On Friday, students from across the city competed in the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Fest, reciting speeches and poetry and performing dramatic skits in front of an audience of about one hundred people.
Education
Summer program sends Oakland’s environmental science students to Costa Rica
This summer, Oakland High School environmental science students used to studying the ecology of Lake Merritt will travel to new turf — Costa Rica.
Student perspective: On March 4 during the freeway takeover, some reporters got the story. Four of them got arrested.
On March 4, hundreds of protesters marched from Berkeley to Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland to rally with students and educators from across the region. After the rally, a group of some 150 protesters marched onto the I-880 freeway, shut down traffic and were arrested by police. Some reporters got the story — but four of them, including Oakland North correspondent Jake Schoneker, got arrested. Schoneker shares his account of the day, in pictures and words.
School board denies Cox Academy’s charter, hears from low-performing schools
In addition to the several hot issues on the agenda, each of which pulled in a crowd, representatives from four Oakland public schools that have just been listed on the state’s lowest-performing schools list came to the meeting to state their disagreement with the listing.
Oakland after-school fashion program fuses street style with business savvy
The Street Style/Dream Seam School of Fashion gives Oakland teens a place to sketch, knit, sew and be around other creative people while learning about the ins and outs of the art and fashion scenes.
Tech students who stayed in class get lesson in funding crisis
While nearly 2,000 people were protesting cuts to higher and K-12 education on the Oakland streets, most Oakland Tech students were in class. Those that stayed – including one particular Spanish class – got a lesson about California’s funding crisis.
In Sacramento, Democrats support protesters
With more than a thousand students, faculty members and other education advocates rallying outside the state capitol, Democrats seized on the opportunity to voice their support for revenue-raising measures, including the proposed oil extraction tax.
In Sacramento, protesters lobby for lawmakers’ attention
As California lawmakers debated budget fixes on the Senate floor, hundreds of students, teachers and parents from California school systems—K-12 through the University of California—gathered on the Capitol’s north steps to protest cuts to public education.
UC Berkeley students decide: Attend class or protest
On March 4, protesters gathered at Sather Gate as students pondered whether to join the demonstration or go to class.
Video: Morning protests at UC Berkeley
On the morning of March 4, protesters gathered at the main entrances to the UC Berkeley campus. This footage was shot from 7-10 am at the campus’ West Gate, Sather Gate and North Gate.
Oakland students and teachers turn out for March 4 pickets; “disaster drills”
Throughout the Oakland Unified School district, students and teachers turned out for pickets and a “disaster drill” to support California public education.
Timeline: California public school funding decisions
A timeline of California public school funding decisions.
California’s education budget crisis: The story so far
In California, a faltering economy, a burst housing bubble and dwindling tax revenues are adding to a growing budget deficit that is projected to reach $18.9 billion in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. To combat the growing deficit, lawmakers have enacted sharp cuts across the state budget, including public education at all levels, from K-12 to [...]
He saw a dance party. She saw a riot. What happened at Durant Hall?
Oakland North correspondents Shannon Service and Josh Wolf sit down to review footage of last week’s dance party at UC Berkeley and discuss their impressions of what they saw that night.