The Oakland Education Week in Review: 4/29-5/5

This week–SF’s challenges with desegregation, narratives from students, a sentencing of a former school leader, OUSD budget answers, honor rolls are coming out, celebrating a young man’s 6 years of perfect attendance, research on Black teachers a roadmap for early childhood, all that and more with links, please read share and get involved

Oakland:

California:

Other Stories:

Resources:

Oakland:

  • San Francisco Had an Ambitious Plan to Tackle School Segregation. It Made It Worse.
    • Like many parents in San Francisco, Melvin Canas and Delfina Ramirez described applying to public kindergarten as a part-time job. They researched schools all over the city for their daughter, Cinthya; took unpaid hours off their jobs as cooks to tour over a dozen; and ultimately ranked 15 of them on her application.
  • Seniors Reflect on their Experiences, “I Didn’t Know Anything about the A-G”- An Energy Convertor Podcast
    • In this episode, we have 2 special guests graduating this year and will be attending college in the fall. They delve deep into their experiences and offer their expertise and advice for students still on the high school grind. They also offer advice to parents and teachers about how to help students build better agency. Powerful advice from students that completed the A-G and those that didn’t. Please take a listen. And follow the Energy Convertors for more great student centered content.
  • A conversation with OMI’s Johnna Grell
    • Charter renewals are stressful and time-consuming. School leaders already pressed for time face endless paperwork and a process that can feel daunting. The public scrutiny and the political environment are harsh. It’s no doubt difficult for any school to go through. The process can also be affirming, highlighting areas where a school is thriving and can feel proud, as well as areas of growth the school is addressing.
  • At these 7 Bay Area schools, more than half of the students are unvaccinated
    • At seven schools in the Bay Area, more than half of the students are unvaccinated, according to the most recent data available from the California Department of Public Health.
  • Answering your questions about the OUSD budget
    • We recently reached out to Oaklanders – parents, educators, and community members – to find out what questions they had about OUSD’s budget and finances. Read on for the top six questions we heard and our answers to them:
  • Oakland 5th grader receives praise and $1,500 for 6 years of perfect attendance
    • Carlan Samuels was honored at his school, Allendale Elementary in East Oakland, for achieving perfect attendance– and that streak was not just for this school year, but for every year that he’s been enrolled. Including kindergarten, that’s six years, 1,080 days.
  • Backers of Oakland’s Measure AA vow to fight in court to defend the embattled tax
    • Two proponents of Measure AA, Oakland’s embattled plan to fund early childhood education and college readiness, intervened Tuesday in the city’s battle over the legality of the measure and promised to “vigorously defend it.”
  • A Charter-School Principal Won’t Go to Prison
    • When Ben Chavis became principal of the American Indian Public Charter School in 2000, it was among the worst middle schools in Oakland, Calif.
  • 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.
  • Report: BART officer lied in death of Grant
    • A former BART police officer who pulled Oscar Grant from a train 10 years ago and ordered his arrest before a second officer fatally shot Grant in the back lied repeatedly to investigators, telling them he felt he was “fighting for my life” when in fact he was the aggressor in the notorious incident, according to a newly released report.
  • Answering Your Questions about the OUSD Budget; School Funding, Cost Savings in Closings, Salaries, ACOE’s Role, and More
    • We recently reached out to Oaklanders – parents, educators, and community members – to find out what questions they had about OUSD’s budget and finances. Read on for the top six questions we heard and our answers to them:
  • E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many One; A Student’s Journey- Episode 2 of The Young and Woke Podcast
    • 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.
  • Summer Reading Mini Grants
    • Summer can be a powerful time to share the joy and fun of reading with children and spark a love of language and learning. Oakland Reads wants to help you bring to life your ideas for promoting reading with the children and families in your programs.
  • Controversial charter school director avoids jail after fraud charges dropped
    • A former Oakland charter school director known for boosting student test scores through humiliation and harsh discipline has avoided jail time following a six-year federal investigation into allegations of fraud.
  • A homeless Oakland couple moved into a $4 million Piedmont home. Then came the calls to police
    • Greg Dunston and Marie Mckinzie lived on Oakland’s streets for almost 10 years, pushing their carts around with all their belongings and sleeping in the doorway of an Alameda County building. But for the past three months, the couple have lived among the wealthy — on a nearly $4 million property in one of the Bay Area’s most exclusive neighborhoods in Piedmont. The homeowner, Terrence McGrath, did something few in his position would dare do: He opened his doors to homeless people in need.
  • Student Reflections on Quality in Post-Strike Oakland and What We Need to Do
    • This a deep reflection on mental health, the state of quality and what our students are experiencing and what they need. Please take a listen. And follow the Energy Convertors for more great student centered content.
  • 18th Annual African American Honor Roll Celebration
    • Next Monday is the night that African American students from across OUSD will come together to be honored for their ongoing hard work and dedication in the 18th Annual African American Honor Roll Celebration.
  • OUSD Celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Honor Roll Students
    • Hundreds of Oakland’s young people came together to be recognized for all their hard work and good grades at the second Annual Spring Celebration for OUSD’s Asian Pacific Islander Honor  Roll
  • Intersection of the “Other”: Bias & Dis/ability in Education
    • Intersection of the “Other”: Bias & Dis/ability in Education…”explore equity, inclusion, and bias as it relates to diverse learners, students with disabilities, and Oakland’s school communities.”
  • Friday Five: Weekly news for Oakland charters
    • We have great content to share with you this week, including: one quarter of the top 100 public schools in US News’ latest rankings are charters; Aspire faces a lawsuit in San Mateo County Superior Court alleging it violated a Prop 39 contract and must return $4 million; a Q&A from GO Public Schools on the OUSD budget (ex: “can OUSD afford the teacher raise?”); an OUSD student has had perfect attendance for six (!) years; and much more.

California:

Other Stories:

  • Wage gap between teachers and other college graduates exacerbates teacher shortages
    • Teachers are continuing to fall behind other college graduates in the wages they earn, contributing to the difficulties many school districts in California and the nation face in filling positions in key subject areas, according to a new analysis.
  • Student Voices: Hearing and Supporting Native/Indigenous Students
    • I was born and raised in the central part of the Navajo Nation in a town called Chinle, which is near the Canyon De Chelly national monument in Arizona. For most of my life, I was surrounded by people who looked like me. Growing up, the only time I left the Navajo Nation was to purchase clothes, food, and other necessities in towns that were two or more hours away.

Resources:

  • Award-Winning Public Schools in Oakland You Might Still Get Into—And Those You Won’t
    • Oakland families should have received their offers for Round 2 of enrollment already, and most high-demand schools are full or filling up. If you aren’t sure about your top choice, or if you just want to see what else is out there, we have a list of schools that you should take a look at.
  • The 2 Real Rules of Expulsion Hearings
    • Four hours in an expulsion hearing gives you time to think.  And afterwards, you are wrapped tight so it takes a little time to unwrap and you need to think more.  I do these things too often as part of my work. Well I don’t get paid for it, so “work” may not be the right word… as part of my duty.  Experience has taught me that two rules govern the vast majority of these proceedings, proceedings that can forever change a child’s life.
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