The Oakland Education Week in Review: 12/14-12/20

BOP’s work in getting cops out of schools is happening, a campaign for college readiness equity and “dumping the D” updates on re-opening, the gaps in digital divide solutions, upcoming Kwanzaa celebration, WOMS families want an Arabic course, why cant the get one, SpEd challenges in distance learning, all that and much more, please read, share and stay safe over the holidays

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Oakland:

  • OUSD School Board Approves Black Organizing Project’s School Safety Plan
    • Oakland’s School Board voted on Wednesday to pass a resolution to implement Phase 1 of a reasonable compliance safety plan, a plan Black Organizing Project, Oakland Unified School Department staff, and community partners formulated to deal with school safety without police presence.
  • A-G Convo with Myself: We need to Dump the D
    • In partnership with State of Black Education Oakland (SoBEO), these A-G videos were built to highlight a major issue here in California for more than 20 years. While graduation rates may be rising, Black and Brown students are not graduating eligible for one of the largest public university systems in the country.
  • The Surge in the Pandemic is Causing Us to Change Our Reopening Plans
    • We recently shared our plan to reopen schools for in-person instruction with January 25, 2021 as our target starting date. Unfortunately, COVID transmission and cases in our county continue to worsen. Before we break for the winter holiday, I wanted to let you know that we will not begin our phased-in approach to reopening schools to in-person instruction on January 25 as originally proposed. 
  • Don’t forget about Home Schoolers When We Address the Digital Divide
    • “Hi, my 7th grader is in need of a computer and internet. She is currently doing zoom classes via smartphone. This is not fully sustainable…” This from an Oakland parent struggling with distance learning.  We have “Oakland Undivided” the City’s program to provide free internet and devices to Oakland families that need them.  But as I learned when I talked to this parent some more, there was no answer for them.  They had fallen between the cracks, of a system that wasn’t designed for them.  Even though they should qualify for free support, they seemingly didn’t, because they home schooled their child.
  • Oakland schools plan for in-person instruction delayed
    • Oakland schools won’t open for in-person learning by January 25th as originally proposed. In a letter, Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell explained that setting a date was required, but due to worsening COVID transmission rates in Alameda County, the phased-in reopening approach won’t go forward as planned. 
  • OUSD & AAFE’s First Annual Kwanzaa Kuonyesha Virtual Celebration & Showcase, Honoring African Culture, Heritage and Resilience is set for Wednesday Evening
    • 2020 has been a year of unprecedented change and challenges, however we are grateful to be moving forward into 2021. The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Office Of Equity, African American Achievement and African American Female Excellence (AAFE) Program would like to cordially invite you to our 1st Annual Kwanzaa Kuonyesha Virtual Celebration & Showcase, in honor of African Culture, Heritage and Resilience.
  • We Teach Arabic on Staten Island, Why Can’t We Teach it in Oakland, Oakland Families Want Answers
    • Oakland has roughly 1000 students from Arabic speaking homes.  Most of these students are Yemeni.  Many of these students have to fight for their culture, community, and dignity within the schools.  We have carried the stories.  Students being harassed by students and teachers, or having to change schools rather than violate their religious beliefs.
  • Special ed in the age of COVID-19: ‘The school bus for distance learning came. But it didn’t have a ramp.’
    • Berkeley Unified has reduced special education services during distance learning. Some parents say this violates federal law.
  • Oakland Teachers Wonder If and When They’ll Get COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Students in Oakland will not be returning to the classroom next month after all but now that California is projected to get more than 2 million doses of the vaccine by the end of the month – some pre-school teachers want to know, when is it their turn to get the shot? 
  • How Dumping the D Supports Struggling Students and Preps them for College
    • Solutions to complex problems are sometimes right in front of us. Yet for whatever reason, we don’t act. Change is difficult when everyone is doing the same thing, year after year — now matter how bad the results. So we ignore the low-hanging fruit dangling right there. It’s hard to be one of the first to try something new.

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