McKinley Elementary School has racial equity embedded in school’s values; strives to “interrupt institutionalized racism in American education”

On November 2, 2023, a parent in California, Frank Smith, posted on X that he and his wife were looking for an elementary school for their child. He shared a photo of a pamphlet from McKinley Elementary School in the San Francisco Unified School District. This document had the “School Vision,” “Mission,” and “Beliefs and Actions” of the elementary school. The “School Vision” stated: “We strive to break historic cycles of bias and interrupt institutionalized racism in American education.” The school’s “Mission” also appeared to state that some voices are more important than others:

McKinley centers BIPOC voices to ensure an inclusive, trusting, and joyful learning community that eliminates inequitable patterns of student access and outcomes so that students reach their full potential.

The school’s “Beliefs and Actions” section of the pamphlet stated that “staff, families, and students” will act as activists who push the idea that “racism is endemic in our society.” The elementary school states that “staff, families, and students” will:

• Disrupt and eliminate racist and classist policies and practices that are barriers to student success and family engagement.
• Teach that racism is endemic in our society and our systems and it is our responsibility to be actively anti-racist
• Build trusting relationships in our community through engagement, honesty, and learning other perspectives
• Shift our instructional and school-wide practices to mitigate the impact of any external factors