Celebrating Inclusivity in SFUSD Schools

Published in Sing Tao Daily in Chinese.

By Dr. Maria Su Link to this section

As the new superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, I’ve been fortunate to visit schools and meet with students and staff throughout the city to learn from our communities about what makes our schools special. 

The kindness, warmth, and inclusivity of our educational spaces continues to impress me.

Beginning this week, I will publish a weekly column with updates to keep our families, staff, and community informed about what’s happening in SFUSD. 

My first column lines up with an important time for our school district: Inclusive Schools Week. 

During the first week of December, we take time to celebrate something at the heart of what public schools are about. We have inclusive schools, which means we include everyone — and that means everyone — in our classrooms and our schoolyards.

This annual event is an opportunity for all of us to come together to honor students with disabilities as full members of our school communities. This year’s theme for Inclusive Schools Week is “Every Voice Matters.” 

Education and awareness can be powerful tools to bridge across differences and enable all students to find their voice and be appreciated for their unique selves. 

We encourage SFUSD educators, family and community members to teach students not just about disabilities but also about the intersection of disabilities with other categories of identity, like race, gender, class, cultural heritage, language preference and other differences. 

In fact, we’ve created an SFUSD Inclusive Resource Guide to help get you started with some ideas. And as a district committed to continuous improvement, the Coordinated Care Team at every school is taking an Inclusion Site Survey to assess how their school is doing and then working together to commit to new actions to expand their school’s inclusion efforts moving forward.

Did you know that SFUSD has been celebrating Inclusive Schools Week during the first week in December since 2010, when Mayor Gavin Newsom issued this Mayoral Proclamation on Inclusive Schools Week? And in 2013, the SF Board of Education issued a resolution on Guiding Principles Regarding Inclusive Education Practices for the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)  

I am deeply proud of the work we continue to do in our district to create an inclusive, welcoming environment for all. From classrooms that adapt to meet diverse learning needs, to extracurricular activities that encourage all students to participate, to the partnerships between families, educators, and community members—we are building a school culture that truly embodies inclusivity.

As we celebrate this important week, let us continue to honor the value of every student and the collective strength we gain from our diversity. Let’s reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that our schools are not only places of academic growth but also places of social, emotional, and personal growth where every child can develop confidence, independence, and a sense of belonging.

Thank you for your continued support in making our schools inclusive, compassionate, and empowering for all students. Together, we can continue to build a brighter future for every learner in our community.

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