The Oakland Education Roundup the Week of 2/2/18

All the news for Oakland education in one place–Last week, Mack celebrates another title, Is there a plan to close schools in 2 years, A Mills scholarship opportunity, why has public charter school growth slowed, Zendaya visits an OUSD school, a look at OUSD data, kids being kind, the District’s efforts to support refugees, ICE detains a father outside a school in SF, lots of coverage of Gov. Brown’s State of the State, Black families and choice, all that and much more with links, please read and share

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OAKLAND

What We Learned From Oakland Families

The Slowdown in Bay Area Charter School Growth: Causes and Solutions

Mills College Announces Oakland Promise Scholarships for Oakland Girls and Young Women

Zendaya visits elementary school in Oakland

What’s Happening in Oakland Education This Week-January 29th – Great School Voices

School police embrace SEL efforts in Oakland

“No Excuses” Only Works When It Applies to the Adults in the School, Too; A Black Parent’s Perspective

Elementary School Students Take On ‘Great Kindness Challenge’

VIDEO: Job fair held in Oakland amid teacher shortage

Oakland Unified Looks at Two-Year Plan to Close Schools

Oakland School District program helps refugees break language barrier

Nonprofit donates iPads, other items to Oakland special needs students

Oakland Celebrates McClymonds’ Second Consecutive State Championship,

Rally in support of father detained by ICE after dropping 4-year-old off at daycare

Young women learn tech skills at Girls Who Code club

Good look at data and trends in OUSD from Educate78

San Francisco jail inmates earn high school diplomas through unique program

The Oakland Education Roundup the Week of 1/26/18

OUSD Sanctuary Task Force hosts “Daze Of Justice” film screening

CALIFORNIA

Senator Janet Nguyen welcomes new education laws to help California students

Do California leaders deserve an A or an F on education? A 2018 voter’s guide

California Senate Passes Workaround to Federal Tax Overhaul

Federal, state visions for improving schools collide in California

Homeless students, destroyed campuses, ‘invisible injuries’: What California schools learned from recent disasters

LCAP Weekly

Bertelli: Are Backroom Deals By Teachers Unions Bankrupting California’s Schools?

State, new teachers to pay more to shore up state teachers pension…

State must improve the California School Dashboard, not move the goalposts

State of the State 2018: What Gov. Brown said about education

How 3 California newspaper editorial boards graded Gov. Jerry Brown’s final State of the State Address

BEST OF THE REST

Education Reform’s “Other People’s Children” Problem

Why Black Families Support Charter Schools; Evidence from the Latest Survey

“No Excuses” Only Works When It Applies to the Adults in the School, Too

Why I Don’t Trust School Choice (But Support It Anyway)

When Black Children Are Targeted for Punishment

Cities Increasing Investment in Black Male Achievement, Index Finds

Oakland

What We Learned From Oakland Families  – Explore the interactive reports and findings from a first-of-its-kind survey of Oakland households with children 0-5 years of age. The Kenneth Rainin Foundation is always eager to better understand how we can support the dreams that Oakland families have for their children. And, we thought the best way to learn would be to ask them questions about their experiences and needs.

The Slowdown in Bay Area Charter School Growth: Causes and Solutions – Since 2013, charter school growth has slowed significantly across the country, and the trend is similar in the San Francisco Bay Area. In fact, the 2016-2017 school year marked the first time in at least 10 years when more Bay Area charter schools closed than opened.

Mills College Announces Oakland Promise Scholarships for Oakland Girls and Young Women – We are committed to making a Mills education accessible to more students than ever before,” said Mills College President Elizabeth L. Hillman. Mills College has joined forces with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Office of Equity, the City of Oakland, and the East Bay College Fund to remove barriers and provide access to a top-ranked college education for girls.

Zendaya visits elementary school in Oakland – A Hollywood star with Oakland roots visited Fruitvale Elementary School Monday morning. Actress Zendaya visited with her mother, Claire Stoermer, who worked as a teacher there for 20 years. “It’s awesome. This is my home,” said Zendaya about her trip to Oakland. “I was born and raised here so it’s always fun to come here.”

What’s Happening in Oakland Education This Week-January 29th – Great School Voices – Another busy week in the Town, the MLK Oratorical festival, the OUSD Budget and Finance Committee, it is still open enrollment for most charters with tours at American Indian High, and EBIA, a screening and fundraiser around restorative justice, the Two-Spirit Powwow, please sign up for the African American read in next week.

School police embrace SEL efforts in Oakland – Officers employed by the district in schools like Castlemont High School are tasked with a focus on staff and student relationships.

“No Excuses” Only Works When It Applies to the Adults in the School, Too; A Black Parent’s Perspective – The problem with many “no excuses” schools is that that motto is often imposed on children but not adults. The adults make all kinds of excuses about the kids who don’t want to learn, whose parents won’t support the school, or whatever justification they have for pushing out kids who don’t fit the mold.

Elementary School Students Take On ‘Great Kindness Challenge’ – OAKLAND (BCN) Students at Bella Vista Elementary School participated in The Great Kindness Challenge throughout last week, Oakland Unified School District officials said.

VIDEO: Job fair held in Oakland amid teacher shortage – The Oakland Unified School District is hiring as it faces a teacher shortage.

Oakland Unified Looks at Two-Year Plan to Close Schools  – No schools have yet been identified for closing, says district Rumors have been circulating around the Oakland Unified School District mentioning names of schools that may be closed or “consolidated.”

Oakland School District program helps refugees break language barrier – Oakland Unified School District is conducting “targeted outreach” meetings to help immigrant and refugees.

Nonprofit donates iPads, other items to Oakland special needs students – OAKLAND — A Fremont nonprofit has donated 13 mini iPads and other tech items to special education students at Oakland’s Garfield Elementary School.

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Oakland Celebrates McClymonds’ Second Consecutive State Championship – Players and coaches of the McClymonds High School Warriors football team rode through the streets of Oakland Friday, Jan. 19 to celebrate their historic California State Championship. This was their second championship in a row.

Rally in support of father detained by ICE after dropping 4-year-old off at daycare – Immigrant advocacy groups rallied on behalf of an undocumented immigrant on Friday in San Francisco.

Young women learn tech skills at Girls Who Code club – In the meeting room at the Oakland Public Library’s Cesar Chavez Branch, girls grades 6 to 12 gather for their Tuesday club meeting. They remove their school backpacks and power on the laptops provided by the library.

Good look at data and trends in OUSD from Educate78 – In an era where people use phrases like “alternative facts,” it’s more important than ever we ground ourselves in honest-to-goodness facts. That’s why I want to start 2018 with some real basic facts – the Fast Facts (basic info and numbers) from OUSD.

San Francisco jail inmates earn high school diplomas through unique program – For high school students working toward graduation, memorizing the history of World War I or learning how to find the square root of a hypotenuse can be daunting.

The Oakland Education Roundup the Week of 1/26/18   – All the education news from Oakland and beyond- this week-A parent digs into the OUSD bond money fiasco, lead in the pipes, a youth led forum with the Supe, OUSD enrollment deadline 1/26, the hella Black podcast, updates on AC Transit service, fighting to save librarian jobs, Mack wins again and needs your help, did CA flub its grad rates, all that and so much more.

OUSD Sanctuary Task Force hosts “Daze Of Justice” film screening – On Tuesday evening, approximately 80 people gathered at Oakland Senior High School in the upper theater for the Daze of Justice film showing and community healing event presented by the school district’s English Language Leaner and Multilingual Achievement Office and its Sanctuary Task Force.

California

Senator Janet Nguyen welcomes new education laws to help California students – 2018 may be just a few weeks old but it has already seen the implementation of hundreds of new laws that impact California residents. In an effort to keep the community informed about these important changes, California State Senator Janet Nguyen is drawing attention to a series of new education laws that will benefit the overall wellbeing of California students.

Do California leaders deserve an A or an F on education? A 2018 voter’s guide – Education reform has had mixed results in California. In a new Forum series, an education writer offers a primer for June.

California Senate Passes Workaround to Federal Tax Overhaul – The California Senate on Tuesday passed a bill intended to help Californians evade the consequences of the recent federal tax overhaul.

Federal, state visions for improving schools collide in California – The Every Student Succeeds Act is a battleground for the latest dispute between Sacramento and Washington. That’s the total number of schools in the state — not 300 but nine or 10 times that many — that staff estimate would require at least some form of help based on the school selection criteria that the board was considering.Top of Form

Homeless students, destroyed campuses, ‘invisible injuries’: What California schools learned from recent disasters – School leaders share their tips for helping students and staff cope during and after natural disasters.  California schools ravaged by fire, floods and mud this year have mostly re-opened and are diving in to a new semester, but district leaders say they’ve learned some crucial lessons about handling natural disasters that all schools could benefit from.

LCAP Weekly – Weekly digest of Ed news focused on CA’s LCFF, LCAP, Labor and EdTech by Troy Christmas

Bertelli: Are Backroom Deals By Teachers Unions Bankrupting California’s Schools? – A lobbyist for the California Teachers Association took to Twitter recently beating the drum for transparency and accountability in advocating for a bill related to charter schools.

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State, new teachers to pay more to shore up state teachers pension… – Significantly more money from the state budget and a bigger portion of the pay of recently hired teachers’ pay will go to the state teachers’ pension fund to make up for projected lower investment earnings.

State must improve the California School Dashboard, not move the goalposts – Equity advocates give California an incomplete grade on its new accountability system.  California has always been a state of dreamers and idealists. That’s part of our legacy and a reason for our success. Yet, as our state’s long trail of innovators have shown us, success takes more than ideas — it also requires careful implementation.

State of the State 2018: What Gov. Brown said about education – Brown affirms his belief in “local control” for K-12 schools and defends his record on funding higher education, which he says has expanded dramatically.

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How 3 California newspaper editorial boards graded Gov. Jerry Brown’s final State of the State Address – Here’s what California newspaper editorial boards liked — and didn’t like — about Gov. Jerry Brown’s final State of the State Address.

Best of the Rest

Education Reform’s “Other People’s Children” Problem  – We have a serious “Other People’s Children” problem in education reform. Many if not most of the spokespeople and decision makers, really don’t represent or often understand the communities they are “reforming.”

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Why Black Families Support Charter Schools; Evidence from the Latest Survey – Black families are more dissatisfied with their neighborhood options than other groups, and the more segregated the neighborhood, the more dissatisfied they are. Those were two big takeaways from the latest Pew survey on Public Attitudes towards public schools summarized by Brookings.

“No Excuses” Only Works When It Applies to the Adults in the School, Too – Many schools with strict discipline practice what they call a “no excuses” philosophy. The problem with many “no excuses” schools is that the motto is often imposed on children but not adults.

Why I Don’t Trust School Choice (But Support It Anyway) – School choice opens the door to a new pedagogical vision in education, but it’s not the end goal, writes charter advocate Jonathan Gregg.

When Black Children Are Targeted for Punishment  – Sixty years ago today, Minnijean Brown and eight other black students walked into all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., as angry white protesters shouted obscenities, spat on them and threatened violence in full view of television cameras.

Cities Increasing Investment in Black Male Achievement, Index Finds – The report from the Campaign for Black Male Achievement found that 62 percent of the fifty cities in twenty-nine states on their visible level of engagement with and committed actions on behalf of African-American men and boys, taking into account demographics; city-led commitment to addressing individual and systemic challenges faced by black men and boys; presence of national programs, initiatives, and organizations supporting  black men and boys; and targeted philanthropic funding for such efforts.

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