Former San Francisco School Board Member Opens Private School

Former San Francisco School Board Member Ann Hsu unveiled this week her new private school, the Bertrand Hsu Academy, which is due to open next month – less than a year after losing her seat in the 2022 election.

In 2021, Hsu quickly rose to prominence in San Francisco education. A Chinese-American entrepreneur, she became one of the leading voices in the recall effort against then San Francisco School Board Members Gabriela Lopez, Faauuga Moliga, and Alison Collins. In February 2022, her efforts succeeded, with all three being ousted in a recall election with more than 70% of the vote.

“The more I saw, the more I learned, the more pissed off I got,” said Hsu before the election. “They didn’t care about the students.”

Now a leading figure in San Francisco education, Mayor London Breed tapped her the next month as one of her replacement picks for the board. However, once on the Board, Hsu proved to be the most controversial member, with many parents admonishing her with leading the charge in the recall and stopping many progressive policy changes, such as ending the lottery based system for more preferable schools in favor of making them be grades based. Then, in August, she found herself mired in controversy following some perceived racist remarks.

“From my very limited exposure in the past four months to the challenges of educating marginalized students especially in the black and brown community, I see one of the biggest challenges as being the lack of family support for those students,” said Hsu in a 2022 election questionnaire. “Unstable family environments caused by housing and food insecurity along with lack of parental encouragement to focus on learning cause children to not be able to focus on or value learning.”

While she was defended by many, and she personally said that misspoke, the damage was largely done. Seen as controversial herself now, Hsu lost the 2022 election, losing her seat on the School Board.

Rather than exit education and refocus on business, Hsu decided to instead open up her own private school.

With private school an option growing in popularity for many in the city, Hsu’s idea came together throughout 2023. Opening up in the Potrero Hill Neighborhood in a former church, the Bertrand Hsu Academy is now due to open next month. Named after her father, the school is designed to provide K-8 Chinese bilingual and bicultural education. Enrollment is currently on the rise and costs around $18,000 a year – about half of what San Francisco private schools normally cost.

“I want to combine the Chinese educational approach of knowledge acquisition and skills mastery with the American approach of encouraging critical thinking and creativity,” said Hsu of the school.

Private schools on the rise

Educational experts told the Globe that schools such as Hsu’s are becoming increasingly more common in San Francisco and many other Californian schools, opening as an alternative to Californian public education policies, or as a way for a more focused education.

“Across California, home schooling and private schools are growing rapidly,” said Rachel Johnson, a private education advisor based in Los Angeles. “A lot of parents have been fed up with school teaching their students certain things that California is trying to require. Private schools, for many things, is a way around that. Even if something is required by the state, private schools can handle it the way they see fit, especially with cultural classes.”

“Private schools can also help students focus on what they’re good at from a younger age while completing everything they need to move on. Some schools are more STEM focused. Some, like Hsu’s school, are more focused on culture. Others add in religious classes. They’re tailor made alternatives to public school, and they’re on the rise.”

“Hsu’s school is just the latest example, and sort of unique. This is a former school board member who was voted out but still wanted to make a change, so she opened up her own school. You can really see just how angry a lot of parents are at the current system because of how many private schools are popping up and by the number of kids being home schooled.”

Hsu’s school is due to open next month.