Education
Musically Minded Academy, a brand new school, community center and concert venue in Rockridge, opened its doors to students of every age this January. Singers, drummers, and classic pianists—and no matter what their experience level—can find a place at this progressive, nonprofit facility.
The American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter recently held a “Prep Rally” to encourage Bay Area residents to prepare for natural disasters, like earthquakes, that could occur in the Bay Area..
Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes and the Wicked Witch of the West find themselves transported to a mysterious cave studded with stalactites and stalagmites. Quixote is convinced he is inside the mouth of a dragon he’s battled through Pamplona and Paris, and the Wicked Witch is his beloved Dulcenea. But Holmes argues convincingly that the stalactites and stalagmites are not the teeth of a dragon and the Witch melts away, a victim of water dripping from the cave’s ceiling. This is…
Lacy Lefkowitz teaches ancient history at Claremont Middle School, but last night she gave her students a lesson in current affairs. Six of Lefkowitz’s sixth graders stood before the board to read their letters about what they thought ought to be cut, and what ought to be saved, at their school next year.
There will be no budget-based layoffs of elementary school teachers in Oakland next fall, Deputy Superintendent Maria Santos announced at Wednesday night’s school board meeting. About 230 teachers had received lay-off warning notices in March.
If the words “summer camp” conjure up memories of sweating in a gaggle of whiny, Popsicle-covered kids, you’ll be happy to know the children of Oakland have a hipper option. The Crucible, a nonprofit school specializing in industrial arts, is kicking off its sixth season of spring and summer youth programs with classes in subjects like blacksmithing, welding, robotics, and glass blowing.
Judging by the audience’s loud cheers, fifteen-year old Tyler Thompson’s opera rendition of Justice Bao, a Chinese judge who fought government corruption, was spot-on. He hit all the notes, his Mandarin flawless, and the cheers he received from the nearly-packed Rawley Farnsworth Theater at Skyline High School Saturday evening were the loudest of the night at a performance to raise money for the Purple Silk Music Education Foundation.
More than hundred people gathered at Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland’s Temescal District on Thursday to have their valuables appraised and to support arts education in Oakland public schools.
The Alameda Labor Council organized the “We Are One” rally, which was held outside the steps of Oakland City Hall on Monday, the 43rd anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Union workers, teamsters, supporters, and demonstrators ignored the heat, carried their “We Are One” signs, and stood in solidarity against government leaders and politicians opposing union rights for union workers.