School on her phone, working for family food business and now off to college: Blanca, Lighthouse graduation speaker

A guest post from Families in Action Throughout her years in school, Blanca Hernandez never thought she would be a graduation speaker. That just wasn’t her. “I was always that student at the end of the year where you have to have meetings with your parents,” she says in an interview. “I’d always push really…


For those who think themselves revolutionaries, Why a Black Lives Matter sign is simply not enough

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


“Art has the power to change minds” Amidst an Increase in Violence, Oakland Artists Beautify International Boulevard to Promote Peace

PRESS RELEASE Contacts: Cathy DeForest [email protected] & 541-690-6976  https://www.visionquilt.org Tanya Dennis: [email protected] & 323-490-6127 https://www.peaceinthestreets.net Violence is on the rise in Oakland. From January to April of 2020 there were 14 homicides in Oakland. In 2021, there were 47 homicides in the same time period. To address this dramatic increase in violence, artists and activists…


I want my kids to return to in-person learning, but not quite yet

How do Oakland charter public school families feel about physically sending their kids back to school? How do they feel about distance learning? We are asking parents to share their thoughts. Interested in sharing your thoughts, or know of another parent who should? Let us know at [email protected]. Ebony Avery; FIA Parent Leader, parent of…