Its time to choose your school for next year, the deadline is 2/5, I have some advice and data for Black parents, also lots on re-opening, the disparities in suspensions for Black students, looking at grading, the Mack mascot and potential name change, vaccines are slowly starting to flow for teachers, a literacy workshop, some great youth led research on COVID and more, please read, share, and get involved
Oakland:
- Statement from Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L. K. Monroe on Governor Newsom’s 2021-22 State Budget Proposal
- East Bay urban farm helps foster youths find purpose, community
- 29 Times More Likely To Be Suspended: The Latest Data on OUSD’s Failure To Serve Black Students With Special Needs
- The Way We Grade Students is Biased and Unsound: A Conversation on “Grading For Equity”
- Oakland students advocating to change school mascot confront an entrenched opposition
California:
- Some California teachers and staff to receive Covid-19 vaccines beginning this week
- Moving California teachers to the front of the vaccine line might not be enough to reopen schools
- California’s ’cradle-to-career’ data system in line to receive $15 million for next phase
- California school officials push for standardized testing waiver amid Covid-19 spike
Other Stories:
Resources:
- What Black Families Should Consider in Choosing a School, Feb. 5th is the Deadline to Apply
- Oakland Frontline Healers: January 2021 Community Newsletter
- Family Literary Lightkeepers Workshop
- Cal State East Bay Outreach: Education Summit
Oakland:
- Statement from Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L. K. Monroe on Governor Newsom’s 2021-22 State Budget Proposal
- Today Governor Gavin Newsom shared his state budget proposal for 2021-22, which includes critical funding increases to address the pandemic-induced realities that have so profoundly and inequitably impacted public education. We appreciate that the Governor’s budget reflects those realities.
- East Bay urban farm helps foster youths find purpose, community
- Yahel Moreno didn’t consider himself an outdoors type of person. But last week, there he was picking Napa cabbages at a small urban farm in Pittsburg and, along with several other youths, happily making kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish. Having spent most of his high school years living inside a car with his mother and sister and one year in foster care, Moreno never had the opportunity to plant a garden. So when a therapist referred him to the new Pittsburg John Muir Land Trust Family Harvest Farm for a job, he jumped at the chance.
- 29 Times More Likely To Be Suspended: The Latest Data on OUSD’s Failure To Serve Black Students With Special Needs
- OUSD continues to fail Black students in special education. A low-income Black student with an IEP is 29 times more likely to be suspended than a non low-income, non-Black student without an IEP. Our students with the highest needs are summarily dismissed from the classroom on the regular.
- The Way We Grade Students is Biased and Unsound: A Conversation on “Grading For Equity”
- Joe Feldman‘s new book, Grading for Equity disembowels the way we grade students, hanging the entrails to show how inequitable and really illogical our present grading practices are, and how we can improve them– which he has been doing in real life for years with schools, it’s a must read for educators and those who want to improve how schools function. After his book launch in Oakland, we discussed the book and his work.
- Oakland students advocating to change school mascot confront an entrenched opposition
- A group of McClymonds High School students have waded into a cultural controversy in trying to change their school’s 106-year-old mascot, the warrior. In wanting to remove the Native American mascot from the school’s walls, the group faces an intransigent alumni group who see the move as threatening the McClymonds High School legacy.
California:
- Some California teachers and staff to receive Covid-19 vaccines beginning this week
- Coronavirus vaccines are now rolling out across the country, and health-care workers and older people have been among the first to get their shots. Teachers and other school staff members are also on many priority lists, and efforts are well underway in some places to get them vaccinated quickly, too.
- Moving California teachers to the front of the vaccine line might not be enough to reopen schools
- Many California parents and public officials supported pushing the state’s 1.4 million teachers and other education workers toward the front of the vaccine line, believing that would allow schools to finally reopen. But the state teachers unions — as well as San Francisco’s — have said vaccinations won’t be enough and are calling for additional measures not endorsed by public health experts as necessary for students and staff to safely return to the classroom.
- California’s ’cradle-to-career’ data system in line to receive $15 million for next phase
- Ending speculation as to how much California will invest in building an ambitious “cradle-to-career” data system, Gov. Gavin Newson is proposing to spend $15 million for the next phase of creating a data system that will shed light on effective strategies contributing to student success and to provide useful tools to students trying to plan their education careers.
- California school officials push for standardized testing waiver amid Covid-19 spike
- As Covid-19 cases continue to soar in California, a majority of the State Board of Education is now in favor of pursuing a waiver from the federal government that would remove the obligation to carry out standardized testing for the second year in a row.
Other Stories:
- Who Is Miguel Cardona? Education Secretary Pick Has Roots in Classroom, Principal’s Office
- Last month, President-elect Joe Biden announced Cardona, now Connecticut’s education commissioner, as his pick to be the nation’s top education official. Less than two years ago, Cardona was an assistant superintendent in his hometown’s 8,000-student district. If confirmed by the Senate, he could be a cabinet member within weeks.
Resources:
- What Black Families Should Consider in Choosing a School, Feb. 5th is the Deadline to Apply
- We should be back at school in the Fall, and now is the time for families to choose their school for the upcoming year. February 5th is the deadline to apply. Where your child goes to school can have a huge influence on both their academic and social growth. So, I have some advice for folks based on the data, some changes in OUSD, and my own opinion. But first and foremost, do your homework and find the right fit for your babies.
- Oakland Frontline Healers: January 2021 Community Newsletter
- Want to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine? Watch this virtual town Hall featuring some of America’s Top Black Doctors, Faith and Health experts discussion details related to the Black community.
- Family Literary Lightkeepers Workshop
- Parents, let’s face it, times are hard but families across Oakland are doing their best and finding light wherever they can. Between the national politics to juggling work, having our children at home and trying to administer online classes for them, it’s difficult to pause and reflect on how our kids are actually doing with their learning at home. At GO, we want to bring families together to inspire each other through a Family Literacy LightKeepers Workshop, so that we can all keep having proud learning moments.
- Cal State East Bay Outreach: Education Summit
- Students and families are invited to Education Summit 2021, a free community event for first-generation, African American, Asian American, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander students and their families. The virtual event will take place on Saturday, February 6 from 9 am–12 pm. All are welcome to attend.
What do you think?