All the Oakland news that is fit to link, lots on the bailout, a glance at the challenges of ethnic studies in OUSD, a critique of a popular platform, candidate forums, the Latinx read in, a great student voice fellowship, housing and segregation, special education meetings and videos, the early achievement gaps, how underfunded are CA’s schools?, an opportunity to help Oakland students who need laundry facilities, Black Cowboys coming to the Town, all that and much more, please read share and get involved
Oakland:
- The Promise and Peril of Ethnic Studies-Should a White Teacher Say the N-Word in Class?
- The Problem with the “Great School in Every Neighborhood” Platform
- California governor signs bill that could yield millions for Oakland and Inglewood schools
- 2018 LATINX LITERATURE READ-IN
- High price of housing segregates Bay Area
- Oakland Unified agrees it has too many schools for its budget
- State to send Oakland school district millions of dollars if mandated benchmarks are met
- Debt-ridden Oakland Unified to get $34.7 million state bailout
- OUSD Kicked It’s Sanctuary District Activities
- Energy Convertors Student Voice Fellowship is Open
- Community Advisory Committee for Special Education Meetings set
- Video of DREDF talking special education with Oakland families
- OUSD Candidates forum on Special Education
California:
- California’s children fall behind before they start school, and some never catch up, study finds
- Time Lost to Suspensions Adds Up Fast for California Students
- California Schools Need To Improve Charter Oversight, English Learner Achievement Gap, Report Finds
- Schools superintendent candidate forum focuses on black student achievement
- California has under-funded schools by $22 billion, report says
- Join the Integrated Schools Virtual Book Club
Best of the Rest:
- De Blasio Acts on School Integration, but Others Lead Charge
- The Critical Role of Diversity in Student Learning
How You Can Help:
Events Worth Checking out
Oakland:
- The Promise and Peril of Ethnic Studies-Should a White Teacher Say the N-Word in Class?
- I love the idea of every student taking ethnic studies, as California is proposing. Well implemented, those are powerful experiences that help students situate themselves better and inspire them. But as it is potentially rolled out statewide, by folks in some places who have no real experiences, and often harbor implicit or explicit bias, how will it be implemented.
- The Problem with the “Great School in Every Neighborhood” Platform
- Everyone wants great neighborhood schools. Thing is, that has never existed in my experience, at least not in Oakland. And saying that our school improvement strategy is centered around something that has never happened is at best a remote hope, and at worst a lie that asks parents to wait for a savior that will never come. Meanwhile the status quo continues, with predictable winners and losers.
- California governor signs bill that could yield millions for Oakland and Inglewood schools
- California could make available up to $52.1 million in total funding for the Oakland and Inglewood school districts over the next four years if they make fiscal changes as part of the education finance bill signed Monday by Gov. Brown.
- 2018 LATINX LITERATURE READ-IN
- To honor Latinx Heritage Month, we are hosting a citywide appreciation of Latinx writers and illustrators. From October 1-5, 2018, schools across Oakland will host volunteer read-alouds in classrooms, Family Literacy Nights, cross-grade buddy reading, and more.
- High price of housing segregates Bay Area
- the region’s low-income families — particularly minority families — are increasingly cut off from relatives, their children may face worse health outcomes and parents’ commutes to work can dramatically lengthen.
- Oakland Unified agrees it has too many schools for its budget
- The grand jury’s report, issued in June, pointed out that despite a sharp drop in enrollment over the past 15 years, from 54,000 to 37,000 students — resulting in less funding in from the state — the district still operates 87 schools with an average school size of 412 students.
- State to send Oakland school district millions of dollars if mandated benchmarks are met
- The Oakland Unified School District is set to receive millions of dollars from the state to help with its financial crisis, but with strings attached.
- Debt-ridden Oakland Unified to get $34.7 million state bailout
- The debt-ridden Oakland Unified School District is poised to receive a $34.7 million bailout from the state over the next three years, but it may mean the district will have to close schools and sell some of its property.
- OUSD Sanctuary District kick off event– video here
- Energy Convertors Student Voice Fellowship is recruiting– Great program for high schoolers to develop leadership skills, self expression and push to make the schools better
- CAC Meeting schedule set– all the dates are here
- Video of DREDF talking special education with Oakland families– The Oakland REACH hosted a powerful parent event helping them understand their rights and how to best utilize special education services
California:
- California’s children fall behind before they start school, and some never catch up, study finds
- The researchers argue that if California wants to improve student achievement in schools, it has to start much earlier so that children are prepared when they show up for kindergarten.
- Schools superintendent candidate forum focuses on black student achievement
- The two men running for California’s top education position spent Saturday at the only candidate forum in the fall election season to date dedicated to black student achievement.
- Time Lost to Suspensions Adds Up Fast for California Students
- A new study by Daniel Losen and Kacy Martin at the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the University of California, Los Angeles, found deep discipline disparities for California middle schoolers.
- California Schools Need To Improve Charter Oversight, English Learner Achievement Gap, Report Finds
- California is lagging behind other states in properly overseeing the rise of charter schools and needs to do more to close the achievement gap for English learners, according to a research report released on Monday.
- California has under-funded schools by $22 billion, report says
- A major research project released this week claims California has under-funded its schools by $22 billion, many California students are entering school already behind in learning and California schools don’t have nearly enough teachers, counselors and other personnel.
- Join the Integrated School Book Club-Want to be in conversation w/ parents across the US talking about school segregation and parenting? Join our online (free!) Book Club!
Best of the Rest:
- De Blasio Acts on School Integration, but Others Lead Charge
- Mayor Bill de Blasio stepped into the school desegregation debate on Thursday, by approving a plan to diversify middle schools in one of the city’s 32 school districts and granting $2 million to help other districts come up with their own plans, but the small scale of the actions highlighted just how much he has followed on the issue rather than led.
How You Can Help:
- Laundry Access for Oakland Students
- Recently, we acquired a washer/dryer combo from a generous community member that needs to be installed in our gym for students needing assistance with cleaning their clothes due to unstable housing, a lack of resources, or other personal reasons. We have raised money to install the plumbing portion, but need to raise money for the electrical work. This is $1000, with a huge discount given to us from a wonderful company in the Bay Area. The extra $100 is for laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheets. The last $1000+ is for toiletries, clothing, etc… that our students need since much of this funding comes from staff and myself .
Events Worth Checking out
10/6 Oakland Black Cowboy Parade and Festival in the Park Public · Hosted by Black Cowboy
Saturday, October 6, 2018 at 9 AM – 6 PM
What do you think?