South San Francisco, CA March 29, 2021 Submitted by Peter Feng, SSFUSD PIO
The South San Francisco Unified School District (SSFUSD) school board formally welcomed Dr. Chialin Hsieh as a provisional appointee during the body’s March 25 meeting.
Dr. Hsieh will serve until 2022. She replaces Eddie Flores, who stepped down in January.
Among the three finalists who sought to fill the vacancy, Kayla Power initially emerged as the first choice among two school board members.
“I’m looking at what we as a board are most lacking and, therefore, what we most need,” said board member John Baker. “After the departure of Trustee Flores, we only have one trustee from the east side [Vice President Richardson], and we have three from the west. I believe that appointing an east side applicant will help our district’s balance.”
However, Dr. Hsieh’s background in public education and her past participation in school site councils at Alta Loma Middle School and El Camino High won her the most second place votes during the school board’s ranked choice selection process.
“There was a struggle, because all of our candidates were really highly qualified,” said SSFUSD Superintendent Dr. Shawnterra Moore.
Dr. Hsieh has worked in education since 1997 and is currently the senior dean of planning and institutional effectiveness at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg.
Her son graduated from El Camino High in 2020, and her family has lived in South San Francisco for the past 11 years.
“I believe in public education, and I also believe in data informed decisions,” said Dr. Hsieh, “but data is not just quantitative. . .it also includes people’s voices, students’ voices, everyone’s voices.”
The vacancy on the school board occurred after Eddie Flores resigned on January 29 in order to serve on the South San Francisco city council as an at-large member.
SSFUSD serves the communities of Daly City, South San Francisco, and San Bruno.
The district is home to a highly regarded science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program and more than 8,000 students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
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COMMENTS
**All districts are represented thankS to a map turned in by a resident and school trustees adopted when the district shifted to elections by district in 2019.
To say a portion of the City is not represented is misleading, when all 5 districts are represented.
To say a portion of the City is not represented is misleading, when all 5 districts are represented.
–Eckner Padilla
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All districts are represented thankS to a map turned in by a resident and school trustees adopted when the district shifted to elections by district in 2019.
To say a portion of the City is not represented is misleading, when all 5 districts are represented.