Bigger Than Bathrooms: Making Schools Safe for EVERY Student

A guest post from Ash Whipple, an Oakland student and one of Oakland’s Energy Converters. I’m sure when you’re out in public, or at work, all you worry about when going to the bathroom is if it’s clean or not. Nobody likes public bathrooms, they’re dirty, and you never know who you’re going to come across…


Parents and Kids Should Not Need to Win a Lottery to Have a Quality School

I am an Oakland parent, and below is the text of my speech at the Oakland REACH kickoff event. Who here wants the best for your child? This a question that every parent here is faced with every single day. Although “the best” for us all means different things, we all want them to find…


What’s Happening in Oakland Education the Week of October 16th

Everything education in Oakland and beyond; this week OUSD has budget and finance, Measure N and G, and a community meeting on the school calendar changes, Michael Kirst looks at California’s reforms, A conference explores Waldorf education and trauma, stories from teachers, rebels and creative leaders, opportunities to help educators and students and much more…


The Oakland Education Roundup from the Week of October 13th

Everything education from the last week in Oakland, budget updates, the launch of a new parent group, community meetings, the college fair, the Black Girl Power Conference, podcasting opportunities for youth, California’s latest polls, updates on state testing, the need to reform CA’s special education system, opportunities to help educators, grants for murals and much…


The Education Bet We Should Make-Child-Parent Education Centers

We are at a rare moment when public opinion and education research are aligned in California and we need to seize the day.  A recent poll showed that 67% of Californian’s supported increased taxes on the wealthy to fund early childhood programs.  Almost simultaneously Education Week reported on a remarkable study out of Chicago showing…