Fil-Ams win budget for Filipino-language program in San Francisco schools

Filipino American school children rallying at San Francisco school district office for a Filipino-language program. PHOTOS BY JUN NUCUM

SAN FRANCISCO — Backers of a Filipino-language pathway for the city’s public schools won a budget for a full-time employee, after months of negotiating, lobbying and speaking at public hearings that even culminated in a rally by Filipino school children, parents and community advocates at the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) office.

With the allocation, a full-time position for a Filipino-speaking staff with a 20-year experience at around $80,000 with $30,000 in benefits on will run the Filipino language pathway in the district’s multilingual department.

Prior to this development, Filipino community leaders found out that there was no budget for a Filipino language pathway even as 5-6 percent of San Francisco school children are of Filipino descent and despite the existence of a multilingual department budget of $1.7M — $1.4 million for Spanish and Chinese bi-literacy expansion.

The budget was later increased to $1.9 million, but the addition went to full-time teaching positions of Spanish and Chinese language teachers.

Zero funding previously

“Since I was in the Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF) community advisory committee, I learned that zero funding was given the Filipino language while the lion’s share was given to other languages,” Magdalena De Guzman, the Tagalog teacher at Bessie Carmichael Elementary explained her discovery that spurred the protest actions.

Filipino American SF school board member Hydra Mendoza-McDonell, in an interview with INQUIRER.net acknowledged the apparent neglect of Filipinos and their language, and vowed to push for a full-time Filipino-language employee.

“After the first words were sent out for $13,000 (allocation), we had multiple conversations with staff and San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Richard Carranza, I needed a better sense of how the money is going to be spent,” Mendoza-McDonell recounted.

“The multilingual department finally agreed to find money from their own budget to make Filipino language position full-time,” she said. “When they agreed they would find money on their own budget, it made it easier for us to bring in a full-time person.”

Nevertheless, Mendoza-McDonell thinks what is really more important is to build on the language program from kindergarten all the way to high school.

Just the start

“This is just a start for it is going to take a little while for us to make sure that a middle school and high school programs are developed, because if we don’t have kids ready to go until high school on the program, then it is not sustainable. We need this person to polish the program,” Mendoza-McDonell maintained, stressing the need to make sure that those programs are working together.

“Right now they are not. There should be some cohesion. I don’t know how long it will take us. We just have to work together to make it more cohesive,” Mendoza-McDonell continued.

Vivian Zalvidea-Araullo, executive director of the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, however, believes that Filipinos should keep on standing for their rights.

“If it is any indication, what happened in the past months showed me that here is a trend that Filipinos are not being noticed anymore in San Francisco, and we need to reverse that trend by standing up and letting our voices be heard,” Araullo said.

United Playaz leader Rudy Corpuz addressing rallyists, with West Bay Multi-Services Executive Director Vivian Zalvidea Araullo.

Araullo was quick to add also that what happened was an important achievement although just the beginning, as Filipinos deserve more than what they got and get it without that much of a struggle.

Standing up for rights

“We thank the biggest advocates for Filipinos, Commissioners Hydra Mendoza and Board President Emily Murase who championed our cause, especially when the inequity of Filipino language getting zero dollars proved unacceptable to the Filipino community,” Araullo acknowledged.

Emil De Guzman, spokesperson of the Linguistic & Kultura Advocacy Society (LAKAS), echoed Araullo, crediting different Filipino community groups, particularly the school children, with the victory.

“These kids are backbone of the struggle. For a lot of us who have been in struggles like this for our children we are going to fight so no one is going to push us around. We Filipinos are very proud people. We have the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio in the Philippines, we have Carlos Bulosan, Larry Itliong we have all these leaders who have shown us that nothing in this world is free unless you fight for it,” De Guzman stated.

Rudy Corpuz of United Playaz told supporters, “Don’t let nobody treat you differently because you are a Filipino. You are just equal and should be treated like anybody else. And if you are not treated as such stand up. Be proud of your skin. God blessed you with that beautiful skin. Don’t be ashamed of who you are. Stand up for what you believe in.”

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