A Conversation with SMART Parent and Board Member: Access, Advocacy, and Affirmation

(Winter 2026) – We spoke with Laticia Erving, a lifelong educator and leader in the San Francisco Unified School District, where she serves as Executive Director of the African American Achievement and Leadership Initiative (AAALI). For more than 25 years, she has dedicated her career to advancing equity, strengthening family and community partnerships, and ensuring that San Francisco’s most underserved students not only succeed, but thrive.

As a proud parent of a SMART Scholar and a member of the SMART Board for the past four years, Laticia brings both professional expertise and lived experience to the work. Her daughter is now a senior at Dillard University, majoring in psychology. In this conversation, she reflects on the current moment in public education and why sustained community support for students and families matters more than ever.

Q: How would you describe the current state of public education in San Francisco?

San Francisco’s public schools are in a moment of both challenge and opportunity. We’re working hard to improve literacy and math outcomes, we’ve adopted new English and math curricula, we’re stabilizing our budget, and we’re rebuilding trust after several years of major change.

At the same time, our schools are supporting families through the realities of living in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Students, families, and educators alike are navigating food insecurity, housing instability, and the pressures that come with an extremely high cost of living. That’s why investments in community schools and partnerships are so important right now.

This is complex work, but it’s also meaningful work. And it requires all of us.

Q: When you look at graduation and college eligibility data, what feels most urgent to you?

When we look at the data, about 87% of SFUSD students graduated this past year. That’s roughly in line with, or slightly above, other large urban districts across California. However, over the past several years, that trend has slightly declined.

What concerns me most is this: while most students are graduating, too many enter high school already off-track or begin falling behind in the middle grades.

Of the students who graduated last year, only 68% were academically eligible to apply to the UCs and CSUs. And African American and Latinx students continue to have significantly lower UC/CSU eligibility rates than their peers.

For us, that’s unacceptable. Graduation alone is not the goal. Real options after graduation are.

Q: You often say students need affirmation, access, and advocacy. What does that look like in action?

Public school students need three things: affirmation, access, and advocacy.

First, affirmation. Our students need to hear and feel that who they are is powerful. That they are capable, and ready to lead. Honestly, we all need that reminder sometimes.

But affirmation must be backed by access. Access to high-quality, rigorous, and culturally relevant education taught by well-prepared, committed educators. Access to exploratory and real-life learning experiences.

Students need access to basic needs and opportunities that aren’t always readily available in large urban districts.

And then there’s advocacy. Students need adults who believe deeply in their potential and are willing to invest in that potential with time, talent, and resources. Adults who will fight for our children and stand beside them when systems fail, or feel complicated or overwhelming.

Success, to me, is about options. Options to attend college, because you graduate eligible. Options to navigate adulthood with confidence, critical thinking, and purpose.

Success looks like students who are confident and capable, not just academically, but emotionally. It’s when a student can say, “I know who I am, and I know I belong here.” In every space.

Q: How does SMART help address these barriers and support students over time?

The biggest barriers for our students aren’t about ability. They’re about access.

Families are often navigating housing instability and financial stress while also trying to make sense of a complex school system. Our educators care deeply, but the truth is, our systems are stretched. There simply aren’t enough hands, time, or resources to provide every student with the individualized support they deserve.

That’s where SMART comes in.

SMART surrounds students and families with relationships that matter. People who see them, know them, and who fight for them.

It’s not just tutoring or test prep. It’s personalized support that meets each student exactly where they are. It’s someone checking in regularly, reminding them of their goals, helping them secure summer opportunities, and walking with them through every key transition from middle school to high school to college.

SMART provides individualized guidance that adapts to each student’s strengths, needs, and dreams. In many ways, it acts as an advocate, amplifying student voices, standing beside families, and partnering with schools so no one falls through the cracks.

Q: Why is SMART’s partnership with families especially important right now?

Families want what every family wants: safety, stability, and opportunity. Every parent hopes their child will go further than they did and have the tools to get there. They want their children to be seen, supported, and to have real choices about their futures.

SMART helps make that possible by giving families both information and confidence. It demystifies college applications, financial aid, and the “what’s next” conversations, so families can lead the way instead of feeling left out of the process.

SMART also provides something incredibly valuable: long-term, consistent academic support and mentorship. You know, that sense of belonging every young person needs to thrive. It becomes the bridge between what schools are working so hard to do and what students and families truly deserve.

SMART helps make college access real. It opens doors, walks with students all the way through, and helps them not just get to college, but stay there.

I’ve seen that firsthand. My daughter is a SMART alum and now a senior at Dillard University, majoring in psychology. She’s thriving, and I know SMART played a meaningful role in helping her get there.

What I appreciate most is that SMART doesn’t just invest in students, it invests in families as partners. It creates space for parents and caregivers to celebrate progress, advocate for their children, and see themselves as part of the journey.

When families feel equipped and students feel believed in, the possibilities multiply.