Ensuring that all children receive a quality education is one of our society’s most important goals and one of our biggest challenges. The impediments in our way come in a variety of forms. Some of the most significant include a lack of sufficient resources; an inconsistent public commitment to the project of public education; misguided and sometimes mal-intended policy makers; and finally the historic socio-economic inequalities that provide the troubled backdrop to all of our lives.

All of these challenges have solutions, though we may struggle to find them, and all are being tackled to some degree. But, some of these challenges are thornier than others, particularly inequalities based on race, ethnicity, gender and income. School districts all over the country, including San Francisco, struggle with these inequalities as they manifest in persistent achievement gaps and increased segregation across schools and even in programs within diverse schools.

One of the areas where educational organizations have paid specific attention over the last decades is in the sciences, including mathematics. Historically, poor, minority and female students have been highly underrepresented in these disciplines in advanced classes in high school, in associated majors in undergraduate work, and in further study in graduate school.

Perhaps the most well-known effort to address this problem, and to generally improve schooling for all educationally disadvantaged students, is The Algebra Project, founded by famed Civil Rights activists Robert Moses. The Algebra Project sees math skills as an essential vehicle for getting to college and having more options in the future. But unlike the “drill and kill” approach pushed on us by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), The Algebra Project focuses on new methods of instruction, a style of involving the community in remaking education that clearly draws on the organizing experiences of the Civil Rights movement, and promotes complex, critical thinking.

The only drawback to The Algebra Project is that it is not yet present in many states beyond the East Coast and the South. Fortunately for those of us in the Bay Area, we have a program with similar goals based in the University of California system called California MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement), which has been modeled after by eight other states, together forming MESA USA. As with The Algebra Project, MESA sees math as a critical entry point, with robust math skills enabling students to earn “math-based degree in areas such as engineering, the sciences, computer science, and mathematics.” And again, as with The Algebra Project, MESA is not about cramming and worksheet tutoring. It’s about working closely with students, engaging and exciting students, preparing them for success and helping students develop their leadership skills, general academic skills, and perhaps most importantly, their self-confidence.

One of the many exciting aspects of MESA approach is that it is not limited to just the middle and high school years, but is in fact three programs helping students at various stages of their studies as they work towards their degrees. In addition to supporting six-through-twelfth graders achieve in math and science and continue on with their education, MESA has a community college program that helps students position themselves to transfer to four-year colleges to study math-based fields. At the college and university level, MESA focuses on supporting students studying engineering and computer science. Not only is this an effective approach to the educational challenges facing us, but the partnerships and links between the differing levels of institutions—K-12, community college, and 4 year college or university—represents a holistic strategy that would be beneficial for students across all areas of study.

With the California economy focusing more and more on technology, the continued bleeding of resources from our schools, and the achievement gap that still stares us in the face, programs such as MESA are just what we need to be supporting and investing in. This is exactly the type of solution policy makers should be looking to for ideas and guidance before they begin to manufacture and impose punitive requirements on the rest of us.

NOTE: Come hear about the potential parcel tax this Saturday, January 26th at Everett Middle School (450 Church Street) from 10:45 to 12:15 during an open session of the School Site Council Summit. Meeting room signage will be posted around the school on the day of the meeting.

Lisa Schiff is the parent of two children who attend McKinley Elementary School in the San Francisco Unified School District and is a member of Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco and the PTA and is a board member at the national level of Parents for Public Schools.