The Oakland Education Week in Review: 3/15-3/21

Last week, agreement around the return to in person school, and the need for equity in that process, Director Harris pens an important piece on community schools, Oakland Undivided is making huge progress, The NAACP’s push for better literacy practices, plus we have the elementary schools that showed progress (it’s school choice time again in Oakland), all that and more, please read, share and get involved

Oakland:

California:

Other Stories:

Resources:

Oakland:

  • OUSD and the Oakland Education Association Reach Tentative Agreement to Bring Students and Teachers back to Campus Starting March 30
    • The Oakland Unified School District and the Oakland Education Association (OEA), the teachers’ union, came to a tentative agreement (TA) over the weekend to bring all OEA members, including all teachers, back to campuses and open schools for in-person instruction.
  • School reopening: Oakland Unified reaches tentative agreement to return to campuses
    • After a year of virtual learning forced by the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oakland Unified School District plans to bring elementary school students back to classrooms in person at the end of this month, according to a tentative agreement it reached with its teachers union.
  • Bay Area must listen to families of color if it wants to reopen schools safely, equitably
    • A recent survey conducted by the Oakland Unified School District shows a majority of elementary school families want to return to in-person learning. But, according to the East Bay Times, the report also showed that while 76% of white families wanted in-person learning, only 52% of Black families, 48% of Latino families and 44% of Asian families felt the same.
  • One For All and All for One, A Case for a Community of Schools in Oakland
    • I have been trying to figure out a way to talk about school board policy in a way that doesn’t put you to sleep. In fact, I’ve been avoiding the topic of policy altogether because who— really— has time to talk about policy with everything that life brings? But, if I can steal five minutes of your time, I do want to talk about the road to the adoption of the Community of Schools policy by the Oakland School Board in 2018 because I think it really illustrates some of the nuanced elements of the district run vs. charter school divide that I wrote about in my last post.  I’ve pasted the full policy at the bottom of the page for those of you who care to read it in full. Being a nerd of sorts, I think it’s worth a peek.
  • #OaklandUndivided Delivers 25,000th Device on Tuesday, the One-Year Anniversary of School Closures
    • In less than ten months, the #OaklandUndivided team, school staff, and a cadre of volunteers have handed out almost 25,000 free computers to Oakland public school students at schools across the city. It was a herculean effort to raise more than $12 million last spring, order the devices, get them delivered during a pandemic, and finally put them in the hands of students. On Tuesday, March 16, which is the one year anniversary of the first day our campuses were closed to students by the pandemic, the effort will mark a critical milestone as the 25,000th student will receive their computer at Garfield Elementary School.
  • What We Need in a Reparations Policy, Resources not Rhetoric
    • If Black folks in Oakland had a nickel for every equity study, report or commission.  We could all afford to live here.  But despite all the talk we hear, there is very little concrete action, and even less actual equity.  The speechifiers show up at a press conference and declare victory, while Black folks line the streets in tents, and not a penny reaches them.
  • Oakland NAACP and Co-Petitioners Demand Changes to Reading Program to Reach All Students
    • Community Groups, Nonprofits, and Universities Join the Oakland NAACP Calling on Oakland Unified School District’s Board of Education to Take Eight Critical Steps to Improve Student Literacy Outcomes in Virtual Town Hall Meeting; Virtual Press Conference Announcing Community Support Set for Wednesday Morning
  • Oakland Unified, Teachers’ Union Reach Deal to Reopen Schools Starting March 30
    • Oakland schools will begin reopening before the end of March, as leaders from the teachers’ union and the school district reached a deal late Sunday after weeks of negotiations. The tentative agreement — which won’t become official unless it is first approved by the Oakland Education Association and then passed by the Oakland Unified School District board — also preserves the option for students to remain in distance learning.
  • Community Groups, Nonprofits, and Universities join the Oakland NAACP’s Call for Oakland Unified School District’s Board of Education To Take Eight Critical Steps To Improve Student Literacy Outcomes in Virtual Town Hall Meeting; Virtual Press Conference Announcing Community Support Set for Wednesday Morning
    • Led by the NAACP’s Oakland chapter, nonprofit organizations, universities, and individuals have joined together as a broad-based community coalition and filed an Addendum with the Oakland Unified School District’s Board of Education (OUSD Board) in support of a formal administrative petition demanding the improvement of student reading outcomes. The organizations are highlighting the petition’s eight key actions that the OUSD Board should take, such as ensuring the adopted reading curricula have significant evidence of helping improve student achievement. The coalition hopes that their joint administrative petition will serve as a template for school districts across the country seeking to improve student reading outcomes.
  • Oakland NAACP and Co-Petitioners Demand Changes to Reading Program to Reach All Students
    • Led by the NAACP’s Oakland chapter, nonprofit organizations, universities, and individuals have joined together as a broad-based community coalition and filed an Addendum with the Oakland Unified School District’s Board of Education (OUSD Board) in support of a formal administrative petition demanding the improvement of student reading outcomes. The organizations are highlighting the petition’s eight key actions that the OUSD Board should take, such as ensuring the adopted reading curricula have significant evidence of helping improve student achievement. The coalition hopes that its joint administrative petition will serve as a template for school districts across the country seeking to improve student reading outcomes.
  • “Our Children Need to Learn How to Read” The NAACP’s Demand for Better Literacy Practices and the Coalition Behind it
    • If you can’t read, your life in Oakland is likely to be nasty, brutish and short.  And while we hear a lot of speeches, we haven’t seen changes in outcomes.  Thankfully, there are folks taking action, like our Oakland NAACP, with concrete solutions, and a coalition behind them.  Join us tonight for the  NAACP and OUSD Town Hall: K-5 Literacy and the NAACP Petition if you want to hear more.
  • Los Angeles and Oakland educators to vote this week on unions’ deadly school reopening plans
    • The Democratic Party–led drive to reopen West Coast schools has greatly intensified over the past week. Beginning Thursday, teachers in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will be voting on an agreement to return to in-person learning in the second largest school district in the US. On Sunday, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) announced that it too had reached a reopening deal with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), which is pending a vote of both rank-and-file teachers and the school board later this week.
  • Defying Union Leaders, Oakland Teachers Group Protests April School Reopening
    • A group of Oakland teachers protested a plan to bring students back to classrooms starting at the end of the month, calling an agreement between the district and their union “reckless and foolish” unless staff, students and families are vaccinated.

California:

  • Newsom’s misguided proposal for California’s education funding formula
    • In a recent K-12 education budget bill, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a plan to ensure education funds make it to the high-need students they’re intended for. While it’s laudable this plan aims to address a well-documented flaw in California’s funding system, it’s unlikely to fix the problem and will instead add more bureaucracy. Instead of tightening the financial leash on school districts, California’s leaders should consider increasing data transparency so it’s easier for parents and the public to see how education funds are spent.
  • Homeschooling continues to increase in California amid the pandemic
    • Many students are continuing to learn virtually due to COVID-19. But data from the California Department of Education shows that more families are transitioning to homeschooling.

Other Stories:

  • To Keep Schools Safe, Should Kids Be Six Feet Apart, or Three?
    • The controversy over how much physical distance is necessary to safely reopen schools may be inching to a close. During a press call with reporters, infectious diseases physicians flagged new evidence suggesting that whether kids are separated by 3 feet or 6 feet in schools doesn’t affect COVID-19 case counts substantially.

Resources:

  • Elementary Schools that Showed Progress with Black Children, You Should Have Gotten Your Offers, Now Make Your Choice
    • Where you send your child to school is one of the most important decisions you can make.  We haven’t had new school quality data from the state due to distance learning, so the data is from the 2018-19 school year and I wanted to highlight some of the schools making progress with Oakland children, and encourage families to visit. Every child is different, and I will break it down into subgroups (schools showing progress with Black, Brown and low income students) in the next few weeks and highlight these schools that have open seats for next school year. You can also take a look at the schoolfinder tool to find local schools.
  • Elementary Schools that Showed Progress with Latinx Children, You Should Have Gotten Your Offers, Now Make Your Choice
    • Where you send your child to school is one of the most important decisions you can make.  We haven’t had new school quality data from the state due to distance learning, so the data is from the 2018-19 school year and I wanted to highlight some of the schools making progress with Oakland children, and encourage families to visit.  Every child is different, and I will break it down into subgroups (schools showing progress with Black, Brown and low income students) in the next few weeks and highlight these schools that have open seats for next school year. You can also take a look at the schoolfinder tool to find local schools.
What do you think?

More Comments