The Oakland Education Week in Review-3/30/18

All the education news in  Oakland and beyond, lots on the budget crisis, teachers are pushing for contracts, the Oakland Promise issues a report, the beginning of a series of forum’s on the State of Black Education in Oakland, listening to elders about historic struggles with Paul Cobb, Roses in Concrete’s Wakanda Center, the stress of parenting while Black, and the invisible tax on Black educators asked to play double duty, how gifted children get lost in foster care, all that and much more below with links, please read, share and get involved

OAKLAND

Why “Chop from the Top” Won’t Save Us-The Too Many Schools Problem – Great School Voices

Looking at the State of Black Education in Oakland; Listening to the Elders – Great School Voices

Teachers in Oakland protest over lack of contracts

Opinion: ‘Chop from the top’ won’t fix Oakland schools’ fiscal woes

Oakland initiative has hundreds of students college-bound

The OGs of Black Activism in Oakland- A Video with Paul Cobb – Great School Voices

I Got My School Offer(s) for Next year—Now What?- The Upcoming March 29th Deadline – Great School Voices

Zendaya and Google.org are helping fund a real-life Wakanda Center at Oakland school

Author Talk with Richard Rothstein, electeds, and activists; The Color of Law, Segregation, State Action and the Geography of Opportunity in West Oakland

Walnut Creek: Oakland fifth-grader wins spelling bee with ‘tracheostomy’

CityCamp 2018: Our City, Our Future! is Taking Place April 21st at Oakland City Hall | Virtual-Strategy Magazine

CALIFORNIA

Exclusive analysis: New USC survey shows public support for charter schools has jumped 10 points in last year | LA School Report

Education reform, teacher tenure, free tuition: Where California governor’s race candidates stand

Even Betsy DeVos sees through California’s dumb school dashboard. Let’s get it right.

California has at best a C+ school budget system. Why not let kids do school finance?

Waiting List: California Leads In Educating the Incarcerated

BEST OF THE REST

Black male teachers often shoulder extra disciplinary burdens, study suggests

FY18 Spending Bill: What’s Good, Bad, and Next for Equity Advocates – The Education Trust

The Stress of Parenting While Black Can Take a Toll on Mental Health

The Walkout Through The Eyes of a 6th Grader – Energy Convertors Online Magazine – Medium

The Power and Promise of Performance Assessments

What Students Can Teach Advocates about Navigating Digital Like Naturals – PIE Network

The Gifted Child in Foster Care: Lost in the Shuffle

As CA Considers More School Discipline Reform, Republicans Take Aim at Obama’s School Discipline Guidance |

‘Tired of thoughts and prayers.’ Gun-violence marches draw thousands

OAKLAND

Why “Chop from the Top” Won’t Save Us-The Too Many Schools Problem – Great School Voices – OUSD’s continuing budget crisis means there will be annual cuts until some major restructuring takes place. Many school sites that were already lean, have been cut to the bone.  It makes sense to look to central office for cuts, but all cuts are not created equal, and some of the district’s most important and impactful departments are housed at central, like finance, the office of equity and the English language learner multilingual achievement office.

Looking at the State of Black Education in Oakland; Listening to the Elders – Great School Voices – Without struggle there is no progress. That was the theme hammered home at out kickoff event for the State of Black Education in Oakland.

Teachers in Oakland protest over lack of contracts – Teachers in Oakland are set to picket Wednesday morning in front of schools where they’ve worked for nine months without a contract.

Opinion: ‘Chop from the top’ won’t fix Oakland schools’ fiscal woes – If the trustees don’t address projected deficits, the state will likely take control of the district – again.

Oakland initiative has hundreds of students college-bound – OAKLAND — Because of family finances and trouble at home, Oakland High graduate Jimmy Huynh thought college was out of his reach before the launch of Oakland Promise.

The OGs of Black Activism in Oakland- A Video with Paul Cobb – Great School Voices – Last night we hosted our kickoff happy hour for the State of Black Education in Oakland. The highlight was the elders.

I Got My School Offer(s) for Next year—Now What?- The Upcoming March 29th Deadline – Great School Voices – Congratulations to all those families who applied early for charter or district public schools during the open enrollment period, you should have received your offer by last week, but applying isn’t enough. Families will need to accept or decline OUSD or charter school offers by March 29th.

Zendaya and Google.org are helping fund a real-life Wakanda Center at Oakland school – An exclusive interview with Google.org Principal, Justin Steele, on how the company is funding an innovative computer science program at the Roses in Concrete Community School in East Oakland.

Author Talk with Richard Rothstein, electeds, and activists; The Color of Law, Segregation, State Action and the Geography of Opportunity in West Oakland – NY Times bestselling author, Richard Rothstein, will discuss his recent book, The Color of Law, and the role of the state in creating and maintaining segregation, to the detriment of African Americans and society as a whole.

Walnut Creek: Oakland fifth-grader wins spelling bee with ‘tracheostomy’ – The record-breaking number of words tested student nerves and endurance.

CityCamp 2018: Our City, Our Future! is Taking Place April 21st at Oakland City Hall | Virtual-Strategy Magazine – Oakland, CA, March 24, 2018 –(PR.com)– What: CityCamp Oakland: Our City, Our FutureWhen: Saturday, April 21st, 8:30am–5:30pmWhere: Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa PlazaWhy: Oakland is at a Crossroads. Help strengthen our city through better use of technology, collaboration, and local engagements.

CALIFORNIA

Exclusive analysis: New USC survey shows public support for charter schools has jumped 10 points in last year | LA School Report – For Democrats and Republicans alike, charter schools have long provided a happy compromise between vouchers for religious schools and no school choice at all. Charters give families an alternative schooling option but remain publicly funded, secular institutions authorized by government agencies.

Education reform, teacher tenure, free tuition: Where California governor’s race candidates stand – Four California gubernatorial candidates differ widely on how to fund education in the state.

Even Betsy DeVos sees through California’s dumb school dashboard. Let’s get it right. – California’s color-coded dashboard assessment system is supposed to show how K-12 public schools are performing.

California has at best a C+ school budget system. Why not let kids do school finance? – California’s K-12 local control school funding formula, or LCFF, local control and accountability plans, LCAP, and Proposition 98 don’t work.

Waiting List: California Leads In Educating the Incarcerated – California leads the nation in offering college opportunities to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students, according to a recent joint study by the Stanford Criminal Justice Center and The Opportunity Institute.

BEST OF THE REST

Black male teachers often shoulder extra disciplinary burdens, study suggests – Considering the great need for black male teachers, schools need to carefully consider whether these teachers are being fairly positioned in schools.

FY18 Spending Bill: What’s Good, Bad, and Next for Equity Advocates – The Education Trust – Is the FY18 spending bill perfect? No. But there is a lot for P-12 and higher education advocates to celebrate.

The Stress of Parenting While Black Can Take a Toll on Mental Health – My son is only 2 years old—he’s loving and outgoing. He runs to strangers with open arms, saying “Hug” in his cute little voice.

The Walkout Through The Eyes of a 6th Grader – Energy Convertors Online Magazine – Medium

The Power and Promise of Performance Assessments – Performance assessments have the power to improve teaching and learning, and hold promise for helping schools and colleges better develop and assess students’ college and career readiness.

What Students Can Teach Advocates about Navigating Digital Like Naturals – PIE Network – An 18-year-old high school senior graduating this spring was six when Twitter was invented; some students have their own hashtag—coined at birth.

The Gifted Child in Foster Care: Lost in the Shuffle – George Garcia, a former foster-care child now mentoring foster students in college, found his way into academically challenging classes through friends. Many bright foster-care students aren’t so lucky.

As CA Considers More School Discipline Reform, Republicans Take Aim at Obama’s School Discipline Guidance | – Education • Willful Defiance • Zero Tolerance and School Discipline As CA Considers More School Discipline Reform, Republicans Take Aim at Obama’s School Discipline Guidance March 24, 2018 by Taylor Walker1 Comment Written by Taylor Walker

‘Tired of thoughts and prayers.’ Gun-violence marches draw thousands – The NRA and Donald Trump were silent on Twitter as hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the mall in Washington, D.C.

 

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