OUSD counted 1,001 unhoused students last year, 64% of those were Newcomers, and of the non Newcomers, more than half of the unhoused students were Black. You can see all the data in the latest fact sheet. The news is depressing, Oakland has the highest percentage of homeless in the entire state according to a…
State of Black Education
In This War to Educate Black and Brown Kids, Are You in or Are You Out?
A cross post from Charles Cole III, we always welcome guest submissions Recently, Nick Hanauer wrote an article for the Atlantic titled Better Schools Won’t Fix America, where his main argument was that education is not the answer to economic inequality. The article took over my timeline. When I saw that it was going to be…
Parents at the Center; A Rare and Encouraging Night of Community Engagement with OUSD
It was an encouraging night in Oakland. Over a hundred parents filled the hall at Acts Full Gospel to have a real discussion with the top brass from OUSD on the state of the schools and the superintendent’s Community of Schools policy. There were some heated debates, and real disagreements, but we came together as…
The Risk and Opportunity in Selling OUSD’s Land; Put Public Housing over Private Profit
Oakland Unified has officially started the process to identify and sell land with the formation of the so called, 7-11 Committee. The District is in dire financial straits, with many underutilized properties. This could be a boon for the public and the district, or another boondoggle, where district assets are put into private hands, and…
Tallying the Final Costs of the Teachers’ Strike And Carrying the Voices of those Affected
Thankfully the Oakland teachers’ strike is over and kids and teachers are back in buildings. This was a painful time in Oakland for many of us and there is still healing that needs to happen. There are both tangible and intangible costs to this all—and while we can calculate the lost revenue to OUSD, lost…