OCO's Education Committee
and
OUSD's Family and Community Office
Holds School Board Candidates Forum
to Sustain School Reform Work
as OUSD Returns to Local Control
On Monday, April 28 th candidates running for a seat on the Oakland school board had an opportunity to tell the community where they stand on School Reform as OUSD returns to local control. With standing room only, over 300 parents, teachers and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) administrators filled the Havenscourt auditorium to hear where Oakland school board hopefuls stood on Expect Success, Small Schools, and Charter Schools. Eight of the nine candidates participated. The parents in attendance were interested in hearing about school reform policies at OUSD, improving student outcomes, more choices, more small and Charter schools. The tone in the audience was favorable for candidates who embraced independently run, public charters and small schools that are part of the Oakland Unified School District. "We cannot afford to go back to the way things were before small schools and charters," Deanita Lewis, an OCO leader and parent at Havenscourt's Coliseum College Prep, was the message said to the candidates on the stage.
Click here to read responses from OUSD School Board Candidates to a question from the Education Forum.
Click here for a PowerPoint Presentation: Small Schools Research Report.
Victory for Parents: School District Allocates
$75 Million for State of the Art Education Complex
Parents Win Multi-School Education Complex at OUSD 2nd Avenue Property Site
After a six years push for a new state of the art, multi-school educational complex on the Oakland Unified School District's Second Avenue property, parents, students and staff of the four schools and community leaders from the East Bay Asian Youth Center, and Oakland Community Organizations got their wish on Thursday evening when OUSD school board unanimously approved $75 million to support the construction of the school site, and the State Administrator gave the go ahead for the construction of four new schools- La Escuelita Elementary School, Centro Infantil and Yuk Yao Child Development Centers and Met West High School which has had 100% graduation rate and students going on to four year colleges. The four schools along with Dewey Academy High School currently sit on the 8.25 acre property along with the district's aging Paul Robeson Administration Building. With a packed room of parents, teachers, and community members, cheers broke out. This is a time of celebration, we won for our community, we won for our kids!
Last September, state Superintendent Jack O'Connell proposed sale of the Second Avenue properties to the TerraMark/Urban America East Coast development team to pay back some of the school district's debt. That decision was rescinded about a year ago after strong parent protest.
The Unfinished Business of the Civil Rights Movement
A week before celebrating Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday, Dr. Charles Payne, a historian of the Civil Rights Movement and professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago was in Oakland for two days to speak with clergy, OCO leaders, and educators on the unfinished business of the Civil Rights Movement.
Dr. Payne spoke with about 20-25 clergy at a luncheon held at Allen Temple Baptist Church, and had dinner with over 100 OCO leaders at Shiloh Fellowship Church talking about the unknown civil rights leaders—the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and local civil rights leaders who organized and won legal victories of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. "Americans don't know who paid the price for our collective freedom," said Payne, and called the church leaders, school teachers and students who risked their lives in the fight for freedom the "faces of the nameless, faceless and the forgotten."
He went on to challenge clergy, educators, and OCO leaders to capture the spirit of the civil rights movement and to continue pushing for education and health care reform, violence prevention and affordable housing. Clergy and OCO leaders all agree they want to make Oakland a Model City, with affordable housing, safer streets and health care for all, and to make this happen we will need to partner with civil organizations, churches, and families. "As clergy, sometimes we spend a lot of time in church and not enough time in the community putting our faith in action," said Rev. George Cummings (OCO board co-chair) of Imani Community Church.
"As a church we care about and advocate for things that benefit the whole community," "We are in this together and we can't look to anyone else to do our part." Said Pastor Lucy Kolin (OCO Board co-chair) of Resurrection Lutheran Church. The movement and dialogue must continue.
Dr. Payne encouraged 75 educators during a reception at the Museum of Children's Art on Wednesday evening, including School Board President David Kakishiba and State Administrator Vincent Matthews. Dr Payne commented on the longevity and success of the small school reform in Oakland, while similar efforts have failed in other cities. He acknowledged that all school reform successes are "fragile victories," however, and that we must be vigilant to sustain the forward movement of Oakland schools. During the conversation with educators, support for new teachers emerged as the biggest challenge facing small schools.
Statewide Work: PICO California
On February 25, 250 youth and adult leaders from 17 PICO organizations across California met with top state officials to address the state's dropout crisis, beginning with fully funding a new student data system to track the problem. In an historic step for PICO California, 130 youth leaders were the driving force behind the meetings, which also focused on small schools and youth violence prevention. OCO had 8 youth from across the Oakland join other adult leaders at this event. Guadalupe Lara, a junior at MetWest High School, shared her testimony about starting the school year at Oakland High with complete chaos and transferring to the small school to have hopes of graduating and going to college.
In meetings with Secretary of Education David Long, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, and State Senator Darrell Steinberg, PICO leaders urged officials to support full funding of the student data system this year, despite the state's estimated $16 billion budget deficit. They also asked questions about a range of critical education issues, including the proposed budget cuts, teacher supply and quality, support for small and alternative high schools, and parent engagement.
PICO leaders also met with Paul Seave, Governor Schwarzenegger's recently appointed Director of Gang and Youth Violence Policy. Leaders shared their work to develop comprehensive strategies that support youth inside and outside of school and to make schools and communities safer for youth and adults alike. Seave spoke of the link between the state's dropout crisis and the rise in violence involving youth and said one of his top priorities is to conduct a detailed accounting of the funds the state currently spends on gang intervention and violence reduction.
ARISE School has Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
With close to 200 students, families, Oakland Unified School District and Oakland City Officials in attendance, Arise Charter High School celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, September 27 th. Organized in partnership with the Coalition for Equitable Schools and Mills College, OCO is proud to offer another high quality choice for our families.
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