Recent news of an up to $30 million shortfall in the OUSD budget shadows big changes ahead.  These are critical times for the district and will set its course for years.  So we should all be watching and making our voices heard. You can see some information about the shortfall and proposed budget priorities on…

When I met the leaders of Thrival Academies and heard about their plan to send Flatlands kids to Thailand for study abroad, I thought it was a great idea, I also was 90% sure it would never happen.  I figured that this great idea would die a slow death at the District, one more hopeful…

There’s a “public” school in Oakland that is 5% free and reduced lunch, 2% English language learners, 8% Latino and 8% Black.  In Oakland…  The average housing price in that neighborhood is $1.6 million.  It’s also one of the highest achieving schools. That’s the” public” school, you buy your way into an exclusive enclave and…

In 2016 Oakland Unified suffered through a bloody attempt to create a “common enrollment” process that placed all public schools; district and charter in a single application for admission.  I covered the arguments for and against a common application and the proposal’s burial. What you probably didn’t know is that the charter schools themselves decided…