the people of Oakland— have to do more than plant a Black Lives Matter sign. “We” have to make our social justice real through concerted action. I believe that’s what it means to be from Oakland. You don’t just get to say “I’m from Oakland” and allow our children with the greatest needs to languish for decades in substandard academic condition
James Harris
Let’s Do The Math, how ignoring basic math is perpetuating student failure
The easy thing for Oakland to do now is to kick the can down the road and pretend that $216 million dollars will sustain those schools that are already starving students of the math skills they need to compete in a 21st century economy. The easy thing to do is hope that things will get better after the pandemic.
Segregated Dumping in Oakland; Our garbage is choking our most vulnerable students and communities
I keep telling the students at Elmhurst and Madison Park that the city cares and that the school district cares, but when they walk the blocks around their school, that care becomes harder to believe.
One For All and All for One, A Case for a Community of Schools in Oakland
Another great piece from Director Harris, how did Oakland get so many schools, what does that have to do with the ongoing financial crisis, and how can the community of schools help- its all here
For Whites Only; How an East Oakland housing project shaped my election to the school board.
A powerful piece reflecting on his personal history with redlining, the continuing costs and hope, that our East Oakland schools can serve as “launchpads to success”