted by a Stanford professor showing this wasn’t working the way it was advertised: 
https://tom-dee.github.io/files/ER_2025.pdf

In October 2023, in a press release, the district began the first steps in admitting this was not working. Granted they were still claiming an increase in advanced math in the form of precalculus. There wasn’t. They were calling a class which did not meet state precalculus standards “advanced” and counted it improperly. The Stanford professor acknowledges this in the final study gthub link above. 
https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-10-02-sfusd-focus-group-examine-access-and-implementation-algebra-1-8th-grade

The SF Guardians became involved during this time and worked with Supervisor Engardio’s office to put a non-binding measure on the ballot, Prop G. 
https://www.sf.gov/information–proposition-g-offering-algebra-1-eighth-graders-march-2024-election

It was non binding because the City does not have any control over district decisions.

In February 2024, 10 years almost to the day that the Board of Education voted to delay it, they reversed course and voted to return it. 
https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=D233NV07BDDC

Prop. G was on the March 2024 ballot and Algebra I was already coming back.

This was a 10-year battle. It is inappropriate for Supervisor Engardio to claim credit over this. SF Guardians were the ones who convinced him to put it on the ballot.  Superintendent Matt Wayne told the City there were already plans in the works to return it. They had completed a math task force and were bringing their proposals to the board in February 2024.

The proposal in front of the Board of Education passed, which is why the child in Supervisor Engardio’s ad took Algebra I.

Maya Keshavan. Parent of two SFUSD k to 12 alumni, electrical engineer and public school advocate.