Category Archives: Local

Local, National

KQED News: Oakland School District and Feds Agree on Changes to School Discipline

October 1, 2012
By Barbara Grady

The Oakland Unified School District board agreed Thursday night to take  specific steps to eradicate racial bias in school discipline, voting unanimously to enter a voluntary resolution with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

The resolution focuses on replacing suspensions – which historically OUSD meted out to African American boys with much greater frequency than to other students – with restorative justice and positive behavior intervention practices and requiring training for all OUSD staff in these practices as well as in classroom management. The resolution includes about a dozen other specific actions the school district must take, many of which it has already begun.

At a packed school board meeting Thursday night, OUSD Superintendent Tony Smith called the agreement “an exciting opportunity to continue work,” along a path that OUSD started with its strategic plan of creating Full Service Community Schools in the district and launching the African American Male Achievement Initiative. But he and others acknowledged the resolution means accelerating those efforts.

“We will further work that is already underway” Smith said. What have been pilot projects in restorative justice will need to be expanded and brought to every school, starting with 38 the DOE cited for disproportionate use of suspensions as discipline of African American boys.

To read more.

Local

KQED News: Future Looks Bright for Lacrosse at Oakland Public Schools

September 26, 2012
By Juan Antonio Martinez

Despite having a reputation of being a rich white sport, this fall, hundreds of students at Oakland public schools will be introduced to the game of lacrosse.

The Oakland Lacrosse Club – which is a newly created, but not yet completed 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation – intends to work with several Oakland schools to introduce lacrosse to students that the sport has not traditionally served.

“I want every kid in Oakland to have access to play lacrosse,” Kevin Kelley, the boys game director for the Oakland Lacrosse Club, said. “My goal is to expose the sport to 500 middle schoolers and then in the spring create two under 13 teams; one boys and one girls.”

To read more.

Local

Lendri Purcell: Program Director of the At-Risk Youth & Families Program of the Barbara & Donald Jonas Family Fund

October 3, 2012
By Lisa Hewitt

Coming to Oakland in 2000, Lendri Purcell has spent over a decade teaching, advocating for under-resourced educational systems, community organizing and working to implement programs that aid at-risk students. As the Program Director of the At-Risk Youth & Families Program of the Barbara & Donald Jonas Family Fund, Lendri has a deep commitment to under-served communities. She began her career with Oakland youth as part of Teach For America.  Becoming a teacher just out of college, Lendri taught Special Education at Lowell Middle School. She explains,“It’s a big responsibility but there was a lot of support. At the same time the needs were daunting. It was kind of shocking; there were things at the school that blew me away. We have televisions in the classroom, but we don’t have books. I got to see a lot of great things and a lot of sad things.” Lendri’s time in Oakland and teaching experience made her realize there are many positive things about the community, but a lot of work to be done.

It is estimated that only 40 percent of existing students will graduate high school in Oakland and it’s essential that teachers, parents, and community members work to curb this trend. The Jonas Center is one organization doing just that.  For the last five years they have made grants to school programs, after school programs and summer programs that serve middle and high school age students all in an effort to keep students in the educational system and on a strong career path.

In order to gain funding from the Jonas Center, the programs must incorporate education into their mission, while also integrating one of the following components: mentorship, mental health treatment and/or a school to career focus.  Lendri explains, “Education is kind of tied into all these programs, just in different ways, whether it’s life skills for transitioning foster youth, or trying to bring entrepreneurs to the classroom”.  Students play a large and important role in the grant making process. From serving on the board of the Jonas Center’s At-Risk Youth & Families Program to reviewing grant proposals from local organizations, they offer a unique and valuable perspective. Lendri says, “When I was living in Oakland and I had a lot of contact with young people, they would just straight out tell me, ‘This program is really helping me.’ Or ‘This program’s great, but we don’t have a counselor.’”  From the inception of the Jonas Center’s initiative, youths’ voices have a played an essential role; they offer relevant and first hand experience to aid in the grant making process.

Whether through a stipend, a paycheck or a chance to build their resume, young people need to know what they’re doing has meaning, “They often say, ‘I want a job. I need money, I need money for clothes. I don’t have money for school lunches.’ So I think another thing that is really important is access to a job, an internship, a mentorship. Something where there’s a stipend, so the young person gets, if possible, some sort of monetary gain. Or training or something they can put on their resume. And that’s a great way to have that link between school and career.” Lendri stresses it’s important for the organization or business to make the work they’re doing relevant to the student.

Lendri recognizes that the students can’t do it alone; having a strong adult in their life is vital. Mentors often can show the connection between education and a profession; encouraging young people to stay in school longer. “It’s important to have some kind of mentor in your life. I know even for me, growing up in a very well resourced community, that connection wasn’t made very clear. That what you do in school will dramatically impact what kind of salary you have later. How easy or hard your life might be, your choices. It’s important to make what’s happening in school very relevant to the world of work outside of school.” She stresses it’s essential that each student has an adult in the community who cares, is accessible and who has time to spend with them, in order to keep young people interested in school, their job, or an internship.

If you’re interested in getting involved with a business partner that works with young people, please visit: www.oyfba.org, which provides a youth friendly business directory.

Lendri Purcell and her grandparents, Barbara and Donald Jonas.

Local, National

Los Angeles Times: Oakland schools to let feds monitor discipline of black students

By Stephen Ceasar
October 1, 2012

The Oakland Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Education reached an agreement last week that would allow federal officials to monitor the district’s efforts to curb the number of out-of-school suspensions of its African American students.

The resolution, which the Oakland school board passed unanimously, closes an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into whether African American students were disciplined more frequently and harshly than their white classmates. The agreement was reached Thursday.

Last school year, African American students made up about 39% of the district’s total enrollment but accounted for 63% of students with at least one suspension and 61% of those who were expelled, said Russlynn Ali, the department’s assistant secretary for civil rights.

To read more.

Events, Local, Research, Youth Media

Video: Attend And Acheive Back To School Rally

On the steps of Oakland City Hall on August 18 for the Attend and Achieve Back-to-School Rally 2012 — in partnership with the Oakland Natives Give Back, the Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland’s Office of the Mayor, City Administrator and community organizations.
The day will include performers, family-friendly activities, a teen summit and parent workshops. The first 1,000 people to register in the morning and take advantage of a series of life-enrichment workshops and networking opportunities with community organizations and vendors will receive backpacks and school supplies for their kids. The “tools for school” giveaways will be distributed at the end of the day to those with wristbands received during registration.
This event is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and is part of KQED’s American Graduate initiative in Oakland, which seeks to build awareness about the dropout issue by working with students, teachers, parents, businesses and nonprofits on news coverage, reporting, community events and town hall.

Watch this compelling video: Attend And Acheive Back To School Rally 2012

Local

The Education Report: In split vote, OUSD board puts American Indian charter schools on notice

Friday, September 28th
By Katy Murphy

Last night, as the Oakland school board issued a 1,080-page “notice of violation” to all three American Indian Model Schools over its fiscal and governance practices. (Link to the massive file here.) It’s the first step in a long process that could end in the closure of all three schools.

Supporters of the charter school organization begged for four more weeks, noting the hiring of a new financial team and the appointment of some new board members. And, of course, the schools’ near-perfect test scores.

Paul Minney, a lawyer representing AIM Schools, told the board that if it tabled the decision for a month, “…we are confident that we can arrive at an action plan to fully assuage the district’s concerns.”

“A notice of violation creates a high degree of fear, uncertainty and anxiety,” he said.

But the appeals made by Minney and the stream of parents and students after him were not enough to sway the board, which voted 4-2 to issue the notice. Board members Alice Spearman and Chris Dobbins voted no, and Noel Gallo was absent.

OUSD’s General Counsel Jacqueline Minor argued that the organization has had months to address the district’s concerns. District staff members raised many of the same issues at an April charter renewal hearing. And a state audit which formed the basis for this violation notice — investigators found that AIM’s founder, Ben Chavis, his wife, and their various businesses collected $3.8 million in wages and contracts between 2007 and 2011 — was published in June.

To read more.

Local

Oakland Tribune: Alameda County teen leaders to tackle problems facing high school girls at summit

September 25, 2012
By Angela Woodall

The most pressing social issues encountered by teenage girls in their schools — relationships, social networks and families — will be the topic Saturday at the inaugural Junior Commission on the Status of Women.
The summit of high school girls is sponsored by the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women.
During the event, peer counselors and licensed professionals will facilitate workshops on stress and mental health; career and college preparation; and teen dating abuse.
The Junior Commission on the Status of Women is comprised of Alameda County high school girls in grades 9-12. Junior commissioners, who are appointed by the Alameda County supervisor to their district, work on in civic projects and educational dialogue that advance issues relevant to all girls.
The summit is free and includes lunch and door prizes. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Youth Uprising, 8711 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland.

Local

Oakland Tribune: School lunches, revamped: Food service employees meet in Oakland to share ideas, recipes

September 25th, 2012
By Katy Murphy

Donna Irby has worked behind the cafeteria lines for 13 years, serving meals at dozens of Oakland schools. But only recently has she been able to do what she loves with any regularity: cook food from scratch.

Those were the kind of lunches she remembered from her school days, before school districts shifted to prepackaged, processed fare that could be bought and served cheaply, without a working kitchen.

Now, despite their shoestring budgets and countless other obstacles, Oakland and many other California school districts are working to bring more cooking back to the cafeteria — this time, with an emphasis on local, seasonal produce and flavors from different regions of the world.

“This is the direction we need to go and, like I say, this is a long time coming,” Irby said.

On Monday, food service employees from 21 counties statewide, including Alameda, San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin, shared ideas and recipes at a two-day conference, “Rethinking School Lunch,” organized by the Berkeley-based Center for Ecoliteracy. The conference, held at the Oakland Museum of California, is covering everything from innovative ways to buy local food for school meals to the nutritional benefits of scratch cooking.

To read more.

 

Local

Oakland Tribune:Oakland schools launch anti-bullying campaign by showing 'Bully' documentary

September 17th, 2012
By Katy Murphy

Busloads of teenagers streamed into a movie theater in Oakland’s Jack London Square on Monday morning, past their superintendent of schools and the director of the film they were about to see.

In the next two weeks, 14,000 Oakland middle and high school students will watch “Bully” with their classmates. It’s a wrenching documentary about the devastating and sometimes deadly consequences of bullying — especially when school personnel don’t take it seriously.

“I spent most of my childhood being bullied,” Lee Hirsch, the director, told the young audience as he stood before the big screen. “I used to get hit so much that my arms were yellow from top to bottom. … I couldn’t make it stop.”

Then he made a request: “As you watch this movie, think about the ways in which you can make a difference.”

Last week, the Oakland school board updated its anti-bullying policy; the screening is part of a broader effort to address bullying in the schools. A new law that took effect July 1 has forced California school districts throughout the state to revise their handling of bullying, harassment and discrimination complaints.

“Seth’s Law” is named after Seth Walsh, a gay 13-year-old from Tehachapi in Kern County, who was harassed by classmates and later took his life. The law establishes a timeline for the investigation and resolution of such incidents and requires school personnel who witness acts of bullying to intervene. One of the administrators featured in “Bully,” Kim Lockwood, is shown repeatedly minimizing complaints of bullying from students and parents, even those which involved serious physical abuse.

To read more.

Local

The Education Report: In Oakland, new player eligibility rules and forfeited games

September 20th, 2012
Written by Katy Murphy

Castlemont High has canceled its second football game on Friday because it lacks enough eligible players.

Skyline High, a school of nearly 2,000 students, forfeited its very first football game of the season — also, because it couldn’t field a team. At the time, its coach wrote a widely circulated letter to Superintendent Tony Smith saying the Oakland Athletic League’s new rules were keeping many of his otherwise-eligible players off the field.

The new rules, passed in the spring by high school principals who sit on the Oakland Athletic League policy committee, caused a big stir and plenty of confusion and alarm in the prep sports world. The policy originally stated that a student needed an overall 2.0 GPA, or C average, to be eligible (rather than a 2.0 in the previous marking period) as well as a certain number of credits. If not, the student would be sidelined for the entire school year.

So in the last few weeks, after plenty of, well, `input’ from coaches and others, the policy has softened. The GPA policy went back to the way it used to be (and the same as nearly every other league).

And perhaps more significantly, some players with poor academic records will have a second chance to participate on a team if they show they’re making up credits and raising their GPAs — if not for the fall season, possibly for a sport they play in the winter or spring. The OAL policy committee on Wednesday created an appeal process for players who are behind on credits or who received a GPA below a 2.0 in their last 6-week marking period.

What’s new this year, after all of the changes, has to do with making sure players aren’t falling behind on their course credits.

To read more.