What are the real world consequences young people face when they graduate high school but are not eligible for college because they didn’t complete A-G courses? In partnership with State of Black Education Oakland (SoBEO), these A-G videos were built to highlight a major issue here in California for more than 20 years. While graduation…
State of Black Education
A-G Convo with Myself: We need to Dump the D
By Dr. Charles Cole, III In partnership with State of Black Education Oakland (SoBEO), these A-G videos were built to highlight a major issue here in California for more than 20 years. While graduation rates may be rising, Black and Brown students are not graduating eligible for one of the largest public university systems in…
Reflections on 12 years of Service on the OUSD school board
I woke up most of those mornings before board meetings with a prayer that I might be in service. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. What an incredibly humbling experience working inside the complexity of OUSD — hearing the voices of young people, the struggles of parents, along with the inspiring hope they…
Better Late than Never, OUSD Commits to Housing on Unused Properties
Stop the presses, the OUSD board has finally committed itself to addressing what most underserved families in Oakland would say is their biggest long-term concern; housing. At the Board’s regular November meeting, they voted unanimously to approve Director Hinton’s “Housing for All” policy, Board Policy 7351, which directs the district to look at its property…
How Low Will Standards Go for Underserved Parents? Families Want to Know, and Now So Do the Lawyers
“My baby wants to go to Stanford,” an irate grandmother told me, “and this is what they give me.” She sent me a series of texts with her grandson’s teacher, demanding to know why she wasn’t told that her grandson was falling behind and had missed 8 assignments recently. The teacher’s response: “A lot of kids have…