Progressive Daly City School Board president is running for Daly City City Council

by JR Valrey, Black New World Media

In 1996, I graduated from high school and started going to San Francisco State, where I met Shakeel Ali and a number of other young activists who worked with the Pan African Student Union and made it their job to protect the rights of Black students on a majority white campus. Since that time, he has become a teacher. 

Shakeel Ali has risen in the ranks to become a celebrated member of the Daly City School Board for almost a decade, securing legislation that put ethnic studies in elementary school classes, among solving other issues. This upcoming election day, he is graduating into running for Daly City City Council. 

JR Valrey: What has your experience been as a teacher in Daly City? What do you teach and how long have you been doing it?

Shakeel Ali: I taught all subjects in several San Francisco, Oakland, Daly City and Pacifica schools from Kindergarten to Adult School. I have also worked as an educational consultant and leadership trainer in numerous schools and agencies in California, and many other states. 

I currently work as a specialized academic instructor in English, Algebra and Study Skills classes at El Camino High School in South San Francisco. I have been an educator for 30 years. I started as an instructional aide in 1989, a year after graduating high school, and I have been a teacher since 1992. 

JR Valrey: How does your experience as a teacher give you a unique perspective, as also a member of the Daly City School Board?

Shakeel Ali: Being a teacher helps me to make balanced and informed decisions as a School Board trustee. I keep my focus on what is in the best interests of the students, while keeping in mind the practical realities of what teachers are capable of and willing to do. 

JR Valrey: How is the Jefferson Elementary School District dealing with COVID in this upcoming school year? 

Shakeel Ali: Our board has been providing oversight and guidance to the superintendent and his staff. We just finished voting on how we will reopen the schools. Our district will be operating under a hybrid model and will have distance learning guaranteed for at least the first six weeks of school. During this time, the superintendent and his cabinet will be monitoring the county and state health data to determine how to operate. 

JR Valrey: What is the district doing to assist teachers and students in distance learning? Is the district ready for the first month of school since the shelter-in-place order was put in place?

Shakeel Ali: The district is providing hardware, internet connections and professional development for staff. 

JR Valrey: How long have you been the president of the Daly City School Board and what have been some of the board’s crowning achievements since you were at the helm?

I felt an urge to do something new and serve my community in a different capacity. After talking with many young progressives in Daly City, we all kept reaching the same conclusion, that if we wanted to see change, we would have to make it. 

Shakeel Ali: This is my third term as president. I’ve been on the board for nine years, serving as clerk once, vice president three times and president three times. 

During my tenure we have improved Student Services, especially in the areas of social emotional learning and positive behavior intervention and supports. I also helped pass bond measures that raised funds to update, rehab and improve our facilities, bring back nurses and librarians, and bring us into compliance with ADA law.

JR Valrey: What has inspired you to retire from the School Board and run for Daly City City Council? What are some of the major issues facing Daly City in the next four or five years?

Shakeel Ali: With all of the changes going on in the world, and after serving two full terms on my School Board, I felt an urge to do something new and serve my community in a different capacity. After talking with many young progressives in Daly City, we all kept reaching the same conclusion, that if we wanted to see change, we would have to make it. 

In Daly City right now, there is a need for more affordable housing, rent stabilization and/or control, more police accountability, a return of outsourced 911 calls, a return of Engine 95, a need for Ethnic Studies in all the districts and grades in Daly City, more jobs, small business development and a diversification of businesses. We have enough fast food restaurants and big box stores. 

We need a youth employment program and more youth services. We need more hours for librarians, libraries, recreation centers. We need a balanced, readable, participatory budget process. 

JR Valrey: Who are some of the individuals and groups endorsing your campaign?

Shakeel Ali: I have a wide range of support and endorsements:

• Elected officials include California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, City of Colfax Mayor Marnie Mendoza, Manufou “Fou” Liaiga-Anoa’I of the Jefferson Elementary School District Board of Trustees and San Mateo Commission on the Status of Women, Jefferson Union High School District Trustee Nick Occhipinti and San Francisco School Board President Stevon Cook
• Daly City commissioners include Nathaniel Ortiz, Daly City Recreation Commission; Justine Santos, Daly City Library Board of Trustees; and Lauren Daus, Daly City Library Board of Trustees 
• Community leaders include San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 President Shon Buford, San Francisco Immigrants’ Rights Commissioner Amro Radwan, Daly City resident Marion Brown and Daly City resident and community organizer Holly Lim 
• Organizations include AFT 3267, TK-Eighth Grade Teachers’ Affiliate of CFT (California Federation of Teachers) and AFT (American Federation of Teachers) in Daly City.

The list grows every day! 

JR Valrey: How can people be a part of the campaign or otherwise support you?

Shakeel Ali: They can help by donating, they can go to my website, https://voteali4dc.com/, and they can easily donate, endorse, and sign up to volunteer or to host a virtual fundraiser or help with phone banking, text banking, socially distanced precinct walking. And of course for anyone who lives in Daly City, on Nov. 3, 2020, vote for Shakeel Ali.

SF Bay View Oakland Bureau Chief JR Valrey, journalist, author, filmmaker and founder of the Black New World Journalists Society, can be reached at [email protected] or on Facebook. Visit www.youtube.com/blockreporttv.

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