Education
After the Oakland City Council voted its approval last week, the Oakland Zoo expansion that has been in the works since the mid-1990s is nearly ready to break ground, despite opposition from environmental groups. The expansion includes a veterinary hospital, camping area, and an exhibit for native California animals.
Carmen Flores is one of 27 recreation centers and facilities in Oakland operated by the Office of Parks and Recreation. The city helps funds centers like Carmen Flores provide free and low-cost programs in sports, arts and general learning for people of all ages.
A flying boat used in the Indiana Jones movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is one of more than 20 aircraft on display at the Oakland Aviation Museum.
Oakland library lovers braved the sun and heat in an uninterrupted 14-hour “read-in” at City Hall’s front steps on Monday. It’s the latest tactic library advocates are using to protest the potential closure of 14 of the city’s 18 libraries.
The last bell of the school year rang for Oakland school students on Thursday. But where to swim, travel or play sports aren’t the only questions these newly liberated youth—or their parents—have on their minds. How to provide a daily, nutritious meal is a more immediate concern this summer for low-income families and the 20,000 children that depend on reduced-price meals during the school year.
Big ideas about education and emotion flowed through the Craneway Pavillion at the TEDxGoldenGateED conference over the weekend. The ideas found a receptive audience in the roughly 700 in attendance at the Saturday conference that attracted teachers, parents, therapists and others from throughout the Bay Area. The day included a packed schedule of speakers, performers and workshops that revolved around the central theme of compassion.
North Oakland Senior Center had some young visitors on Friday as a group of third graders from Peralta Elementary School came to visit the seniors of an adult day care program in the center. Together with the elderly, the kids prepared salad and lemonade for lunch.
Oakland mayor Jean Quan announced on Thursday morning that as an effort to reduce crimes that involve Oakland students, a group of organizations will open their doors to kids until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The College of Alameda celebrated the first fifteen students to graduate from the Violence Prevention Initiative Certificate Program last night at Humanist Hall in Oakland. Crystallee Crain, Adjunct Faculty at College of Alameda, and the instructor of this one-year program said this certificate is the first of its kind in California.