Posts Tagged ‘teachers’
How are Oakland schools responding to Prop. 16 failing?
California voters have decided not to restore affirmative action in schools. Proposition 16, which failed by a margin of 12 percentage points, would have reversed a 1996 ban on considering race, gender or ethnicity in public education systems and public contracting. State lawmakers—motivated by high-profile racial injustices, such as the police killing of George Floyd—voted…
Read MoreAt Oakland school board meeting, debate over school closures and charter schools intensifies
Tensions from the recent Oakland teachers’ strike were still reverberating among attendees during a special meeting for the Board of Education on Wednesday night. Hundreds of people filled the auditorium at La Escuelita Education Complex, holding small green signs that set the theme for the night. One side of the signs read “No new charters.”…
Read MoreDuring the teachers strike, “solidarity sites” provided safe places for students
When the Oakland teachers’ strike began, many volunteers joined forces to create “solidarity sites” across the city to support the teachers by giving students a safe place to stay while classes were cancelled. Bushrod Recreation Center was one of the fifteen recreation centers open for parents to drop off their kids so they wouldn’t have…
Read MoreAn Oakland teacher explains why he’s going on strike
Today is the first day of the Oakland teachers’ strike. Public school teachers and staff gathered outside their schools to form picket lines, chanting and rallying support in their quest for smaller class sizes, higher wages, more student support services and a promise from the district that there will be no more school closures. Earlier…
Read MoreOakland teachers prepare to strike on Thursday
Galvanized by the teacher strikes in Los Angeles and Denver, now Oakland teachers are preparing for their own. The strike is currently expected to begin on Thursday, February 21.
Read MoreAs schools struggle with turnover, an East Oakland middle school keeps its teachers
“Teachers keep themselves here,” Principal Betlach says. “Not in the sense that we don’t do anything, but at the end of the day, it’s on them.”
Read MoreLanded helps educators stay in the Bay Area
Everyone in the Bay Area knows the cost of housing is high, and that makes it hard for local teachers to live where they work. But Landed, Inc. is here to help. Landed, Inc. is a small San Francisco-based startup that helps Bay Area teachers afford homes. Co-founders Alex Lofton, Jonathan Asmis and Jesse Vaughn…
Read MoreAt historic Black Panthers school, Black teachers were key to student success
In 1973, the Black Panther Party opened an elementary school in an old church on International Boulevard. At its peak, The Oakland Community School (OCS) served around 160 students, and relied on a combination of grants and private donations to give it total autonomy: the Panthers hired whom they pleased, taught how they wanted, and…
Read MoreRecruitment fair hopes to engage new teachers, addressing Oakland teacher shortage
On Wednesday night, community members interested in teaching in Oakland attended a recruiting event hosted by non-profits Educate 78, Education for Change and the Oakland Unified School District.
Read MoreComplaints from Crocker parents heard at school board meeting
Parents from Crocker Highlands Elementary School shared concerns about the state of their children’s school Wednesday night at the Oakland Unified School District’s fifth board meeting of the year.
Read MoreStudents read letters about cuts to Oakland school board
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.
Read MoreOakland elementary school teachers to keep jobs
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.
Read More“Bridging the Bay” conference teaches the benefits of after-school programs
Hundreds of after-school program coordinators and instructors from seven Bay Area counties gathered Friday and Saturday at Oakland Technical High School for a conference focused on improving the quality and range of regional after-school programs.
Read MoreSchool board hears grief over shooting, examines budget
Teachers in Oakland can expect a 2 percent raise next year, but that was the only positive budget news from Wednesday night’s school board meeting. The district is expecting to lose more of its state funding this year, is running low on much of its one-time-use federal funding and continues to struggle with low enrollment.
Read MoreOakland Tech students and staff plead to keep teachers
Students and staff from Oakland Technical High School presented the school board with more than 700 signatures Wednesday night, asking the district to support tenured statistics teacher Evelyn Francisco, who faces deportation back to the Philippines if her visa is not renewed before December.
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