The Oakland Education Week in Review: 2/25-3/3

All the Oakland ed news fit to link– thankfully we reached a tentative deal on the strike, lots of coverage, plus why White schools are better funded than Black schools, the too many schools problem in Oakland, more transparency for charters, a new ban on suspensions, all that and more please read, share and get involved

 

Contents:

 

Oakland:

  • Oakland science teacher has complicated feelings for canceling 2-day field trip during strike
    • Field trips in the Oakland Unified School District are difficult to plan and execute.  This is due mainly due to cost of transport, lack of chaperones, and volume of paperwork required to make field trips happen.  Even amongst my colleagues many see field trips as disruptive and unnecessary…That being said, many teachers still put in their time and resources to enrich learning experiences for our students with field trips.  However, the equitable distribution of trips for students is questionable.
  • STRIKE UPDATE 3: NEGOTIATIONS WITH OEA
    • OUSD: Working with our teachers’ union to end the current strike is our top priority and we are disappointed to inform our community that it appears the strike will extend into Monday because the Oakland Education Association (OEA) has walked away from the weekend’s negotiations.
  • California Schools Have More Money than Ever, So Why Is OUSD Broke?
    • California’s economic growth and investment in education are at an all time high and the latest budget promises even more money…However, districts across the State are hurting, and very few are hurting more than OUSD, which is facing a series of painful cuts, both in the short term and long term, and a big issue is the pension crisis.
  • The Costs to Students, Staff, OUSD and All of Us in a Prolonged Strike
    • It’s a tense time for families in Oakland as the OEA prepare for a potentially prolonged strike.   A set of largely underpaid and overworked teachers are struggling with a broke ass district and its leadership, who neither caused this problem nor can wholly fix it.  As this drags on, OUSD is losing hundreds of thousands a day, underpaid staff are losing money needed to feed their families, and kids who need to be in school and learning, aren’t.  It’s a civil war of attrition and we are all paying costs, with the ultimate loss, in the form of a state takeover on the horizon.
  • Opinion: Oakland strike illustrates need for increased school funding
    • For decades, California has given public schools a herculean task with meager resources and support. Teachers and leaders are expected to be superheroes and are vilified when they can’t live up to unrealistic demands…Now, teachers are sounding an alarm. Since last year, #RedForEd activism by teacher unions has spread across West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Colorado, often with broad-based support.
  • OPEN FORUM: Drop the district-vs.-charters rhetoric and unite for the good of all students
    • It is outrageous that teachers cannot afford to live in the city where they teach. Support staff, such as nurses and counselors, are vital to student success. Our students are better served when they have more one-on-one attention.
  • City Visions: The Oakland teacher strike and the future of public education in California
    • Host Joseph Pace and guests discuss the policy and funding issues underlying Oakland and California’s public school crisis.  What solutions exist to get our schools back in session and back on track?
  • Tony Thurmond, state schools chief, joins Oakland teacher negotiations at union’s request
    • The teachers’ strike in Oakland Unified continued for the third day Monday, with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond called in by the Oakland Education Association teachers’ union to help resolve the dispute.
  • Oakland Teachers Strike for Better Lives
    • Meager pay. Crowded classrooms. A ratio of one counselor for every 600 students. The Oakland Education Association says these are just a few of the reasons that its 3,000 members, who have worked without a contract since 2017, are on strike for a third day.
  • On the eve of the nation’s next teacher strike, Oakland principals balance loyalties to students and teachers
    • Eyana Spencer, the child of a union activist and a former Black Panther organizer, grew up with a mantra: Never cross a picket line, no matter whose it is…Now the principal of Manzanita Community School in Oakland, Spencer is mapping out how she and one assistant principal can keep the elementary campus running when Oakland Unified teachers strike on Thursday. She’s dreading having to walk past her picketing staff.
  • Message Regarding Univision TV’s False Reporting
    • OUSD’s Voice Message Regarding Univision TV’s False Reporting
  • Teacher Strike Update: What we learned from the independent fact-finding report about compensation, class size, and more
    • On the eve of a teacher strike in Oakland, a few things are clear:
      • Teachers in Oakland are woefully underpaid, leaving them struggling to make ends meet, and putting the district at a disadvantage in recruiting and keeping talented teachers.
      • Oakland is a district in a financial crisis, and is far from having the resources to support our teachers and students the way they deserve.
      • A key root cause of our problems here is that California deeply underfunds our public education system. We must come together to advocate for our elected leaders in Sacramento to radically shift our funding models.
  • Live and Learn: Oakland Teacher Strike
    • Young Men speaking on their view on the current teacher strike in Oakland PLUS so much more. They get into the complexities of school and life outside of school.
  • Newcomer students face daunting obstacles to graduate. This California high school makes it possible.
    • When a young woman from Honduras crossed a stage in Oakland, California, last June to receive her high school diploma, it wasn’t just any graduation. She had escaped gang violence in her home country, Honduras, and kidnapping in Mexico on the journey north, then endured detention after crossing the border and asking for asylum. After arriving in Oakland, she attended three different high schools, before finally graduating from Rudsdale Newcomer High School, a continuation school opened in 2017 by Oakland Unified School district tailored toward newcomer students like her.
  • Teachers’ strike is costing Oakland school district about $1 million a day
    • As the Oakland Unified teachers’ strike enters its fifth day, the costs of the strike are eroding some of the funds that the financially struggling district could have used to meet teacher demands for higher salaries, smaller class sizes and more extensive support services.
  • District: Oakland teachers strike costing $1 million a day in state funding
    • Plummeting student attendance is costing the debt-ridden Oakland Unified School District around $1 million in state funding each day that teachers strike for more pay and better working conditions, according to figures released Tuesday by the district.
  • What we learned from the independent fact-finding report about compensation, class size, and more- A guest post-updated 2/26
    • On the eve of a teacher strike in Oakland, a few things are clear:
      • Teachers in Oakland are woefully underpaid, leaving them struggling to make ends meet, and putting the district at a disadvantage in recruiting and keeping talented teachers.
      • Oakland is a district in a financial crisis, and is far from having the resources to support our teachers and students the way they deserve.
      • A key root cause of our problems here is that California deeply underfunds our public education system. We must come together to advocate for our elected leaders in Sacramento to radically shift our funding models.
  • The Business of OUSD is Children; An Open Letter on Why the Board Needs to Meet Tonight—Picket Line or Not
    • Director Hinton-Hodge responds here to a constituent’s request that she not cross the picket line or participate in the board meeting tonight.
  • Teachers of Oakland: Kehinde Salter
    • “My mom always told me – get an advanced degree. Don’t stop with just a bachelors! So I went into this Ph.D program for psychology At the time, I thought that that’s what I wanted to do. But when I went for the interview, they were like, “Well I mean, you’re a dancer, so how are you gonna be a dancer in a psychology program?” Seriously? All I can do is dance? Why would you limit me?
  • Oakland Unified Budget Resources
    • GO has created this page for members of the community trying to gain a deeper understanding about OUSD’s fiscal challenges. The resources you will find here are a compilation of reports created about OUSD’s finances, including the district’s own communications, GO’s summaries/perspectives and local media analysis.
  • Oakland School Board Postpones Meeting As Teacher Strike Continues
    • The Oakland school board postponed a meeting scheduled for Wednesday night as a strike by 3,000 teachers, nurses, counselors and other staff members continued for a fifth day.
  • Oakland Schools Go Back to the Future With Vo-Tech
    • Oakland has revitalized its vocational tech programs, recognizing that the “college-for-all” craze failed to train youth for well-paying, skilled-trades jobs.
  • Boots Riley Spoke at the Oakland Teacher Strike; Here’s What He Said
    • Before Boots Riley was the award-winning director of Sorry to Bother You, he was better known as an Oakland rapper and community organizer who led direct actions during the Occupy movement and spoke out against corporate greed and police brutality with his group, the Coup. Today, Riley took to the streets once again to lend his platform and support to the Oakland Unified School District teacher strike, now in its fourth day as teachers lobby for a 12-percent wage increase over the span of three years.
  • The Black Future Workshop
    • Our first workshop at the Alena Museum pop-up will feature activist and artist Hodari Davis. This workshop will feature a walk through Black History with a focus on forecasting futures of Black people. As a long time educator and current fellow at the Institute for the Future, Mr. Davis brings unique insight to the conversation of The Black Future.
  • Charter schools are not to blame for Oakland Unified’s financial woes
    • In his report on the Oakland teachers’ labor dispute, the chair of the fact-finding panel asserts that shortcomings in the state’s education funding formulas make it difficult to resolve the dispute (now a full-on strike).
  • Oakland Unified discloses improved contract offer after protesters shut down board meeting
    • The Oakland teachers’ union strike will enter its sixth day on Thursday, despite an increased salary offer from the district on Monday.
  • OUR TEACHERS AND OUR STUDENTS DESERVE BETTER: Education Leaders of Color
    • On Thursday, Oakland teachers commenced a strike while the Oakland Education Association continued to negotiate with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). As we consider what the wave of labor actions taking place across the country means for the future of our public schools, we, as educators, researchers, policy-makers and advocates of color who serve predominantly Black and Latinx students, feel it’s critical to ensure we don’t lose focus on who and what should be at the center of any labor conversation and resulting agreement – the academic and life success of the children we serve.
  • Paycheck Propositions: What Oakland Teachers Want Versus What the District Is Offering
    • Oakland teachers, who are heading into the seventh day of a strike on Friday, haven’t had a contract — or a raise — since their last one expired in July 2017.
  • Teachers reject district’s latest offer; question where new money came from
    • Hundreds of Oakland teachers and supporters marched from Frank Ogawa Plaza to the state building downtown on Thursday, where contract negotiations in their sixth day are all but certain to extend into the strike’s first full week.
  • Oakland Unified Announces Improved Contract Offer After Striking Teachers Shut Down School Board Meeting
    • In a show of union force, hundreds of striking teachers and their supporters picketed in the rain, shutting down an Oakland school board meeting, where members were set to vote on a plan to cut millions from next year’s budget.
  • Oakland Unified Has Too Many Schools
    • Oakland Unified’s school board concedes it may be operating more schools than it has money for, as the Alameda County civil grand jury maintains.
  • OEA REACHES TENTATIVE AGREEMENT – RATIFICATION VOTE ON SUNDAY MARCH 3
    • The members of the Oakland Education Association — the teachers, counselors, nurses, psychologists, librarians, speech pathologists, social workers, teacher substitutes and other support staff of the Oakland public schools — will meet Sunday, March 3 to cast their vote on whether to ratify the tentative agreement or not. If a majority of the membership votes yes, we will ratify the contract and end the strike. If a majority of the membership votes no, the strike will continue.
  • School District And Teachers Reach Tentative Agreement
    • The Oakland Unified School District and the union that represents 3,000 teachers, nurses, counselors and other staff have reached a tentative agreement that would end their seven-day strike, both sides said on Friday afternoon.

California:

Other Stories:

  • Response: ‘There is Still a Lot of Work’ Schools Need to Do in Supporting Black Girls
    • Teachers need to move toward agitation literacies in pedagogies and foster learning spaces where black girls can name, understand, critique, and ultimately dismantle oppression. Agitating-literacy practices such as writing for social change is especially key for black girls because they have a history of being marginalized, dehumanized, and underserved in and out of schools.
  • Forced Separation of Native American Families
    • How many traumatized lives does it take before we stop repeating the most brutal times in U.S. history?
  • Paying Teachers What They’re Worth
    • CIEB’s Empowered Educators study found that in five countries with high student performance on PISA (Canada, Australia, China, Singapore and Finland) teacher salaries were between about 90 and 105 percent of the average received by college graduates across professions. By contrast, U.S. teachers earned, on average, about 60 percent of what other college graduates earned. How can we expect to recruit a world-class teaching force if we aren’t willing to pay for it?
  • Why White School Districts Have So Much More Money
    • The report starts with a number: $23 billion. According to EdBuild, that’s how much more funding predominantly white school districts receive compared with districts that serve mostly students of color.

Resources:

  • Oakland FAFSA Resources
    • As we have now finished Day 5 of the OEA strike, we want to make sure our graduating high school seniors in OUSD have the support and space to complete the FAFSA and CA Dream Act.
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