Lots of upcoming events in Oakland, meetings of the LCAP student advisory commission, Street Academy info session, the FBI’s war on Black activists, second chance for charter applications for those that missed open enrollment, the Emerson crab feed, Black Joy parade, Foster Youth Advisory Council, and a panel on OUSD’s sanctuary status and El Salvador, plus scholarship opportunities and ways you can help schools, all that and more below, please read, share and get involved
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2/20 10 AM – 12 PM Event Marketing Basics: From Concept to Completion
2/21 5-8 pm Meeting of the LCAP Parent and Student Advisory Committee
2/21 4pm – 5pm Street Academy Prospective New Student Orientation
2/21 9:00am – 5:00pm Did you miss the charter school application deadline?
2/22, 7-9pm TARGETING THE MOVEMENT:The FBI’s Black Identity Extremist Designation and Black Liberation
2/24 4:30pm – 9:00pm Emerson Crab Feed Fundraiser
2/25 12:30-7:00 Black Joy Parade and Celebration
2/26 5:30-7:30 pm Meeting of the Foster Youth Advisory Committee
2/27 4:30pm – 7:00pm Sanctuary T.P.S. Panel on El Salvador
2/27 6:30pm ACOE Regular Board Meeting. Alameda County Office of Education.
2/28 4:00pm – 10:00pm Board of Education Regular Meeting
2/28 4:00 – 5:00pm Street Academy Prospective New Student Orientation
3/2 Rethinking School Justice: A Forum on Intersectional Advocacy and School Discipline
3/3 9am – 4pm Powerful Parent Conference for Black & Brown Families
3/15 4:00 – 6:30 pm The Second Annual Oakland Promise Report
3/22 5-8 pm Member and Community Training about the CA School Dashboard
4/12-4/15 OUSD Office of Equity 2018 African American Male Achievement Spring Symposium
Opportunities / Funding for Educators and Youth
Mills-Oakland Promise Scholarships
SMASH Academy Accepting Applications
How you can help
Help ICS survive the OUSD budget cuts
Ms. Zissis, from Sankofa Elementary, needs iPads for her speech students
Wondering how to support students and staff through the OUSD #budget cuts?
Help out ICS, Sankofa, or other youth being affected by budget cuts
This Week
2/20 10 AM – 12 PM Event Marketing Basics: From Concept to Completion Join us for a session with Florence “Flo” Wiley. This hands-on workshop session is designed to provide instruction on the basic marketing tools necessary to successfully sell a fundraising event. Workshop leader, Florene “Flo” Wiley, has directed marketing programs for the Apollo Theatre, Scholastic, Uniworld Group, Memorial Baptist Church of Harlem, the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and the City of Oakland, CA. This event is free to attend!
2/21 4pm – 5pm Street Academy Prospective New Student Orientation – To attend Street Academy, all interested students and families must attend the Prospective New Student Orientation. We invite you to call (510)874-3630 to reserve your space. Spring term begins March 12, 2018. Location: Street Academy, 417 29th Street, Oakland, CA 94805
2/21 5-8 pm Meeting of the LCAP Parent and Student Advisory Committee – Tentative Location: Roosevelt Middle School. Focus: Review of Community Feedback about Budget Priorities and Central Services, LCAP and Budget Update, Leadership Goal-Setting by Electoral Districts.
2/21 9:00am – 5:00pm Did you miss the charter school application deadline? Apply now! If you missed the February 16th deadline, you can apply online for the 2nd round starting today, February 21st. These applications will NOT be in the March 5th lotteries, instead these applications will be waitlisted in the order received. For more information or assistance please call our office at 510-454-9360.
2/22, 7-9pm TARGETING THE MOVEMENT:The FBI’s Black Identity Extremist Designation and Black Liberation Laney College (Room # to be announced)- Last summer, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division issued a memo about what it designated as “black identity extremists” (BIE), warning of an increase in “premeditated, retaliatory lethal violence against law enforcement” at their hands. This designation fits within a long line of federal law enforcement efforts to suppress Black liberation movements in the US and to threaten and intimidate Black organizers, activists and their allies. What are the implications of this latest designation, what does it tell us about law enforcement strategy, and what can we do to resist it?
Join Center for Political Education and the National Lawyers Guild for a panel discussion with local activists, organizers, and lawyers on what the BIE designation means for movements for Black liberation and self-determination in the Bay Area.
2/24 4:30pm – 9:00pm Emerson Crab Feed Fundraiser – Please join the Emerson Elementary School Community on Saturday, February 24th for the Emerson Crab Feed at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle in downtown Oakland. There will be no-host cocktails at 4:30pm followed by all you can eat hot crab, salad, and garlic noodles at 6:00pm. (Chicken also available.) Dancing from 7:00-9:00pm. Silent Auction, Dessert Auction, 50/50 Raffle and much more! $40 PP or $320 for a table of 9. Purchase tickets online at or at Emerson Elementary School located at 4803 Lawton Ave Oakland.
2/25 12:30-7:00 Black Joy Parade and Celebration
Location: Downtown Oakland: 14th Street at Alice Street – 1400 Alice Street Oakland
The route of the celebration is Downtown Oakland from 14th/Alice to 20th/Broadway. A lively procession down the streets of Oakland to… more details >>
Time: 12:30 pm – 7:00 pm
2/26 5:30-7:30 pm Meeting of the Foster Youth Advisory Committee – Tentative Location: Edna Brewer Middle School. Focus: Identify Essential Elements of a Transition Planning Process for Foster Youth
2/27 4:30pm – 7:00pm Sanctuary T.P.S. Panel on El Salvador – The OUSD Sanctuary District Committee invites you to join us for the second event in the Dream, Resist, Educate: Sanctuary Spring Series on Tuesday, February 27th from 4:30-7p.m.!
2/28 4:00pm – 10:00pm Board of Education Regular Meeting – Closed session begins at 4:00 p.m. Open session begins at 5:30 p.m. Location: The Great Room at La Escuelita , 1050 2nd Avenue, Oakland, CA 94606
2/28 4:00 – 5:00pm Street Academy Prospective New Student Orientation – To attend Street Academy, all interested students and families must attend the Prospective New Student Orientation. We invite you to call (510)874-3630 to reserve your space. Spring term begins March 12, 2018. Location: Street Academy, 417 29th Street, Oakland, CA 94805
3/3 9am – 4pm Powerful Parent Conference for Black & Brown Families – Powerful Parent Conference: Building Safety, Sustainability and Solidarity in Black & Brown Families! Met West High School *NEW LOCATION*. In 2017, Spearitwurx brought you the Black Power Parenting Sampler Session. This year, Spearitwurx, in conjunction with 4Vida, are honored to coordinate the Powerful Parent Conference – a culturally-based container for Parents of African and Latinx children to build community, share authentic experiences in our journey of parenting, and contribute tangible tools that can support healing families and protecting our youth from social toxins by surrounding them with love.
3/15 4:00 – 6:30 pm The Second Annual Oakland Promise Report–Inspire, Inform, and Engage| Roosevelt Middle School, This event will be a time for the community to come together to reflect on our first two years, share our vision moving forward, showcase the outstanding education organizations in the community, and celebrate all the inspiring work being done to improve educational outcomes for students across Oakland. You can find more information about the event on our website, as well as RSVP here.
3/22 5-8 pm Member and Community Training about the CA School Dashboard. Please contact Cintya Molina if you are interested in participating. All meeting materials and communications can be found at www.ousd.org/lcap. Cintya Molina, LCAP Engagement Program Manager [email protected] 510-491-6069
4/12-4/15 OUSD Office of Equity 2018 African American Male Achievement Spring Symposium The Oakland Unified School District’s Office of Equity and the National Equity Project invite you to experience our ENGAGE, ENCOURAGE, EMPOWER approach to realizing My Brother’s Keeper’s vision in a citywide system of schools.
This three-day professional development experience will sell out. Get your tickets early to make sure you are a part of our classroom observations, Office of Equity staff-led seminars, student interactions, and more.
Ticket includes admission to:
- Symposium Professional Development Workshops
- Manhood Development Program Classroom Tours
- African American Male Achievement’s Man-Up! Youth conference
Opportunities / Funding for Educators and Youth
Mills-Oakland Promise Scholarships-Mills College is committed to providing a diverse, inclusive environment dedicated to helping Oakland girls and young women succeed in college. To make a transformative Mills education accessible and affordable, we are offering generous scholarships and financial aid to qualified students.
Mills will provide a minimum financial aid scholarship of $7,000 to every Oakland Public high school student (district or charter) admitted in fall 2018 with a minimum high school GPA of 3.2. Higher scholarship amounts may be offered to admitted students with higher GPAs.
In addition to these awards, beginning fall 2018 we are excited to debut 10 new Mills-Oakland Promise Scholarships, including the African American Female Excellence Scholarship, the Latina Excellence Scholarship, and eight additional Mills-Oakland Promise scholarships.
Our district-wide scholarship is now live! Apply for the East Bay College Fund Opportunity Scholarship today and share with all Oakland high school seniors. Let’s get to college!
SMASH Academy Accepting Applications– Since 2004, SMASH has helped bring a rigorous STEM education to hundreds of students from low income, underrepresented communities. A few SMASH facts: Impact: SMASH is a 3 year STEM acceleration summer residential and academic year program that works: check out their alumni outcomes here. Free of Cost: SMASH is a free program — equivalent to a $24,000 scholarship.
Nationwide: SMASH is continuing to expand to serve more students across the nation. In addition to existing sites at Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, Davis, and Morehouse College, SMASH will be opening two new sites in 2018: Wayne State University and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. The SMASH 2018 application deadline is March 1, 2018. Students can apply here.
2018 KPAA Scholarship Program now accepting applications
Please share this opportunity with anyone who may be interested.
The Kaiser Permanente Asian Association (KPAA) Scholarship Program is now accepting applications from high school students who are scheduled to graduate in spring 2018. KPAA scholarships recognize students who have brought demonstrable, tangible benefit to an Asian community and who have the potential to be future leaders. Students may have demonstrated this potential through their activities in school, in the community, or in the face of unusual circumstances.
Since its inception in 2000, KPAA has awarded 107 scholarships totaling $287,500. In 2018, KPAA offers seven scholarships of $3,500 each.
Applications are being accepted online at this website. Online applications must be submitted by Feb. 21, 2018. On May 1, 2018, the KPAA website will list the names of those awarded scholarships.
Scholarship funds will be distributed in August 2018. The funds will be sent directly to the college, university, trade, or technical school the winners will attend in the fall.
Have questions?
If you have questions about the scholarship application, please visit http://www.applyists.com/contact-us/contact-us-customer-care/ . For general questions about the scholarship or to learn more about KPAA, please visit https://kaiserpermanente-asianassociation.org. The following Kaiser Permanente business resource groups also offer scholarships:
Kaiser Permanente African American Professional Association – contact Charvette Blincoe at [email protected] . KP Pride – contact Jay Bachicha at [email protected]
Kaiser Permanente Latino Association – contact Eva Ramirez at [email protected]
KP employees interested in financial aid for their own education efforts should call the Kaiser Permanente Student Financial Aid Program toll-free at 866-232-2934 for more information about scholarships and loans to complete degree and certificate programs in nursing and allied health fields. There also is information on the KP Careers Planning website, under Regional Resources.
How you can help
Help ICS survive the OUSD budget cuts Oakland Unified is facing another enormous budget shortfall. District level budget cuts are being shouldered by teachers and families, with each school being asked to cut on average $120 per student. What this means for many schools is an IMMEDIATE LOSS of after-school programs, support staff, access to technology, field trips, and many of the enrichment activities that make their schooling experience enjoyable and equitable. At schools in Oakland’s wealthier neighborhoods, these cuts will be offset by parent donations and annual fundraisers that bring in an average of $300,000 per year. At flatland schools, populated predominantly by students of color, these cuts will be felt by teachers and children, and they will be felt deeply. Please click here to help.
Ms. Zissis, from Sankofa Elementary, needs iPads for her speech students. An iPad would be a great supplemental therapy tool. Learn more about similar projects from Oakland teachers that still need funding. GO will match your contribution!
Wondering how to support students and staff through the OUSD #budget cuts? Here are 5 ways — from donating school supplies to staying engaged!