Alice Fong Yu (1905-2000)
Alice Fong Yu Alternative School (1541-21th Avenue, San Francisco)
Alice Fong Yu was born in a small gold mining town in Washington, California. She attended San Francisco Normal Teachers' College (now SF State University). Immediately upon graduation, the principal at Commodore Stockton Elementary School in Chinatown insisted on hiring her for the school's predominantly Chinese-speaking students. After spending thirty-four years teaching at the school, Alice obtained a special education credential in speech therapy and spent her last ten years helping students with speech disabilities. Alice was also the co-founder and first president of the Square and Circle Club in 1924, the first and oldest Chinese/Asian American women's service organization in the country.
(Portrait by Joyce Bantugan, SFSU 2020)