SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco Unified School District is expanding services for students with extensive support needs, with a new program designed to keep more students in San Francisco and closer to their families.
District and city leaders unveiled the program Thursday at the Ed and Anita Lee School Building. The program will serve students in grades five through 12 who require specialized academic, behavioral and social-emotional support.
“The San Francisco Unified School District doesn’t give up on students,” said Vanita Louie, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Commissioners.
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SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Maria Su said the new program will help address the needs of students who have had to travel outside the district, or even out of state, to access specialized services such as speech and language therapy and motor skills support.
“We are excited to launch the new Extensive Services Support Needs School here at the Ed and Anita Lee School building,” Su said.
“By strengthening our local programs, we can better serve students and families here in San Francisco,” she said.
KRON4 and other media outlets toured the program’s classrooms, including a vocational classroom where students can develop practical life skills and a sensory room designed to support their individual needs.
Melanie Bouzon, a mother to a child living with a disability, and a member of the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education, emphasized the importance of creating an environment where students feel accepted and supported.
“Let us remember that inclusion is not simply about where our children learn its about belonging, dignity, access,” Melanie said.
The building is named after the late Mayor Ed Lee, San Francisco’s first Chinese American mayor, and his wife, Anita Lee, who supported public education and immigrant families in the city. Former Mayor Lee died in 2017.
Louie recalled speaking with Anita Lee while touring the hallways and said Anita reflected on how happy her late husband would have been to see the new program.
“I was speaking... whispering with Anita Lee just as we’re touring the hallways and she said, 'You know if Ed was here, he would be so happy about this,'” Louie said.
The district said it is in the process of hiring specialized staff to support students in the new program. It is starting with 16 students, with the goal of expanding enrollment to as many as 30 students as the program grows.
Mayor Daniel Lurie said the effort is part of making San Francisco a place where families can establish long-term roots.
“We want SF to be a city where all families can put down roots and raise their children in the communities that they love,” Lurie said.
