Education
California’s state legislators aren’t the only ones uncertain about Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed cut of redevelopment agency funds. Even though schools stand to gain if lawmakers approve the proposal, Oakland educators worry that taking funds from affordable housing could put more students at risk of homelessness.
Facing a $21 million deficit, along with employee layoffs, service cuts and the probable closing of facilities, AC Transit doesn’t have a lot of breathing room. On Wednesday, the agency’s board of directors decided it can’t finance the estimated $625,000 it would cost to offer discount youth bus passes for Oakland Unified School District high school students over the age of 18.
The Oakland School Board meeting began last night with a cheer. Literally. The Sobrante Park Elementary cheerleaders have returned from a first place finish in the statewide competitive cheer competition in Los Angeles, and they saluted the board and meeting audience with kicks, twirls and pom-poms.
All over the country, and even in states like California where abortion laws are among the nation’s most lenient, many women, particularly low-income women, still have trouble accessing abortion clinics and other reproductive health services, such as finding birth control providers or prenatal care. At ACCESS, a nonprofit located in downtown Oakland, practical assistance is there for the asking.
The American Red Cross Bay Area chapter participated in a national Save-A-Life event Saturday, offering four free classes in Oakland and San Jose aimed at teaching local residents essential life-saving techniques in honor of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of January’s shooting in Tucson, Arizona.
Futures Elementary in East Oakland has raised test scores by more than 100 points since 2007. But according to state law, it does not matter: Every single teacher and administrator at Futures is facing the possibility that he or she will be laid off in May.
The Princess Project, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, has been making prom dreams come true for high school girls in the Bay Area for the last decade. This year, the project was able to fill an empty storefront in downtown San Francisco with nearly 6,000 donated dresses. Christina Lopez has the story.
Turfing was born in Oakland in the early ‘90s, but it wasn’t until a 2009 YouTube video called “Dancing in the Rain,” produced by YAK Films, that turf dancing started receiving national attention. To bring turfing back to the local level, and to encourage local dancers of all skill levels to start, the Eastside Arts Alliance’s Oakland Hip Hop Institute is offering a six-session workshop.
More than 40 parents and family members completed classes as part of a program called Oakland Baby Learning Communities. The classes, run by the city, county, and privately funded SafePassages program, teach parenting skills to immigrants and parents of children who have experienced domestic or community violence.