Under rainbow flags in the Castro, dozens of children, parents, and school teachers marched through the neighborhood Wednesday to protest the plan to shutter a school named after a famous LGBTQ icon.
Kids and adults alike held up colorful signs saying “Save our school” and chanted “Save Harvey Milk”, as they vowed to fight to keep Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy open.
The Castro District elementary school was named on Tuesday as one of 13 schools eligible for closure or merger as the San Francisco Unified School District works to realign resources and stave off a state takeover. If the school closure plan is approved by the Board of Education, students at Harvey Milk will be moved to nearby Sanchez Elementary School.
Renamed in the early 1990s in honor of San Francisco’s first openly gay supervisor, the Harvey Milk school is the only school with a focus on civil rights curriculum and is considered a sanctuary for LGBTQ families.
Joanna Lin, a parent and the president of the school’s Parent Faculty Club, said the district’s decision to potentially shutter the school sends the wrong message to the public.
“This is a time when LGBTQ and other minorities in this country are constantly under attack just for existing,” Lin said. “It is not the time to say we don’t need a school that protects this population.”
There are 170 students currently enrolled at the school. Lin said many parents, children, and staff of Harvey Milk Academy identify as LGBTQ, which is why families choose to enroll their children there.
Maggie Francisco said the school is a safe haven for her trans child, who is currently in the second grade. Francisco said she sent her child to Harvey Milk because she wanted a place where she “wasn’t going to be the only one,” and where the teacher could fully represent her in the classroom and acknowledge her in a celebratory way.
“Trans kids are at great risk universally,” Francisco said. “We were setting her up in a place where she was going to feel safe and completely free to be herself.”
In response to concerns about the school’s LGBTQ population potentially being relocated, the district pointed to its LGBTQ Student Services program, which works with schools to ensure students have the resources and support they need to feel included, safe, and celebrated. The district also emphasized that Tuesday’s list is not final.
“Once a decision is final, we will engage with schools and the community about future plans for the campus,” a district spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Local LGBTQ leaders, including Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the district, and the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, have also voiced their concerns about the school’s inclusion on the list. On Tuesday, the club’s political committee voted to formally oppose the school closure.
No matter what happens, KeAna Elzie, a parent and a former student at Harvey Milk Academy, said the community will continue fighting to keep the school open.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to bring light to the situation,” she said. “I don’t want it to change.”