OUSD names interim superintendent; outgoing leader cautions about rapid shifts at the top

In this screenshot, a woman stands before a wall covered in the green-treed logo of the Oakland Unified School District. She has long dark hair, dark-framed glasses, a dark top under a dark blazer and a white and tan beaded necklace that is wrapped four or five times. She is at a podium with a microphone and her left hand is up as if waving hi.

A day after outgoing Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell delivered a farewell address, the Oakland Unified School District announced Friday that former Chabot Elementary School Principal Denise Saddler will serve as interim superintendent for the next school year. The shift comes less than a year after the School Board extended Johnson-Trammell’s contract and a month after the…

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OUSD names building after slain leader: ‘Thank you, Dr. Foster, for giving your life for this city.’

Oakland Unified School District

The Oakland Unified School District named a building Wednesday in honor of Superintendent Dr. Marcus A. Foster, the district’s first Black leader, who was assassinated in 1973. The new administration building at 1011 Union St., which opened in February, now carries the name of the superintendent who was killed by members of the radical Symbionese…

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Oakland High students fight for lead-free drinking fountains: ‘We should not have to beg … to get clean water’

Four teenage boys stand in a line facing the camera in a room with folding chairs. Each is holding a sign, only one -- far right -- is smiling.

Frustrated by what they see as their school district’s lack of urgency in responding to lead in drinking water, four Oakland High seniors have transformed a senior class project into a broader campaign demanding safe drinking water and stronger protections for future students.  Out of a shared distrust of their school’s drinking water, Palmer Kayondo,…

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Residents take OUSD to task for delays on community schools and reparations for Black students

Members of the Oakland Unified School District board sit behind a podium, as teachers union members in black jackets and students in purple T-shirts wait to speak.

Oakland Unified School District is behind schedule on implementing two important projects, one with over $75 million in state funding.  Educators, parents and students voiced their frustration at Wednesday’s board meeting, saying the district has failed on its promise to establish a task force on student equity and a committee to allocate a grant for…

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Strike ends: Oakland teachers return to work with 10% pay raise

Oakland Unified School District teachers will return to work Tuesday, 12 days after striking when the union and district could not come to an agreement on wages and other issues. The three-year tentative deal, retroactive to Nov. 1, 2022, includes a 10% raise and a $5,000 one-time payment, a compensation package that Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell…

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OUSD board appoints member of mayor’s staff to fill Gonzales’ seat

The Oakland Unified School District board selected Kyra Mungia, the deputy director of education for the mayor’s office, as the provisional District 6 director Wednesday. Mungia won the seat against eight other applicants in a 4-2 vote during a special board meeting, with directors Mike Hutchinson and VanCedric Willaims voting no. She replaces Shanthi Gonzales,…

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Community to OUSD: ‘You have the opportunity … stop this whole madness’

Protest signs in front of Parker Elementary School in Oakland, CA

Chanting “Whose schools? Our schools,” parents, teachers and community members erupted into protest at Wednesday’s Oakland Unified School District Board of Education meeting, prompting the board to recess the meeting and move it online. Protesters approached the dais with signs that read, “Hands off our schools” and “No school closures” after the board failed to…

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Can California forgive OUSD’s debt?

Oakland Unified School District

For nearly 20 years, the Oakland Unified School District has paid the consequences of relying on the state to bail it out of financial trouble.  During that time, it has slashed the budget, cut salaries, laid off staff and closed schools, as it tries to repay a $100 million emergency loan it borrowed in 2003,…

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OUSD board to appoint Shanthi Gonzales’ replacement

From left to right, OUSD School Board Directors Shanthi Gonzalez, Aimee Eng, and James Harris listening to presentation at committee meeting. (Photo by Mickey Capper)

The Oakland Unified School District board announced Wednesday it will appoint a new director for District 6 to replace Shanthi Gonzales, who abruptly resigned last week.  The board faces a tight deadline to find a replacement. If board members don’t either appoint someone or hold a special election before July 1, the Alameda County superintendent of schools…

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Protesters rally outside OUSD directors’ homes against plan to close schools

OUSD caravan

A caravan of vehicles that stretched for blocks paraded through the streets of Oakland Thursday evening, honking in solidarity against the Oakland Unified School District’s plan to close eight schools and merge others.  The caravan slowly made its way through the streets, stopping at the home of OUSD Director Sam Davis, where dozens of people, old and…

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