State of Black Education

Celebrating Oakland’s Newest Champions – Oakland Tech & Oakland High!

Oakland High and Oakland Tech Girl’s Basketball brought home not one, but two CIF Championship wins this past month! Just a week after an intense teacher strike – We needed this WIN!  Almost a year after the OAL sports programs were threatened to be cut – We Needed this WIN! And this week, as a city we are mourning…

After the Strike; Starting the Healing Process and Doing Better by Black Students

By Charles Cole III I was a student at Oakland’s Westlake Middle School in the 90’s during the five-week strike that occurred. While I survived that strike, I worry about how we’ll come together now that the dust has settled with this latest strike. I worry about how the strike has affected all students, Black…

What’s Wrong with Dixie School District And Why Are Folks in Marin Clinging to the “D” Word

Last night, as on other nights before, Dixie school district in Marin, rejected efforts to change the name away from “Dixie.”  This is trash.  “Dixie” is not a whimsical place.  “Dixie”refers to the North-South border, and celebrates the slave side. So why would the good liberals in Marin over several decades, and over more than…

Buying My Way Into an Oakland Public School: An Ally in Equity Addresses Privilege, Opportunity, Race and the Need for an “Opportunity Ticket”

This is a guest post from Jonathan Osler, a former teacher and school leader who is now a public school parent and advocate in Oakland. The Oakland Unified Board of Education is considering giving some families a so-called Opportunity Ticket, but the reality is that many children in Oakland — mine included — already have one. My family lives…