help stop displacement of newcomer high school (my mom's work)!

Save SF's Newcomer High School !

- Revoke the Superintendent's decision to place Xcell Academy at Newcomer High School as it will displace 1/3 of the existing students and their teachers.
- Involve immigrant parents, students and their teachers in all future decisions effecting Newcomer High School.

Act now by contacting Superintendent Ackerman and letting her know that you and other members of the community find her actions unacceptable.


June 14, 2004

To Concerned Parties:

Twenty-five years ago the district saw the need and made a commitment to create a special program to serve new immigrant high school students. That s why Newcomer High was established.

• Newcomer is a one year transitional program to prepare immigrant students for regular high schools.

• Newcomer has open enrollment to receive immigrant students whenever they arrive. The population of the school grows throughout the semester. For the fall semester, we began with 309 students and ended with 456. In the spring, we began with 424 and ended with 530.

• Students come with little or no English often under educated. Newcomer has ESL and primary language content area classes so that students receive high school content and acquire English as quickly as possible.

• Immigrant students arrive physically, emotionally, socially, and economically stressed. Newcomer, with its understanding adult and peer support, is a safe environment for them to adjust and learn.

• Many community services come to Newcomer to help students adjust: they include Horizons Unlimited, Chinatown Youth Center, Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc., Charity Cultural Center of Chinatown.

Six weeks ago, XCEL Academy, a charter school, was offered the third floor of the Newcomer High School building. No member of the Newcomer community was consulted. Newcomer High was only informed of this proposal in the second week of May, at which time the administrators of the two schools were told to discuss the accommodations necessary for receiving the other school. In the first meeting with a district official this past Thursday, June 10th, the members of the Union Building Committee of Newcomer High School were informed that this plan is all but imminent. On Friday, Newcomer received a request to begin the merge and open two rooms for the charter school in the coming week.

While we respect XCEL Academy and its mission, we are still extremely concerned that placing another school onto the Newcomer premises may not be in the best interests of the students of either school. More importantly, we fear that the temporary displacement and diversions required to accommodate the other school will lead to the END of the unique services at Newcomer High School.

Consequences of putting XCEL Academy into the Newcomer High School building:

• Newcomer High must give up 8 classrooms to accommodate XCEL Academy. This means that Newcomer will be giving up 40% of its instructional classrooms. As a result, Newcomer can only accommodate a maximum of 375 students rather than the 530 who currently attend.
• Approximately 130-200 new immigrant students for the next school year will have to be sent out to other high schools.
• Newcomer staff and students may be displaced to other schools.
• The education and welfare of new immigrant students are jeopardized despite a suggestion for the district to set up or reinforce existing ELD programs on other campuses to service new immigrant students who would have otherwise attended Newcomer between now and August.

Some points/facts that were never considered:
• Newcomer currently uses 18 of its 20 classrooms. The remaining two are in constant use: one is for
community service groups, tutoring, and student lunchtime creation; the other is a staff workroom.
• The Newcomer School Site Plan provides 20 teachers for the 2004-2005 school year. Losing 8 classrooms will displace teachers and students.
• Immigrant students arrive highly stressed physically, emotionally, socially, and economically;they require a safe and tranquil environment.
• Students arrive with little or no English often undereducated; they require a specialized instructional program.
• The library and technology room are composed of resources specific to the needs of English learners.
• Many of the resources were purchased with LEP funds and cannot be shared.
• The Newcomer cafeteria only holds 250 students and Newcomer already arranges for 2 lunch periods for its students.
• There are only 2 basketball courts for student recreation.
• The two bathrooms are already overcrowded one for the boys and one for the girls.

If anyone has more questions regarding this issue, please contact the Union Building Committee at Newcomer High School at 415-241-7584
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The following is a sample letter that you can adopt to send along your requests and concerns to the superintendent of schools and to the board of education.

Dear Superintendent Ackerman and the Members of the Board of Education:

I have just heard of the disturbing news that the district plans to put XCEL Academy into the Newcomer High School building. I strongly urge the superintendent to reconsider this decision for the following reasons:

• Newcomer High School is an unique, historic, and internationally recognized program that services immigrant English Language Learners.
• Reducing 40% of Newcomer High School s instructional classrooms even for a proposed one year will adversely affect the education and welfare of immigrant high school students.
• The subsequent diversion of staff and resources may irrevocably damage the current program at Newcomer.
• The community, immigrant parents/students, and Newcomer staff should have input in all decisions affecting the future of Newcomer High School.

The minority, immigrant, and English Language Learners in our district are some of the most vulnerable students in need of our greatest support. Therefore, I beg the superintendent and board members to act with the interests of ALL students in mind. Please find a permanent home for XCEL Academy and preserve the current program at Newcomer High School.

Respectfully yours,




Please send concerns to:
The Superintendent of Schools:
aackerm@muse.sfusd.edu (phone) 241-6121

The Board of Education:
dkelly@sfusd.edu, echin@sfusd.edu, hilesh@sfusd.edu, slipson@sfusd.edu, emar@sfusd.edu, msanche@sfusd.edu, jwynns@sfusd.edu

board office, Esther Casco, 241-6493; fax 241-6429

THANK YOU ALL!

The Community of Newcomer High School

man it's crazy how many people read parry shen's blog andangryasianman. our modest little "are you down?" quiz has caught on fire the past few days, and bot, min, and i are enjoying our 15 minutes of apa internet fame (friendster who?).

anyways, last week i thought of one more thing i wanted to add to the "quiz":
28. Your favorite quote is: "Be the change you want to see in the world. -- Ghandi"

feel free to post any more additions you think of. also, i'd just like to say thanks to all those apa student activists across the country who inspired us to write this. you don't know who you are, BUT WE DO. sucka!

thanks rj!

How to make a Lisa

Ingredients: 5 parts competetiveness 3 parts brilliance 5 parts instinct

Method: Blend at a low speed for 30 seconds. Add a little cocktail umbrella and a dash of curiosity

Username:

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

I NEED DC HOUSING!
if anyone knows anyone looking for a roommate or subletter for the summer, please let me know. i'm looking for a place from now through the end of july in washington dc.

THE RETURN OF THE BIG 3??



watch out, dc.

great news: i've been accepted to columbia's journalism school for the fall. i don't think it's fully hit me yet that i'm going back to nyc.
ahhhhh!!! wtf?

PDA!!



who's on thefacebook? i know it's elitist, but great for stalking.

from jai's blog:

Post a memory of me in my comments...
It can be anything you want.
Then post this to your journal and see what people remember of you.

i can still smell barbeque in my hair after showering, which of course means it was a good weekend.

steveo unleashed the koreanness on our friends before the rice show with a bbq and hella good spam-kimchee-fried rice. so. fucking. good! (all my spam fans out there MUST try this)

freesia came up with a good theory: all asian am. guys who are from anywhere besides the bay area dance like white guys. the only exception to this are pilipino guys and gays. so true. smiley much?

oh, and re: the "are you down?" quiz below: please do not post on your blog/send to your friends/etc. without putting our names on there. we don't want it to get around the internet and have it be all anonymous. we're fame whores, we know.

i can't believe it's may already. has it really been one year since graduation? good luck to everyone finishing up their last days of college. it's a jungle out there.

Dine for a Change -- Together we can end sexual assault

 Dine at participating restaurants for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or all three!) on Thursday, May 20th and support San Francisco Women Against Rape, the city’s 30-year-old rape crisis center. Each restaurant will donate a portion of their proceeds to support critical services for survivors of rape and sexual assault. Let’s work together to promote healing and get these restaurants full of conscious people on May 20! Be sure to mention to the restaurant that you’re there to support SFWAR. (All restaurant addresses below).

Aperto Restaurant
1434 18th St@Connecticut
252-1625          

Atlas Café
3049 20th St@Alabama
648-1047          

Aux Delices
2327 Polk St@ Green
928-4977

Bissap Baobab
2323 Mission St@19th
826-9287          

Boogaloos
3296 22nd St@Valencia
824-4088

Charanga        
2351 Mission St@ 20th
282-1813                      

Dolores Park Café
501 Dolores St@ 18th  
621-2936          

Dottie's True Blue Café
522 Jones St@ O'Farrell
885-2767          

Estela's Fresh Sandwiches
250 Fillmore @ Haight
864-1850

Habana Bar y Restaurante
2080 VanNess@ Pacific
441-CUBA

Jakarta           
615 Balboa St@ 7th
387-5225          

Jays Cheese Steak    
3285 21st St@Valencia
285-5200                      

Little Baobab 
3388 19th St@Mission
643-3558          

Magnolia Pub Brewery
1398 Haight St @ Masonic
864-7468          

Mariachi's Taqueria  
508 Valencia St@ 16th
621-4358          

Metro Caffe
247 Fillmore St@ Haight
621-9536

Notes from the Underground Café   
2399 VanNess @ Green
775-7638                      

Papalote         
3409 24th St@Valencia
970-8815          

Pho Phu Quoc
1816 Irving St@19th Ave
661-8869          

Rosamunde's
545 Haight St@ Steiner
437-6851

Tallula
4230 18th St@ Collingwood
437-6722

Tita's Hale 'Aina        
3870 17th St@ Noe
626-2477

At SFWAR, we believe that no single individual, organization, foundation, or business alone can stop the epidemic of sexual assault, but by responding as a whole community, we each bring our piece of the solution. Please join us on Thursday, May 20th and Dine for a Change.

Need a Recommendation?
Having a meeting? Do it at a café(Metro Caffe, Dolores Park Cafe, Notes from the Underground, Atlas Cafe). 

Going on a date? Go to a nice restaurant (Tallula, Habana, Charanga, Aperto). 

Need a little fun? Eat at one of these places (Little Baobab, Bissap Baobab, Magnolia Pub and Brewery). 

In a rush? Try some fast food (Jay’s Cheesesteak, Papalote, Estela’s, Mariachi’s). 

Late Breakfast? Relax at these yummy spots (Dottie’s True Blue, Tita’s Hale Aina, Boogaloos, Doloros Park Café)

Catching up with friends? Try something different (Aperto, Aux Delices,Jakarta, Pho Phu Quoc, )

Restaurants by Neighborhood:
Portrero Hill –Aperto Restaurant, Atlas Café
Mission– Bissap Baobab, Boogaloos, Charanga, Dolores Park Café, Jays Cheesesteak, Little Baobab, Mariachi’s, Papalote
Downtown and Tenderloin – Aux Delices, Dottie’s True Blue Café, Notes from the Underground Café
Haight – Estela’s Fresh Sandwiches, Habana Bar y Restaurante, Jakarta, Magnolia Pub and Brewery, Metro Caffe, Rosemunde’s
Castro – Tallula
Noe Valley– Tita’s Hale ‘Aina
Sunset – Pho Phu Quoc

l.a. trip update

steven insisted on bumping "yeah" hella loud and rolling down the windows while driving around. and hella mugging. koreans.

he also insisted on taking like 5000 pictures of k-town signs.

capitol records building

r2d2 and c3po footprints at mann's chinese theatre!!!!! darth vader's were also there, but they were just regular footprints.

i don't really love l.a., but i got some love for the erotic museum....

neat-o mural off of hollywood blvd

Are You Down?
The Code for Being a Young AA/APA/APIA/AAPI Activist

By Minnie Y. ’04, Margot S. ’04, and Lisa W. M. UC Berkeley ’03 (guest writer of UC Berkeley’s Hardboiled).

One point for each question answered in the affirmative.

1. You own a BlackLava t-shirt. (+1 if you have the V. Chin shirt, +2 if you wear it to Asian American events.)
2. You own a spoken word CD.
3. You are or once were a spoken word artist. (+1 If you performed in a skinny scarf and spaghetti strap tank top.)
4. You hate Abercrombie & Fitch and dog on Asian Americans who wear it, even if they bought it pre-boycott.
5. You think Yuri Kochiyama is totally rad!
6. You own an autographed copy of “Better Luck Tomorrow.” (+1 If you were on the street team for BLT.)
7. You have a poster of one or both of the following: 1. Che 2. Malcolm.
8. You HELLA think that San Francisco is the center of the universe and the APA Movement.
9. You dyed your hair bright red at one point.
10. You protest the Euro-centric, hegemonic, patriarchal, heterocentric, capitalist petty bourgeoisie of THE MAN.
11. You are a “brother” or “sister” of the “The People’s Movement.”
12. Instead of saying “goodbye,” you say “peace”.
13. You have a Xanga, are on Friendster, and were a part of Asian Avenue.
14. You write your Friendster testimonials in Spoken Word verse.
15. You AIM name includes the words “Angry” or “Asian” or “Yellow Brown Power.”
16. If you wear glasses, they must be the thick, plastic, black rimmed glasses to show the world how intellectual you really are.
17. You are an APA conference whore.
18. You cried the first time you heard “I Was Born with Two Tongues”. (+1 If you actually cried and not just claimed you cried.)
19. You majored in, minored in, or helped start Asian American Studies at your school.
20. You only listen to hip hop and only really enjoy Talib Kweli or Dead Prez.
21. You have read one, part or all of the following: The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Fast Food Nation, Stupid White Men, or anything by bell hooks.
22. You’re so underground, you’re fucking magma.
23. As you chain smoke, you intellectualize how nicotine is the tool of THE MAN.
24. Every time you watch TV or movies, your Asiandar kicks in. (“Look! Asian woman’s arm in the back! WHAT WHAT!”)
25. You mad dog Asian women with White boyfriends (minus 1 if you've ever had a White boyfriend; minus another 1 if you actually admit you had a White boyfriend, but you swear it was when you were really young and before you became down).
26. You hate on AZN Asians as much as White people, if not more.
27. You hate on Asian fraternities or sororities, but used to go those parties before you were down (minus one if you ever pledged an Asian
sorority, minus two if you were a Little Sis).

If you scored 21 or more:
Congratulations, Poster Child de La Revolución. You’re so down, you’re abajo. After finishing your manifesto and reaping vegetables in your biosphere, we’ll see you at ECAASU 2005, fool. Paz.

11- 20:
Poseur. What’s up, poser? Put down that copy of Audrey and read Asian Americans: The Movement and the Moment already. Practice raising your fist and looking hard in the mirror when no one's looking.

0 – 10:
You’re a tool of THE MAN. Proceed immediately to San Francisco and get a picket sign already.

Minnie Y. ’04 is a part of the Chinese Filipina What?! (CFW) club. Lisa W.M. UC Berkeley ’03 is not only a CFW founder, but she’s also a member. Marg0t S. ’04 tries to be the “C” in CFW.

so i'll be a shadowboxer, baby
it's been a great week. returned from a mentally/emotionally exhausting dc/nyc trip (my third trip in three weeks) with coffee jitters and a case of sleep deprivation bordering on delirium. but i've relished being back in the warm hug of the bay area for the past few days, and we've been eating really well. thursday night we decided to save money and eat in for a change. i made my mom's nationwide famous chow fun--hadn't made it in quite a while, but i aced it. we pigged out and passed out in a greasy, but happy food coma. the next morning i made my specialty, the salmon-green onion scramble over sticky rice. later in the afternoon we knocked back a few pints at the bear's lair, just like old times with anne. they've totally descrated upper sproul, such a shame.

friday night steve made a crab dinner--SO GOOD. we conked out again, woke up around 1:30, and went to thalassa for a last-call vodka tonic and then top dog for a late-night snack. saturday we went with alex to the oyster and beer festival in north beach. it was crazy crowded, but the sun was out, and there were beer and oysters, so all was good. the beer lines were too long, so we got some 24 ouncers at a corner store and sat on a stoop with our seafood and liquor. and, for those wondering, oysters actually are aphrodisiacs. damn, they are. we ended the night with the stoners at a korean restaurant on telegraph (i wimped out and got chicken katsu) followed by manhattan at home.

cd resurrection of the moment: fiona apple, tidal

dupont circle, washington, dc, march 2004


big sur, march 2004

i've decided a blog is basically a surrogate boyfriend, so now that i have a legit SO, i've abandoned my blog. sorry, my faithful readers, updates will be sporadic.

honolulu, march 2003

oh man. the sky opened up to me this morning at 6 a.m. driving into the city. it was creamy yellow and shiny blue and there were no clouds to interfere. the commuting cars streamed quietly into the city via the bay bridge, and i had visions of coffee. such a beautiful sight.

You're France!

Most people think you're snobby, but it's really just that you're better than everyone else.  At least you're more loyal to the real language, the fine arts, and the fine wines than anyone else.  You aren't worth beans in a fight, unless you're really short, but you're so good at other things that it usually doesn't matter.  Some of your finest works were intended to be short-term projects.
Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

roads
in hawaii, i stuck my nose in julian barnes' talking it over, and there's an interesting distinction made in the story, between falling in love and being in love. you see how falling in love is different from "the chase"? i hate it when people say they love "the chase" -- it sounds so vulgar and void of emotion. i feel like the chase delineates the hanging out, the "i'm breezy" phone calls, and the "it's not a date" dates part, the "do you like me?" bit. who could really like prefer that part of it? sure, it's an essential component, but it's also so juvenile, so middle school, like eating animal crackers before your soy sauce soaked tender veal cheeks. falling in love is different from the chase. it's the time of discovery, of "firsts," of having to be near each other all the time, of being perfectly content to lie in bed all day and chat, stuff that slips away after a while, when you settle into the comfortable and somewhat complacent "being in love" phase. the "being in love" phase definitely has its perks, but i think overall i prefer the falling in love part the best out of everything. it only happens once in the relationship and for a finite amount of time, which makes it all the more sweet.

it's a weird feeling, being able to see the end from the beginning. relationships are supposed to be full of promise starting out, but i think there's also a sense of fatality there, an unshakeable feeling that the end (as inconceivable as it seems) will be bloody or at the very least turbulent. there is no modern romance.

---------------------------------
an interesting read: the politics of the lonely crowd

flurry of updates before i'm off to pass out for a minimum two hour nap so i can be sufficiently awake and coherent before getting faded tonight at scott's:
- i'm going to be in dc mar. 25-28 and then nyc mar. 28-30, and would love to meet up with anyone in the vicinity of those areas at those times
-going to see the yyys next tuesday at the fillmore (read the interview and see why karen o is my idol)
-still waiting to hear from one more grad school, but it's a real reach, so it looks like i'll be off to maryland come june
-hawaii pics to come

off to hawaii for a week. be back next wednesday. it's a tough life, i tell you.