If the term โThe Mississippi Miracleโ rings a bell, candidates in the heated race for the California governor’s seat have been working hard to make sure youโll never forget it. Theyโve floated the term on the debate stage as an example of how, if the state of Mississippi raised its fourth-grade reading and math scores from among the worst in the country to among the best, surely they can do the same with California.
Just how this miracle came to pass, though, is still up for debate. Many have pointed to the state-mandated use of phonics, a teaching method that connects spoken sounds, (aka phonemes), to written letters.
But in a recent article published by Rachel Canter, the director of education policy for the Progressive Policy Institute, Canter argues that the real reason lies in Mississippiโs strict accountability rules.
If a school in Mississippi is ranked in the bottom 25% for its reading scores, the state dictates that the schoolโs educators are required to go through training and coaching. The rules also mandate that most students who fail to meet the stateโs standards not advance to the next grade until they meet the gradeโs reading proficiency goals.
If a district is ranked โfailingโ for two consecutive years, its Board of Education could be thrown out, its Superintendent removed, and it would be taken over by the state until it improves.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the S.F. Unified School Districtโs third grade reading scores have fallen below the goals the district set for itself in 2022. Last month, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to grant itself another year to try to meet its target of 70% reading proficiency. In 2025, reading proficiency dropped to 47%.
This week, Mission Local asked each of the candidates running for the San Francisco School Board whether SFUSD would benefit from the same accountability metric set by the state of Mississippi, including the state stepping in if a districtโs reading scores are deemed โfailing.โ
Hereโs how the candidates responded.
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A blue background means the candidate answered yes, an orange background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate answered ambiguously.
Phil Kim
- Job: Deputy director and chief of staff at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission
- Age: 35
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: PhD in Education, University of California, Berkeley; masterโs in urban education policy from Loyola Marymount University; bachelorโs in neuroscience from Bucknell University
- SFUSD Experience: Charter school educator, SFUSD administrator and current school board president
Yes, with one caveat: accountability only works when expectations are clear and schools have the support and resources to succeed. Mississippiโs lesson wasnโt simply about phonics instruction; it was that everyone in the system โ teachers, administrators, policymakers, and board members โ was held accountable while also receiving the right resources, coaching, and strong implementation support.
SFUSD should set high expectations and provide the clarity and resources needed to achieve them. Accountability without support sets people up to fail, but accountability without consequences becomes a deadline we keep extending.
Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, San Francisco Democratic Party … read more here.
Virginia Cheung
- Job: Nonprofit executive
- Age: 42
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: Bachelorโs from the University of California, Irvine in social ecology
- SFUSD Experience: Parent of child at Alice Fong Yu, former director of Wu Yee Children’s Services
SFUSD can learn from Mississippiโs focus on literacy, early intervention, educator coaching, and accountability. With a background in early education policy, I understand that learning foundations are established early, which is why my platform strongly emphasizes strong early education and intervention before students fall behind.
Teacher training and literacy coaches helped educators apply evidence-based reading instruction, while universal screenings identified reading challenges in the earliest grades. I support stronger literacy goals, transparent public reporting, and targeted support for struggling families, especially focused on the progress of the lowest-performing students.
But accountability must come with investment, not punishment.
Read Cheungโs full response here.
Endorsed by: United Educators of San Francisco, San Francisco Green Party, Supervisor Connie Chan, S.F. Public Defender Mano Raju, Phil Ting, Norman Yee, Eric Mar … read more here.
Brandee Marckmann
- Job: Director of parent-led group
- Age: 53
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: Bachelorโs in English and French from Central College
- SFUSD Experience: Parent of SFUSD student
No. Accountability is crucial for SFUSD, but this punitive one-size-fits-all approach is not the answer for our district.
With proactive oversight, we can ensure that SFUSD and the school board function effectively with full transparency. Thatโs why part of my platform is to bring back the four oversight committees which were dismantled in 2022. We should not wait until circumstances become dire before holding officials accountable.
Instead of mirroring a state with sweeping anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-DEI legislation and whose โMiracleโ was widely debunked, we should be focused on investing in the resources that actually improve student outcomes long-term.
Read Marckmannโs full response here.
Endorsed by: Harvey Milk Democratic Club, SEIU 1021, Supervisor Shamann Walton, Supervisor Jackie Fielder, Dean Preston, Aaron Peskin, Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano … read more here.
Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at marina@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.