Josephine Zhao, a well-connected Asian political organizer with a divisive history, has recently been hired as a Black family liaison at James Lick Middle School, which has a small, but struggling Black enrollment.
Her hiring has raised concerns in the school community.
“For me, I just feel like there’s no way that you could possibly be in a role if you’re not that ethnicity,” said Adrionna Mixon, a Black parent of an eighth-grade student at the school in Noe Valley. “I’m not saying that you don’t have the knowledge, but of course you don’t have the lived experience to know what it’s like to be an African American parent liaison.”
A school staffer, who asked to remain anonymous, agreed: “There’s a real need for someone at our school that can work with the Black community. But it needs to be the right person. … There’s a lot of institutional distrust … [the Black family liaison needs to] understand them and their life and their culture and where they come from.”
In the last school year, James Lick’s then-principal proposed creating a new Black family liaison position to “increase our sense of belonging for our Black students and families,” according to a copy of the initial proposal.
Zhao, who in 2013 and 2018 made transphobic remarks — but has since apologized for them — began working this semester in that half-time Black family liaison role. She has a decade-long history of working as a family liaison in San Francisco public schools, but usually in schools with predominantly Asian students.
While she had to abandon her candidacy for the school board in 2018, she never lost the embrace of city politicos, and now serves as the head of the Chinese American Democratic Club.
But some staffers and parents said Zhao was not a suitable choice, and pointed to the genuine need of its 41 or so Black students.
James Lick’s 485 students are predominantly Latinx, but its Black students have faced high rates of suspension and low academic performance, among other issues. One staffer said the high rates of suspension have “always been an embarrassing conundrum” for the school.
A report for the 2022-2023 school year found that about half of Black students at the school had been suspended at some point, and the problem has persisted: “An African American child in San Francisco is more likely to get suspended than to be academically proficient,” read a 2023-2024 report.
This spring, James Lick’s school site council, a body that represents staff and parents, voted to use $96,000 in discretionary funds to create a full-time Black family liaison position, according to school staffers. The liaison’s take-home salary is unclear.
When staff returned to campus on Aug. 13, however, they were “dismayed,” said one, that the full-time position had been reduced to a half-time one.
More importantly, the position had been created with a Black James Lick staffer in mind, campus supervisor Ute Releford, who’s been working at the school for around a decade. The school community had envisioned the position going to “one of the only people on staff” with whom some Black parents would connect, said a staffer.
Instead, that job was given to an Asian veteran of San Francisco politics, who has been mired in multiple controversies and has seemingly no connection to the James Lick community.
“It was like, why would this woman be a Black [family liaison]? It really is ridiculous, isn’t it? It feels so Kafkaesque,” said one James Lick staffer.
“We had an opportunity to lift up a Black community leader and pay them for the work that they’re already doing,” said another staffer.
Some staffers refer to campus supervisor Releford as part of the reason they voted to approve the position. She is “the adult in the building that [kids] trust most,” said the second staffer. Some families “only felt comfortable talking to this one woman,” said the first staffer — even when they would not speak to principals or counselors.
Releford, who still works at the school in another capacity, declined to comment.
While Zhao declined repeated interview attempts, a teachers’ union representative said that Zhao “was consolidated into her current position” at James Lick.
The school district confirmed Zhao’s current position, but declined to comment further, citing “personnel matters.” Zhao has about a decade of experience at SFUSD: She was a parent liaison at SFUSD’s Yick Wo Alternative Elementary School, a school with 34 percent Asians students and six percent Black students — just 12 students, according to an SFUSD document. She was also a liaison at Hoover Middle School and Gordon J. Lau Elementary School, both heavily Asian.
Black children at James Lick are “an at-risk community” with high rates of suspension, high rates of insecure housing, low performance, and low literacy, said the second staffer. “I’ve heard stories about watching their parents get arrested. These kids, they are from the projects, they have a hard life.”
“They don’t deserve to have someone learning on the job how to treat them. We need someone in this role who’s an expert, and we have an expert,” they added, referring to Releford.
Zhao was once a promising school board candidate in 2018, who fundraised far more than any other candidate. But she subsequently suspended her campaign after it came to light that she had not only attempted to derail trans-rights legislation in the past, but had also provided her Chinese-speaking followers on WeChat a differing and conflicting messages than what she was saying in English: She told her Chinese followers to not believe what she was telling English audiences about changing her stance on trans rights.
This year, Zhao, a firm supporter of mayoral candidate Mark Farrell, is striving to unite the much-sought-after Chinese vote. She is the president of the Chinese American Democratic Club, and the majority of San Francisco’s politicos attended the group’s annual banquet, which centered around Zhao.
In the 2022-23 school year, a mere 6.67 percent of James Lick’s African American students met or exceeded state standards for English Language Arts; 6.67 percent met or exceeded the standards for math, according to a school report.
This compared to 11.78 percent of Latinx students exceeding state standards for English Language Arts and 5.23 percent exceeding standards for math, according to the report. For white students, the success rate was 76.09 percent in English Language Arts and 48.89 percent in math.
“These kids are at a very crucial time in their lives,” said Mixon, the Black parent. “Kids are being frustrated because they feel like, ‘Okay, somebody else is coming in who knows nothing about us, and they’re supposed to be our family liaison, how does that work?’”
“I don’t think that that’s the position for her. It’s just not,” Mixon added. Ideally, “it could be someone who’s able to properly identify with the culture, number one. Someone who had some experiences, someone who can relate to these kids and know them, and not awkward in getting to know them.”
This story has been updated to note that the discretionary funds used for the position amounted to $96,000, but that the take-home salary is unknown.
The article says she was “consolidated” into the position at James Lick. That word has special meaning in SFUSD & UESF parlance. I infer and assume she was already employed by SFUSD at a different school, in a “classified” (as opposed to “certificated” i.e. teacher or admin) parent liaison position. If that position at her previous school was eliminated, by the union paraprofessional contract, she would have rights to any other equivalent open positions at other schools. The SFUSD human resources office will do its damnedest to jam her into any “appropriate” position, because the UESF contact specifies that no other positions can be filled until the consolidated classified current employees are placed. I know all this because I was a credential (certificated) teacher in SFUSD and had my own strange journey through the consolidation process, in which it was very clear that the central office human resources just wanted to clear their queue of consolidated staff, and they didn’t really care about the needs of the schools or the desires of the employee. In response, the school site administrators used their own set of dirty tricks to avoid having consolidated teachers or paraprofessionals laced at their sites, as they were seen as damaged goods. Clearly the James Lick administrators either failed to defeat Zhao’s placement at Lick, or they horse traded with the Central Office for something else in return for accepting Zhao. This is one of the kinds of bullsh*t that forced me out of the teaching career I loved. SFUSD is a cesspool of dysfunction. To survive and thrive, it takes a very special kind of teacher or staffer—with a profound commitment to serving the community and unflinching ability to navigate the bureaucratic treachery.
Who hired her for this position? Or who “approved” her for this position – you make some mention of “consolidation” or some such thing?
This is what I was looking for. I’m guessing SFUSD but it really doesn’t say.
Excellent question. The sibling comment a few minutes ago by John Pilgrim looks to have part of an answer. In particular it explains the meaning of that curious word “consolidated”.
From LGBTQ Nation, March, 2022, reporting what Zhao wrote the Chinese press, after declaring in English that she supports LGBTs: “In a later message, she was more direct. She said there are “two transgender candidates… fighting for the title of ‘first transgender commissioner’… There are also three homosexuals. Their highest priority for education would be to spread ideologies.”
She also referred to Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer as “Chinese trash” and a “race traitor.””
I hardly know San Francisco anymore. This appointment is harmful to Blacks and LGBTs.
As for SFUSD, you can kiss my support for Prop A goodbye.
Amazing. While the district says a state takeover is bad because of the loss of “local control”, as if it is an inherent good, this is the kind of result that “local control” produces.
The district and school board don’t seem to be responsive to the needs of students and parents, why wouldn’t we get more accountability (and maybe more “local control”) from the state when we can call our assembly members and state senators’ offices to express concerns?
Yes, please explain who made the hire? If the union seniority rules put her in front of others, please explain. If it was a political choice due to the Board of Education election, please explain. Missing lots of facts in this story. San Francisco Educators get your act together and educate the kids, stop playing politics! As for the resignation/firing of the Superintendent its time for the State to step in, current leadership cannot be trusted to do the right thing. They still haven’t figured out how to pay their teachers on time!
I was a part of the last class of Luther Burbank MS. I am half white, but white passing and I was one of three students in the entire school that was white or white passing. Now, I lived in a black community and I am first generation American, so I did not feel uncomfortable in this environment. I bring this up because, the entire staff of Burbank was predominantly white and not from these neighborhoods. And the lack of understanding, moreover desire to actually teach kids, was evident. I found that the school was more concerned with NCLB testing than reaching children where they were. That school failed 18 years ago. And here we are again, on the loom of multiple school failures in the city. Because we don’t hire diverse staff. We are more concerned with policing or children than teaching them. And it starts before middle school.
Moreover, how can we expect to help our students, when the teachers, regardless of their background, can’t even get paid on time? The solution to fixing SFUSD is there, hire people who are from SF or backgrounds similar, pay them well, and don’t micro manage at every point.
This will be very ranty, but if you’ve gone to school in SFUSD you understand what I am talking about.
I know you mean well but we cant hire people based on race. Its just not good
What is going on at SFUSD? it’s been a free-for-all for the past 30 years. I am just glad I do not have kids enrolled in the system here.
I’m not saying this should be what drives the decision, but I’ve never heard of an easier to win lawsuit than the one based on a school district withdrawing a job offer because someone is the wrong race.
Miss Josephine, as we called her, was an amazing family liaison and we loved her. I miss her and wish she returned to our school. Come back!
Thank you for highlighting a key issue in our community – advocacy for African American families. I have worked for the district for nearly 9 years since having my children public school educated in San Francisco. I support all families and I’m the most senior Family Liaison currently available. I was honor to receive the assignment in August for this school year through the consolidation process defined in the union contract between the school district and the union which I’m a proud member of. I was excited to be called on by James Lick MS for this position, and have made many great connections with families, as I have at all my sites. I’m sure you know this, but the district cannot discriminate on race, therefore Chinese-Americans like myself are candidates for this position. It was historically designed for an individual at the school, which you mentioned. I can say this definitely, that SFUSD welcomes African Americans and all dedicated people who would like a career in educational social services. I would love to mentor or coach new professionals to this very rewarding career. I agree that similar backgrounds do make for easier family connections and there are many more opportunities for this important and collective work because our school is short staffed. As a member of SFUSD for the past 8+ school year, I have always bring school communities together by bridging culture gaps, uphold social justice values, and be part of the exceptional staff in this school to reduce chronic absenteeism, and uplift student achievements. I look forward to working together for improving the student outcome on the ground level.
SFUSD must believe she is the best person for the job, which is to liaise with black families. It can’t be to take care of a politician? Like they did with Mark Sanchez?
– Its curious that Zhao got selected, as there are virtually NO Asian students at Lick.
– AA student Absenteeism is 67%; could this be the cause of so many Suspensions?
– while Zhao gets a job, she’s bound to suffer the consequences of the SFUSD payroll problem, i.e. not paid.
You want everyone treated differently depending on their race? Because thats what it looks like
It would be interesting to know why half of the particular group of students have been suspended.
There are plenty of grifters of the proper race whose funds from DreamKeepers may have been cut off, and would be happy to do this job whether or not they have qualifications for it.
If you want someone to divert funds into their pocket rather than do the job, race-based hiring is the way the city has been operating.
Is MAGA liaising with at families of at risk Black students what London Breed’s SFUSD stability team has in mind?
if there are only 7 percent of black students at James Lick, will she only work 7 percent of the work? Wack job.
As an educator myself, thus is terribly wrong! This school and district doesn’t care about black people when they put an Asian minority to be their liason. She only has liaison experience with Asian. Not for anything, but many Asian look down on black and Spanish cultures! This should be investigated and find out who hired her. The black community need to protest against it. I know that even a white liaison person cannot help a different culture unless they’re immersed in it. Shao does not sound like she has any experience for this community! A waste of money and something is fishy. SFUSD going down hill fast!