Students Protest Removal of Art Teachers to San Francisco School Board

A large crowd of high school students, parents, faculty and other supporters spilled onto the sidewalk from the entrance of the San Francisco Unified School District building on Tuesday, chanting: “When teachers are under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!”

Dressed in green, playing drums and cheering loudly at the honks of passing cars, the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (RASOTA) students had assembled to protest the March 18 removal of two faculty members from the school’s technical theater department.

RASOTA, San Francisco’s only dedicated public high school for the arts, admits students based on audition into one of eight subject areas, which include dance, music, visual arts, theatre and technical theater.

The teachers in question are Paul Kwapy, the director of the school’s technical theater program, and Annette Ribeiro, an artist in residence for the costume department. Both have taught at RASOTA for over 13 years.

In a March 25 letter to the RASOTA community, Principal Stella Kim and Assistant Superintendent Davina Goldwasser wrote, “We cannot comment on any personnel matters and need to maintain confidentiality, we are not able to provide more details, or a specific timeline.” In public statements and letters to the school board, faculty and parents have alluded to the removals as an overreach by the school district in response to the teachers’ disciplinary handling of a safety incident in class.

What was clear Tuesday evening was just how much RASOTA technical theater students value their two missing teachers — and how well they had mobilized a show of support from other departments. Over 100 people showed up in advance of the night’s school board meeting.

Many remained for the meeting’s open session, during which public comment was limited to remarks about third grade literacy. Some tried to comment about the RASOTA situation regardless.

“Our teachers cannot truly focus on our students unless they’re fully protected,” said senior technical theater student Angelina Costa to the school board. “Having the same teachers from year to year, that really makes all the difference.” She was cut off at the one-minute mark.

Board President Lainie Motamedi thanked the RASOTA students and supporters for their participation. “I do want to note that the board also receives your emails and reads your emails,” she said. “So you have been heard. And we do take those very, very seriously.”

Despite their limited access to public comment, the RASOTA protestors were able to meet with assistant superintendents, and report a scheduled meeting with Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne to discuss their concerns.

Since Monday, some 60 technical theater students at RASOTA have been on strike in protest of the faculty removals.

“Tech students will no longer be participating in any shows outside of school hours,” an Instagram account run by the students explains. “Our participation in shows will not resume until our directors Paul Kwapy and Annette Ribeiro return.”

That means last weekend’s orchestra performances took place unamplified, without mics or student ushers. Students in the tech department typically run a production’s lighting, sound, sets, costumes and props. The spring semester is a busy one, with dance, music and acting showcases scheduled through the end of the school year. Seniors from the costume department have opted for a photoshoot of their designs in lieu of a regularly scheduled fashion show.

“When we treat our educators as expendable, it’s no wonder that we have over 300 vacancies at the beginning of a school year,” Costa had planned to say to the school board. “When we fail to listen to the concerns of our students, it’s no wonder that we are being forced to close schools due to a lack of enrollment.”