Quick action by two San Francisco public high schools this month after the discovery of antisemitic graffiti on their campuses indicates they have been taking the concerns of Jewish parents and students seriously, according to an advocate for Jewish families in K-12 schools.
After Jewish students and parents at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology and George Washington High School reported the graffiti, administrators at both schools informed their communities and announced their plans for responding to the incidents.
Galileo administrators on Tuesday were alerted to swastikas drawn in a student bathroom and on pillars at the campus, located near Fort Mason, and later that day Principal De Trice Rodgers emailed the parents who had notified the school to acknowledge their concerns. That email was forwarded to Viviane Safrin, who has advocated for Jewish students at San Francisco schools since the fallout of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Rodgers followed up with a schoolwide email two days later notifying the community about the incident and describing the graffiti as “containing antisemitic hate symbols.”
“As soon as this was reported to school administration, the graffiti was documented and covered,” Rodgers wrote. “The incident is being investigated under SFUSD’s Bullying, Harassment, and Hate-Motivated Behavior policies.”
The district’s policy cites a section of the state education code and defines such behavior as “intended to cause emotional suffering… through intimidation, harassment, bigoted slurs” or vandalism, and motivated by hostility toward a person or group based on protected traits such as race, nationality or religion, among others.
For Safrin, who founded the nonprofit SF Jews in School, Galileo’s response is a positive step toward addressing Jewish families’ concerns.
“We are grateful that these things are removed swiftly, but it should happen after proper procedure is followed to make sure that accountability and remedial actions are tied to the harm,” Safrin told J. Thursday.
She also stressed that such incidents need to be “documented before anything is covered up, escalated the way SFUSD would about any other targeted hate speech, and understood as part of a pattern.”
At Washington High School, graffiti containing “racist and antisemitic language” was seen on a wall inside the football stadium, according to a March 9 email from Principal John Schlauraff. Similar to Galileo’s response to the community, Schlauraff announced that the district is investigating.
“Incidents of this nature are not tolerated,” Schlauraff wrote, “and those responsible will face consequences consistent with Board and district policies.”
This is the second time this school year that antisemitic graffiti was spotted at the school in the Outer Richmond.
In late October, Safrin emailed Schlauraff a list of several instances cited by students and parents, including one that read “Hitler is God.” Safrin shared a photo of the graffiti with J.
Instead of pushing for an immediate disciplinary response, Safrin and some parents requested a meeting with Schlauraff to discuss options for more educational remedies. He agreed.
That meeting, which took place a few days later, also included Jewish educators and administrative staff from SFUSD’s central office, Safrin recalled.
“I think parents were genuinely wanting to make sure that the follow-up actions were tied to … fostering healthy dialogue that centers on learning more about who the Jewish people are,” Safrin said.
SFUSD has not yet provided an update on its investigations at either school, but spokesperson Laura Dudnick sent an email to J. on Thursday, saying the district recognizes “that the rise in antisemitism globally in recent years has had a real impact on our Jewish students, and we are deeply committed to addressing this with care, urgency, and sustained support.”