All the Oakland Ed news from last week–Who really controls Oakland’s schools, celebrating the champs, a powerful night of engagement with OUSD, lots on the Measure AA vote and city council support of OUSD, tragedy at ICS, student narratives, teacher stories all that and much more with links, please read share and get involved.
Oakland:
- Who controls the fate of Oakland schools?
- Parade celebrates 2 Oakland high school girls basketball team’s championship wins
- Oakland may step in to restore cut school programs
- Elementary Schoolers Get Taste Of College At UC Berkeley Tour
- About 250 Oakland Unified school employees to receive layoff notices
- Parents at the Center; A Rare and Encouraging Night of Community Engagement with OUSD
- Oakland vote on collecting education tax puts council in tough spot
- My PE Experience as a Trans Student; Swim Class, Changing Rooms and Sometimes Ignorant Adults
- Making As an Act of Healing
- The Young and the Woke: E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, One
- Hundreds of OUSD Students Come Together to be Honored in 2nd Annual Spring API Honor Roll Celebration Tonight
- Oakland council postpones collection of Measure AA taxes amid concerns over voter trust
- Oakland Councilmembers Kaplan, Bas, Gallo, Thao Get OUSD Funding
- Oakland Council Votes Not to Collect Tax for Childhood Education Measure
- International Community School Unites in Honor of Student and Mother Killed in Crash and Will March to Site of Crash Today
California:
- More new teachers in pipeline, but California falling short in producing fully qualified ones
- California’s school pension funding plan is working
- Interactive Map: Where teachers find affordable housing in California
- In need of teacher housing, more California school districts building their own
- Marin ‘Dixie’ school district changing name tied to Confederacy
- Teach for America targeted as legislation seeks to limit inexperienced teachers in California
How You Can Help:
- Support the Garcia-Vasquez Family
- Reunite my student and his brother
- Car Wash Fundraiser for the Garcia-Vasquez Family
Oakland:
- Who controls the fate of Oakland schools?
- In the years-long power struggle between the State and OUSD, the State has now gained more authority, raising questions about who controls the fate of Oakland schools.
- Parade celebrates 2 Oakland high school girls basketball team’s championship wins
- A parade in Oakland Friday to honor champion basketball players did not involve the Golden State Warriors. Instead, the guests of honor were two women’s high school basketball teams, Oakland High, which won the Division 3 state championship, and Oakland Tech, which claimed the Division 4 title.
- Oakland may step in to restore cut school programs
- The city of Oakland may be stepping in to save schools’ restorative justice programs that were cut from next year’s Oakland Unified budget, reductions that sparked public outcry last month.
- Elementary Schoolers Get Taste Of College At UC Berkeley Tour
- The program, which began in 2016, aims to increase the number of college graduates from Oakland. It’s a partnership between the City of Oakland, the school district and other organizations.
- About 250 Oakland Unified school employees to receive layoff notices
- The equivalent of 250 full-time teachers, clerks, library techs and college career coaches are expected to receive pink slips by the end of April, following this week’s decision by the Oakland Unified School District board to lay off these employees as part of a $21.75 million cut from next year’s school budget.
- Parents at the Center; A Rare and Encouraging Night of Community Engagement with OUSD
- It was an encouraging night in Oakland. Over a hundred parents filled the hall at Acts Full Gospel to have a real discussion with the top brass from OUSD on the state of the schools and the superintendent’s Community of Schools policy. There were some heated debates, and real disagreements, but we came together as Oakland family, broke bread, and talked it out-like functional families do.
- Oakland vote on collecting education tax puts council in tough spot
- On Tuesday, the Oakland City Council will vote on a motion to not collect taxes on Measure AA.
- My PE Experience as a Trans Student; Swim Class, Changing Rooms and Sometimes Ignorant Adults
- Being transgender and trying to comfortably take a PE class is nearly impossible. So much of it revolves around gender, whether it be the changing rooms, teams, or simply passing the class.
- Making As an Act of Healing
- When our teacher fellows came back together in March the Oakland teacher strike was still looming largely in our minds. While our professional development curricula often focuses on critical thinking, content knowledge and instilling agency in our school communities, we are reminded during this crucial time to repair our educator community through joy and creativity. We asked, “how do we, as an educator community focused on maker-centered learning, begin to heal, remain resilient, and find the agency to rebuild our seemingly broken systems?”
- The Young and the Woke: E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, One
- On this episode, you will meet Julisa Liang, a senior at Oakland High School in the Law and Social Justice Academy. Her life is like that American motto found on much of our money – “e pluribus unum” – out of many, one. She seems to be able to find common ground with whomever she meets, whether she’s riding AC transit, ringing up customers at Target, buying tacos in the Fruitvale, or discussing controversial topics in school. This notion that we as human beings can be different, and still unified, feels so important in this moment.
- Hundreds of OUSD Students Come Together to be Honored in 2nd Annual Spring API Honor Roll Celebration Tonight
- On Wednesday evening, April 17, OUSD’s Asian Pacific Islander Student Achievement and the Office of Equity are hosting the 2nd Annual Spring Celebration for all students who made the District’s Asian Pacific Islander Honor Roll.
- Oakland council postpones collection of Measure AA taxes amid concerns over voter trust
- The Oakland City Council voted Tuesday against collecting taxes under Measure AA, an embattled plan that the city certified as valid in December even though it failed to receive two-thirds of voter approval.
- Oakland Councilmembers Kaplan, Bas, Gallo, Thao Get OUSD Funding
- Oakland City Council President Kaplan with Councilmembers Nikki Bas (District 2), Sheng Thao (District 4), and Noel Gallo (District 5) passed a resolution with friendly amendments from Councilmember Dan Kalb (District 1) funding restorative justice, libraries, and foster youth case managers for Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) at the Tuesday, April 16th City Council meeting.
- Oakland Council Votes Not to Collect Tax for Childhood Education Measure
- The Oakland City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday night not to collect taxes for an early childhood education measure backed by Mayor Libby Schaaf that was approved by 62 percent of the voters last November but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.
- International Community School Unites in Honor of Student and Mother Killed in Crash and Will March to Site of Crash Today
- This afternoon, students, families and staff from International Community School (ICS) will continue their call for change at the location where kindergartener, Angel Garcia-Vasquez and his mother, Alma Vasquez were killed by a hit and run driver on Saturday evening.
California:
- More new teachers in pipeline, but California falling short in producing fully qualified ones
- Enrollments in teacher preparation programs in California are rising, but the numbers just aren’t high enough to put fully prepared teachers in classrooms to educate all 6 million of the state’s public school students, according to newly released figures.
- California’s school pension funding plan is working
- As the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, or CalSTRS, embodies a century-long pledge to uphold the state’s promise of a secure retirement to teachers.
- Interactive Map: Where teachers find affordable housing in California
- Teachers across California, especially those in coastal areas and at the bottom of the salary scale, are being shut out of affordable housing. First year teachers could not afford to rent a modest one bedroom apartment in nearly 40 percent of the 680 districts that reported salary data. The situation is most severe for teachers starting their careers in coastal areas.
- In need of teacher housing, more California school districts building their own
- School districts in the most expensive regions of California, struggling to pay salaries that keep pace with the high cost of living, are increasingly turning to housing incentives to attract new teachers and stanch the flow of teachers from their schools.
- Marin ‘Dixie’ school district changing name tied to Confederacy
- The Dixie School District board voted Tuesday night to change the name of the 150-year-old district after critics linked it to the Confederacy and slavery
- Teach for America targeted as legislation seeks to limit inexperienced teachers in California
- A California legislator wants to ban inexperienced teachers in programs such as Teach for America from working in predominantly low-income schools, saying they lack the preparation to work effectively with the neediest students.
How You Can Help:
- Support the Garcia-Vasquez Family
- There was a tragedy in our ICS family last night. Our beloved kindergartner Angel Garcia-Vasquez, his mother Alma, and his uncle Jaime were victims of a hit and run on 26th and Foothill, a notoriously dangerous crosswalk that many of our families use to do laundry. Alma and Angel were both killed and uncle is in critical condition. Our ICS community is fundraising to support the family.
- Reunite my student and his brother
- The brothers were reunited in San Francisco yesterday!! Our school is looking forward to welcoming our new student this week. Many, many thanks to all who donated to make it happen.
- Car Wash Fundraiser for the Garcia-Vasquez Family
- Please help us support the Garcia-Vasquez family.
What do you think?