San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) officials have denied allegations of co-hosting an "adult supremacy workshop" at one of its high schools, stating that the event was organized by an outside group that rented the facility. The controversy stems from a recent workshop titled "Youth as Knowledge Producers: Challenging Adult Supremacy Through Ethnic Studies," held at John O’Connell High School. The event was part of an "Ethnic Studies Everywhere" conference convened by Teachers 4 Social Justice (T4SJ), a non-profit organization.
The tweet from "Liz4SF" claimed, "sfusd found no paperwork or records that Teachers 4 Social Justice rented a sfusd high school for adult supremacy workshop, which means SFUSD cohosted it and covered the cost for weekend staffing eg security or custodial." However, an SFUSD spokesperson clarified that the workshop was "not an SFUSD event" and that outside organizations are permitted to rent district facilities for independent events. This statement suggests that the district did not directly fund or endorse the content of the workshop.
The workshop focused on "adultism," a framework that examines power dynamics where adults, based solely on age, control resources and decision-making, potentially creating an "oppressive" relationship between educators and students. A presentation slide from the workshop, obtained by critics, reportedly explained, "Due to systemic power dynamics inherently the relationship between students and educators is an oppressive one. Oppressor (educator) & oppressed (student)." Teachers 4 Social Justice, founded by local activist Jeremiah Jeffries, describes itself as a grassroots non-profit aiming to create "empowering learning environments" and promote a "just and caring culture."
The Friends of Lowell Foundation, a group advocating for academic merit in San Francisco schools, has been a vocal critic of the district's ethnic studies curriculum and reportedly compiled the "adult supremacy" slides. This incident is part of a broader ongoing debate surrounding ethnic studies in California schools. SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su is slated to appear before a congressional committee to address parents' rights and "inappropriate content" in schools, with ethnic studies expected to be a key topic.
