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Commentary: ‘Don’t Rewrite History on Eighth Grade Algebra’

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Don’t Rewrite History on Eighth Grade Algebra: I Was There. Joel Engardio Helped Lead the Fight.

By Rex Ridgeway 

There’s been a lot of revisionist history lately about how Algebra was returned to San Francisco’s eighth grade classrooms – and more importantly, who made it happen.

As one of the plaintiffs who sued SFUSD to bring Algebra back, I feel compelled to speak out because I can’t stand by while people erase the truth. That truth is this: Supervisor Joel Engardio played a critical role in finally pushing the district to act after years of delay. He worked with us, stood with parents, and brought the weight of the City to bear when it mattered most. Without his advocacy and Prop. G, Algebra would still be out of reach for thousands of middle schoolers.

Let’s be clear: This fight didn’t start last year – it has been going on for over a decade. For 10 years, SFUSD denied students the opportunity to take Algebra in the eighth grade, something 78 other Bay Area school districts already offered. Only Oakland and San Francisco lagged behind – a shameful fact for two cities in the heart of Silicon Valley. Without access to Algebra by eighth grade, students fall behind in math pathways, locked out of AP Calculus by senior year – a huge disadvantage for college readiness and STEM careers.

That’s why I joined a coalition of concerned parents, educators and advocates who spent years organizing and eventually filed a lawsuit in March 2023. I was one of four plaintiffs, joined by Friends of Lowell and the Asian American Legal Foundation. Our goal was simple: restore equity and opportunity for San Francisco students.

But for all our efforts, the district still dragged its feet. That changed when Supervisor Engardio stepped in with Proposition G. The measure didn’t just amplify the cause – it lit a fire under SFUSD. It forced the entire City to confront what had quietly become one of the worst math achievement gaps in the country. Engardio’s involvement brought media attention, public accountability and a clear message from City Hall that enough was enough.

There are those now who try to downplay the timing – pointing out that the district voted to restore Algebra in February 2024, just before Prop. G appeared on the March ballot. But don’t be fooled. They acted because they knew the vote was coming, and they didn’t want to be exposed. And when Prop. G passed with 81% of the vote, it became a citywide mandate that will hold every future school board and superintendent accountable. If anyone tries to backtrack on Algebra again, we can all point to that 81% and say: “Not on our watch.”

To those saying Prop. G was just “symbolic,” I say: symbolism matters. Public support matters. Political pressure matters. It took all of it – the lawsuit, the organizing, and the ballot measure – to win this fight. Anyone claiming otherwise wasn’t in the room. I was.

So yes, it took a village. This wasn’t just my lawsuit or Joel’s ballot measure. It was the work of thousands of parents, teachers, and community leaders over 10 years. But let’s not pretend that Prop. G didn’t matter or that Supervisor Engardio didn’t show up when it counted. He did. He stood up for students, helped us push SFUSD to settle and helped us win.

Now that Algebra is back in eighth grade, some want to rewrite the timeline or deny credit to those who made it happen. But I won’t let that stand. Not when I saw firsthand the impact of Joel’s advocacy. Not when I know what it took to win. This was a victory for all of San Francisco – and Joel Engardio helped deliver it.

Let’s keep moving forward, but let’s do it honestly.

Rex Ridgeway is a San Francisco grandparent and one of the four plaintiffs who sued SFUSD to restore Algebra 1 to the eighth grade in San Francisco.

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8 replies »

  1. What I don’t understand is how he could help out in that instance but then go to great lengths to lie about and hide, deliberately, his undemocratic intentions from his constituents, and not seek their input, on Proposition K. Please vote YES on A to recall Joel Engardio. We deserve a democratic representative!

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  2. I respect Rex but this is inaccurate.

    Here is the the background to the lawsuit story which was originally filed by Ms. Flentje in March 2023. She was the sole petitioner. https://webapps.sftc.org/ci/CaseInfo.dll?CaseNum=CPF23517987&SessionID=F78F30EB875683A7FD01BB6EB17C0302874611EE

    I met her in the summer of 2022 when I put out this petition https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-forcing-students-to-repeat-algebra-1

    We connected because her child was currently being forced to repeat Algebra I even though they passed a UC approved Algebra I class. I suggested trying to use the internal SFUSD process to fight this, the Uniform Complaint system. So we both independently filed a uniform complaint with SFUSD. I had no children in the district at this point but I filed as a concerned citizen. Both of our complaints were denied. As was the appeal to the state.

    Her family in March 2023 filed a lawsuit to stop this illegal practice of forcing the repeat with a non standardized Math Validation test (MVT) because it violated the math placement act. This lawsuit has since been settled and the MVT has been removed.

    June 26 2023, three months after the lawsuit was originally filed it was amended to add the additional plaintiffs.

    Meanwhile in May 23 2023 before the added plaintiffs the district had a special board meeting workshop to address math in 8th grade where then Superintendent Matt Wayne pretty much admitted community pressure was having an impact (and the math scores were awful so something had to change) so they were going to audit the curriculum and sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXzvu51xjxg&t=2900s

    In October 2023 BEFORE Prop G was approved or filed for the ballot SFUSD announced a pathway to return it. https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-10-02-sfusd-focus-group-examine-access-and-implementation-algebra-1-8th-grade

    In February 2024 they held the vote to return it before Prop G results was known or the voting took place (March 2024).

    Prop G is non binding. It did nothing but take the temperature of the electorate, which was good to know. However by no stretch of the imagination did it have anything to do with returning Algebra I to 8th grade.

    And it still hasn’t completely returned. The pilot schools have a pathway but there are some middle schools out there who do not have access. I hope this changes this year.

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    • PS and sorry to reply to myself but this is really important in a broader sense.

      Prop G acted as a barometer and this is where everyone involved should take credit. It was and is of political importance. It showed future politicians at a state level not to do things like this. The first draft of the California math framework in 2021 was proposing delayed Algebra I for the full state. This result showed this is not a politically viable position in the future. I voted for Prop G and had a supporting statement in the voter guide. I see it as a valuable political tool for future reference.

      However. The claim that it was involved in bringing Algebra I back to middle (and it still isn’t fully back so the victory laps are premature) is just not borne out by evidence.

      Say Prop G lost? Algebra I was still coming back. Why wouldn’t the district wait until after the results if they needed the pressure? They didn’t need the external pressure because the internal pressure was coming to a boil finally after all these years.

      They had to waive the MVT for the 2023-24 year after the lawsuit was filed because they knew they were violating the math placement act. This meant all the students who paid for an external Algebra I class in 8th were able to take Geometry. This was completely inequitable.

      No lawsuit could bring Algebra I to 8th. This was about not forcing repeats. This then brought down the house of cards because if you’re not forcing the repeats for the kids who could afford to pay to play then you are widening the gaps by not offering it for everyone in 8th. This is why they have been piloting ways to offer it to everyone in 8th. Students can’t take it earlier.

      The California Education code is very vague about middle school. High school has a lot of laws. Middle next to nothing. I have repeatedly reached out to the state about expanding the ed code to make it mandatory middle schools offer Algebra I. So far they don’t. I was sitting in one of the hearings for this lawsuit and the judge said the state ed code is just not explicit for middle school math. And they aren’t.

      This is a job for politicians and could make a huge difference. If people want to work with this with me and others in trying to modify the ed codes so it is explicit that 8th graders at the very least have access to Algebra I? Let’s go. Because this is a very very important pathway to calculus in 12th which opens the door to STEM colleges.

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  3. Agree with Maya. I supported Prop C and even campaigned for it, but let’s not get carried away and give so much credit to Mr. Engardio. Prop G did not bring Algebra back, but just continued the fight to make the public aware so the School Board does away with the nonsense of lowering the educational bar for our kids. I do find it distasteful, the attempt for extra credit. Education pun intended.

    -Ming Chiu

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    • Only you think it’s a bad look. The real bad look? Engardio’s nonstop habit of taking credit for other people’s hard work and twisting the truth. Calling out that behavior isn’t ‘twisting ourselves into pretzels’ it’s calling out the facts. But hey, if ignoring reality makes you comfortable, enjoy that bubble.

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  5. you know that Engradio wasn’t even a resident of the Sunset till the gerrymandering took place. He also was not a supervisor at the time so what political weight did he bring to the table. He may have worked on it at the end but he certainly wasn’t instrumental in getting Algebra back into the schools.

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