Oakland Education Roundup Week of October 27th

Everything Oakland education from the last week; the school board and budget cuts, student perspectives, a new charter petition, recaps of last week’s meetings, Oakland Capstone projects, supporting foster youth, developing school cultures to support Black and Latino male students, opportunities to help educators and youth and more please take a look and share

Contents – Oakland

School board discusses budget cuts, hears proposal for new charter school

Fire Him! Piedmont Reinstates Teacher who allegedly Propositioned Students

The Catholic Voice – an online publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland

The Goal for My Education Isn’t to be Well-Behaved    a student’s perspective

Oakland school choice changed my grandson’s future

The Internal Toll of Being Misgendered a student’s perspective

Fiscal Transparency / Fiscal Transparency Updates the OUSD Blog

Oakland developer eyes longterm improvements for Havenscourt neighborhood

Salesforce.org’s fresh donations pour more money into San Francisco, Oakland schools

Teacher survey: Trump’s talk and actions filling nation’s classrooms with anxiety

Oakland Unified School District host college fair

The Power of Performance Assessments: Oakland Unified’s Graduate Capstone Project

Meeting Recaps

10/23 Leading for Equity Institute (Two-Day, Non-Residential)

10/24 What makes a Great School

10/24 School Closures: Are They Necessary?

10/24 Foster Youth Advisory Committee

10/24 Measure G1 Commission

10/24 Three part  financial literacy series!

10/25 Funding Equity Webinar

10/25 OUSD Board of Education meeting

10/27 Calling All Student Activists 

Best of the Rest

Ed. Dept. Scrutinizing Rule on Minority Representation in Special Education

Charter schools in California could face more oversight under next governor

I Saw the Devil- The Need for a Better Abuser List

Advice to the Arnold Foundation – Education Next

4 Key Strategies for Improving School Culture for Black and Latino Male Students

Conference Mines Strategies to Support the Educational Success of Foster Youth in College

Trump Education Dept. Awards New Innovation and Research Grants

LISTEN: ‘They Can’t Just Be Average’: Profound Academic Challenges in a D.C. School for Young Black Men (Raising Kings, Ep. 2)

Opportunities / Funding for Educators

9/19 – 11/30 Apply for Paint the Town!  

12/9 School Enrollment & Community Resource Fair

12/16 West Oakland School and Resource Fair Public 

How you can help

Help an Oakland student and educator whose home was destroyed by fire

Support students with Listening Tools

Bring Coding and Engineering to Life with Lego Robots 

Oakland

School board discusses budget cuts, hears proposal for new charter school – The school district’s budget and debates over charter schools dominated the Oakland school board meeting on Wednesday night.

Fire Him! Piedmont Reinstates Teacher who allegedly Propositioned Students – A 14 year teacher with a trail of complaints of “inappropriate” interactions with students returned to the classroom this week amidst uproar in Piedmont.

The Power of Performance Assessments: Oakland Unified’s Graduate Capstone Project – A Graduate Capstone Project provides an opportunity for students to research, analyze, and become experts in a topic of their own choosing.

Oakland Unified School District host college fair – It was a busy afternoon at Oakland Technical High School as students from all over Oakland gathered in the school’s cafeteria to meet with college admissions counselors from all over the country.

Teacher survey: Trump’s talk and actions filling nation’s classrooms with anxiety – The day after President Trump was elected, teacher Ariel Brown called in sick because she was too upset to face her students at Castlemont High School.

The Catholic Voice – an online publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland – The Catholic Voice online edition – semi-monthly newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, California, circulation in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

I Saw the Devil- The Need for a Better Abuser List  – I saw the Devil. Twice. The first time, I worked at a group home. A small voice, without shaking, said the devil visited him while he slept.

The Goal for My Education Isn’t to be Well-Behaved  – A guest post from an Oakland student and Energy Converter, Kai-Willow Smith Have you ever been told by your teacher that you were doing just fine, but in reality…

Oakland school choice changed my grandson’s future – This op-ed writer points out that independent charter schools are doing a better job educating students across Oakland than traditional public schools.

The Internal Toll of Being Misgendered  – This is another guest post from an Oakland student, Ash Whipple, one of Oakland’s “energy converters” Being misgendered feels like getting stabbed in the back.

Fiscal Transparency / Fiscal Transparency Updates – For those not following the District’s budget challenges, much of this may be news. California school districts across the state are facing increased pressure on their budgets. California is already near the bottom in spending per student after adjusting for the high cost of living.

Oakland developer eyes longterm improvements for Havenscourt neighborhood – Organizations, businesses and residents are collaborating to improve the quality of life for the Havenscourt community, which had a reputation as a high crime area.

Salesforce.org’s fresh donations pour more money into San Francisco, Oakland schools

Leading for Equity Institute (Two-Day, Non-Residential)

The Leading For Equity™ Institute provides ample opportunities for sharing, reflection, and planning. We develop individual and collective leadership at every level of schools, districts, foundations or nonprofit organizations to develop capacity to foster positive change on behalf of historically under-served students and families. Participants deepen their commitment, relationships, and efficacy while developing strategies toward equity goals. Teams receive expert, caring guidance and facilitation to work together to address the personal and technical challenges they face in their educational equity efforts.

10/24 What Makes a Great SchoolThere are lots of definitions of greatness, but what does a great school look like? In the second of a six-part series, we’ll discuss how we can shape Oakland schools into what they need to be. What does a great school like and how do we sustain and create them in Oakland? Generously sponsored by the Rogers Family Foundation

 10/24 School Closures: Are They Necessary? Oakland’s History and Avoiding Harm to Students  Holy Names University, Founders Hall Bay Vista Room, 3500 Mountain Blvd, Oakland.  A discussion of Oakland’s history with school closures and the academic research on the impact of school closures.

 10/24– Foster Youth Advisory Committee Skyline High School -Current and former foster students, foster parents and caregivers, community advocates for foster youth, LCAP leaders, staff, and other community members of the Foster Youth Advisory will continue their work in the following chosen areas of focus for 2017-18 (see above) and will receive updates of 2017-18 LCAP actions and investments in support of foster students. Please RSVP at [email protected]  or 510-491-6069

10/24 Measure G1 commission Discussion and possible Adoption by the Measure G1 Commission of Amendment(s) to Administrative Regulation 17-0001 – Allocation of Measure G1 Funds

 10/24 – three part  financial literacy series! Through these workshops you will learn about credit, budgeting, choosing the right financial institution, and financial goal setting. You will also get the opportunity to learn about financial resources, such as pre-paid cards and secured credit cards, offered by Community Financial Resources (CFR). CFR is a local organization that supports individuals with low to moderate income with money management and financial education.
The three workshop topics will be:
10/24: Setting Goals
11/14: Money Flow
12/12: Financial Toolkit
Each workshop will be complemented with worksheets that you can take home and share with your community, and that you can use to support you with implementing the practices in your personal life.

 10/25 OUSD Board of Education meeting  

Funding Equity Webinar – from Children Now that will help equip local leaders with information and strategies to leverage new school site transparency requirements to promote equity. This webinar covered: new federal requirements on school site funding transparency; Provide strategies you can use to help your district assess the current distribution of resources and achieve equity over time; andSupport your reflection in LCAP and future local district/school ESSA planning processes.

 10/27 12-7pm- Calling All Student Activists Kapor Center for Social Impact, 2148 Broadway Oakland, CA 94612.  The Kapor Center is hosting a Tech + Student Activism Hackathon, aimed at creating solutions to improve college climates for underrepresented communities.  All students are welcome!  Sign up here.

California

Ed. Dept. Scrutinizing Rule on Minority Representation in Special Education – The Education Department plans to seek public comment on putting off a rule that would require more school districts to use federal dollars to address minority bias.

Charter schools in California could face more oversight under next governor – All four leading gubernatorial candidates agree that for-profit charter schools should not be allowed in California.

Advice to the Arnold Foundation – Education Next – The problem with Portfolio Management is the centralized and overly-active nature of a single quality-control entity.

4 Key Strategies for Improving School Culture for Black and Latino Male Students – An evaluation of a New York City initiative supporting Black and Latino male students yields key insights about improving school culture. Contributed by the Research…

Conference Mines Strategies to Support the Educational Success of Foster Youth in College – Employees and foster youth at colleges shared successful approaches to improve.

Trump Education Dept. Awards New Innovation and Research Grants – Even though the Investing in Innovation program has been remade as the Education Innovation and Research program, and a new administration is in charge.

LISTEN: ‘They Can’t Just Be Average’: Profound Academic Challenges in a D.C. School for Young Black Men (Raising Kings, Ep. 2

African Americans’ Health Affected by Pervasive Discrimination – A survey by NPR, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that roughly half of African-American respondents reported experiencing institutional racial discrimination.

Charged with “stealing school”: Here’s one way the U.S. enforces educational segregation – School districts can put a dollar amount on the “stolen education” out-of-district kids get. The process is eye-opening.

The Power of Teacher Expectations: How racial bias hinders student attainment – How racial bias hinders student attainment.

Disparities Persist for Children of Color, Immigrant Children – A report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found persistent and significant disparities by race/ethnicity in the areas of education, health, and economic success.

In strategy shift, Gates Foundation to spend bulk of education dollars on ‘locally driven solutions’ – The foundation says it will spend $1.7 billion on K-12 education over the next five years, on local, regional and state networks, “big bets” on innovation.

Should Teachers Make $100K? California Will Decide – Voters in California may get to decide whether teachers’ salaries should match those of state legislators at the expense of a hike in the sales tax.

 Opportunities/Funding for educators

Teachers: Free Field Trips to the Exploratorium this Fall. Take BART to the Exploratorium and get free admission for your class, plus free round-trip BART tickets. Register at exploratorium.edu/BART or email [email protected]

9/19 – 11/30 Apply for Paint the Town!  Apply for Oakland’s new street mural programfrom September 19th – November 30th.  This pilot program allows community members to paint temporary street murals on Oakland’s roads.  Make sure to come to an application clinic hosted at an Oakland Public Library, where community members can learn about the program and receive assistance on applications.  Attending a clinic is not required to apply but they encourage you to come!  The dates and locations of the clinics are available on the website.  If you have more questions, email and visit the website for all application materials.

How you can help 

East Bay College Fund’s Mentor Recruitment season is here! The East Bay College Fund, which is currently supporting 800 Oakland scholars in college, is excited to begin recruiting Mentors for the 2018/19 Scholar year! College is definitely challenging, but it can be made easier with the support and advice of someone who has been there before. Every young person needs supportive relationships in order to grow and develop into thriving, productive, and engaged adults. Mentoring is a powerful way to help the next generation succeed! East Bay College Fund’s next Mentor Information Sessions will be on the following dates:Saturday, November 18th from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.Thursday, December 14th from 6 – 8 p.m.For more information about upcoming mentor information sessions please contact Volunteer Manager, Lena Ringstrom, at [email protected]

Help an Oakland student and educator whose home was destroyed by fireHuber was an Education for Change student, and is now an Education for Change teacher in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. He and his family represent Oakland at its best, and in the early hours of Friday, September 8th, they awoke to their home on fire. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but you can imagine the pain, stress, frustration, and anger in seeing your family home on fire. We are asking that you donate whatever you can to help Huber and his family respond to this loss quickly so that he can resume the job he loves and support his family. Help spread the word! 

Support students with Listening Tools – A strong listening center is much needed in all elementary school classrooms. The stacks of CD’s and cassettes on a day to day for engagement, enrichment in both love for learning and academic standards. My students need a protected space with a CD player and timers to listen, learn and be heard.  Be the first to donate | $484 still needed, Ms. Semana Aspire College Academy, Oakland CA

Bring Coding and Engineering to Life with Lego Robotat Oakland Sol. This is the second phase of our great robot adventure, where students experiment with engineering concepts and coding practice, as well as learning about the design phases of a technical project. My students need these EV3 Mindstorms kits to take their skills to the next level! 2 donors | $466 still needed… Give to Mr. Davis

October Morning Volunteers Needed at Alameda County Community Food Bank Alameda County Community Food Bank 7900 Edgewater Dr Oakland, 94621.  Harvest Season has begun!  Truckloads of fresh produce that need to be sorted and bagged are coming in daily.  Helping hands are urgently needed in October to ensure that the large quantities of incoming produce get out the door — and into the community!  To find out more about dates or to register for a shift, go here.  If you have a group of 5 or more, please go to Weekday Group Volunteering.  Information about other Food Bank volunteer opportunities

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