Heartwarming pictures and memorable stories mark the Clinton Global Initiative’s visit to Oakland last weekend for a “day of action.” With Oakland’s own, “Beast Mode” Marshawn Lynch, Mayor Schaaf, and President Clinton volunteering at the Lockswood-Havenscourt Campus, which houses several; co-located OUSD schools; Community United being one of them. Beneath the newly painted surfaces,…
Opting out in Brooklyn- Fuhgeddaboutit?
As testing season begins in New York, it’s another round of the opt-out wars—well war might be an exaggeration, given that the-opt out percentage is relatively low—let’s say the opt-out melees. While pundits and shills (myself included) spout slogans and dominate the airwaves, there is a better and deeper conversation taking place between parents. This…
No Excuses for Excuses Testing for Excellence Charter School to Open Nationwide Tomorrow
The No Excuses for Excuses Testing for Excellence Charter School or NEFETFECS as it is affectionately known will open its first virtual doors tomorrow to 100 million students, ending public education as we know it. The school, a collaboration between philanthrocapitalists, IQ testing proponents, and former Enron employees promises to “relentlessly test students and families…
What We Didn’t Learn from the Education Cities Report on Oakland and Educational Equality
Last week Education-Cities.org released a report detailing the education equality index, a purported measure of the size of the gap in performance of low income and non-low income students on state exams. From the beginning something seemed a little off when I looked at the list of the schools in Oakland with the lowest gaps. …
The Numbers We Are All Judged By
Zero and 0%. The number and percentage of foster children who completed the A-G requirements in OUSD last year. 13.6% suspension rate, the highest of any tracked subgroup. 22.7% the rate of chronic absenteeism 33% cohort graduation, the lowest These are our children. They are often technically wards of the State. They have been burdened…