Editor:
My name is Selena Chu. I’m a working mother of two, raising my children in San Francisco’s Sunset District.
Like many parents, I became more engaged with our public schools during the pandemic when I began attending SFUSD board meetings on Zoom. I wanted to understand what was happening with online learning and, more importantly, when our children would return to in-person school. SFUSD was one of the last school districts in the country to reopen classrooms, and many working parents like me were left in limbo.
Even after schools reopened, I continued attending meetings. I wanted to speak up not just for my own kids, but for families – especially immigrant families – whose voices were often left out of the conversation.
In early 2023, I was accepted into two free leadership programs: one from SF Parents, and one from SF Guardians. Both were created to help parents learn how to get involved and understand the education system. They made participation possible for working parents like me. One held Zoom sessions on weekday evenings, the other hosted weekend in-person trainings in San Francisco’s District 5.
Through these programs, I began seriously exploring a run for the school board. One of my top priorities was restoring Algebra 1 in 8th grade, something that SFUSD eliminated in 2014. For years, families pleaded for it to be reinstated, but were ignored. Meanwhile, private schools continued to offer Algebra in middle school, putting SFUSD students at a disadvantage.
In 2023, a group of families sued SFUSD over this inequity. Around the same time, SF Guardians began pushing hard to restore Algebra 1, and invited District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio to help place a non-binding measure – Prop G – on the citywide ballot. It passed overwhelmingly in 2024.
Let’s be clear: Joel Engardio did not lead the fight to bring Algebra back. He did not start the movement. He joined after being persuaded by community advocates, including SF Guardians, who did the groundwork. It’s wrong for him to now use this as a political talking point while ignoring the broader issues families still face.
Public education shouldn’t be about slogans. It should be about listening to families, making decisions based on equity and evidence, and delivering on promises.
Our children deserve no less.
Selena Chu, Sunset District resident, SFUSD parent.
Categories: letter to the editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
Engardio ‘s Algebra I claim is a lie. The City has no control over the school district.
Prop G was approved as a declaration of policy November 14, 2023. https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2023-11/DecofPolicyEighthGradeAlgebraandSFUSDMathCurriculumDevelopment.pdf
This press release the district put out saying basically “we’re on it” was the month before October 2, 2023.
https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-10-02-sfusd-focus-group-examine-access-and-implementation-algebra-1-8th-grade
Prop G was an interesting barometer for the nation more so than anything else. If San Francisco doesn’t think this is a good idea then it won’t fly anywhere else.
It had nothing to do with returning Algebra I to 8th however. The district had already assembled a focus group to address logistics in October 2023 BEFORE the Supervisors voted on it as a policy to put on the March 2024 ballot.
The SFUSD Board of Education voted to return Algebra I to eighth in February 2024 weeks before the results of the March 2024 election were known.
It didn’t matter if Prop G passed or failed, Algebra I was returning to eighth grade in the form of a pilot program in the fall of 2024.
The middle school in Engardio ad was part of this pilot program which is why the student in Engardio’s ad had access to it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Please show us the news article or email or press release or…anything…where Engardio claims he ‘led’ these initiatives.
Meanwhile, Selena just posted a long-winded bit of blather telling us…what? That she is interested in education policy and at one point wanted to ‘bring algebra back to’ (even though it never left) middle schools, and some other people did the work for her by bringing the lawsuit and then the BoS passed the non-binding resolution?? So what you’re saying, Selena, is that Joel Engardio did a lot to raise citywide awareness of the issue and then bought legislation to the Board and then to the electorate for a vote. That sounds suspiciously like leadership to me. What have you accomplished, exactly?
Hey, while we’re here: Can y’all find a more constructive hobby than witch hunting Supervisor Engardio? You continue to fail to understand that Engardio had NO control over the Coastal Commission’s decision to close the Sunset section of the Upper Great Highway to cars. That ultimately was brought to the BoS by Rec and Park and SFMTA. They needed Engardio’s support but almost every Supervisor except for card-carrying hypocrite NIMBY Connie Chan supported it anyway. And by the way: No one was going to agree to turn the area in front of the SF Zoo into a giant 90-degree traffic slalom in 2026 when the Great Highway Extension closes for good. That’s a great way to get some little Zoo patrons killed as they make their way around that area.
But here you are with your ridiculous, petty vendetta that’s going to result in exactly no changes, Sunset Dunes will remain a park, and eventually you will accept that there’s basically no difference in your commute time.
LikeLike
Let’s clarify a few things for the sake of honesty and transparency:
Yes — his recent ad literally states: “Joel Engardio brought Algebra 1 back to 8th grade.” That’s not neutral framing. Selena Chu’s article simply corrects the record: it was parents, community advocates, and a lawsuit that forced SFUSD to act. Engardio helped amplify the issue later. That’s not the same as leading it.
She showed up. She joined parent-leadership cohorts. She spoke at public meetings. She organized with other families. Not everything happens in press releases — especially not grassroots work.
Of course not. But he did sponsor Prop K, making a temporary closure permanent without community-wide buy-in. That’s the point: it wasn’t just erosion — it was a political decision to eliminate weekday access.
Tell that to the working parents now budgeting 30 extra minutes. Or to contractors, caregivers, and chronically ill residents who depend on cars. This isn’t theory. These are daily struggles — and “SFMTA averages” don’t erase real-life hardship. Especially when that data is shaped by agencies like the SFMTA, which receives funding and policy pressure from the deeply anti-car SF Bike Coalition.
That’s dismissive. Constituents have every right to hold elected officials accountable — especially when promises are broken or concerns ignored. Recalls are a democratic tool, not a vendetta.
Bottom line: Selena’s article offers context. The sarcastic attacks and gaslighting here don’t erase the facts — they just prove how hostile some people become when confronted with inconvenient truths.
LikeLike
Let’s start with some basics—if someone truly believes in what they say, why hide behind a fake name like “Glen Parker”? I sign my name proudly because everything I say is based on truth and firsthand experience. Not everyone needs a self-promotional reel about their lunch bag to prove their worth. Actions and integrity speak louder.
Now, to clarify the record:
Algebra wasn’t entirely removed from SF middle schools, but access to 8th-grade Algebra was restricted in a way that created deep equity and academic concerns. Families did speak out. A lawsuit was filed.
And yes, long before Joel Engardio joined the conversation, community groups and advocates like SF Guardians laid the groundwork with public outreach, meetings, and legal pressure. Joel was invited in at a strategic point—but he didn’t lead that movement, he followed it. There’s a difference between showing up late to the party and claiming you hosted it.
As for accomplishments—true community work isn’t measured in headlines or clickbait. It’s measured in consistency, advocacy, and accountability. I’ve been part of these conversations from the start, and I don’t need a title to validate my contribution. Meanwhile, Joel Engardio has repeatedly misled his constituents, including claiming to support a Great Highway compromise right up until the moment he blindsided the public with Prop K.
And let’s not pretend this was just about the Coastal Commission. That’s a deflection. The citywide ballot initiative to permanently close the Great Highway was crafted and pushed by Engardio after saying there would be no changes. Even his own aides admitted they weren’t informed until the day it was filed. That’s not leadership—it’s a betrayal of public trust.
And finally, let’s not downplay the impact of silencing local voices with a citywide vote. D4 residents—the people most affected—were steamrolled in favor of special interests and insider deals. That’s not democracy. That’s manipulation.
This isn’t a “witch hunt.” It’s about holding someone accountable for broken promises, lack of transparency, and a consistent pattern of misleading the public. The facts are there—for anyone willing to look beyond fake names and personal attacks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is funny. Like, funny, because it almost seems like I’m piling on, but well, why not.
I mean, the thing with Joel Engardio is, it seems like anybody who has had any amount of proximate exposure to him sooner or later gets his brand. He uses and abuses, and at this point, so many are so familiar that it’s common knowledge. I’m talking about begging for favors and reduced prices on his celebration parties and borderline stiffing vendors on their bills. (IN effect, his friends/vendors do huge favors for him to help him into office; once in office, well, who cares how much his former friends have helped.)
As for my two cents, well, Engardio is always around to bathe in the limelight earned by someone else’s suffering and toil. Never around to do the heavy lifting; always around to take the credit. I haven’t put in the countless hours that Maya and Selena have on the Algebra issue, although on the sidelines, I’ve done a small favor or two. But I did burn both ends of the midnight candle when it came to the Lowell issue and I certainly was offended and insulted when Engardio tried to exploit the Lowell issue to shield him from the Recall campaign, and I certainly did not let this transgression pass without clear notice to the public.
Engardio absolutely deserves the robust and justified prosecution that he is experiencing surrounding the Recall and Proposition A; if you feel otherwise, you can vote to keep him, or you can count on him to represent YOU. With him, he is the scorpion that stings when you ferry him on your back, and if you have to learn by direct experience instead of seeing the consistent narratives around him, that’s your prerogative and your right. FAFO, as we now say.
But accusing Selena of being unproductive or somehow scorned, when in fact, Selena has done so much for the education and for San Francisco, well, that’s just misguided, weak and, unproductive. If you’re going to take pot shots at her, at least understand first how much she has done for her community, in fact and reality, and not merely take pictures and run, like Engardio does.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You write: “SF Guardians began pushing hard to restore Algebra 1, and invited District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio to help place a non-binding measure – Prop G – on the citywide ballot. It passed overwhelmingly in 2024.”
So to be clear, your position is that when your own community group worked with Joel Engardio to place Prop G on the ballot without any public outreach, that was all your personal success for which the supervisor deserves zero credit, but putting Prop K on the ballot following four years of discussion and countless public meetings about the future of the Great Highway is cause for a recall? Similarly, we’re supposed to believe that when Open the Great Highway put Prop I on the ballot in 2022 without any public outreach, that was righteous action, but putting Prop K on the ballot in 2024 is cause for outrage?
Your argument boils down to “Joel Engardio deserves zero of the credit when he helped with the very thing I personally asked him to do, but he deserves to be recalled when he supported something I didn’t like.”
There are maybe five people on this site who are so obstinately determined to make hating Joel Engardio their entire personalities that now you’re attacking him for helping your own organization with one of its signature achievements. How does that make any sense? There are both so many actual problems and great things happening in this city every day, so why are the Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon just full of the same repetitive near-daily relitigation of past grievances from these same few people?
LikeLike
First, no one said Joel Engardio deserves “zero credit.” What’s being called out is misrepresentation. Engardio supported Prop G, but he did not lead the fight to restore Algebra I. That work spanned 10 years, lawsuits, – community pressure, independent data research, and internal district decisions that were already in motion before Prop G went to the ballot. Giving him full credit is like showing up in the 9th inning and claiming you won the game.
Second, it’s entirely fair to differentiate between support and leadership, and also to hold elected officials accountable for actions that negatively impact constituents. Engardio’s support for Prop G does not erase his role in pushing Prop K, which permanently closed the Great Highway without Sunset community consensus. That wasn’t a minor policy vote – it drastically changed transportation, access, and neighborhood flow. People have every right to object, especially when they feel their voices were steamrolled.
Third, about your “five angry people” theory: that’s simply not accurate. The recall petition didn’t qualify because of “five people.” It qualified because thousands of District 4 residents many of whom had never engaged politically before – felt strongly enough to sign. That doesn’t happen unless something has gone seriously off track.
And finally, let’s be honest: it’s people like you aggressively dismissive, tone-policing, and attacking anyone who raises valid concerns who are part of the reason this recall is happening in the first place. Most constituents can handle disagreement. But what’s different here is that Engardio has repeatedly encouraged, validated, and benefitted from this toxic, divisive dynamic. It’s not normal.
Other supervisors like Myrna Melgar, who supported Prop K aren’t facing recalls. Why? Because she hasn’t launched a civil war in their districts or amplified the hostility to this level. That distinction matters.
And just because you think things are hunky-dory doesn’t mean your neighbors agree. Have some empathy. People are struggling. Many feel unheard, dismissed, and steamrolled by policies that were supposed to “help” them. It costs nothing to listen — and a whole lot more when you refuse to.
So let’s stop pretending this is about people being “personally obsessed.” This is about accountability, tone, and trust. When a politician starts treating dissent like an enemy to be mocked instead of a voice to be heard, that’s when democracy pushes back.
LikeLike
Let’s be clear: the effort to restore 8th grade Algebra was never just about Joel Engardio. SF Guardians, families, and community advocates worked tirelessly—before Joel even got involved. The lawsuit, the countless public meetings, and the overwhelming support shown in surveys and polls were already in motion. The campaign for Prop G was transparent and community-led. Joel was invited to support it after the groundwork had been done. He didn’t lead it—he joined it.
Now contrast that with Prop K.
Prop K wasn’t part of a grassroots community movement. There was no district input, no community consensus, and certainly no transparency before Joel Engardio puts it on a citywide ballot. Joel Engardio repeatedly told constituents he supported a compromise for the Great Highway. Then, without notifying the public—including some of his own allies—he submitted a proposal that permanently closed it, directly contradicting his public stance. That’s not leadership, that’s betrayal.
Even Joel Engardio’s own legislative aides admitted they only found out about Prop K on the day he submitted it—by then, it was already too late.
When Lucas Lux openly admitted he had been working “for months, maybe years” behind the scenes with Joel, it confirmed what many suspected: Prop K was crafted in backroom deals, not public forums. That is the opposite of how Prop G came to be.
This isn’t about giving or denying Joel “credit.” It’s about honesty, transparency, and accountability. When he followed the community’s lead on Algebra, people welcomed his support. When he misled constituents about Prop K, people rightfully lost trust. You can’t compare a grassroots-led, transparent education initiative with a last-minute, lobbyist-driven citywide policy change that went against what residents were told.
No one is making this about personality—it’s about principles. And if you truly care about public trust and civic integrity, you’d see that too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Julie,
Whether if its five or five hundred, I’d say I think you should be grateful for them. You’re right–San Francisco has so many issues, but if Engardio were to stick around any longer, you’d have even more!
If your position is that Engardio was of ACTUAL help to the Algebra or other issues, I think you should try to rely on him sometime. Try it; maybe if you’re not in D4, maybe he can move in with your district and you can see if he really will serve your district’s interests.
But my opinion, which you may not agree with, is that Engardio is a walking disaster, and that D4 owes a duty to the rest of San Francisco to eject him from his seat as soon as possible.
Frank
LikeLiked by 1 person