The Oakland Education Week in Review: 3/4-3/10 

All the Oakland Ed news from the last week–looking at the strike settlement and some of the analysis on who won and who lost, a teacher reflects on his experience, updates on the budget reductions, some great news for our female athletes who won state championships, new charter regulations proposed, cops or counselors in CA, all that and much more with links, please read, share, and get involved

Oakland:

California:

 

Oakland:

  • Oakland teachers strike ends with union members ratifying deal
    • The deal gives 3,000 teachers and staff members an 11 percent raise spread over four years, plus a one-time 3 percent bonus, but many teachers and their union said they feel that their fight for educational improvements is just beginning.
  • OEA Rep Delegates & Members Speak Out on Tentative Agreement — Nurses Furious
    • OEA nurses were angry that they felt that the union TA did not rectify the large shortage of nurses according to Sarah Boyd one of the twenty three nurses.
  • The Tentative Agreement ‘big win’ – ‘big loss’
    • A Tentative Agreement (TA) has been reached between the bargaining teams of OUSD and our teachers’ union. Although media outlets, OUSD and OEA are presenting this tentative agreement as a major “win” for teachers, this narrative ignores several issues central to our strike and the long-term health of our school community.
  • OUSD Does Not See Us: Aypal: Building API Community Power
    • The supposed FINAL meeting to decide of the cuts to APISA, Restorative Justice, and Foster Care supports is TOMORROW (3/4) at 10AM.
  • Ripples from the Oakland teacher strike
    • Even on this eve where a tentative agreement has been met by the district and the union, the reality is that this particular moment is beyond that of a fight and victory for worker rights. We have to move beyond a moment where the goal is “if we strike, we win” and to an orientation of widespread, sustained movement.
  • Oakland Teachers Strike Ends, But Not Everyone Is Happy
    • The Oakland teachers strike is over. Teachers and other educators approved an agreement Sunday night to end the seven-day strike and give parents a reason to send their kids back to school. The agreement offers teachers a pay increase. But school board officials say the raises will come with future budget cuts in other departments. Plus, not everyone is happy with the new contract, especially nurses.
  • Board of Education Special Meeting
    • OUSD Board of Education Special Meeting on March 4, 2019
  • #OUSDSTRIKE Mentality – Effects of Stress on TBI Recovery
    • This video is about OUSDSTRIKE Mentality here in Oakland and how it has effected me over the past week. We hear more stories about the teachers striking than that of the effects of their strike on the other people who work in education.
  • Day after teachers’ pay raise approved, Oakland Unified cuts $21.75 million from budget
    • Although thousands of teachers and students returned to class Monday morning after a tumultuous seven-day strike, hundreds took one more day off to protest at a daytime meeting where the school board ended up cutting $21.75 million from Oakland Unified’s budget.
  • Oakland school board cuts $20.2 million from budget, including 100 jobs
    • After discussing for months how to make budget cuts to pay for teachers’ raises and balance its budget, the Oakland school board on Monday voted to slash $20.2 million next year and lay off more than 100 employees.
  • How Equity Lost at the Bargaining Table in Oakland
    • It was a brutal OUSD board meeting.  Hundreds of students lined the hall, fighting for the supports they needed amidst a proposed $22 million in cuts.  They had lobbied, organized, and gotten at least one trustee, Director Hinton-Hodge, to agree with them to dip into the reserve and maintain some key programs.  But it would not be.
  • Teacher Protests Won Higher Funding for Schools, But It’s Still Not Enough
    • It’s not all good news for public schools, even in states where teachers went on strike. CBPP found that public schools in walkout states are still significantly underfunded, which is part of a broader problem.
  • Democratic Socialists of America and Jacobin cover for union sellout of Oakland teachers strike
    • On Monday, March 4, the day after the Oakland Education Association imposed a sellout contract on 3,300 teachers, the Jacobin publication, which is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), published its analysis of the outcome of the strike, “Why Oakland’s Striking Teachers Won,” by Eric Blanc. The title alone would be the cause of justified outrage from Oakland teachers and their 36,000 students, many of whom joined educators on the picket lines for seven days only to have $22 million in budget cuts imposed on them through a rotten quid pro quo between the union and the district.
  • Open Forum: What this parent learned from the Oakland teachers’ strike
    • This week, Oakland teachers are ending their seven-day strike having won, not all, but many of the things they took to the streets for. Some are disappointed with the many concessions that were necessary (only 58 percent of the union voted to end the strike), but I remain deeply moved by their bold stand. I wish more of us put our livelihood on the line for our values.
  • CIF basketball: Oakland High girls capture first-ever state title
    • The question for Oakland High wasn’t if. It was more like when would the Wildcats put some separation between them and McFarland. It finally occurred in the second half as Oakland captured its first-ever California Interscholastic Federation state girls basketball title, rolling to a 51-35 victory over McFarland Friday afternoon in the Division III final at the Golden 1 Center.
  • An Update on Budget Reductions: Moving Toward Fiscal Vitality
    • At last Monday’s Board meeting, dozens of young people spoke passionately about school programs and supports slated for reduction. They demanded accountability and reprimanded the Board and me for not seeing or hearing them. The powerful student testimonials still sit with me, as they should
  • Oakland Unified School District Says Layoffs Needed to Fund Teachers’ Raises
    • The Oakland Unified School District said it has to lay off more than 100 people starting this month to get its finances in check and help pay for the teachers’ raise. Among the layoffs are case workers who help students in foster care. Now those workers worry about what that will mean for many at-risk students.
  • After Violence and Asylum Battles, Young Oakland Migrants Face a New Challenge: Graduating High School
    • Hundreds of thousands of teenagers and children from Central America have come to the United States since 2014, fleeing violence and extreme poverty in their home countries. They’ve enrolled in school districts across the country, but they often face a daunting set of obstacles to graduate high school, enroll in college or prepare for careers.
  • Making history: Oakland high, Oakland tech girls both win their CIF state hoops championship
    • Two high school girls basketball teams from Oakland made history Saturday when they were both crowned champions of their respective divisions. It’s the first time two girl teams from Oakland have won a state championship in the same year.

California:

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