The Oakland Ed Week in Review: 4/12-4/18

last week, the tragic passing of Jean Wing, the back to school saga continues, how getting rid of school cops should be part of re-opening, Director Harris looks at the big picture, A parent leader tells her story, its still school choice time we have some data, all that and more, please read, share and get involved

Oakland:

• ‘Homeroom’ concludes Peter Nicks’ trilogy about social injustice in Oakland
• Oakland activist, author, education advocate Jean Yonemura Wing dies
• Can Oakland Unified provide more in-person instruction this year? This parent group hopes so.
• How a Bathroom Log Helped One Middle School Understand Its Literacy Issues
• Abolishing School Police Should Be Part Of Reopening Plans
• Let’s Do The Math, how ignoring basic math is perpetuating student failure
• AC Transit To Resume Bus Service To East Bay Schools
• A Champion for her son, the community, and a future doctor — meet FIA leader Savoy Key
• OUSD school reopenings on track as district and union seek new agreement
• Here’s how Oakland Unified wants to spend its $735 million bond
• Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s foundation serves 16 million meals for Oakland families
• ‘We’re Not a Monolith’: Some Black and Brown Parents in Oakland Feel Conflicted as In-Person Learning Returns

California:

• This Northern California High School Reopened Classrooms Five Months Ago. The results might surprise you.
• Matthews: California Educators Should Have Listened to Netflix’s Founder
• Many English learners reluctant to return to in-person instruction at California schools
• California promotes ‘dismantling racism in mathematics’ guidance in draft for statewide framework

Resources:

• Worried about learning loss? Here’s where to get free tutoring for your Oakland students
• Middle Schools that Showed Progress with Latinx Children
• MicroCollege info sessions from the Oakland NAACP
• Charter Schools with open seats for the current school year

How You Can Help:

• East Oakland Youth Development Center is raising money for fire repairs

Oakland:

• ‘Homeroom’ concludes Peter Nicks’ trilogy about social injustice in Oakland
  • Nicks’ latest documentary, “Homeroom,” marks the final installment of a trilogy exploring systemic shortcomings through various Oakland institutions: 2012’s “The Waiting Room” follows how Highland Hospital struggles to care for a predominantly uninsured community, and 2017’s “The Force” delves into the Oakland Police Department reconciling community distrust.
• Oakland activist, author, education advocate Jean Yonemura Wing dies
  • Jean Yonemura Wing, a principled leader in the pursuit of equitable and diverse education in the Bay Area and beyond, died March 29. She was 70.
• Can Oakland Unified provide more in-person instruction this year? This parent group hopes so.
  • The limited schedule is a compromise to make sure that instructional time is equitable between distance learners and students who come to school, officials said.
• How a Bathroom Log Helped One Middle School Understand Its Literacy Issues
  • Reading isn’t just a set of skills. The most important factor in helping middle schoolers overcome literacy issues is creating strong relationships with students and families. As an administrator, I’m always using assistive technology to help guide curricular decisions and working to build structure so that students can access their education, but my best educators are the ones who stay laser-focused on developing meaningful relationships.
• Abolishing School Police Should Be Part Of Reopening Plans
  • School districts, teachers and policymakers across California are determining how to get more students back to in-person learning as safely as possible. While these conversations are important, the continued decriminalization of Black and Brown students, and the abolition of school police, must be central to any plan for reopening schools.
• Let’s Do The Math, how ignoring basic math is perpetuating student failure
  • The other day I read that OUSD has an additional $216 million of COVID relief money to spend over the next three years.  To you, that may seem like a lot of money, but OUSD spends about $3 million each day, every day, without pause.  With all budgets included, OUSD boasts an almost $3/4 billion annual budget, and in a regular budget year $200 million is spent before a third of the school year is done. School districts are getting these types of disbursements all over the state. If you are asking where the money is going, you are on the right track. The next step is to ask whether or not that investment is sustainable beyond the lifecycle of the money.
• AC Transit To Resume Bus Service To East Bay Schools
  • The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District will resume service on several bus lines that serve East Bay schools as they reopen for in-class instruction, AC Transit announced Monday.
• A Champion for her son, the community, and a future doctor — meet FIA leader Savoy Key
  • For Savoy Key, being a FIA Family Leader comes naturally. She has always advocated for her son — and fought, raised her voice, done whatever it takes — to ensure he receives the best education and the best care. From the beginning. 
• OUSD school reopenings on track as district and union seek new agreement
  • An Oakland Unified School District spokesman says additional city schools will offer full in-person instruction on Monday, as planned, as the district and its teachers’ union continue discussing impacts of reopening. 
• Here’s how Oakland Unified wants to spend its $735 million bond
  • About 300 staff working in the Oakland Unified School District’s downtown office will stay put for now, after the OUSD school board voted Wednesday night against a plan to rehab the Cole Middle School campus and move the district’s headquarters there.
• Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s foundation serves 16 million meals for Oakland families
  • After learning many families in Oakland, California, have dealt with food insecurities since the beginning of the pandemic, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha, got to work to addressing the issue. 
• ‘We’re Not a Monolith’: Some Black and Brown Parents in Oakland Feel Conflicted as In-Person Learning Returns
  • On Monday, the Oakland Unified School District will welcome back third through sixth graders at select schools. But as kids prepare a gradual return to in-person learning, some parents are still feeling hesitant about ending distance learning altogether.

California:

• This Northern California High School Reopened Classrooms Five Months Ago. The results might surprise you.
  • As the bell rang, hundreds of students poured out of classrooms and crossed the large quad at Sierra High in this Central Valley town, heading to their next class.
• Matthews: California Educators Should Have Listened to Netflix’s Founder
  • After long days assisting my children with distance learning’s miseries, I watch Netflix. And I often think about a 2005 State Senate hearing and its enduring impact on California education. The hearing’s subject was the reappointment of Reed Hastings as president of the state Board of Education. Hastings, an entrepreneur and Democratic donor from Santa Cruz, had organized a successful ballot measure to make it easier to pass school bonds, launching a wave of school construction. He’d supported the state’s accountability system for schools, and backed public charter schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Hastings also had bipartisan support — appointed four years earlier by Democrat Gray Davis, he was nominated for re-appointment by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• Many English learners reluctant to return to in-person instruction at California schools
  • Students who are learning English as a second language have priority to return to in-person class at some school districts in California, but many are still staying home because their parents fear the risk of Covid-19 infection is too high.
• California promotes ‘dismantling racism in mathematics’ guidance in draft for statewide framework
  • A California-based group is sounding the alarm as the state education department considers implementing a framework that promotes controversial ideas about race and mathematics.

Resources:

• Worried about learning loss? Here’s where to get free tutoring for your Oakland students
  • Oakland public schools resumed in-person instruction on a limited basis this month, opening the door for thousands of kids to return to their classrooms. But after a year of at-home learning and lost academic momentum caused by the pandemic, will they be ready once they get there?
• Middle Schools that Showed Progress with Latinx Children
  • 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.
• MicroCollege info sessions from the Oakland NAACP
  • We know that only 13% of students earn credit in a reading or math class in traditional junior college. So the community has brought the MicroCollege program to Oakland as an option for students to consider. And their mastery learning model allows students to overcome the learning gaps that have been created due to Covid. This program quadruples the graduation rate for college attendees and goes after our most vulnerable kids.
• Charter Schools with open seats for the current school year
  • If you are looking for school for the current school year, there are still many great school choices in both the district and charters, if you are still looking, please apply and find the right spot for your child.  Go to Oakland Enrolls to submit your application.

How You Can Help:

• East Oakland Youth Development Center is raising money for fire repairs
  • The East Oakland Youth Development Center is raising money for repairs after smoke from an early morning fire damaged the building’s entryway early Thursday morning.