CA School District to Remove 'Chief' from Job Titles After Native American Objections

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) says it will remove the word "chief" from job titles after the Native American community "expressed concerns" over the word.

Spokesperson Gentle Blythe told the San Francisco Chronicle that the decision was made on May 25. The district, which employs 10,000 people, has not yet determined what to call the high-raking officials.

"While there are many opinions on the matter, our leadership team agreed that, given that Native American members of our community have expressed concerns over the use of the title, we are no longer going to use it," Blythe said.

"By changing how we refer to our division heads we are in no way diminishing the indispensable contributions of our district central service leaders," the spokesperson added.

According to SFUSD's official website, the district employs 13 officials who have the word "chief" in their titles.

This isn't the first time SFUSD has been spotlighted for its rebranding efforts.

CBN's Faithwire previously reported that school officials in San Francisco sparked controversy last year over trying to retitle 44 schools named after white historical figures like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

The move was considered timely by some following widespread Black Lives Matter protests and riots after the death of George Floyd. 

"It's a message to our families, our students, and our community," board member Mark Sanchez said at the time. "It's not just symbolic; it's a moral message."

In addition to renaming schools, the board also deemed merit-based admission systems "racist" and the district's Art Department decided acronyms are "a symptom of white supremacy culture" that would no longer be used on school grounds. The SFUSD also said its arts program will be "prioritizing anti-racist arts instruction."

However, since the pandemic hit, the school district chose to hold off on renaming the schools and focus on reopening classrooms for in-person learning.

CBN News reached out to the SFUSD for comment but did not hear back at the time of publication.

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