The Oakland Education Week in Review: 7/13-7/19

Lots of perspectives on the digital divide, from international entrepreneurs to the impact of relining on access, to the disparities in learning loss, an educator wants us to look at enrollment and diversity in Oakland, schools that are still getting it done, the issues in re-opening, ideas for the future like a Green Bond and much more please read share and get involved

Oakland:

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Oakland:

  • A local-to-global perspective on the digital divide in Oakland
    • When Anietie “Nate” Udofia thinks about the digital divide in Oakland, and the “new normal” public education is facing because of the pandemic, he does so with a global perspective. Udofia is a Nigerian American who has decades of experience working on distance learning and helping communities gain access to digital tools. 
  • The Geography of Opportunity in Oakland; The Digital Divide Edition
    • The past is not dead, in fact it is not even past, to misquote Faulkner.  The specters of racially exclusive policies still weigh heavily on Oakland’s underserved families.  From asthma rates, to environmental stress, to attendance, to school quality, and now even internet access, for the 25,000 students that need support.  We can trace our current disparities almost directly back to government actions.  Which is why the government has a responsibility to fix this.
  • School Diversity Demands Attention in Oakland
    • Since George Floyd’s murder, a number of news articles have pointed to the contrast between Floyd’s upbringing and that of the police officer who killed him, Derek Chauvin. While Floyd grew up in a largely poor, racially segregated Houston neighborhood, Chauvin grew up in a mostly White St. Paul suburb. In 1990 – approximately when Chauvin attended high school – the district’s median school percentage of Black students was 1.3%. Chauvin’s school, Park High School, had 25 Black students out of a student body of over 1,800. Research points to the negative impact of school segregation on children’s racial perceptions, especially in earlier years. In fact, children may be the most racially segregated “at the very ages when they are developing racial attitudes.” The mere possibility that Chauvin’s racially segregated schooling shaped his views of Black men like Floyd requires school districts to take a thorough evaluation of school segregation and its inherent dangers.
  • How will the fall semester work in Oakland public schools? Here’s what we know
    • To develop the plans, the Oakland Unified School District formed several working groups asking teachers, principals, other school staff, and parents to put heads together and come up with ideas about how in-person instruction, facilities, personal protective equipment, custodial services, and technology could work in the fall. The plan isn’t set in stone. The district is still in negotiations with its teachers’ union and other labor groups, and the outcome will further shape how OUSD reopens schools.
  • How AIMS kept serving students during distance learning
    • The unprecedented interruption of the 2020 school year has laid bare inequities in our system, with one in five California students (over 1 million) lacking either connectivity or a device, a staggering need. The pandemic has forced schools and school districts to make on-the-fly decisions about how to continue instruction and care of students. Some schools lowered expectations for students, ending the year early for the summer or giving every student an A. Not every school reduced standards and learning, though. There are some success stories emerging during the pandemic, especially among Oakland charter schools. We sat down to hear from leaders at AIMS K-12 College Prep District (AIMS), Community School for Creative Education (CSCE), and BayTech. Here’s what AIMS educators had to say:
  • Access Denied Ep. 3: Racism, Redlining and the Digital Divide in Oakland
    • In episode 3, Dirk welcomed Oakland school board member Jumoke Hinton Hodge and The Oakland REACH’s Lakisha Young to discuss how we overcome a history of disparities and what we can do to truly fix the digital divide in Oakland—and beyond.
  • Reality Check: What Will It Take to Reopen Schools Amid the Pandemic? 5 Experts Weigh In on School Choice Options for Families
    • Many families do not have a culture of distance learning in their homes. Most of the families the Oakland REACH supports do not have access to computers or reliable internet. But even in homes equipped with these tools, many of our parents were themselves failed by the public education system and don’t have the skills to help their children with schoolwork.
  • How an Oakland Parent Advocate Group Is Making Distance Learning Possible This Summer
    • “Our voicemail is still full of people trying to get a hold of computers,” says Zazaboi, the owner of Sydewayz Cafe in East Oakland, an internet cafe and tech repair shop that has been closed since shelter-in-place orders in March. “They’re waiting for somebody to say we have the solution. But as we’ve seen, it’s been months. That hasn’t happened.”
  • Should OUSD take the Green and Social Bond Pledge?
    • This election, OUSD is placing a $735 million construction bond measure on the November ballot. While the investment is sorely needed, will voters hold their noses, swallow hard and trust the district to not waste all that money, after years of overspending from an organization that lacks an overarching building strategy and has suffered “a systematic breakdown of sound business practices in many areas”?
  • City Of Oakland’s Redistricting Pool Document: 46 Percent White, 16 Percent Black .06 Percent Latino
    • Keep this in mind, the latest U.S. Census Document reports that Oakland is 36 percent white, 23 percent black, .09 percent American Indian, 15.7 percent Asian, and 26.9 percent Latino.

California:

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  • ¿Todavía necesita inscribir a su hijo para el año escolar 2020-2021?
    • ¿Todavía necesita inscribir a su hijo para el año escolar 2020-2021? Si es así, visite OaklandSchoolFinder.org lo antes posible para explorar sus opciones y ver los asientos abiertos en las escuelas públicas de Oakland. Preguntas? Llame o envíe un mensaje de texto a Oakland Enrolls al (510) 454-9360.
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