The Oakland Education Week in Review: 7/6-7/12

last week, lots on the digital divide, both challenges and solutions, some big departures from OUSD, thoughts on re-opening, a memorial fund for a warrior lost too soon, the return to school and challenges, the CA budget issues, federal funding and much more, please read share and get involved

Oakland:

• Access Denied; Surveying the Digital Divide and Solutions From Oakland to Philly
• OUSD Says So Long to More than 60 Employees Who Retired at End of June 2020, Plus Two District Leaders Who Moved on to New Opportunities
• My thoughts on the school year during COVID-19
• San Francisco, Oakland Top New Report Listing U.S. Cities Most Impacted By Gentrification
• A local-to-global perspective on the digital divide in Oakland
• Access Denied
• Schools face a funding crunch — and rising technology costs
• Oakland’s back-to-school plan: distance learning, then phased-in classroom instruction

California:

• What California’s budget deal means for K-12 schools
• California’s new budget unfairly hurts some of California’s best-performing schools, advocates say
• We must reimagine public education — here’s how
• Code for America Builds Justice Reform Through Computer Programs
• With California schools opening soon, kids lack needed tech to learn remotely
• How Failing Districts Kill Good Schools, The Curious Case of John Henry High in Richmond, and How You Can Help
• Gov. Newsom names three members to California’s State Board of Education
• Schools should not open until safety is assured, California Teachers Association tells state
• Broadband for Every California Household: One Gigabit or Bust!
• State Superintendent Tony Thurmond hosts task force on education funding
• Should you send your child back to school? California parents are stressed and divided

Other Stories:

• $100 billion “universal fiber” plan proposed by Democrats in Congress
• At Least 5 States Set Single-Day Coronavirus Case Records
• How Chicago is Conquering the Digital Divide, while Oakland and Most Everywhere Else, Flounders
• 152nd Anniversary of the 14th Amendment

Resources:

• Charter Schools with Open Seats as of July 6th, You Can Still Apply

How You Can Help:

• Micshell Bunton Memorial Fund

Oakland:

• Access Denied; Surveying the Digital Divide and Solutions From Oakland to Philly
  • Talking with Zach Wright, a renowned educator from Philly, about the digital divide, the price gauging broadband providers, the costs to families and how we (meaning you) can support real access for every family that needs it.
• OUSD Says So Long to More than 60 Employees Who Retired at End of June 2020, Plus Two District Leaders Who Moved on to New Opportunities
  • Now that we are in July, we have passed the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year. The end of the year is when we always see employees retire or otherwise move on from the District. This year is no different, and we want to make sure you know we are saying so long to many very valued members of the OUSD family.
• My thoughts on the school year during COVID-19
  • Every student needs attention and support to succeed during this pandemic. To learn, students need sustained time engaging with learning every day Monday through Friday. How can this happen next school year while the pandemic continues?
• San Francisco, Oakland Top New Report Listing U.S. Cities Most Impacted By Gentrification
  • San Francisco and Oakland top a new national report listing cities most impacted by gentrification and cultural displacement.
• 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. 
• Access Denied
  • Children are being forced to learn from home due to school closures, and as many as 15 million do not have access to internet. Dirk Tillotson speaks with guests to figure out why and what can be done.
• Schools face a funding crunch — and rising technology costs
  • School districts across the country are taking a hard look at their budgets. Some are laying off teachers or other staff. But technology costs are harder to trim.
• Oakland’s back-to-school plan: distance learning, then phased-in classroom instruction
  • Classrooms will remain shuttered in Oakland when the school year begins next month, but not for long. Schools plan to begin phasing in classroom instruction as soon as September, district officials said Friday, although the transition will depend on the ability to keep students safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

California:

• What California’s budget deal means for K-12 schools
  • California’s new budget provides enough funding for schools to pivot to hybrid learning when they reopen this fall. But school officials fear Sacramento’s decision to delay cuts could throw districts into the fiscal abyss later.
• California’s new budget unfairly hurts some of California’s best-performing schools, advocates say
  • School funding in California has long adhered to the guiding principle that the money follows the student. But under this year’s education budget, lawmakers and education advocates warn, the state will abandon its traditional allocation formula in favor of a system that harms the very schools — disproportionately, charter schools and personalized education programs — that have performed best under pandemic pressures.
• We must reimagine public education — here’s how
  • The pandemic has made racial and economic inequities in public education, already stark for those of us working in California’s schools, even worse. That is why we must be bold: We must close the learning opportunity gap deeply entrenched in our school system.
• Code for America Builds Justice Reform Through Computer Programs
  • Thousands of Californians cleared their records of minor drug offenses that hinder many from finding jobs, housing or education with help from Code for America, a nonprofit that uses technology to improve the public’s access to U.S. government services.
• With California schools opening soon, kids lack needed tech to learn remotely
  • Betty Hunter and her rising eighth grader had a challenging spring of distance learning. On one hand, Hunter felt “blessed” that her son, Angel, received at least some form of live instruction each day from his teachers at the Mary L. Booker Leadership Academy, the San Francisco charter school he attended this spring. Educators also made themselves available through office hours, another plus.
• How Failing Districts Kill Good Schools, The Curious Case of John Henry High in Richmond, and How You Can Help
  • It was a slap in the face to 315 families when one of California’s most dysfunctional school boards, West Contra Costs Unified (WCCUSD), voted to close one of the few functioning high schools in Richmond, and a triumph of politics over children, at least thus far.
• Gov. Newsom names three members to California’s State Board of Education
  • Gov. Gavin Newsom has named Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University professor emeritus and one of the nation’s most prominent education researchers, to head California’s State Board of Education.
• Schools should not open until safety is assured, California Teachers Association tells state
  • In a fierce rebuttal to the Trump administration’s push for all children to return to school in the fall in the face of spreading coronavirus infections, California’s largest teachers union is declaring bluntly that “California cannot reopen schools unless they are safe.”
• Broadband for Every California Household: One Gigabit or Bust!
  • If we have learned anything during this pandemic, it is that access to broadband is now a social determinant of health, education, work, and economic security. Our homes have become our schools, our workplaces, and our clinics via remote education, work, and telehealth.
• State Superintendent Tony Thurmond hosts task force on education funding
  • The hearing included legislators, state agencies, and foundations discussing public/private partnerships to fund student support services programs on school campuses. The funding will go towards restorative justice, de-escalation, social-emotional learning, mental health counseling programs and more.
• Should you send your child back to school? California parents are stressed and divided
  • Weeks before the start of school, Californians are deeply split over whether campuses can safely reopen amid the ongoing coronavirus surge — caught in a collective moment of uncertainty and anxiety also reflected among teachers and education leaders.

Other Stories:

• $100 billion “universal fiber” plan proposed by Democrats in Congress
  • House Democrats yesterday unveiled a $100 billion broadband plan that’s gaining quick support from consumer advocates.
• At Least 5 States Set Single-Day Coronavirus Case Records
  • Tulsa’s top health official said the Trump rally last month may have contributed to a local surge in cases. A study in England provided more evidence of crucial risk factors for Covid-19 deaths.
• How Chicago is Conquering the Digital Divide, while Oakland and Most Everywhere Else, Flounders
  • I didn’t believe it when folks reached out about Chicago’s plan to provide FREE, no strings, internet to low income families, Chicago Connected.  The COVID era is full of comforting words that end up empty promises.  We have the “Keep America Connected” pledge by all the leading broadband providers, which has no teeth and guarantees that nobody is actually connected.  We have “Oakland Undivided,” which says it will close the divide, but is based on “free or low cost” internet services by private providers.  Services that families need to navigate and eventually need to pay for.  So it actually promises to divide those who can pay from those who can’t.
• 152nd Anniversary of the 14th Amendment
  • On this day, the 14th Amendment was approved, a much more important day for most Americans than the 4th of July. The 14th Amendment completed the Constitution. It is the result of a combination of three factors: the most successful black political mobilization in history; the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, until recently regarded as the worst President in history and violent riots and other outrages against African-Americans in Memphis and New Orleans.

Resources:

• Charter Schools with Open Seats as of July 6th, You Can Still Apply
  • There are still many great school choices in both the district and charters, if you are still looking, please apply and find the right spot for your child.  Go to Oakland Enrolls to submit your application.

How You Can Help:

• Micshell Bunton Memorial Fund
  • The Oakland REACH is sad to announce the passing of our teammate, sister, and friend, Micshell Bunton. Micshell was a graduate of our Family Advocacy Fellowship, Cohort 2, and was so inspired by what she learned, she was excited to take what she learned and turn it into action to break the cycle of miseducation. The Oakland REACH is committed to honoring Micshell’s memory by supporting her sons, Lejon and Tyran. Her youngest son, Tyran, is a middle school student, and Micshell’s dreams for him is to graduate from college. This was why she did this work and gave her all. All funds we raise will go to support her sons who were her world.