Stefanie Le

Oakland Unified School District takes on tech, with corporate help

Over the last year and a half, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) has been making an effort to deepen its science, technology, engineering and math programs, but so far it has had to depend on donations from corporations to fund much of them. The district’s efforts to bring so-called STEM education to students have been funded in no small part by grants from Intel and Salesforce, in addition to partnerships with Code.org and the Oakland mayor’s office, among others. According…

Voters approve $9 billion for public school construction, repairs

This week, California voters approved Proposition 51, a $9 billion bond for public school construction and improvement across the state. By noon on Wednesday, the proposition led 54 percent to 46 percent and the Associated Press had declared the victory. “If you’ve been in some of our most antiquated schools, then you’ve seen, firsthand, how difficult it is to learn in that environment,” said Justine Fischer, president of the California State PTA, a nonpartisan organization that supported the measure. “We…

3-D mammography aids Oakland specialists in breast cancer detection

A new 3-D technology to detect breast cancer at Oakland’s Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center is helping doctors diagnose the disease earlier by allowing them to examine tissue layer-by-layer. The medical center, part of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and a Sutter Health affiliate, installed tomosynthesis, also known as 3-D mammography, earlier this year. The technology enables technicians to capture both digital, two-dimensional mammograms and 3-D images using a single machine. Breast cancer is one of the most…