A Guest post by Courtney Martin, publicizing an event coming up with Equity Allies School selection season is upon us — a time of heightened anxiety and no small amount of scheduling difficulty for Oakland parents. For those of us who can get to tours, not to mention figure out when the hell they are,…
School Choice
How Aurum Prep Hired the “Best Person” for the Job and Ended up with a 75% Black Male Teaching Staff
A Guest post from Families in Action, please follow their blog for more great content. As he moves around his 7th grade math classroom, Aurum Preparatory Academy (“Aurum Prep”) teacher, Salif Doubare, is crackling with energy. He’s tall, thin, wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a big smile, as he walks around a large table in the…
Parents at the Table and Parents Leading the Fight; Two Themes from REACH’s National Parent Summit
The room was electric, full of the type of troublemakers that you want to associate with. Parents from across the country who were intent on disrupting the system and fighting for the change our communities need. Grandmothers who get the cops called on them, moms who call the news out to failing schools, families who…
Resources for white parents concerned about equity in Oakland schools
A guest post by Courtney Martin I’m working on a book about white parents and school integration, and such, am lucky enough to get paid to spend much of my day learning about the Oakland Unified School District and the equity issues that abound here (to some, that may sound more like a curse…). I…
“What Happens After the Show?” Black Families React to the School Board Shutdown
Appreciate this video from “born and raised” Oakland parents from the Oakland REACH, who came to the 9/26 school board meeting, after long days of work and school, only to have it stopped by protesters. Please take a look. And we should answer the question asked by Hakeem Bey, “what happens after the meeting…how will…