The Oakland Ed Week in Review: 4/13-4/19

Distance learning kicks off and inequity persists, lots on the digital divide and what we can so, some great efforts to help the community, that you can chip in on (school communities like Emerson or more generally for folks in need, who may not get stimulus checks) some inspiring stories from schools and young people on how they prepare students for college, and some great storytimes and educational resources, please read, share and get involved

Oakland:

California:

Other Stories:

Resources:

How You Can Help:

Oakland:

  • As Bay Area schools kick off distance learning, attendance raises equity questions
    • The district is grappling with how to keep those students afloat, said spokesperson John Sasaki, as many kids rely on school for a safe place to go during the day and access meals. A firm start date for schools to teach new material has yet to materialize as the district scrambles to find out how many families need devices in the first place.
  • No Internet, No School; The Latest Data on Equity, Access, and the Educational Impact of COVID
    • Research on COVID-era schooling is starting to emerge, and it is exposing huge gaps in access that threaten to widen our current opportunity gaps.  One of the biggest issues is access to broadband in underserved communities. Without reliable internet these families are left outside the virtual schoolhouse door.  And according to research, students that are often already behind are losing up to a year of learning during this extended break.
  • OUSD Teachers and Principals Launch Campaign to Pledge Stimulus Checks to Undocumented Families In Great Need
    • Educators in Oakland Unified School District have started a campaign to help vulnerable undocumented families during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. They have created the website StimulusPledge.org for people to pledge some or all of their coming stimulus checks to undocumented families who will not receive assistance from the federal government. Oakland educators hope their campaign will spread to school districts throughout California and the nation as the undocumented community across the country faces this unprecedented economic and healthcare crisis.
  • Gene Zahas, Oakland businessman and education advocate, dies of COVID-19
    • Gene Zahas, a longtime businessman and fierce advocate for educational opportunity, died April 7 of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. He was 78.
  • Coronavirus: Oakland educators seek stimulus money for undocumented families
    • Oakland educators have launched a website where people can turn over their federal government stimulus checks to help the district’s undocumented families get by amid the coronavirus crisis.
  • Supporting ELLs through Distance Learning
    • OUSD is committed to supporting teachers with guidance, resources, and thought partnership to meet the needs of our multilingual learners. In this webinar, the ELLMA team discusses ideas and best practices for supporting ELLs during distance learning.
  • Challenging all students to meet college requirements
    • Ensuring students have met A-G course requirements so they can apply to UC and CSU schools is nothing new at ARISE High School. Now in its 13th year, making sure all students are on a college-bound track and have access to college was one of the foundational pieces of the school.
  • How an educator helps students think beyond college
    • Briana Clarke, a physics teacher at Envision Academy in downtown Oakland, doesn’t just want her students to go to college. She wants them to find the right college for them, making the abstract idea of “going to college” a more concrete reality.
  • ‘We are invisible’: Coronavirus just made census counting harder in Bay Area
    • Graciela Carrillo has lived in the U.S. for nine years and shares a common feeling with many immigrants from western Guatemala about living in their adopted homeland.
  • Stephen Curry: Small Gestures Can Make All the Difference in Times of Crisis
    • “Be the village to help people who are in need,” and that’s what we’re trying to do. Oakland, Calif., has been our beloved city for more than 10 years—and its community welcomed us with open arms since day one. Before this crisis, about 20% of local residents, including many children, were struggling with food insecurity (a challenge Ayesha has been passionate about for years). But now, with schools closed and unemployment on the rise, food insecurity threatens to soar to unprecedented levels. With every photo of the never-ending lines at food banks across the country, we are reminded of the harsh reality of life today for Americans.
  • Redefining who is a college student so everyone benefits
    • When Aspire Golden State Prep counselor Leonardo Ayala looks back on his own academic career, he remembers himself as an “average” student. He was a first-generation college student, and he remembers the support he received from his parents, immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador, and how much they valued education and how he benefited. 
  • OUSD Announces Two Employees/Volunteers Have Tested Positive for COVID-19
    • Five weeks into the COVID-19 school closures, Oakland Unified School District is announcing that two employees/volunteers involved in the food distribution program and the device distribution program have tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, all of our distribution events have extensive health and safety protocols in place to mitigate such an incident and help protect everyone involved.

California:

  • Poll: California school closures due to coronavirus hit minorities, poor the hardest
    • School closures across California have been hard on most students and parents, but the learning loss and lack of resources are worse for poor, Latino and African American families, according to a poll released Wednesday.
  • California to spend extra $42 million to help foster youth during pandemic
    • California will steer $42 million toward helping tens of thousands of foster youth as stay-at-home orders have drastically reduced contact and services for some of the state’s “most vulnerable” children, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in his daily update.
  • California students need fast internet more than ever. Here are the state’s dead zones
    • Across California, including the Sacramento region, school districts are rushing to resume distance education that will likely require a computer and a high-speed internet connection. But some districts fall in places with fewer internet connections per capita and may face greater challenges than others, a Sacramento Bee analysis of Federal Communications Commission data showed. The data described subscribers with an internet speed of at least 200 kilobits per second — which is barely enough bandwidth to hold a video call on Skype.
  • Newsom: California unemployment hours extended; $125M fund for undocumented immigrants
    • California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said he has extended the unemployment call center hours to help the record 2.7 million Californians who have filed claims and created a fund to help undocumented immigrants, who comprise 10% of the state’s workforce. 
  • Undocumented workers face obstacles qualifying for benefits during the pandemic
    • Undocumented workers who lost their job during the pandemic because they are sick, quarantined or ordered to stay at home because of chronic conditions don’t qualify for unemployment. But they can qualify for state disability insurance, paid family leave and workers compensation. There are many obstacles however: The only way to fill out the application without a Social Security number is to submit a paper application. Plus, they need a doctor’s authorization, while many undocumented workers are uninsured and can’t afford doctors.
  • California prepares for socially distant schools in the fall
    • With the state increasingly confident about its ability to control the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that conversations are underway about how schools could reopen in a “physically constrained” way after this school year.
  • Education Trust-West Held a Virtual Press Call to Discuss the California Parent Poll Regarding COVID-19 and School Closures
    • As California practiced distanced learning due to coronavirus, many parents were left to teach their students and access behaviors without the help of teachers from home. Wednesday, April 8, 2020, Education Trust-West (ETW) released the results from a statewide poll of parents in response to COVID-19 related school closures since the change occurred.

Other Stories:

Resources:

  • Listen and learn during storytime with Oakland-based author Mac Barnett
    • Join Oakland-based author, Mac Barnett and his trusty steed, Henry, for virtual storytime. Due to shelter-in-place orders, the New York Times-bestselling author is conducting live storytelling sessions through his Instagram account. Since school is canceled for kids across the nation, Mac made it his mission to find a way for kids to stay reading, learning, and connected during self-isolation. His solution? A book club show!

How You Can Help:

  • Resources to Support Your Community
    • Below is a list of volunteer opportunities and ideas to provide aid, relief, and comfort while still observing precautions that will help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
  • Millions of Low-Income Students Are Being Denied Access to Internet
    • During our COVID-19 world, education has become largely virtual. In order to access resources, classrooms, updates, and basically any type of communication or instructional learning, access to the internet is absolutely essential.
  • Donate to Emerson Elementary School
    • Emerson Elementary is a Community School that prepares students for lifelong success by embracing and nurturing the whole child.  We create learning environments centered around students, facilitated by teachers, and supported by families and our community, so that every child grows and succeeds.  As we continue to work to fulfill our vision that “every child grows and succeeds” it is crucial that we support our families with access to basic needs like: food, shelter, medical supplies, and more.  We invite you to donate to one of the fundraising campaigns below, to support Emerson families.
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