Last week Education-Cities.org released a report detailing the education equality index, a purported measure of the size of the gap in performance of low income and non-low income students on state exams. From the beginning something seemed a little off when I looked at the list of the schools in Oakland with the lowest gaps. …
Month: March 2016
The Numbers We Are All Judged By
Zero and 0%. The number and percentage of foster children who completed the A-G requirements in OUSD last year. 13.6% suspension rate, the highest of any tracked subgroup. 22.7% the rate of chronic absenteeism 33% cohort graduation, the lowest These are our children. They are often technically wards of the State. They have been burdened…
Common Enrollment is Dead, and That is a Good Thing; for Everyone but Families
I don’t want to call it. But checking the vital signs and virulent opposition, I think common enrollment is dead in Oakland. It did not seem like a revolutionary idea. But may it rest in peace. It seemed like a good idea. Rather than families needing to fill out 40 some different charter school applications…
RESPONSE: Former Lafayette Principal Responds to Article Detailing Former Student’s Experience
Guest post by Karen Haynes, originally posted by Charles A. Cole III A while back, I wrote an article that discussed work happening at a West Oakland elementary school. In that article, I asked the question of who should I blame my pre-ed reform education on if a plurality of people are now blaming charter…
Hearing the Silent Screams of Students Before It’s Too Late
It was a short note. “I am sorry, I am not dropping out but I won’t be coming back to school, thank you for everything, I’m sorry.” But it activated a red alert at the school, immediate calls to family, and a staff member dispatched to do a home visit. The student had overdosed on…