8/11/2023 0 Comments Uc berkeley library openin![]() Norman Yee, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors He also expanded both the resources and services offered by Wu Yee Children Services, and proved pivotal in the creation of San Francisco’s Public Education Enrichment Fund, a third of which is designated for early childhood programs and education. He was a founding member of the Alice Fong Yu Alternative School, the country’s first Chinese immersion public school. Yee continued to expand the educational opportunities for immigrant and first-generation children. He also taught mixed language classes in the San Francisco School district, as well as ESL (English as a Second Language) courses at City College of San Francisco, where he played a critical role in creating unit-bearing ESL classes. There he helped develop one of the first curriculums in bilingual multicultural education. Yee began his career in early care and education at Wu Yee Children’s Services in Chinatown. In exchange he would receive his Master of Arts degree in elementary education. By 1978, he decided that early childhood education was his calling, and entered the Teacher Corps, a two year program that asks candidates to work in urban school district, in this case East Palo Alto. Leaving his position at Cal OSHA, he volunteered at the Chinatown YWCA, where he worked with the neighborhood’s youth and became involved in several projects aimed at expanding the resources and programs available to children and families in the neighborhood. Although he had a mind for mathematics, his heart drew him to education and the overlooked needs of the children in Chinatown. Yet, his career as an engineer barely lasted six months. He attended Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, and upon graduation continued his education at City College of San Francisco and UC Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Norman Yee, District 7 Representative, San Francisco Board of Supervisorsīorn and raised in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Yee grew up within a large extended family and spent much of his childhood and teenage years working at his parents’ grocery store. Before politics, we worked for over two decades as an innovative facilitator and advocate of multicultural education in San Francisco. He is a former member of the Board of Education and Board of Supervisors, elected positions in which he served for sixteen years. For most residents of San Francisco, Yee needs no introduction. The UC Berkeley Oral History Center is proud to announce the release of Norman Yee: Serving the People of San Francisco, From Chinatown to the Board of Supervisors. I hope one day my story will be one that creates a history that affords others new futures.” - Norman Yee “I am proud to be a Chinatown kid who grew up to be of consequence at City Hall for my own community, and for the City I love. Yee and family at San Francisco Board of Education rally, 2008
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |