The Oakland Education Week in Review 11/11-11/19

All the Oakland education news fit to link, this week– looking at bond money and who gets it, the elections are over, money wasted and winners declared, Black parents are demanding better, the OUSD Board is a mess, schools are doing great inter-generational work, the challenges of teaching in the town, and advice on enrollment, all that and more with links, please read, share, and get involved

Oakland

California

Best of the Rest

Resources

 

Oakland

  • Cashing in on Education
    • In the last two decades, voters in the West Contra Costa Unified School District have approved more than $1.6 billion in school bonds. That money, like the nearly $200 billion in school bonds passed all over California during that same period, isn’t meant for hiring more teachers or increasing their salaries or relieving them from the obligation of buying supplies for their classrooms. It doesn’t fund mental health services, after-school programs, or free lunches for hungry kids.
  • Charter school supporters and critics are big spenders in some Bay Area school board elections
    • At the same time that the question of charter schools expansion in California is becoming an issue in both the race for governor and superintendent of public instruction, East Bay school board races are attracting campaign contributions from both charter supporters and critics.
  • Black Parents Say It’s Up to Them to Fix Unequal Oakland Schools
    • The posters up on display in a downtown club in Oakland last Saturday were startling and thought provoking. Fewer than one in eight black students in Oakland Unified School District meet state math standards. Fewer than one in five meet reading standards. Black students are far more likely to be chronically absent or get suspended than white students in OUSD schools. Nearly 70 percent of Oakland’s homeless population is black. But these data points were meant as a rallying cry, not a sign of defeat.
  • East Bay teachers turn to other professions to make ends meet
    • Probably the singular most important statewide office to California’s long term future is the Superintendent of Public Instruction, but not for the reason you may think. It’s a nagging issue that could upset the state’s dominance in future technologies: teachers calling it quits.
  • This Elementary School Classroom for Parents Has Dramatically Improved How Kids (and Adults) Thrive
    • Oakland Unified School District is just one of 100 school districts across the country that teaches English classes to immigrant parents and guardians – and what educators are noticing is that the programs have a dramatic impact on the relationship between the parents and their children.
  • The Worst OUSD Board in 25 Years and How it Can Get Better
    • Oakland deserves better, we need board meetings that children can attend, we need urgent action on the issues that matter, and we need trustees that will focus on the needs of Flatlands kids and families not their own political obsessions, and we need leadership. I really hope the Board can step up and deliver.
  • Shake Up City Hall: Schaaf Wins Re-election but Loses Two Council Allies
    • Mayor Libby Schaaf easily won reelection this week, while the victory of three new representatives to the City Council could mean a shift in power dynamics in Oakland city politics.

California

Best of the Rest

  • Black Students Still Only a Rhetorical Priority
    • Public education continues to fail African American children with little public outcry and   those who do protest strongly are often ostracized by the education establishment. Meanwhile, as has been the case for at least the past fifty years, there are no effective, sustained protests of the pervasive miseducation of Black children.

Resources

  • 11/5 CAC Meeting: Know Your Rights Training with DREDF
    • The Community Advisory Committee for Special Education (CAC) of OUSD invites you to: Understanding Your Rights and the Special Education Process: IEP Basics & Beyond Advocates from DREDF (Disability Rights Education Defense Fund) will provide an overview of the special education process and protections under Section 504 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  • Let’s Help Oakland Families with School Enrollment
    • It’s November 5 and enrollment season for all Oakland public schools is here! We’re excited to officially kick off our third year supporting Oakland families to explore their options and choose the best public school for their child. We just got in touch with hundreds of parents across Oakland, letting them know enrollment is open, sharing the steps they need to take to enroll, and making sure they are aware of the February 8 deadline.
  • The Most Important Thing You Can Do as an Oakland Parent-The Dates You Need to Know
    • In Oakland’s brave new world of open enrollment the most important think you can do for your child is not joining the PTA and helping on the playground; it’s making sure you find the best school for them.
What do you think?

More Comments