The Oakland Ed Week in Review: 2/1-2/7

Our kids are in the Sundance film fest, appreciations of staff, reflections on Black History month and the SoBEO campaigns for Black families, lots on reopening, the NAACP’s complaint against OUSD, the need for dyslexia screenings, and its school choice time, and some scholarship opportunities for the sisters, all that and much more please read, share, and get involved

Oakland:

California:

Other Stories:

Resources:

Oakland:

  • Retirement a Blessing After Lengthy Teaching Career at Oakland Public Schools
    • After a career in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), spanning over 40 years, Beverly Robinson retired on January 15.  Her next full-time project: “resuming my joy of traveling when it’s safe.” Robinson served as an Instructional Assistant, Special Education teacher and administrator for OUSD. She got her first job as an A.I. at Claremont Middle School right after graduating from UC. Berkeley in 1977 under Title I funding and worked in that position for two years.
  • ‘Homeroom’ Review: Peter Nicks’ Doc Trilogy on Oakland’s Public Institutions Ends on a Personal Note
    • Drawing to a close with its most personal and difficult chapter, Peter Nicks’ loose trilogy of vérité documentaries about the public institutions of a single American city has now effectively done for Oakland what “The Wire” did for Baltimore, but without the safety net of a script. The tragedy of “Homeroom,” which drops us into a school year at Oakland High with the same degree of watchfulness that characterized “Waiting Room” and “The Force,” is that the chaos of real life is even more disruptive in this upbeat portrait of marginalized teenagers than it was in Nicks’ films about the intake procedures of the city’s underfunded hospital or the systemic violence of its overfunded police.
  • Black History Month is Here, But We Need More than a Celebration
    • I am both proud to say we are now in Black History Month, and disheartened to know that in our world, it is quite clear that the forces that try to diminish Black voices and heritage have been emboldened. The past year has been wrought with pain for all of us, but especially African Americans.
  • The State of Black Education in Oakland (SoBEO) Year in Review
    • 2020 like the 400 plus years before it was a struggle.  Still, we rose.  We came together as a community to celebrate our elders and elders to be in our annual Celebration of Black Educators, as well as fight, and in most cases, win for Black children.  Thank you to everyone who has joined us and welcome to anyone who wants to join. 
  • Oakland Public Education Fund and OUSD Provide Millions in Cash Assistance, Food, and Computers to Oakland Families; Team Embarks on Additional Fundraising Effort for Families in Need
    • Thanks to more than 2,000 individual donors, the COVID-19 Relief Fund for Oakland students and schools has raised more than $2.5 million. The COVID-19 Relief Fund is a joint initiative between the Oakland Public Education Fund and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), and the effort is far from over.
  • West Oakland Stories: Positive Feeling Movement Video
    • Elders/pioneers are dedicated to getting Black people to practice “no negative speak” with each other using their wisdom, experience, and history
  • COVID: Parents, Board Members Meet To Plan Safely Reopening Oakland Schools
    • Under California’s COVID-19 restrictions, schools may reopen once the county they operate in is under the red tier. But while some Bay Area schools have welcomed back students, others aren’t ready to take that step just yet.
  • BayTech Recognized with Award for Ed Tech Tactics
    • At some schools, it’s just accepted that COVID-19 will increase the digital divide and harm vulnerable students the most. Not BayTech. Two years ago, Bay Area Technology School (BayTech), an East Oakland charter school made a big investment to bring in more computer-aided programs to help accelerate student learning. Talk about timely — when the pandemic hit and distance learning began, BayTech in-person classes shutdown on a Friday and that Monday online instruction was up and running.
  • Mural honoring women in the Black Panther Party to be unveiled this month
    • Inspired by a desire to bring greater visibility to Black women, Jilchristina Vest decided last year that she wanted to honor the women who at one point comprised two-thirds of the political organization born in Oakland. The mural will be painted on the back and side panels of Vest’s home, one block away from where a Huey Newton bust will be unveiled later this year, and on the street that will soon be named for the deceased Black Panther Party co-founder.
  • The “Double Edged Sword” in OUSD and It’s Racialized Impact on Reading; What’s in the NAACP’s Complaint Against the District
    • Oakland is full of performance politics, that go nowhere except to the egos of the speechmakers. Meanwhile, the Oakland NAACP has been a steadfast ally for Black children and the issues that actually matter to Black families, like literacy.  In K-8, 18.6% of Black kids can read on grade level in OUSD, compare that to the 73% of White students that can.  So, its not that we can’t teach kids to read, or that kids can’t learn to read.  We have a system that very successfully serves some children consistently, and disserves other students equally consistently.
  • Three Lessons In Management From An Inner City School
    • The most successful leaders are lifelong learners. They are open to learning from anywhere and everywhere. The ability to gain knowledge from other domains and applying it to their own is a hallmark of the most exceptional people. Corporations understand this and often invite people from diverse backgrounds, such as sports team coaches or armed force generals, to impart their wisdom to executives. But there is another group of people, far closer to home, from whom you can learn precious lessons on how to be successful under the harshest conditions.
  • Opinion: Oakland puts charter school politics ahead of student needs
    • “I can’t believe that this is happening,” my 10-year-old daughter responded when I told her that her beloved public school, Aspire ERES Academy in Oakland’s Fruitvale District, would close at the end of the school year.

California:

  • California governor and unions clash over school openings
    • An effort to reopen California schools is foundering, stoking frustrations across America’s most populous state from parents eager to get their children back in classrooms and a governor who wants them there.
  • If teachers get vaccinated, schools in California should be ‘100% open,’ education professor says
    • As pressure to reopen schools in California mounts and the debate over who should get vaccination priority continues to rage, at least one expert says that there is no excuse for teachers not to return to the classroom if they receive the double dose of the coronavirus vaccine. 
  • California schools consider extending next school year while mental health remains a concern
    • As Covid-19 infection rates continue to delay the reopening of many schools across California, some education leaders have floated the idea of extending the school year to address learning loss among students at risk of falling behind. At the same time, concerns about mental health suggest longer may not necessarily be better.
  • Warriors Tip Off Celebrations for Black History Month Presented by Chase
    • The Golden State Warriors, in conjunction with the organization’s Beyond28 campaign, presented by Chase, will tip-off Black History Month today with a variety of activations and virtual events that will expand past this calendar month. Throughout the month of February and beyond, the Warriors will continue to recognize, honor and celebrate Black History through community activations and video content series. Beyond28 is founded on the premise that Black History and Culture is something that should be honored year-round, not just contained in the month of February, which is typically only 28 days.
  • San Francisco sues its own school district to reopen classes
    • The city of San Francisco took a dramatic step Wednesday in its effort to get children back into public school classrooms, suing its own school district to try to force open the doors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Other Stories:

  • If teachers get vaccinated, schools in California should be ‘100% open,’ education professor says
    • Even as more districts reopen their buildings and President Biden joins the chorus of those saying schools can safely resume in-person education, hundreds of thousands of Black parents say they are not ready to send their children back. That reflects both the disproportionately harsh consequences the virus has visited on nonwhite Americans and the profound lack of trust that Black families have in school districts, a longstanding phenomenon exacerbated by the pandemic.
  • Three Rochester police officers are removed from patrol after a 9-year-old girl is handcuffed and pepper-sprayed
    • Three Rochester, New York, officers have been removed from patrol duty after an incident in which a 9-year-old girl was handcuffed and pepper-sprayed, Interim Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan said.
  • Removing Barriers to Effective Distance Learning by Applying the High-Leverage Practices
    • Distance learning offers a unique opportunity to individualize and personalize instruction and establish inclusive learning environments for the range of diverse learners in every district, school, and virtual classroom. Applying high-leverage practices (HLPs) to lesson design and delivery, both in-person and virtually, empowers educators to provide the enabling conditions that ensure diverse learners are provided equitable access to high-quality instruction, across all grade levels and in all content areas. Taking advantage of digital technologies can increase and improve opportunities for building in supports and scaffolds to help all students understand, navigate, and engage in distance learning environments. HLPs, often referred to as the fundamentals of teaching when used intentionally to meet students’ needs, provide a solid foundation for students’ access to the curriculum and learning new content in any learning context.
  • Opinion: Under Biden Administration, Charter Schools Face Threats at Multiple Levels
    • As the Biden administration gets into gear, many parents worry about possible new anti-charter-school policies coming out of Washington.  Such policies would add to recent anti-charter actions by state and local governments that have curtailed educational choice at exactly the time when children need more learning options.
  • The Important Political History of Black History Month
    • Many accept Black History Month as a special time of year, yet few recognize the role African American teachers played in establishing and popularizing this tradition during Jim Crow. Originally founded in 1926 as Negro History Week by the famed educator and groundbreaking historian Carter G. Woodson, Black History Month is the product of Black teachers’ long-standing intellectual and political struggles.
  • Utah school will no longer allow parents to opt students out of Black History Month curriculum
    • A Utah charter school said it is no longer allowing parents to opt students out of its Black History Month curriculum after drawing backlash for initially giving families the option to do so.

Resources:

  • Elementary and Middle Schools that Oakland Families Should Consider Based on the Data
    • 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.
  • “Disrupting Anti-Black Racism in Early Childhood Education: Center, Abolish, Liberate.” 
    • Oakland Starting Smart and Strong is a partner in Bank Street College of Education’s Early Childhood Symposium, “Disrupting Anti-Black Racism in Early Childhood Education: Center, Abolish, Liberate.” These efforts support the “Black Lives Matter At Schools Year of Purpose” as educators, teachers, and leaders explore inequities in the educational system and their impact on Black children.
  • Family Literacy Learning Guides
    • We know trying to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic is tough on kids and families, so GO, with the help of Seek Common Ground has released these family guides.
  • The ProjectGiveBack Scholarship for Black Women
    • The ProjectGiveBack Scholarship is for Black women, by Black women. Scholarship awardees will be selected by a panel of Black women ranging in age, interests, and lifestyle. Applicants who have volunteer or work experience and who maintain an active commitment to give back to their community are strongly preferred. High school seniors or those who have earned their GED are eligible to apply. 
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