The Oakland Education Week in Review: 3/18-3/24

All the education news from last week–looking at the strike costs, a Dreamer’s powerful narrative, students talk mental health, the Opportunity Ticket won, some good news on funding for previously cut programs, a look at the board meeting, looking at charters in CA, the huge  pension issues in the state and why it matters, plus that challenges of Black families in SF, all that with links and much more, please read, share and get involved

Oakland:

California:

Other Stories:

Resources:

Oakland:

  • Tallying the Final Strike Costs In Oakland and Hoping for a Way Forward
    • Thankfully the Oakland teachers’ strike is over and kids and teachers are back in buildings. This was a painful time in Oakland for many of us, and there is still healing that needs to happen.  There are tangible and intangible costs to this all—and while we can calculate the lost revenue to OUSD, lost salary to teachers, and lost learning time of students, we may not be able to quantify the costs to the community so easily.  These losses are worth it if we take the next step, to Sacramento for more, and more equitable, funding.
  • From The Shadows to The Light – Shandel’s Immigration Story – Part 1
    • To my family, that’s what our journey to this country was. The start of a new life. To the woman I am today, it was more like “the end of a life I had once known.”
  • EC Student Voice Podcast: Ep. 1 Student Mental Health in School
    • We are so proud to present our podcast. It took us a while to compile our equipment but it’s here! In each episode, you will be hearing from different student voices discussing the intersection of their experiences and research regarding education. They offer some amazing solutions. We hope you enjoy it.
  • Opportunity Ticket Policy Win
    • Hey Families, come out and celebrate with us this Saturday as we celebrate our first policy win, The Opportunity Ticket! If you have not received a personal invite from us yet, please reach out to Keta Brown ([email protected]). We look forward to seeing you!
  • The Oakland Teachers’ Strike Revealed California’s Education Crisis
    • The struggle for fair funding goes way beyond the district. So now the teachers are taking their fight to Sacramento.
  • Four Oakland churches open parking lots to homeless living in cars
    • Four Oakland churches will allow homeless people living in cars to park overnight in their parking lots with the hopes of leading them toward options for permanent housing.
  • OUSD Students To Leave for Africa Trip Tonight
    • Dozens of OUSD students are preparing to leave on the annual Spring Break trip to South Africa. It’s a life-changing event for the students – and adults – who go. Students from McClymonds High School, Skyline High School, and other schools will be meeting at the West Oakland BART station tonight and heading to San Francisco International Airport for their early morning flight.
  • OUSD has officially RESTORED the Asian Pacific Islander Student Achievement (APISA) program
    • As of last week OUSD has officially RESTORED the Asian Pacific Islander Student Achievement (APISA) program after voting to cut the program earlier this month! This is a huge VICTORY and the result of all the leadership, pressure, and unity of students and community allies. It is bittersweet that the announcement comes weeks after the vote, and there are still programs we are in solidarity with:!Restorative Justice and Foster Care, to fight for. As we stay vigilant- give a shout out to youth in the comments for this win!
  • Welcome to Oakland; Bienvenidos a Oakland- Shandel’s Story Part 2
    • Our journey from Mexico to the U.S. was long and scary but we made it. Life in the U.S hasn’t been easy. In the beginning, not knowing the language, going to a new school, having to make new friends. We missed our home and family tremendously. Everything that one feels during those days, weeks and months becomes part of a certain numbness that one must ignore. So, we learned how to move on.
  • OUSD Pays $1.4 Million to County Overseers
    • A recent report produced by the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) reveals how under a recently passed state law, AB 1840, the Alameda County Office of Education (COE) collaborating with FCMAT, will oversee the Oakland Unified School District, at a cost to the district of $1.4 million this year.
  • At Oakland school board meeting, debate over school closures and charter schools intensifies
    • Tensions from the recent Oakland teachers’ strike were still reverberating among attendees during a special meeting for the Board of Education on Wednesday night.
  • Borenstein: Hidden, backloaded cost of Oakland teacher settlement
    • More than two weeks after Oakland teachers have ended their strike and returned to the classroom, school officials still haven’t demonstrated that the financially troubled district can afford the new tentative contract.
  • Learning While Black: Community forum
    • Community members came together on Thursday, March 21, for a forum and roundtable discussion of what it takes to navigate San Francisco Unified School District’s Special Education system and to develop an action plan to support African American students with learning differences.

California:

Other Stories:

Resources:

  • Lessons for Charter Schools and Unions on Becoming One
    • Today feels like validation. For the last four years or so, I’ve been writing about the seemingly contradictory phenomenon of unions organizing within charter schools. Today’s report by the Center for Reinventing Public Education (better known as CRPE by education insiders) adds research and national data confirming many of the stories and experiences I’ve seen and been a part of. My overall takeaway is this: Charter schools and teacher unions could learn a lot from each other.
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