The Oakland Education Week in Review: 1/27-2/2

Last week, some great events coming up with the Panthers, OUSD finally does something with surplus property, how the reading wars hurt Black kids, more drama from the Board meetings, an inspirational story from a student headed to law school, all that and much more, please read share and get involved

Oakland:

California:

Other Stories:

Resources:

How You Can Help:

Oakland:

  • County Superintendent of Schools L. Karen Monroe Issues Statement on Public Charge Ruling
    • Today the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling that lifts an injunction on the “public charge” rule. In Alameda County we embrace our diversity and take pride in the community support that we provide to all who come to our country in search of a better life. The change to the “public charge” rule set to be implemented by the Trump Administration after Monday’s ruling by the Supreme Court does not change that.
  • An OCS Experience with Erika Huggins Students and Staff
    • Ericka Huggins talking about the Panthers Community School-this looks like an amazing event, organized by a partner in crime Angela LeBlanc-Ernest amazing knowledge, and the price is right (free) plus you get admission to the Soul of a Nation: Art in the Era of Black Power exhibit
  • Casualties of War: Reading Science Denial and Racism’s Impact on African American Children
    • Strong reading skills are the foundation of all academic success, yet African American students as a group score lower on most standardized tests than white students. In spite of the 2000 National Reading Panel’s conclusions that students need direct, explicit instruction that teaches phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, educational institutions are failing to implement the Reading Panel’s findings. University training has been inadequate, forcing K-12 systems to fill classrooms with under-prepared teachers who then receive little support, training, or aligned materials.
  • BayTech Students See Huge Academic Gains After The School’s Investment in Adaptive Technology
    • In February of 2019, the Bay Area Technology School (BayTech) Board Members, Administrators, and Staff agreed on a goal to help all BayTech students to make substantial academic gains in English and Math. In order to achieve this effort, BayTech decided to use adaptive interactive technology to deliver individualized learning for each student. BayTech Principal Dr. Feldman stated, “The school identified a few adaptive technology programs and chose to spend considerable resources implementing them with fidelity school-wide.” One year later, BayTech is thrilled to see their students surpassing their growth & learning goals in both mathematics and language arts. The found variables contributing to this growth are programs such as i-Ready, IXL, and NoRedInk.
  • Enough is Enough: Education Town Hall
    • Please join the Oakland NAACP for a robust conversation about educational outcomes for black students in Oakland. All Oakland city and education elected officials currently in office or running for office are encouraged to attend and participate.
  • OUSD Staff Member Invests Years of His Spare Time to Beautify Skyline High School, Culminating in Major Tree Planting Effort
    • Skyline High School in the hills above most of Oakland, is well-known for its location on the edge of the wilderness, and the woodsy feel of its campus. Now, an OUSD staff member is working to ensure it feels that way well into the future. Tom O’Neill is a District gardener who planted about forty cedar and blue spruce trees across the campus on Friday, January 24.
  • Child Molester Victims to Get Nearly $11M in Settlement With Richmond School
    • Twelve former students of a man convicted of sexually abusing them when he was their teacher at a Richmond school will receive a combined $10.9 million to settle a lawsuit against the school, an attorney said.
  • Oakland councilwoman introduces Moms 4 Housing-inspired ordinance
    • Inspired by the Moms 4 Housing activists who took over an empty West Oakland property in November, a city councilwoman introduced a new ordinance Thursday that would help keep renters in their home when their building is sold.
  • Parents, teachers sue Oakland school district over injuries from raucous board meeting
    • With Oakland Technical High School as the backdrop, a group of parents and teachers announced this week they are suing the Oakland Unified School District for injuries they say they suffered by police officers at an Oct. 23 school board meeting.
  • Holy Crap, OUSD, and Partners, Are Getting Creative on Housing
    • After years of stagnation, one of Oakland’s largest landowners is finally taking on one of Oakland’s biggest challenges, housing.  Two incredibly important events recently took place that hopefully signal a new era, where we move beyond the gridlock of fussing and fighting and get together to do something for the families, students, and staff that really need our support.
  • From Lighthouse to Law School
    • Eduardo Figueroa never even thought about college until Lighthouse. Now he’s studying law at UC Hastings -A guest post from Families in Action

California:

Other Stories:

  • NYC spends a record $28K per student, but the state is footing a smaller portion of that bill
    • Gov. Andrew Cuomo has touted the state’s record-high spending on education during his administration. But over the past three decades, including under Cuomo’s leadership, the state has picked up a smaller portion of the tab for New York City schools, according to a report on school spending from the city’s Independent Budget Office, or IBO, released Monday. 
  • How Well Are Teachers Being Taught? New Report Finds Majority of Teacher Prep Programs Thoroughly Instructing Future Educators on the Science of Reading
    • For the first time, a majority of traditional programs educating future elementary school teachers thoroughly cover the science of reading, according to a new report from a watchdog of the nation’s teacher preparation programs.
  • This map shows the most commonly spoken language in every US state, excluding English and Spanish
    • America strives to be an inclusive nation. Americans frequently celebrate the country’s vast diversity, such as throughout Black History Month in February and Diversity Month in April. One of the ways America shows its diverse culture is in the sheer number of languages spoken by the country’s people. This map shows which languages other than English and Spanish are the most common in each state and Washington, DC.
  • Why Won’t Society Let Black Girls Be Children?
    • Adultification means teachers, parents and law enforcement are less protective and more punitive with certain kids.
  • It’s Time to ‘Ring the Alarm’ on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Black Kids in This Country
    • The rise in cases of teenage depression and suicide is an alarming one, especially in the Black community. A new study by Rutgers University shows that Black teenagers face racial discrimination up to five time a day on average, and this discrimination often leads to depression. With the recent increase in awareness toward mental health and well-being, this kind of information is critical in the fight to save and improve lives.
  • Suspensions, Exclusion and Moving From School to School Are Barriers to Successful High School-to-College Transition for Many Foster Youth, Report Finds
    • Educational Results Partnership (ERP), a non-profit organization that applies data science to help improve career readiness throughout the educational system, in conjunction with California College Pathways (CCP) and John Burton Advocates for Youth, have published a new report on foster youth outcomes in the California education system. The report builds on prior research conducted by ERP and CCP, which indicated that despite recent statewide policy efforts to improve outcomes for California’s foster youth, significant achievement gaps persist. The new report, Pipeline to Success: Supporting California’s Foster Youth from High School to Community College, linked longitudinal student data between K-12 and community college systems to identify the factors that hinder or contribute to the success of foster youth in California’s high school to community college pipeline.
  • If You’re Really Fighting for Educational Justice, You Need to Check Your Privilege
    • I challenge you to consider what you’re fighting for. Because your beloved public school system is failing the communities you tweet about incessantly. Who are you really fighting for—the parents who want good schools for their kids and have expressed that by looking beyond traditional options, or your agenda, privilege or social media brand that, in your world, supersedes their needs? 
  • How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans
    • When Eugene Burnett saw the neat tract houses of Levittown, New York, he knew he wanted to buy one. It was 1949, and he was ready to settle down in a larger home with his family. The newly established Long Island suburb seemed like the perfect place to begin their postwar life—one that, he hoped, would be improved with the help of the GI Bill, a piece of sweeping legislation aimed at helping World War II veterans like Burnett prosper after the war. But when he spoke with a salesman about buying the house using a GI Bill-guaranteed mortgage, the door to suburban life in Levittown slammed firmly in his face. The suburb wasn’t open to black residents.

Resources:

  • Elementary Schools that Black Families Should Consider Based on the Latest Data
    • Where you send your child to school is one of the most important decisions you can make.  The new school quality data was released by the state recently, and I wanted to highlight some of the schools making progress with Oakland children, and encourage families to visit.  Every child is different, and I will break it down into subgroups (schools showing progress with Black, Brown and low income students) in the next few weeks and you can also take a look at the schoolfinder tool to find local schools.
  • Middle Schools that Black Families Should Consider Based on the Latest Data
    • Where you send your child to school is one of the most important decisions you can make.  The new school quality data was released by the state recently, and I wanted to highlight some of the schools making progress with Oakland children, and encourage families to visit.  Every child is different, and I will break it down into subgroups (schools showing progress with Black, Brown and low income students) in the next few weeks and you can also take a look at the schoolfinder tool to find local schools.
  • High Schools that Oakland Families Should Consider Based on the Latest Data
    • Where you send your child to school is one of the most important decisions you can make.  The new school quality data was released by the state recently, and I wanted to highlight some of the schools making progress with Oakland children, and encourage families to visit.  Every child is different, and I will break it down into subgroups (schools showing progress with Black, Brown and low income students) in the next few weeks and you can also take a look at the schoolfinder tool to find local schools.
  • High Schools that Latinx Families Should Consider Based on the Latest Data
    • Where you send your child to school is one of the most important decisions you can make.  The new school quality data was released by the state recently, and I wanted to highlight some of the schools making progress with Oakland children, and encourage families to visit.  Every child is different, and I will break it down into subgroups (schools showing progress with Black, Brown and low income students) in the next few weeks and you can also take a look at the schoolfinder tool to find local schools.

How You Can Help:

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