last week, lots on the Mack closure and the underlying environmental racism, parents leading on literacy, what Black boys really need, how to fix the OUSD budget and whats wrong with it, a profile of a youth organizer, statewide propositions, the candidates and much more, please read, share, and get involved
Oakland:
- Did You Know Black Ghettos Were Deliberately Created By Gov’t Sponsored Redlining?
- In ‘We Are the Dream,’ Oakland Students Channel Dr. King
- Environmental Racism is the Cause, Mack’s 38 Nearby HazMat sites, and the Debt the City Owes West Oakland
- Oakland Parents and Civil Rights Groups Lead a Citywide Literacy Revolution
- Black Boys Don’t Need More Discipline, They Need Mentors
- The Latest Mack Updates and Answers to Some Questions from Councilmember McElhaney
- McClymonds high school in Oakland closed until at least March 9 while air testing continues
- McClymonds High School: Preliminary air test results show no cancer-causing chemicals on Oakland campus
- Black Literacy, Black Liberation and Focusing on Black Futures Alongside Black History
- To fix the budget crisis, Oakland needs collaboration instead of conspiracy theories
- Standing up for Students: FIA Youth Organizer Javier Barraza
- Buy Back the Block – 102
- Environmental Concerns Heightened in West Oakland Following McClymonds High School Closure
- Confronting Environmental Injustice- Connecting with Kyla
- Bay Area schools prepare for coronavirus with Solano County district disinfecting in wake of new case
- Director Hinton Hodge Talks Environmental Justice in the West, Her Dreams for Mack, and the Critical Role of Community
- SoBEO Narrative Series – Amber Childress
- Advocacy Group Calls For Elimination Of Oakland School District Police
- McClymonds High School in Oakland will stay shut another week as air testing continues
California:
- Tell Us: Could Property Taxes Be More Fair in California?
- California lottery shortchanged schools by $36 million as revenues soared, audit finds
- Startling Science Scores in California: First-Ever Results Show 4 in 5 Low-Income Black and Latino Students Are Falling Short of New State Standards
- The Hidden History of Slavery and Eugenics In California
- It Rhymes With Reparations: California To Pay For Failing to Educate Low Income Kids
- What to Know About Proposition 13
- California Education Spending Inches Up From ‘Near The Bottom Of The Barrel’
- California schools prepare for coronavirus outbreak as threat grows
- Four California school districts ask voters to pay for teacher and staff housing
- Coronavirus Q&A: What California parents and students should know about COVID-19
Other Stories:
- Michael Bloomberg is running for president on his education record. Here’s what research found about those policies.
- Arresting a 6-Year-Old Child at School Can’t Be Who We Are
- What about the kids? Public education missing from Democratic primary debates
- When a Student Says, ‘The President Is Going to Take My Parents Away’
- Parent group pushes Democratic presidential contenders on charters, winning audience before Biden and Warren
- Every Democratic Candidates’ ‘Black Agenda,’ Ranked
- What’s better than one powerful woman? Three! w/Special Guests Lakisha Young & Nekima Levy-Armstrong
- Our Kids Can No Longer Wait for Educational Justice, And They Shouldn’t Have To
Oakland:
- Did You Know Black Ghettos Were Deliberately Created By Gov’t Sponsored Redlining?
- Beginning in the early 1930s, a ranking system designed to represent neighborhoods in northern and southern states was implemented as a means to ensure segregation of blacks and whites.
- In ‘We Are the Dream,’ Oakland Students Channel Dr. King
- Mahershala Ali returns to his Bay Area roots with this HBO film, his first undertaking as a documentary producer.
- Environmental Racism is the Cause, Mack’s 38 Nearby HazMat sites, and the Debt the City Owes West Oakland
- The closure of McClymonds High School for toxic groundwater is a predictable tragedy. Government policies around redlining and zoning created “ghettos” and put hazardous industries next to and within these communities. Things that would never happen in the Hills happened as matter of policy in the West. As a result Mack has 38 Hazardous Materials sites within a half mile of its campus.
- Oakland Parents and Civil Rights Groups Lead a Citywide Literacy Revolution
- One of the most frustrating, yet enduring tropes in the realm of education debates is the idea of black and brown parents as disinterested, disconnected and ignorant. Far too often you hear about how the dismal outcomes for the nation’s students of color are the byproduct of their parent’s and families’ lack of interest in their education. It’s not the inequitable funding practices, the resulting outrageous funding gaps, nor poor teacher prep programs and it’s almost considered a sin to question the efficiency of the teaching force placed in front of our most marginalized students.
- Black Boys Don’t Need More Discipline, They Need Mentors
- When I first met Chris, he was quiet—I could tell he was trying to figure out who I was, and who I could be in his life. The stories I heard about Chris did not align with the boy in front of me. I was told he was constantly removed from class and referred to the office. In fact, he had 60 such referrals in the first semester of school.
- The Latest Mack Updates and Answers to Some Questions from Councilmember McElhaney
- On Thursday, OUSD announced a precautionary closure of McClymonds High School after tests revealed that a cancer-causing chemical called trichloroethylene (TCE) was found in the onsite groundwater.
- McClymonds high school in Oakland closed until at least March 9 while air testing continues
- Oakland’s McClymonds High School — which has been closed since Feb. 20 — will likely remain closed until at least the week of March 9 so authorities can get an official ruling that there is no trichloroethylene — or TCE — in the air on campus before letting students back in.
- McClymonds High School: Preliminary air test results show no cancer-causing chemicals on Oakland campus
- Air and soil testing was underway at Oakland’s McClymonds High School on Saturday after a cancer-causing chemical was found in nearby groundwater.
- Black Literacy, Black Liberation and Focusing on Black Futures Alongside Black History
- Black History Month is great. But our ancestors would be somersaulting in their graves if they understood how few of our children can exercise the rights they fought so hard for. As it stands only 18% of Black Children in Oakland are reading on grade level.
- To fix the budget crisis, Oakland needs collaboration instead of conspiracy theories
- If you’ve been following news about Oakland schools, you know that we’re facing a financial crisis. The district is considering, once again, how to make painful cuts with real consequences for students. To make matters worse, deeply misleading narratives about surpluses or hidden money have led to more confusion and mistrust in our community.
- Standing up for Students: FIA Youth Organizer Javier Barraza
- Meet FIA’s Javier Barraza, an East Oakland native who is working to bring resources back to his community
- Buy Back the Block – 102
- Join The New Oakland in partnership with Oakstop for Buy Back the Block 2020! Let’s discuss what it means to become an Investor in the Oakland Market. Refreshments provided.
- Environmental Concerns Heightened in West Oakland Following McClymonds High School Closure
- This week, McClymonds High School students attended classes, but not at their campus. McClymonds abruptly closed last Thursday after district officials found trichlorethylene, or TCE, in groundwater below the school. TCE, a known carcinogen, can vaporize and contaminate the air. While preliminary tests at the school show the air to be safe, community members remain skeptical, highlighting long-standing concerns about environmental justice in West Oakland. Meanwhile, the school’s 350 students have been assigned to nearby schools as lab testing continues. We’ll hear from local officials and community members on this news and we want to hear from you: is your family impacted by the school closure?
- Confronting Environmental Injustice- Connecting with Kyla
- Dear OUSD Community:Unfortunately, this story is all too familiar to our students of color living in poverty. They–and generations of their families–have borne the brunt of racist environmental policies and practices that have put their health and lives in jeopardy.The last few days have been incredibly challenging for the students, families, and staff of McClymonds High School which has been temporarily closed due to a possible environmental hazard. It’s most unfortunate that West Oakland, and particularly McClymonds, are being impacted by the historical legacy of mixed industrial and residential neighborhoods which has disproportionately affected African Americans and other communities of color in Oakland and many cities across the country. I am truly sorry for the worry and anxiety that McClymonds’ students and families have felt and the disruption to their lives and routines. We are doing everything we can to ensure a safe and healthy school environment for our students that we reopen as soon as possible.
- Bay Area schools prepare for coronavirus with Solano County district disinfecting in wake of new case
- Education officials across California are reviewing and updating emergency plans and preparing for the potential closure of schools if the new coronavirus spreads widely.
- Director Hinton Hodge Talks Environmental Justice in the West, Her Dreams for Mack, and the Critical Role of Community
- “for folks who care about black education across this country, support SoBEO. But support the people in your community that are working on behalf of black children all over the place. Speak up, speak out. Do your own rants, as best you can, wherever you need to be. Because you need to be heard. Our voices need to be heard about our children and our parents and our families.”
- SoBEO Narrative Series – Amber Childress
- Our goal is to identify community members of diverse affiliations and amplify stories that make up the fabric and experiences of the Black Education community in Oakland. The narrative of our community should be told in our own words.
- Advocacy Group Calls For Elimination Of Oakland School District Police
- An advocacy group on Wednesday called for the Oakland school board to eliminate the school district’s police department so that more money can be spent on essential school services.
- McClymonds High School in Oakland will stay shut another week as air testing continues
- Oakland students displaced after a cancer-causing chemical was found in groundwater at their school will likely remain at alternative locations for at least another week as air quality testing continues, district officials said Wednesday.
California:
- Tell Us: Could Property Taxes Be More Fair in California?
- Vote on your peers’ statements about how they would make the law more fair, or submit your own idea. The more you speak, the better we can understand where we find agreement. Give it a try. Join the conversation. Need more background on Proposition 13? Keep scrolling.
- California lottery shortchanged schools by $36 million as revenues soared, audit finds
- Vote on your peers’ statements about how they would make the law more fair, or submit your own idea. The more you speak, the better we can understand where we find agreement. Give it a try. Join the conversation. Need more background on Proposition 13? Keep scrolling.
- Startling Science Scores in California: First-Ever Results Show 4 in 5 Low-Income Black and Latino Students Are Falling Short of New State Standards
- Astate task force newly assigned to narrowing California’s achievement gap got further proof of the challenges ahead with this month’s first-ever release of the California Science Test scores, showing that less than 1 in 5 low-income black and Latino students met or exceeded the standards.
- The Hidden History of Slavery and Eugenics In California
- This week, we’re bringing you stories as part of KQED’s collaboration with the ACLU of Northern California and others, called “Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California.”
- It Rhymes With Reparations: California To Pay For Failing to Educate Low Income Kids
- Last Thursday, the state signed a $50 million agreement geared toward low-income schools to allow equal access to comprehensive literacy programs.
- What to Know About Proposition 13
- On Tuesday, voters across California will be asked to make a weighty decision about the way the state gets money for the things it needs. The question on their ballots will be labeled “Proposition 13.”
- California Education Spending Inches Up From ‘Near The Bottom Of The Barrel’
- Governor Gavin Newsom released his proposed budget in early January. It’s his second since he took office and, just like the first one, it focuses on education.
- California schools prepare for coronavirus outbreak as threat grows
- As fears escalate across California about a potential outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), school districts and college campuses this week moved to quell fears from parents and staff about the growing threat.
- Four California school districts ask voters to pay for teacher and staff housing
- In a region with the largest disparity between teacher pay and housing costs in California, a Bay Area school district is the first in the nation to build affordable employee housing funded exclusively through a bond passed by local taxpayers.
- Coronavirus Q&A: What California parents and students should know about COVID-19
- As schools prepare, here are some answers to what’s happening now in California and how parents can get ready
Other Stories:
- Michael Bloomberg is running for president on his education record. Here’s what research found about those policies.
- Bloomberg’s policies have been extensively studied by researchers, and Chalkbeat reviewed dozens of these studies to understand more fully his administration’s impact. Some specific policies, like high school closures, were vindicated by subsequent research. But others, like grade retention and merit pay for teachers, didn’t work.
- Arresting a 6-Year-Old Child at School Can’t Be Who We Are
- Children lose control for lots of reasons, some within and some outside of their control. But it is impossible to think of a single scenario that justifies placing a 6-year-old child’s hands behind her back, bound by zip ties. It is impossible to imagine any convincing reason to arrest that child and send hear away to a “juvenile assessment facility”.
- What about the kids? Public education missing from Democratic primary debates
- On March 3, about 10 percent of the delegates who will select the Democratic nominee for president will be chosen in just one state: California. The state’s massive trove of delegates matters because, while many laws in our country flow east to west from Washington, the values that inform these laws flow west to east from California.
- When a Student Says, ‘The President Is Going to Take My Parents Away’
- In my fourth-grade classroom in Houston, Texas, the morning after Election Day 2016 was quiet. As students filed into the classroom, I asked them to make a circle on the rug to talk through the question, “How are you feeling today?” My most charismatic, happy-go-lucky student broke into tears: “The president is going to take my parents away, Miss! What am I going to do?”
- Parent group pushes Democratic presidential contenders on charters, winning audience before Biden and Warren
- The Powerful Parent Network is getting meetings, but not concrete promises, from some leading Democratic candidates for president.
- Every Democratic Candidates’ ‘Black Agenda,’ Ranked
- On Saturday, voters in South Carolina will sound the starting gun for the race to the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. After giving white America a head start on selecting the party’s nominee, the Democratic Party now turns to South Carolina.
- What’s better than one powerful woman? Three! w/Special Guests Lakisha Young & Nekima Levy-Armstrong
- Stealing from Jay Z: What’s better than one powerful woman? Three! Specially if they’re from the same hue as you. In this episode, activist extraordinaires Nekima Levy-Armstrong, Lakisha Young and Tanesha Peeples talk about what it means and takes to carry a movement as Black women.
- Our Kids Can No Longer Wait for Educational Justice, And They Shouldn’t Have To
- I wanna talk about three things: movements, public education and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words foreshadowing what would be an ongoing and urgent fight. Follow along as I connect all of these thoughts.
What do you think?