All the Oakland education news and beyond- this week, Cleveland is honored, bad news for the OUSD budget, some great events around equity and the State of Black Education, reflections on the enrollment successes and challenges, looking forward to a conversation with the NAACP, Oakland SOL digs deep in community, STEM disparities, many stories on the NAEP scores and disparities, disciplinary disparities from the GAO, lots of disparities, all that and lots more with links below, please read share and get involved
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OAKLAND
Cleveland Elementary School Receives State Distinction –
Five Minutes to Midnight on the OUSD Takeover; and, Micro-Managing Won’t Help – Great School Voices
State of Black Education in Oakland Kicks Off at Kingston 11
Equity in Education panel brings Oaklanders together to discuss schools
‘No Excuses’ Only Works When It Applies to the Adults in the School, Too – Oakland Post
Bay Area school district wants voters to decide whether to drop at-large elections
In the Field with The East Oakland Collective, a Grassroots Group Aiding the Homeless
East Bay women build a net of support to help cope with the fear of deportation
Opinion: The Frustrating Disparities of STEM Education – Oakland Post
A Tale of Two Cities and Why We Need to Reform Prop 13 – Great School Voices
The Other Integration; A Model that Works – Great School Voices
UC Berkeley Students Volunteers to Host a Youth Event
CALIFORNIA
California voters say education is a top priority as the governor’s race unfolds
California again ranks low in academic testing | CALmatters
California’s School Dashboard Is Anything But Helpful
In California, national test scores show enduring achievement gaps
Here’s one thing that California charter schools and public school boards agree on
100,000 California teens have preregistered to vote
The effort to raise taxes on commercial property by changing Prop. 13 delays push to 2020
BEST OF THE REST
Holocaust Is Fading From Memory, Survey Finds
Opinion | America’s Federally Financed Ghettos
OAKLAND
Cleveland Elementary School Receives State Distinction – OAKLAND (BCN) Cleveland Elementary School in Oakland was awarded the title of California Distinguished School this week, administrators announced today. Principal Peter Van Tassel said he was “overjoyed” that the school’s efforts have been recognized by the state.
Five Minutes to Midnight on the OUSD Takeover; and, Micro-Managing Won’t Help – Things went from bad to worse for OUSD’s finances. Three new data points came in this week and they are all point towards insolvency.
State of Black Education in Oakland Kicks Off at Kingston 11 – Community organizers, parents and educators convened last week at Oakland’s Kingston 11 Jamaican Restaurant to take part in a kickoff for the State of Black Education Oakland (SOBEO).
Equity in Education panel brings Oaklanders together to discuss schools – On Thursday, a row of people carrying umbrellas gathered in downtown Oakland, standing in a long line going down the entire block, despite the spurts of rain. Although the people in line were smiling, they were here to conduct a serious conversation.
A Better Enrollment Process, a Frustrating Enrollment Season, and the Deeper Problem it Signifies – This was a historic year for public school enrollment in Oakland, but not everyone is happy. Parents in Oakland had better access and information about the public schools than ever. Families also participated in the district and charter open enrollment at historic levels.
The Past, Present, and Future of Activism for Black Families in Oakland; A Conversation with the NAACP – The Oakland NAACP has been a critical ally for Black families. We are hosting an intergenerational conversation focused on setting a historical frame for Educational Activism in Oakland. Collectively the community will discuss issues, solutions, and key narratives for catalyzing progress within our schools, children, educators, and the community.
‘No Excuses’ Only Works When It Applies to the Adults in the School, Too – Oakland Post – Many schools with strict discipline practice what they call a “no excuses” philosophy.
Bay Area school district wants voters to decide whether to drop at-large elections – Lawsuit asks the court to order West Contra Costa Unified to seek a State Board of Education waiver to bypass an election so new boundaries could take effect.
In the Field with The East Oakland Collective, a Grassroots Group Aiding the Homeless – East Oakland Collective, a group of passionate local residents, organize their community to aid those without shelter.
East Bay women build a net of support to help cope with the fear of deportation – Every morning in front of Melrose Leadership Academy, the same choreography is repeated: the uproar of the children arriving at the school displaces squirrels and birds to the cherry and palm trees that adorn the sidewalk.
Opinion: The Frustrating Disparities of STEM Education – Oakland Post – A diverse innovative group of youth has been selected to take part in VR Odyssey Spring Sessions, a grand leap CS / STEM program focused on exponential technology development.
A Tale of Two Cities and Why We Need to Reform Prop 13 – Great School Voices – Proposition 13 has devastated California’s education system. And it’s worse than you even think. Like the frog in the slowly boiling pot that doesn’t realize his predicament until it’s too late, I feel like California has become desensitized to its education funding crisis.
The Other Integration; A Model that Works – Great School Voices – There is a mocked and sometimes despised subgroup that historically went to separate schools with the worst conditions. And even when included in the same schools now, they are separated from their peers, given substandard services, subjected to abysmally low expectations and usually live down to them.
UC Berkeley Students Volunteers to Host a Youth Event – Young people age 5 to 14 and their parents are invited to enjoy a day of outdoor fun at Hoover Elementary School. The free event will take place on April 14, 2018. The UC Berkeley chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), headquartered in Denver will host Build Day-Oakland. The free event includes lunch for the youth participant.
CALIFORNIA
Averting a strike, teachers reach tentative agreement on contract with California’s largest online charter school – A non-profit journalism website reporting on key education issues in California and beyond.
California voters say education is a top priority as the governor’s race unfolds – The Public Policy Institute of California released the results of a statewide education poll on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.
California again ranks low in academic testing | CALmatters – There was a bit of good news for California in the federal government’s latest round of academic test results: it’s one of seven states that registered four-point gains in reading comprehension among eighth-graders.
The Nation’s Report Card is in; We Failed Black Students, Especially in California – Great School Voices – Nationally the average Black student scores “below basic” in reading same with Hispanics. The worse news is that in California the achievement gap between Whites and Hispanics is shrinking, while it’s actually growing for Black students. We are going backwards.
California’s School Dashboard Is Anything But Helpful – OPINION (CBM) – Who wants to know how California public schools are performing? There’s the usual assortment of policymakers, politicians, journalists, researchers and other professionals.
In California, national test scores show enduring achievement gaps – Most states stagnated, but California’s scores increased slightly on eighth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Here’s one thing that California charter schools and public school boards agree on – Assembly Bill 2635, which will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, calls for equity in public school funding for the state’s lowest-performing student group of students in 2018-19.
The Nation’s Report Card is in; We Failed Black Students, Especially in California – Great School Voices – Nationally the average Black student scores “below basic” in reading same with Hispanics.
100,000 California teens have preregistered to vote – California teens are prepared to rock the vote when they turn 18.
The effort to raise taxes on commercial property by changing Prop. 13 delays push to 2020 – A proposed ballot measure to allow higher taxes on commercial property will wait until the November 2020 election, not this fall.
BEST OF THE REST
Holocaust Is Fading From Memory, Survey Finds – Thirty-one percent of respondents believed that two million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and 41 percent didn’t know what Auschwitz was.
Comic Books Are Books – Comics can be thought-provoking, boundary-breaking, emotionally complex, and all the things that books without pictures can be. Any kid who’s ever devoured a title like Anya’s Ghost or Invisible Emmie or A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel can already tell you this.
Bradford: Have All Those ‘White Moderates’ Martin Luther King, Jr. Decried From Jail Become Today’s Anti-School Choice Progressives? – I must make two honest confessions to you… First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice;
Opinion | America’s Federally Financed Ghettos – How racist federal policy brought Jim Crow to housing in the North.
Racist Discipline Persists and the Immorality of Federal Response; The Latest GAO Study – Great School Voices – There has long been an unwritten rule in school discipline-Black kids dis-proportionally and unfairly face the lash.