Latest News

We're hiring: Jobs at GO Public Schools Leadership Center

Who will represent District 4?

Superintendent Resignation, Oakland Achieves Report, & More

OUSD Scorecard Updates: How is school quality measured in OUSD?

Thoughts on Tony Smith's resignation

Join us for this year's GO Public Schools Garden Party!

OUSD Scorecard Updates: What is OUSD's Balanced Scorecard Policy?

Study Released on Effective Teaching in Oakland

GO Leadership Center, with partners, releases Oakland Achieves Report

Winter Update and Seasons Greetings

Don't miss GO's Holiday Party this Thursday

Meet new school board members at GO Holiday Party

Celebrate the season with GO!

The story of a huge Election Day win for students

We did it.

Dear friends,

The election results are in, and it's a clean sweep.

Thanks to your hard work and support, Oakland voters are sending Jumoke Hinton Hodge, Rosie Torres, and James Harris to represent students on the school board. 

This is a transformative victory for Oakland students and it would not have been possible without you.

Our GO network -- nearly 300 individual volunteers -- knocked on more than 11,500 doors and made over 60,000 calls to Oakland voters in support of our candidates. And your generous donations paid for mail that helped ensure voters knew our candidates and what was at stake. Thank you!

We're celebrating tonight, and toasting the commitment and extraordinary effort of so many parents and educators who made this happen.

Tomorrow, we move forward with a new chapter for public education in Oakland. 

Our GO network is committed to ensuring our students have education champions in elected leadership with the skills and values to manifest our vision of an Oakland where all children receive the schooling and support they need to live successful, fulfilling lives.

Thank you for your continued support. This is a very big win for Oakland.

With our deepest thanks,
Jonathan and the GO team

I needed to say this.

Tribune Endorsement: "Role Models for Oakland's Children"

Give a Shift for Oakland Students

This is it.

Election Day is just one week away, and each candidate we endorsed for the Oakland school board is in a tight race. I recorded a video update with an update last night.

A few hours of your time during this final week can mean the difference between winning and losing on November 6.

Can you commit to one shift between now and next Tuesday?

We need volunteers both to walk neighborhoods and talk to voters about our endorsed candidates - Jumoke Hinton Hodge (District 3), Rosie Torres (District 5) and James Harris (District 7) - as well as to phone bank from the GO office.

We're walking this week on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, and Saturday morning.

Click here to sign up to walk.

We're phone banking every weeknight in the GO office until Election Day, and also this coming Sunday afternoon.

Click here to sign up to phone bank.

Thank you for your time and commitment to Oakland's children this election. Over these past few months, I've seen many of you come down to the GO office to phone bank after a long day of work, or give up part of your valuable weekend time to walk a neighborhood.

If our work resonates with you, if you think it's important to elect strong leaders to the Oakland school board, and hold them accountable, then please sign up for one more shift before Election Day. It could be the difference.

Teachers and Parents for Jumoke Hinton-Hodge

Survey Results - Oakland Public Education Listening Campaign

Over the spring and summer of 2012, GO Public Schools volunteers went door-to-door and did phone banking to talk with Oaklanders about their opinions on public education in our city. We spoke with nearly 800 residents and asked open-ended questions like, "What makes a good school?", "What is the biggest issue facing Oakland today?", and "What makes an effective school board member?".

We used the information gathered in this survey in addition to feedback from GO families and educators to make endorsements in the November 2012 elections. We looked for candidates and measures that would work towards more resources for our students, safe schools, effective teaching for every child, and creating a school system that ensures a bright future for every child.

See here for a one-pager that we created with these results and our recommendations to Oakland voters.

Let's party on Election Night

How will you feel about public education in Oakland the morning after Election Day?

Will you wake up feeling proud, knowing you helped elect quality leaders to the Oakland school board? Or regretful, knowing there was something else you could have done?

This election is a once-in-four-years opportunity to shape the direction of public education in Oakland. A majority of the school board is at stake. In each race, voters have clear choices about how to move our schools forward.

Election Day is now just two weeks away, which means there are only two weekends left to knock on doors and talk to voters about our candidates. There are also only a few more opportunities to volunteer at a phone bank at the GO office during the week.

We need you at least one more time over the next two weeks. Are you in?

Click here to sign up to walk or phone bank.

After the work is done and the polls close, please join us to celebrate the hard work of the campaign and to watch the local and national results unfold. On Tuesday, November 6, we're planning to gather at Miss Pearl's Jam House in Jack London Square for an extended happy hour menu and good company. We'd love for you to join us.

Please let us know if you plan to attend the GO Election Night Party by RSVPing here.

Thank you for your time and the inspiring effort you've put forth for our children this election season.

Let's finish stron

Will our next City Council members support Education?

VIDEO: Phone banking at the GO office

2012 Education Voter Guide

Time is not on our side

This Saturday I skipped the farmer's market

By: Jessica Stewart

This Saturday I skipped the farmer's market.

On Saturday morning, you can usually find me at the Grand Lake Farmer's Market in the sun buying and eating various tasty things. It's often my favorite part of the week.

Don't get me wrong - when I rolled out of bed I would have rather headed there than to a neighborhood walk to go door-to-door for a school board candidate. But I also know that James Harris, the candidate running for school board in East Oakland's District 7, is a truly good man. He is a former teacher like myself and grew up in East Oakland where he's now raising his kids. We really need people like him on the school board representing families and students.

So I headed out, my amazing husband Jon in tow, to East Oakland to meet several others on the corner near International and 98th Avenue where Elmhurst Community Prep, the school at which I was a founding teacher in 2006 where we met Richard.

Richard kicked us off by asking us to share why we're doing this work today. I looked around the circle - a group of very busy people with lives full of other things to do - and felt grateful to be with them. On a great Saturday afternoon, with a host of other things they could be doing, they were out fighting for Oakland kids.

Richard paired us up and taught us how to walk a neighborhood (how to use our list of voters, what to say, and what to do if no one is home). After answering some questions, he assigned us our blocks and we headed out.

My husband and I walked a few blocks to our assigned blocks and started knocking on doors across the street from each other. It took us a moment to get our system down, but we were in a groove pretty quickly.

While we walked, we saw most of what you'd expect on a Saturday morning in a residential area - lots of car washing, a little girl's birthday being set up with pink and yellow balloons and party hats, and people tending to lawns. I had to compliment a few people who answered their doors on gorgeous landscaping. I even took a few pictures to remember ideas for the future home that I don't yet own.

Together, Jon and I knocked on about 150 doors. At about half the doors, no one answered and I left a postcard on their door. Most of the time when I spoke with a voter, they were pleasant and smiled when I told them that I "don't normally do this" door-to-door walking but I really think James is a great guy and would be a good school board member. My favorites were when someone would tell me they were definitely voting for James and thank me for being out here helping his campaign.

Jon joined me at the door when I had one more house left - and we hit the jackpot. We met Mr. Johnson, who currently works at Elmhurst. We had a great long conversation about the school, kids, and school board. He's supporting James Harris now and promised to tell others. I walked away from his door smiling and told Jon that I'm glad we've got more time between now and the election.

As much as I love the farmer's market, you probably won't see me there for the next four weeks. This election is just a month away and I've got more voters to talk to before then.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

"A couple weeks from now ..."

GO Endorses Rosie Torres for Oakland School Board in District 5

After a thorough community review of all school board candidates in District 5, our board has unanimously endorsed Rosie Torres. The election will be held on November 6, 2012.

Rosie is the recipient of a California public school education, the proud mother of a child thriving in the Oakland public schools, a successful business owner, attorney, wife, community activist, and a dedicated volunteer. She is passionate about public education because it transformed her life, and she will fight to ensure that all Oakland students have access to great public schools.

The GO Board--through surveys, interviews, and member feedback on all candidates--found that Rosie possesses the communication and leadership skills, values, and vision to make a great impact for Oakland's students.

Rosie is also supported by the National Women's Political Caucus, SEIU 1021, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, and East Bay Young Democrats.

GO has endorsed candidates in two other school board races - Jumoke Hinton Hodge in District 3 and James Harris in District 7. Scroll down for more information on Jumoke and James.

We're excited to support Rosie, James, and Jumoke, and we think each is poised to support great gains for Oakland students. Now we're going to need you to help get them elected. Here's how you can help:

           1. Sign up to phone bank or walk a neighborhood over the next two months.

           2. Donate $5 or more to provide the resources we need to support these candidates.

These elections are an extraordinary opportunity to change the conversation about public education in Oakland to focus on our students. Let's all do what we can to ensure we win - there's only 57 days left until the election.

***

About Jumoke Hinton Hodge, District 3 (West Oakland, Downtown, Adams Point) 

Director Hinton-Hodge was first elected to the school board in 2008. During her first term, she helped to develop and guide "Thriving Students" an ambitious strategic plan for the Oakland Unified School District; sponsored the District's "A-G" requirements ensuring all students have access the courses necessary for college; and was instrumental in selecting and hiring Superintendent Tony Smith. Director Hinton-Hodge also lead the effort to create a district wide restorative justice policy to address discipline practices under which disproportionate numbers of African-American and Latino students were being expelled from school. She is currently the Program Director at People's Grocery in West Oakland.

"Jumoke is a parent and a caring community member with deep roots in Oakland. In her four years on the school board she has learned to effectively work with others and navigate the system," said Dr. Washington Burns, a community leader in District 3 and GO Board member. "She is a consistent voice for equity. She is an asset on the school board for students and families now, and will continue to be if she is re-elected."

About James Harris, District 7 (East Oakland) 

James Harris is a former high school English teacher and active in the Oakland education community. He is on the board of Aim High and was a founding member of Great Oakland Public Schools. An innovative and strategic thinker, James will be a force for civility, teamwork, and progress on the School Board.

"James is a parent and a former teacher. He understands the complex issues at play in the Oakland Unified School District. He will work hard to make the schools better for our children," said Mary Prime Lawrence, East Oakland resident, mother of three students and GO Board member. "We need James on the School Board because he is dedicated to putting children first. He knows how to forge alliances to create success."

It's Crunch Time

There are only nine weeks until the general election on November 6, and five weeks until vote by mail ballots are sent out.

This is crunch time. 

I write to share a short video update on our campaign to elect quality school board members in Oakland.

Take a moment and pull out your calendar and see when you can commit to phone banking and walking for our candidates. Then sign up here.

Your commitment of one day a week to phone bank or knock on doors for our candidates will go a long way to making sure we are successful on Election Day. 

Click here to sign up to phone bank or walk for our candidates.

Now is the time. Let's not leave anything on the table.

My best,
Jonathan Klein
Executive Director
Great Oakland Public Schools

P.S. Every donation of $5 or more helps us connect with more Oakland voters about the importance of the school board elections. Make sure you're included among the more than 200 Oaklanders who have already contributed!

Opposing AB5 - We need a more thoughtful approach for teacher development

AB5 is a deeply important and deeply flawed California bill that would reform a teacher evaluation system with which everyone if dissatisfied.  

Wednesday night--at 8:00 P.M., at the meeting called with no more than 30 minutes notice--the Senate Education Committee voted to advance AB5 without even having the language of some promised amendments in front of them to read.

For the past couple of weeks, GO has been working with a growing coalition of the organizations from across California in opposition to AB5. In the course of this time, we have seen power politics and the "sausage making" of the state legislation play out in real time. During these conversations, students were almost entirely absent from the conversation replaced, instead, with adult concerns from all sides.  

Legislation was hastily drafted and redrafted.  Hearings were called on very short notice. People whose entire job it is to track these developments, would barely keep abreast of what was happening - all because powerful people were trying to hurry this bill into law in the last moments of this legislative session.

GO Public Schools joins a long list of organizations in (see below for a list of other organizations sharing GO's concerns) opposes to Assembly Bill 5 (Fuentes), legislation related to implementing a teacher evaluation system.  Editorial boards from around the state have weighed in to oppose this bill:

• Take time to do teacher eval bill the right
• Nightmare legislation
• AB5 should be voted down

Below is a list of issues that should be addressed before this bill is passed.  We support the ongoing improvement of the evaluation system and view evaluations as part of a ongoing system for professional development, however, as of the night before the vote, and not knowing what the actual last minute amendments will be, we feel the AB5 is not a good bill for students for many reasons, including the following:

• AB 5 imposes a costly mandate on all districts but provides funding only for start-up costs at schools that receive QEIA funds
• AB 5 removes local decision making for additional QEIA monies by directing those funds towards implementing a new teacher evaluation system.
• AB 5 prohibits the State board of Education from waiving the best practices teacher evaluation system in order for a school district to add additional measurements.
• AB 5 reduces local control by limiting the ability of local governing boards to act on objective data to hold employees accountable.
• AB 5 does not meet federal requirements in order for California to receive the federal NCLB waiver.
• AB prevents any meaningful gauge of student growth in evaluations and invites disputes over allowable evidence of student learning.
• AB 5 expands the scope of collective bargaining for school districts.  Evaluation criteria and standards for satisfactory performance would be subjects of bargaining, weakening an LEA's ability to hold teachers accountable.
• AB 5 repeals grade level proficiency.  There would no longer be a default provision in California law requiring performance evaluations of teachers and principals to include the assessment of the progress of pupils toward expected grade level achievement.
• AB 5 places the program under the new mandate block grant replacing the less costly Stull Act.  The new block grant should be adjusted to reflect the increase in mandates resulting from AB 5 estimated to be $18 million annually with some estimates considerably higher.

Organizations opposing AB5

• Alliance for a Better Community
• Association of California School Administrators
• Bay Area Council
• California Association of School Business Officials
• California Association of Suburban Schools
• California County Superintendents Educational Services Association
• California School Boards Association
• California State PTA
• Central Valley Education Coalition
• Children Now
• Democrats for Education Reform
• Ed Voice
• Educate our State
• Educators 4 Excellence
• El Dorado County Office of Education
• Families in Schools
• Great Oakland Public Schools
• Green Dot Public Schools
• Kern County Superintendent of Schools
• Los Angeles County Office of Education Superintendent of Schools, Arturo Delgado
• Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
• Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John E. Deasy
• Parents Advocate League
• Riverside County Office of Education 
• Riverside County School Superintendents' Association
• Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Kenneth M. Young
• San Bernardino County District Advocates for Better Schools
• San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
• San Diego County Office of Education
• San Francisco Unified School District
• School Employers Association of California
• Small Schools Districts' Association
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Students First
• Students Matter
• Teach +Plus
• The Education Trust West
• United Way of Greater Los Angeles

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

We oppose AB 5 (Teacher Evaluation) unless amended

Last week, we joined a coalition of student-focused organizations in opposing Assembly Bill 5 unless it is amended. Please see the letter below, written to the bill's author, Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes (D-39th District). 

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Which school board district do you live in?

Here's a map of Oakland with school board districts as an overlay. You can also enter your address into this site to find out in which district you live (note that school board districts are the same as city council districts).


On November 6, 2012, Oakland will elect school board members for Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7. These elections are critical for our children, and GO Public Schools is working to ensure we elect great board members. Contribute to our campaign for excellent school board leadership today. If you contribute $50 or more, you'll receive an invitation to our Third Annual Garden Party on August 18th!

"I had an amazing time..."

"I had an amazing time at GO's Garden Party last summer! The garden was beautiful, I met so many educators, parents, and professionals from across Oakland, and we had the most delicious food and drinks. Looking forward to this year's party! Thanks for convening us again!" - Christopher Williams

Christopher is a Citizen Schools educator at United For Success Academy in Oakland. He, along with many of you, had a fantastic time at last year's Garden Party.

Have you gotten your ticket for this year's event on Saturday, August 18th?

If not, secure your spot today by donating $50 or more here. This is not an event you want to miss, and it benefits a great cause! Please don't wait -- the party is only a few weeks away!

Visit our Garden Party Information Page to see details.

Enjoy the weekend and thanks for contributing!

My best,

Jonathan

P.S. We've got a great lineup of restaurants joining us! See below for a few that will be serving food that day.

---

ABOUT GO-PAC

Paid for by GO-PAC, Sponsored by Great Oakland Public Schools. Not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.

Contributions to GO-PAC are not tax-deductible. The law requires GO-PAC to publicly disclose contributors' names, street addresses, occupations and employers. GO-PAC may accept contributions in any amount, and may accept contributions from individuals, corporations, other types of business entities, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other PACs. The PAC may not accept contributions from foreign nationals.

Third Annual Garden Party Information

Throwdown for the Town: Talking with Voters about Education

 

Originally posted at Ella's Voice, the blog of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Great Oakland Public Schools is a nonprofit organization that connects and activates an informed community network to advance policies that ensure all Oakland students have the opportunity to attend quality public schools. We are a coalition of parents, teachers, principals, and community leaders who live and work throughout this city.

GO Public Schools believes that great school board leadership is needed to ensure all kids have access to a great school.

This summer, GO is doing a listening campaign to gather input from a diverse group of Oaklanders about public education in this city. Our survey questions are open-ended and allow participants to share their opinions about a number of issues, such as the biggest challenges facing the city of Oakland, what makes a great school, and what qualities they are looking for in school board candidates. Read all of our survey questions here. 

One goal of our survey is to increase the dialogue about the need for school board members to address the challenges facing our schools and our children. Click here to watch a video of GO Member, Sara Nuno, as she explains her experience surveying Oakland residents.

Another GO Member, Joe Ventura, recently wrote a blog about his experience walking the GO survey in two Oakland neighborhoods. Here is one of his key takeaways:

Oaklanders care about our schools, and they want to be heard. On my first walk with GO, I hesitated in front of several porch stairs, contemplating whether the "No Peddlers or Solicitors" sign applied to me. After residents learn that I'm a) not asking for money, b) not trying to sell them anything, and c) want to know what they think, it's actually more challenging to break off conversations than to get them started. Oaklanders care about Oakland students, and they've got plenty of thoughts on how to improve them. On my walks, I've met with journalists, janitors, retirees, and teachers, who are delighted to finally be asked their opinion on how to improve our schools. Just because they don't show up at school board meetings doesn't mean they don't care about improving our students' educational opportunities.


Join GO Public Schools as we continue our survey work during The Ella Baker Center's Throw Down for the Town on Saturday, July 28th.

Photo by Hasain Rasheed.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Camp Educate in Oakland

GO would like to the pass along a unique political training opportunity called Camp Educate. This day-long workshop is being hosted by one of our partner organizations, Educate Our State, which is a parent-led, statewide campaign to unite the voices of Californians in support of high-quality K-12 public education and demand real change.. 

Camp Educate is geared towards parents who are looking to make a difference this election year by drawing attention to the importance of people voting in order to collectively raise our voices in the name of children. Whether it is the state-wide initiatives, your local statewide representative, or your school board member - all of these elections are important for our children. We need great leadership and great policy in order to ensure great education for our children. 

Camp Educate will take place on Saturday, August 18 from 9:30am-3pm at the James Irvine Conference Center in Downtown Oakland. If you would like to attend, RSVP here and email Jessica so that we know who in the GO network will be attending.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Save the Date: Third Annual GO Garden Party

Hi all -

I want to personally invite you to join us for this year's Garden Party. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us on Saturday, August 18th for our 3rd annual afternoon of great food, wine, and beer from some of Oakland's best restaurants, wineries, and breweries.

This event is a fundraiser to support our work to help elect a great school board this November. Tickets for this event can be purchased by donating $50 or more - donate now to secure your spot. We are excited to see the Oakland community come together for our students at this event.

Don't wait. Get your ticket today.

My best,
Jonathan Klein
Executive Director
Great Oakland Public Schools

---

ABOUT GO-PAC

Paid for by GO-PAC, Sponsored by Great Oakland Public Schools. Not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.

Contributions to GO-PAC are not tax-deductible. The law requires GO-PAC to publicly disclose contributors' names, street addresses, occupations and employers. GO-PAC may accept contributions in any amount, and may accept contributions from individuals, corporations, other types of business entities, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other PACs. The PAC may not accept contributions from foreign nationals.

We did it!

We did it! We set a goal of 100 donors by June 30th, and because of you we met that goal.

Thank you so much for your contribution to help elect great school board members this November. The money will be crucial as we begin to reach out to voters in the next few months to encourage them to support our endorsed candidates.

We have momentum now -- this grassroots fundraising campaign will continue through August 15, and we have more money to raise. Our next milestone is 200 donors by the end of July.

We'd like to celebrate the opening of the new school year and kick off the election season with you at our 3rd Annual Garden Party on Saturday, August 18th - please mark your calendar to join us.

The next step is to spread the word to neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Can we count on you to make 5 phone calls or send 10 emails to ask others to join our efforts? They can donate here.

Click here to learn about how you can join us by creating your personal fundraising page.

Onward to victory on November 6th.

---

ABOUT GO-PAC

Paid for by GO-PAC, Sponsored by Great Oakland Public Schools.

Contributions to GO-PAC are not tax-deductible. The law requires GO-PAC to publicly disclose contributors' names, street addresses, occupations and employers. GO-PAC may accept contributions in any amount, and may accept contributions from individuals, corporations, other types of business entities, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other PACs. The PAC may not accept contributions from foreign nationals.

Photos by Hasain Rasheed.

Needed: Outgoing People, Good Listeners, and Computer Lovers

We want for your help with some of the work that Great Oakland Public Schools is taking on this summer.

There's something for everyone - we have opportunities for people who like to get out and meet fellow Oaklanders, those who like to do computer-based work, and those who are interested in getting on the phone to help survey our neighbors as part of our listening campaign.

Can you help? Sign up today for one of the following opportunities now!

Laurel Street Fair Volunteers
Saturday, August 11th - Volunteers will distribute flyers and talk to people about GO and the work we do to ensure that all Oakland children have access to quality public schools. We will provide all of the supplies, materials, and talking points you will need to successfully represent GO. The fair takes place on MacArthur between 35th and 38th Avenues in Oakland's Laurel Neighborhood.

Listening Campaign Phone Banking
Our summer listening campaign is in full swing! We're calling Oaklanders to ask them open-ended questions on their thoughts on Oakland education. This will help us learn what our community wants from our schools and help Oaklanders know about Great Oakland Public Schools so that they can get involved. We're learning and growing our network at the same time! Phone banks happen at the GO office, and dinner is provided. Phone banks are from 5:30 PM - 8 PM.

Listening Campaign Data Entry
Volunteers will help enter the information we're learning on our listening campaign when we go door-to-door and do phone-banking. This can be done at the GO office, or from home with your own computer.

We look forward to seeing all of you this summer!

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Video Update from Jonathan Klein

It's Wednesday afternoon, and I just recorded a quick video update for you about our campaign to help elect a great school board in Oakland. We need your help - check out the message below and get involved. We have four days left to reach our goal!

Also - Save the date for our Garden Party! On Saturday, August 18th, we'll be gathering to enjoy great food and drink while kicking off the election season. Every donor to our campaign will be invited to join us - make your contribution today!

 

---

ABOUT GO-PAC

Paid for by GO-PAC, Sponsored by Great Oakland Public Schools. Not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.

Contributions to GO-PAC are not tax-deductible. The law requires GO-PAC to publicly disclose contributors' names, street addresses, occupations and employers. GO-PAC may accept contributions in any amount, and may accept contributions from individuals, corporations, other types of business entities, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other PACs. The PAC may not accept contributions from foreign nationals.

"There's no better way to experience our city..."

By: Joe Ventura  

For the past two Saturdays I've joined other GO Public Schools volunteers on a "Listening Campaign" throughout Oakland neighborhoods to gather information about the most pressing issues facing our public schools system and solicit ideas for addressing them. Walking with GO's team of volunteers has given me the great opportunity to see a new side to my adopted hometown, as well as scratched an itch I've felt to get more involved in supporting our students and their teachers.

Here are a few observations from my weekend foray into community organizing:

1. Opening the door to Oakland. Despite what President Obama has done for the community organizer ethos, it's unlikely to be at the top of many jobseekers' most wanted lists. Exposed to the elements (granted, much better in Oakland than Chicago) and vulnerable to the (mostly justified) ire Oaklanders have for anyone standing on their porch with a clipboard, in reality community organizing can be quite a challenge. But, it's also immensely exciting for anyone with a love for this vibrant city. From the community gardens in District 1 to the alleyway neighborhoods tucked into District 3, there's no better way to experience our city than a walk with a purpose through its many diverse streets.
   
   
2. Oaklanders care about our schools, and they want to be heard. On my first walk with GO, I hesitated in front of several porch stairs, contemplating whether the "No Peddlers or Solicitors" sign applied to me. After residents learn that I'm a) not asking for money, b) not trying to sell them anything, and c) want to know what they think, it's actually more challenging to break off conversations than to get them started. Oaklanders care about Oakland students (and their schools), and they've got plenty of thoughts on how to improve them. On my walks, I've met with journalists, janitors, retirees, and teachers, delighted to finally be asked their opinion on how to improve our schools. Just because they don't show up at monthly school board meetings doesn't mean they don't care about improving our students' educational opportunities.
   
   
3. Your school board matters. The real goal of GO's listening campaign is to gather input from Oakland residents about challenges their neighborhood schools are facing in order to identify Oakland school board candidates ready and equipped to address them. I've learned a lot about the immense influence the school board has on how Oakland schools are run, and the need to advocate for candidates who are listening to parents, teachers, and their students. I'm a proud and consistent voter, but school board races rarely get my attention. This year, I'm heading into the voting booth prepared to give my vote for school board member the focus it deserves.
   

Do you have something to say about Oakland Public Schools? GO wants to hear from you. You can fill out the survey volunteers have been sharing door-to-door here. Want to join me in a future neighborhood walk? Sign up here.

Want to get involved with GO Public Schools work to improve Oakland schools? Contact Casey at casey@gopublicschools.org.

Welcoming Maya Robles-Wong to the GO team this summer

We want to officially welcome Maya Robles-Wong to the GO Public Schools team as a 2012 Summer Fellow! A Bay Area native, Maya is no stranger to the education world - she is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit about inadequate school funding in California.

Maya is a rising sophomore at Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she plans on minoring in Education Studies. She enjoys rowing with the Wellesley Crew team as well as working with young students at Wellesley's Child Study Center and volunteering at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Collaborative where she is involved in their after school program. She believes that in order to support students it is essential that they receive adequate attention and excellent resources. She is very excited to have the opportunity to help work towards achieving these goals during her time at GO this summer.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

GO Endorses 3 in race for Oakland School Board

This November, Oaklanders will elect 4 new school board members. While many voters will have the presidential contest at the top of their minds, the results of these school board races will have tremendous impact for our students. This board makes major decisions that impact our children every day - including hiring and evaluating the Superintendent, setting budget priorities, negotiating with district employees, and directing dollars for school facilities.

After a thorough review of all candidates in Districts 3 (West Oakland, Downtown, Adams Point) and District 7 (East Oakland), GO has chosen to dually endorse Jumoke Hinton-Hodge and Sheilagh Polk in District 3 and to endorse James Harris in District 7.

If we are successful in electing these candidates, they are poised to make major improvements for Oakland students. But it will take all of us working together to get them elected - here are two ways we need you to help today:

1. Donate $25 or more to GO PAC to provide the resources we need to support these candidates.
2. Sign up to phone bank or walk a neighborhood with our community survey over the next two months.

These endorsements are the result of questionnaires, interviews, and member feedback on all candidates. The election is in November 2012 and will utilize Oakland's Ranked Choice Voting method of choosing a winner.

Scroll down for more information on each endorsed candidate. Come meet these candidates tomorrow night at our end of the year celebration at the Jack London Square Market! Click here to RSVP.

---

District 3 (West Oakland, Downtown, Adams Point) - Jumoke Hinton-Hodge and Sheilagh Polk

Director Hinton-Hodge was first elected to the school board in 2008. During her first term, she helped to develop and guide "Thriving Students" an ambitious strategic plan for the Oakland Unified School District; sponsored the District's "A-G" requirements ensuring all students have access the courses necessary for college; and was instrumental in selecting and hiring Superintendent Tony Smith. Director Hinton-Hodge also lead the effort to create a district wide restorative justice policy to address discipline practices under which disproportionate numbers of African-American and Latino students were being expelled from school. She is currently the Program Director at People's Grocery in West Oakland.

"Jumoke is a parent and a caring community member with deep roots in Oakland. In her four years on the school board she has learned to effectively work with others and navigate the system," said Dr. Washington Burns, a community leader in District 3 and GO Board member. "She is a consistent voice for equity. She is an asset on the school board for students and families now, and will continue to be if she is re-elected."

Sheilagh Polk, whose daughter is an OUSD student, is a long-time education leader who lives in West Oakland. She has been involved in many education campaigns, including the successful campaign to mandate the "A-G" standards in Oakland and Los Angeles Unified. She has worked for Education Trust West, a leading statewide education policy advocacy organization. Ms. Polk is currently the Director of Communications for Coaching Corps (formerly known as Team Up for Youth).

"Sheilagh understands the Oakland public schools from the perspective of a current parent," said David Stein, District Three resident, father of a current Oakland public school student and Vice President of the GO Board. "She brings a vision and level of passion that our school board needs. She's not running for this seat to be a politician, she's running to fight for our students and make Oakland public schools better."

District 7 (East Oakland) - James Harris

James Harris is a former high school English teacher and active in the Oakland education community. He is on the board of Aim High and was a founding member of Great Oakland Public Schools. An innovative and strategic thinker, James will be a force for civility, teamwork, and progress on the School Board.

"James is a parent and a former teacher. He understands the complex issues at play in the Oakland Unified School District. He will work hard to make the schools better for our children," said Mary Prime Lawrence, East Oakland resident, mother of three students and GO Board member. "We need James on the School Board because he is dedicated to putting children first. He knows how to forge alliances to create success."

Paid for by GO-PAC, sponsored by Great Oakland Public Schools.  Not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.

Action Alert: GO Neighborhood Walks

As you know, in order to have great schools for every Oakland child, we need great school board leadership. That's why this November's school board elections are a major focus for GO. We are about to start our first big project in this arena, and we need your help.

This month and next, we'll be walking neighborhoods with a survey to help us understand what Oaklanders are thinking about school board elections and introduce them to Great Oakland Public Schools. Will you join us and your neighbors and commit to spending one shift (a few hours) walking a neighborhood or calling fellow Oaklanders in the next two months? Jessica got the chance to pair up with her friend Mary a few weeks back to go door-to-door with our survey in hand. They had a great time getting to know people in Mary's neighborhood. Here's a blog Jess wrote about her experience.

Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/GOCommunitySurvey to let us know when you can help out. It's going to take all of us to make this change in Oakland, and we can't wait until we are celebrating success in November. We can do this.

See you out there!

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

My reflections on interviewing school board candidates

By: Mirella Rangel
 
On Saturday, April 28th, 2012, I participated in a GO Public Schools event to get to know the candidates in regions 3 (mostly West Oakland and Downtown) and 7 (deep East Oakland). We interviewed all candidates in those two districts. While the role of a School Board member is daunting and difficult, I was impressed by the commitment of the candidates.
 
Each day I discuss the state of public education in Oakland and there seem to be no easy answers, but what struck me in the interviews was the impact of public accountability on the school district and school board members. Many candidates mentioned Oakland Community Organization (OCO) and their impact on school board policies. I myself, being a fan of OCO's work, have seen how their impetus along with a coalition of parents, teachers, non-profit organizations, and community members, launched many of the successful small schools that Oakland Leaf partners with: ASCEND, Urban Promise Academy, Think College Now, International Community School, and EnCompass Academy.
 
I often hear people criticize our educational system and leadership. In fact, critique is one thing that we do VERY well. But if we aren't paying attention to decisions that matter and decisions that are directly in our hands, how can we throw stones while we sit in our glass houses of apathy?  Let me be clear, I myself have been guilty of this. When it came to pointing fingers, I blamed leadership, but when it was my turn to vote, I can honestly say that I didn't do my research. If I paid just 1/10th of the time and attention that I spent thinking about, arguing about, and pondering the school board elections as I have with with the presidential elections, I could claim that I was an informed voter, but I wasn't.  I know that I am not alone, and it isn't too late to turn the tide.
 
This next school board cannot be determined by the very few. Our dwindling resources have left us in a state of fighting over crumbs and mired in the politics of divide and conquer. It is all hands on deck. I hope that the work of GO Public Schools will help re-energize the young visionaries, revolutionaries, and community change makers who work tirelessly to bring about a better Oakland. We have come so far, but have so much more to go.

Want to get involved with Mirella? Sign up for a neighborhood survey walk in May or June.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

School Board Candidate Endorsement Process Opens

Great Oakland Public Schools (501c4) is preparing to embark on a process to consider endorsing candidates for school board for the November 2012 election. Our board of directors, based on their understanding of mature candidate fields in Districts 3 and 7, has approved a motion to open the endorsement process in these two districts.

The steps of the process will be as follows:

1) We invite candidates to submit written responses to this questionnaire (which refers to our Core Values, listed here). Responses will help inform our endorsements and will be posted to our website. Please return this to Jessica via email no later than Monday, April 23rd at 5pm.

2) On Saturday, April 28th, we invite candidates to participate in an in-person interview with our board and members. We anticipate the interview to last about half an hour and be recorded so that our members may watch the video and so that it can be posted on our website. GO members (those who have paid membership dues by March 1st) will be invited to participate in these interviews. We anticipate these interviews will be held between 9AM and 1PM - please let Jessica know if you have a preference of time during this window and we will try to accommodate your request.

3) GO members will be given the chance to provide feedback and input after viewing the questionnaire and interview videos.

4) The GO Board of Directors will consider the input of the membership in assessing the extent to which a candidate supports GO's Core Values and Policy Agenda, will be an effective leader, and will be a viable candidate.

5) The Board will then decide whether or not to make an early endorsement (before the filing deadline) of one or more candidates.

Please reach out to Jonathan or Jessica with any questions.

Door to Door in Mary's Neighborhood: My Reflections

By: Jessica Stewart

After a long rainy week, it was refreshing to have nice weather outside this past Monday night as I got the chance to gather with other members of the Great Oakland Public Schools network at Mary Prime Lawrence's home in East Oakland's Las Palmas neighborhood.

GO is embarking on a campaign (a follow-up from our listening campaign this past fall) to go out and hear from our neighbors across the city about what they are thinking about public education in our city. With feedback from small groups across the city, we've developed a survey that we will be using to talk with neighbors at their doors and on the phone over the next few months.

After a quick pizza dinner together, several of us headed out to meet Mary's neighbors and ask their opinions on our survey. I was lucky enough to be in a group of three with Mary, Maureen (one of Mary's neighbors from around the block and a former Oakland principal), and myself.

I say "lucky" because Mary knows just about everyone in her neighborhood. As we went from home to home, Mary could tell us a bit about each family (and their pets). When we met the rare neighbor that Mary had not already met, she wasted no time introducing herself and pointing out that she lived in the house "with the pink flag in front".

We had so many great conversations as we shared our survey. We talked with Byron, who was taking advantage of the nice weather before the rain started to get his lawn mowed. We had a long conversation with Felipe, who told us about being very involved in his children's Head Start when they were little and about his views on parental involvement being crucial to student success.

We spoke with Kim, who is good friends with lots of Oakland teachers across the city and was one of the most cheerful people I have interacted with - ever. We got to meet cute dogs through the window at many houses and even pet a few little ones as they were being walked by their owners. We shared smiles with neighbors driving by and walking by. We talked with Jack, who was very enthusiastic and wanted to introduce us to his wife. His kids were OUSD students, but he shared that his grandchildren are going to private schools because they're not confident in our public schools right now.

As we finished up, we met back in Mary's living room where her kids had gotten home from a hike they took (they were enjoying their spring break!) and shared our takeaways from the time we spent surveying neighbors.

My biggest personal takeaway?  Our city is filled with hopeful people who deeply desire great public schools and want their kids to go to a nearby quality school with other kids in the neighborhood. GO's role is to listen to their hopes and help do what we can to support them to make it happen.

Join me on our next survey walk - it will take all of us to make this change for our children.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Who is GO Public Schools?

Over the past few weeks, we've been asking some of the members of our movement to share their stories and hopes are for public education in our city. We're calling it the "I Am GO" Project.

GO Public Schools is a diverse coalition of parents, teachers, school leaders, and community members from across the city, and we hope that this project begins to highlight all of the different people who are coming together for our students in this movement. Click here to see the first several stories.

If you would like to be a part of the "I am GO" project and share your story about your hopes for education in our city and why you are involved with Great Oakland Public Schools, please send a 3-4 sentence statement and a picture to Jessica.

Announcing Summer Fellowship Applications

Click here for a printable version of this posting.

About GO Public Schools
Great Oakland Public Schools supports a coalition of Oakland families, students, teachers, principals, community, and civic leaders united around a positive, student‐oriented vision for public education in our city. Our mission is to provide leadership, advocacy and information to ensure that all Oakland students have access to excellent public schools in their neighborhood and throughout the city.

About the Fellowship
GO Public Schools offers education advocates the opportunity to make an impact on public education in the City of Oakland through a variety of fellowship opportunities.  We are seeking fellows to focus one or more of the following projects: (1) community outreach, (2) teaching policy, (3) and our Garden Party fundraiser.

This is a part-time, unpaid fellowship, may involve some travel around Oakland. The fellowship commitment is from mid-June through mid-August at approximately 20 hours per week. See below for details on how to apply.

Projects Available
Community Outreach (Apply to Jessica at jessica@gopublicschools.org)
Help increase the number of Oaklanders who are part of the GO network by strategically reaching out and inviting Oaklanders to get connected to Great Oakland Public Schools.

Teaching Policy (Apply to Marc at marc@gopublicschools.org)
Provide in-depth policy research and analysis on OUSD policies that impact teachers.

3rd Annual Garden Party (Apply to Casey at casey@gopublicschools.org)
Help lead our strategy to run our third annual Garden Party fundraiser in August - help drive details including volunteer, childcare, décor, printed materials, signage, marketing, and other logistical details.

Elections (Apply to Jessica at jessica@gopublicschools.org)
Supporting our work to hear from Oaklanders in neighborhoods across the city about what they are thinking and feeling about public education in our city, and compiling that information in a report that we can share with our community. This will help guide our work to help great school board candidates get elected this November.

Benefits

• Opportunity to impact public education policy in Oakland
• Be part of a dynamic team of educators and education advocates
• Gain practical research, writing, and advocacy skills
• Opportunity to meet measurable goals and build marketable skills
  

Qualifications Required

• Self-starter with strong project management and communication skills.
• Understanding of and/or willingness to learn about Oakland and Oakland Unified School District stakeholders
• Strong and strategic written and verbal communication skills, with a willingness to engage in public speaking

How to Apply
All applicants should submit a cover letter and resume the GO staff member listed with the specific fellowship. Please limit your cover letter to 300 words and be sure to include the following: why you are interested in and qualified for this particular fellowship, your background in urban education, your connection to Oakland, and the skills you will offer the GO Public Schools team.  Please include the reference "Summer Fellowship" in the subject line.

Deadline :  Friday, April 13th

Interview with our 1,000th Facebook Fan, Jose Gonzalez

We recently reached a bit of a mini-milestone by reaching 1,000 fans on Facebook. What better way to celebrate than with an interview with Jose Gonzalez who became our 1,000th fan after seeing a Twitter post about being one fan away from this milestone.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Jose Gonzalez. I've lived in Oakland for 22 years. I attended Hawthorne Elementary, Oakland Charter Academy, Skyline High School, and then San Jose State. I now work with Think College Now as an After School Program instructor and also a technology specialist.

What is your hope for our public schools in Oakland?
My hope for public schools in Oakland is that we should continue to push students to want to go to college. Every student should want to go to college and believe they can. My hope for public schools in Oakland is that we should be sending more students to college. Kids should be thinking college at every level - elementary school, middle school and high school.

Thanks Jose and the 999 other folks who liked our Facebook Page. We love interacting with you everyday!

 

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

The story of the fundraiser for GO Public Schools with Ted Mitchell

See below for the videos, pictures, and tweets from our fundraiser with Ted Mitchell on March 6th, 2012. We gathered at the Kaiser Center to raise money to support GO's work in 2012 and hear Ted's perspective from his work in the education field.

We're Honored.

Listening Campaign Results

Over the last several months, Great Oakland Public Schools has hosted many party gatherings across the city to hear from Oaklanders what they are thinking about education in our city. The results of this listening campaign (from almost 2,000 pieces of data collected) are now available. Click here for the results.

Highlights:

• 80% of participants stated that Oakland schools do not have enough money to do a good job of educating students
• 75% of participants said that it was time for new school board leadership in Oakland. When asked to give one word to describe a great school board member, participants frequented words like "engaged," "knowledgeable," and "problem solver."
• Participants noted 1) teachers, 2) parents, and 3) community support as the three most important factors to a child's success in school

Below is a visual representation of responses to the question, "What is the most important issue in Oakland education?" To see a word cloud of all responses received from the entire set of responses, click here. To see word clouds from other questions, click here.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Fundraiser with Ted Mitchell

Join us on Tuesday, March 6th to support Great Oakland Public Schools and hear from Ted Mitchell, former president of the California State Board of Education and president of Occidental College.

Currently, Ted is president and CEO of the NewSchools Venture Fund, an Oakland-based venture philanthropy organization committed to improving public education, especially for the under-served.

Mike Johnston Speech Video

Below is a video from our fundraiser with Colorado Senator Mike Johnston in January 2012:



To view a recap of the event as written by C.J. Hirschfield, Executive Director of Children's Fairyland, click here.

Another blogger shared about the event here.

To see Mike's responses to audience questions, click here.

"Drive", she said.

Below is the text from an article by C.J. Hirschfield, Executive Director of Children's Fairyland, originally printed in the Piedmont Post. PDF version here.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

GO Fundraiser with Senator Mike Johnston - Live Twitter Feed

During our event the evening of Thursday, January 5th, watch this page for live Tweets from those attending the event. Join the conversation using hashtag #go2012.

We're 23 days away.

 By: Jessica Stewart

I was at the GO Holiday Party a few weeks ago when someone shared with me that Senator Mike Johnston is the subject of one of the chapter's of Tom Friedman's new book (That Used to Be Us).

It made me even more proud that Senator Johnston will be joining us in just a few weeks to help raise money for GO's work in 2012.

So far, 141 people have purchased their ticket to support GO and be sure they have a spot at a fantastic Oakland education event. If you haven't reserved yours yet, be sure to do that soon. The early bird tickets are only available for two more days (until Friday).

I got my hands on a copy of Friedman's book so that I could see the section about Senator Johnston. Here is one of my favorite excerpts from that chapter that has a good analogy about where education stands today:

"Johnston said that when he thinks about the change that he and others are trying to effect in education, he thinks back to attending President Obama's inauguration in Washington. What impressed him most was seeing a platoon of wheelchairs parting the crowd on the Mall after the president took the oath. Sitting in them were the surviving Tuskegee Airman, the first African American aviators in te United States armed forces, who flew many successful missions in World War II.

"What I realized was that they lived in a moment when people didn't believe it was possible - they didn't believe that a black man had the courage or intelligence or stamina to fly one of America's most expensive warplanes," Johnson recalled. "So they said, 'Put me up in the air and let me show you,' and they became one of the only air squadrons in WWII who never lost a bomber." And of course they could and did become successful pilots. "And when they did, the world changed- because the argument about whether or not we were all created equal was once and for all over, and nothing else could have happened but that Truman would eventually integrate the air force, or that Johnson would sign the Civil Rights Act, or that sixty years later we would inaugurate the first black president.

"Education needs its own Tuskegee moment. One reason we have not been able ot galvanize the whole community for educational reform, "Johnston concluded, "is that some people still don't believe that every one of our kids can compete with the smartest kids from Singapore and China. It's our responsibility to get up in the air and prove them wrong. Then the whole world changes."

Senator Johnston led historic legislation in Colorado that brought together Republicans, Democrats, union leaders, district leaders, and others to support effective educators in Colorado classrooms. He also co-founded New Leaders for New Schools and was one of President Obama's top three education advisors. He is also the author of In the Deep Heart's Core, a book he wrote after being a teacher in the Mississippi Delta. He was also recently named to Time Magazine's 40 Under 40 List.

Needless to say, the conversation we're going to have on January 5th with Mike is going to be inspiring and interesting, and I hope you're a part of it. Get your ticket here.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

2011 Listening Campaign Results

Over the last few months, our network has hosted many house party gatherings across the city with their neighbors to hear from Oaklanders what they are thinking about education in our city. We took the several hundred responses and created this word cloud to visually represent what is on the mind of our city. Click here to view a larger version.

Top Five Reasons

By: Jessica Stewart

"He is the best speaker I've ever heard."

That's Meg Stewart, Oakland teacher at Bret Harte Middle School. She got the chance to hear Colorado Senator Mike Johnston, a clear leader in the education community, speak earlier this year. We agree with Meg, so we asked Mike to join us in January for a GO Public Schools fundraiser.

Here are my Top Five Reasons to join us for this event on January 5th:

5. It's a great chance to see your fellow education advocates and meet some great new friends and make connections.

4. The event benefits Great Oakland Public School's work in 2012, which will be a truly crucial year Oakland education.

3. Mike Johnston is an impressive leader in the education movement. Check out one of his past speeches here on YouTube.

2. For the next few weeks, the early-bird tickets to the fundraiser are cheaper than they will be once we all go on winter vacation.

1. It's sure to be a thought-provoking discussion and a fun, interesting crowd.

Get your ticket today for the event on January 5th.

You may be familiar with Mike's work in Colorado and his leadership nationally as one of President Obama's top three education policy advisors to President Obama during the 2008 campaign and as a co-founder of New Leaders for New Schools. He also opened and led Mapleton Expeditionary School of Arts, a public district high school in Colorado. In May 2008, MESA became the first public high school in Colorado to get all 100 percent of its seniors admitted to four-year colleges.

We'll be kicking off at 6:30 PM on Thursday, January 5th at Lighthouse Community School at 444 Hegenberger and we hope you'll be there with us. Buy your ticket here and then join the Facebook event to get the conversation started.

I'll see you in January!

P.S. That night (January 5th) is my birthday, and I can't think of any better way to spend it than with others who care just as deeply about having a great school for every kid in Oakland! I hope you'll join us.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Announcing Our 2011 Summer Fellows

This year, we had more than five times as many applicants for our summer fellowship as last year.  The group we have selected for this summer is a diverse group that brings in an exciting set of skills and knowledge to contribute.  Fellows will be working on projects involving teacher effectiveness, outreach to our community, fundraising, and much more.

John Baldo
John recently taught Pre-Algebra and Geometry in Oakland as a Teach for America corps member.  He graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a minor in political science with an emphasis in law and public policy.  He has a keen interest in the intersection of technology and education, especially longitudinal data systems.  During his time at USC, he advocated for improved student services as a director in the undergraduate student government.  He also served as a leader in a grassroots campaign to make USC a more sustainable community.

Sandrena Frischer
Sandrena is an undergrad at UC Berkeley, studying Education and International Area Studies, with a focus on human security and conflict resolution. As a volunteer at Manzanita Community School in Oakland, she gained experience working in an urban education environment. As a volunteer for Amigos de las Americas in Panama and the Dominican Republic, she taught classes about health, the environment, and youth leadership to elementary school students in rural communities. She is a Bay Area Native, and is interested in education policy and education as a means for social change.


Jordan Haedtler
A graduate of the George Washington University, Jordan is a passionate political organizer, writer, and education reform advocate. Jordan has years of experience on grassroots campaigns and with non-profits, working on a wide array of issues. Whether working to pass a renewable electricity standard through Congress, persuading California voters to approve high speed rail, or fighting unjust prison sentence disparities, Jordan has brought dedication to his advocacy. Most recently, Jordan managed a state legislative race in Southeastern Pennsylvania, selected by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee as one of "40 Essential Races" nationwide. In his spare time, he sings barbershop harmony with competitive quartets and choruses.

Jack Holzman
Jack Holzman just completed his first year as a seventh grade math teacher at Elmhurst Community Prep in East Oakland and a 2010 Teach For America Corps Member. While obtaining his bachelor's degree in Computer Science at the University of Illinois, Jack served as an engagement partner for OTCR Consulting, a student-run business and technical consulting firm. This position was heavily focused on project management, staff development, and data analysis. Jack currently resides in Oakland.

Reed Matheny
Reed has been teaching in various capacities for over nine years, tutoring in private and public schools and volunteering as an English teacher through Learning Enterprises in Panama. He has just completed a Master's degree in English Literature at Stanford University, where he also co-founded Ithaka, a thriving 20-person co-op. He is excited to shift his focus from teaching to education advocacy this summer with GO Public Schools. If he's not working for social justice in education, you might find him cooking, reading Joyce or climbing trees in the East Bay hills.

Chinere McDaniels
Chinere McDaniels has been teaching in Oakland Unified for the last 3 years. She is currently a Kindergarten teacher at Hoover elementary. Chinere is passionate about our youth and has strong interest in creating educational opportunities for Oakland youth where there were none. She is an advocate for youth, a mentor and counselor. She has participated in summer camps, tutoring and extracurricular activities with her students. Her favorite quotes are "it takes a village to raise a child" and "the journey of a million steps starts with the first step". She believes that as a community we have the ability to change Oakland's future for the better -- one small step at a time.

Tara Ramanathan
Tara's work focuses on the intersection where education, poverty, and policy meet. In 2006 she authored a chapter in the book Poverty in India, in which she analyzed major lessons learned on poverty alleviation strategies in developing and developed countries.  Her Honors thesis in Economics investigated successful microfinance programs in developing countries, and their application as alternative forms of education in the United States. After graduating, Tara taught in a low-performing school in Richmond with Teach for America; and then joined a research team at UC Berkeley to evaluate the efficacy of Teach for America corps members in boosting achievement among low-performing students.  Tara has played a key leadership role in a number of successful campaigns, including the University of California campaign that led to the UC Regents divestment from Darfur; for which she was recognized with the Brutten Philanthropic Organization of the Year Award.  

Sara Salas
As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, Sara worked with various academic outreach programs serving youth throughout the East Bay. For two years, she served as Team Leader and Volunteer Coordinator for a non-profit organization promoting early childhood education. She also worked as a College Advocate at a local high school where she facilitated CAHSEE and SAT preparation seminars, as well as coordinated the annual College Fair. As a Staff Tutor for Berkeley Unified School District, she provided one-on-one academic support and college application advising. During her last semester, Sara participated in a language and culture program in Brazil where she conducted research on that country's affirmative action initiative in public university admissions. Through this fellowship, she hopes to gain valuable exposure in grassroots organizing and collaborate on progressive reforms for public education in Oakland.

Stephanie Wong
Stephanie is a rising senior at UC Berkeley, studying Media Studies, with a minor in Global Poverty and Practice. Her ties to Oakland public schools began three years ago, when she first became a tutor and mentor for Oakland Asian Students Educational Services (OASES). Since then, she has continued to volunteer with OASES and interned at the U.S. Department of Education. Most recently, she helped instruct a Berkeley undergraduate course on "Current Issues in Education," deconstructing and analyzing the social, political, and economic issues that affect education. She is passionate about social justice, human rights, education, and journalism, all of which help drive her educational interests and experiences.


If you are interested in hearing about future fellowship opportunities this fall and in the future, please join our email list at http://www.gopublicschools.org/.
More >

OUSD's 2011-2012 Budget

Have questions about Oakland Unifiedʼs (OUSD) 2011-12 budget? Below is an overview of both the OUSD and State budget contexts, as well as some questions posed by GO Public Schools.

Key OUSD Background
1. OUSD still does not know how much money it will get from the State of California.
2. Cuts are estimated to be between $349-844 per pupil (between $12.5 and $30.5 M for OUSD).
3. OUSD needs to be prepared to cut up to $844 in per pupil funding ($30.5 M total) from its budget.
4. On April 6th, OUSD staff gave the School Board a list of 11 possible cuts totaling about $60M.

The BIG Budget Picture
1. The State decides how much money OUSD gets.
2. The OUSD Board of Education decides how to spend the money it gets from the state.
3. OUSD staff gives the Board of Education options to create a district budget.
4. The OUSD Board of Education either (a) accepts the staff's options, or (b) asks the staff for more options.

GO Public Schools proposes the following questions:

1. Central Office Cuts: Why werenʼt more Central Office budget cuts proposed?
The Central Office is budgeted $33.7M of "unrestricted" funds. This year, every OUSD School Site had to look closely are each program and staff member and make painful cuts. The Districtʼs Central Office should do the same. As a start, OUSD should publicly, and in an accessible format, examine the budgets of (1) Professional Development; and (2) Full Service Community Schools. Both of these budgets are large, and it is unclear if they are providing core services (e.g., direct student services, mandatory staff support). GO understands that the Central Office needs funding so that the district can function.

2. School Site Cuts: Why do schools sites have to cut so much?
Why isn't reducing the current level of school site cuts--$349 per pupil--among the options presented? We do not have to cut school site budgets by $349 per pupil in order to balance the budget. For example, School Sites could reduce their budgets by $150 and OUSD could make other cuts to balance the budget. When the School Sites cut $349 per pupil out of their budgets it meant losing 137 teacher positions, and many classified staff positions.

3. Restricted Funds: Will OUSD give more "restricted funds" to school sites?
For example, "Title I" money is given to OUSD to help children in poverty. OUSD currently uses $2.9M of its Title I funds for "oversight" and "indirect costs." This is the legal maximum that OUSD is allowed to use for that purpose. If OUSD reduced the cost of its oversight, these funds could be given to the school sites to directly benefit students.

4. Structural Deficit: What will OUSD do to address the structural deficit before next yearʼs budget? A "Structural Deficit" means that the district spends more than it brings in. Right now, in order to meet community concerns, the district is suggesting that we use a lot of "one time" money - that is, money that we only have this year to solve our budget problems. As a community we have to think about what happens next year.

5. Temporary Teachers: What is the plan to help the ʻtemporaryʼ teachers who taught for most of the year return to their classrooms? Last year, OUSD hired both ʻpermanentʼ and ʻtemporaryʼ teachers. Some ʻtemporaryʼ teachers were in the classroom all year, but because they were temporary they are being removed from the classroom.

Click here to view this as a PDF in English and Spanish.

Budget Crisis Update

On April 6th, OUSD's Board of Education met for a study session on the budget crisis, hearing a Special Presentation to the Board  from District leadership. Below, we have summarized (1) the current situation, (2) the possible cuts proposed by the District, (3) the District's recommended cuts, (4) an update on teacher layoffs, and (5) the questions that GO was left with after the presentation. Click here to download a user-friendly PDF with this information.

The special budget study session began with some reminders regarding the severity of the crisis facing OUSD today, with District staff sharing additional budget documents: 2011-12 Budget Development: Unrestricted General Fund Assumptions, and Summary of Consultants. Click here to watch a video of the meeting.

A Snapshot

Last year, OUSD received $5,239 per pupil. Vernon Hal, the District's Chief Financial Officer, shared that OUSD had been preparing for a $349 per pupil funding cut ($12.5 M reduction overall). With the breakdown of budget talks in Sacramento, it is now preparing for $844 per pupil cuts ($30.5 M reduction overall).  

It Could Get Worse

The $844 cut in per pupil funding is based on two assumptions: (1) the taxes proposed for the November ballot do not pass; and (2) the state education budget does not receive additional cuts during the state budget process. If the tax extensions pass, Oakland will get more money. If the state education budget gets cut, Oakland will receive less money.

The Board's Priorities

For the purposes of Wednesday's study session, the question of how to cut the budget focused around the Board's three priorities: (1) Increase Teacher Retention; (2) Eliminate the Structural Deficit; and (3) Increase Employee Compensation.

Options

According to Hal, OUSD needs to prepare for a $30.5M budget cut. He said there are four strategies to manage the budget, and proposed $58.5M in possibilities:

1. Increase the General Fund ("Revenue Enhancement")
2. Spend Less ("Expense Decreases")
3. Transfer part of the OUSD Fund Balance (Money the district has for unanticipated expenses, etc.)
4. Decrease "Proposed Expense Increases"

1. Increase the General Fund. (The General Fund is the budget category that is used to fund school sites and the Central Office.)

• Flex Adult Education ($6.2M): This option cuts $6.2M of Adult Education funding and adds it to the General Fund so it can be used by K-12 school sites. $1M would remain in Adult Education.
• Flex Adult Education's Unallocated Budget ($2.5M): This option cuts Adult Education's $2.5M Unallocated Fund Balance and adds it to the General Fund so it can be used by K-12 students.
• Use the State Loan ($2.1M): This option would use $2.1M that OUSD has remaining from its $100M loan from the state, and puts it into the General Fund so it can be used by K-12 students.

2. Spend less.

• Cut to School Sites ($14.6M): This option would reduce OUSD's expenses by keeping the $14.6M cut to school site budgets made under Results Based Budgeting. This is the cut that was made when the district asked schools to prepare a site budget based on a $349 per pupil funding cut.
• Cut Early Retirement Fund ($2M): This option would reduce OUSD's expenses by not spending $2M of the $6.4M Early Retirement Fund this year.
• Cut Some Music Teachers ($320,000): This option reduces expenses by cutting 4 of the 20 centrally funded music teachers. 'Centrally funded' means that these teachers are paid by the central office rather than school sites.
• Maximize Elementary Class Sizes ($6.6M): This option would reduce OUSD's expenses by maximizing elementary school class-sizes to contract maximums. This means approximately 90 fewer full time teachers at school sites.

3. Transfer Part of the Fund Balance to the General Fund. 

• Fund Balance (Up to $19M): In this option, OUSD adds part of its $19M "Fund Balance" to the General Fund. The "Fund Balance" is money OUSD has not spent (for a variety of reasons, such as to pay audit fines, in case of economic uncertainty, etc.).

4. Decrease Proposed "Expense Increases." (These are expenses that OUSD planned to increase, but Hal is suggesting the District could choose not to go forward with the increase.)

• Salary Increase ($2M): OUSD had proposed to give its staff a 2% salary increase. Choosing not to give this raise would save OUSD $2M.
• Flex Adult Ed. Funds ($3M): OUSD had planned to use $3M in Adult Education Funds to pay for high school counseling, literacy, and A-G (college prep) offerings. Not offering these services would save OUSD $3M.
• Summer School Funding ($543,000): OUSD had budgeted $543,000 for non-salary expenses related to summer school. Cutting these expenses would save $543,000.

District staff recommends that OUSD does the following:

1. Increase the General Fund

• Flex all Adult Education Funds except for $1M
• Flex Adult Education's Unallocated $2.5M
• Use $2.1M of the State Loan

2. Spend Less

• Reduce school site budgets by $349 per pupil
• Keep the Early Retirement Fund fully funded
• Do not eliminate the 4 centrally funded music teachers
• Do not maximize elementary schools to class-size maximums

3. Fund Balance

• Use $8.5M of OUSD's Fund Balance. This leaves $10.5M in the fund.

4. Reduce Proposed increases

• Do not give employees a 2% raise
• Do not cut the funding increase for high school counseling, A-G, etc.
• Do not cut the budget for Summer School

Regarding Teachers
Barbara Gee, Director of Human Resources, acknowledged the great concern and anxiety in the district over the number of teacher layoff notices issued. She presented information about a group of schools with over 25% turnover rate. Regarding the teacher layoffs, Gee shared that while there is still uncertainty, if the district uses its one-time monies (flexing adult education, for example), it should be able to hold steady and reduce the number of layoffs significantly. That said, there would still be layoffs.

According to Gee, when school sites designed their budgets earlier this year, it resulted in approximately 137 consolidated positions. Note: a consolidated position occurs when a teacher's position is cut due to budget or program cuts. Over the past few weeks, the HR Department has collected information about the number of teachers who are: (1) retiring, (2) not being asked to return, and (3) temporary teachers. They discovered that there are at total of 233 teachers who are not, at present, returning to the district.

Jody London asked about the timeline for rescinding layoff notices. Jacqueline Minor, OUSD's attorney, said they were waiting for a hearing to happen on April 15, and Superintendent Smith indicated that they would move as quickly as possible.

Our Questions

1. Additional Options: Why weren't more possible cuts proposed through Central Office budget cuts?

There are currently $33.7M of unrestricted funds budgeted for Central Office expenses. However, cutting centrally funded teachers was the only central cut presented to the Board on April 6th. Every OUSD school site has closely evaluated each program to ensure that it is core and adding value to students. We ask that the District publicly, and in an accessible format, examine the budgets of (1) Professional Development; and (2) Full Service Community Schools Departments. Both of these budgets are large, and it is unclear if they are providing core services.

GO respects and recognizes the importance of the Central Office, and understands that it needs to be resourced to enable the district to function and advance the strategic plan. However, each department's budget needs to be closely examined to ensure that it is providing an indispensable service.

2. School Site Cuts: Given the range of options, it is clear that we could balance the budget even if we reduced the school site cuts. For example, the sites could reduce their budgets by $150 per pupil instead of $349 per pupil. Why isn't reducing the current level of cuts ($349 per pupil at school sites) among the options presented? 

For example, if OUSD cut central office operations costs by 3%, it would mean a $1M savings. School site cuts could be reduced from approximately $14M to $13M, thus sparing teacher positions and support staff.
 
3. Restricted Funds: Will the District present options for passing more "restricted funds" to school sites?

For example, the District currently uses $2.9M of Title I funds for District oversight and "indirect costs." This is 15% of all District Title I money; funds which are intended to help children in poverty. If the District reduced the cost of its oversight, these funds could be passed to the school sites to benefit students.

4. Structural Deficit: How will OUSD work to address the long-term structural deficit prior to another year of budget cuts?

Note: Structural deficit refers to when, over time, the district spends more than it brings in. We can eliminate pain this year, but what happens next year?

5. Temporary Teachers: Last year, OUSD hired both permanent and temporary teachers with similar credentials. What is the plan to help temporary teachers return to their school sites?

6. Teacher layoffs and communication: How is information about the budget and staff layoffs being communicated district-wide? What steps are being taken to ensure that those who received layoff notices know that they are valued and that the district is doing everything it can to retain them?

After the presentation, the Board engaged with Hal on several points.

• The current $349 cuts to school sites: Hal said that the district would not re-open the RBB process to reduce the cuts to school sites.
• Furlough Days: Staff presented information that district-wide furlough days would result in savings of $1.3M per day, but noted that this would have to be negotiated with unions. Instructional days would be preserved as much as possible, with furloughs proposed for non-instructional days. Director Dobbins asked what other districts are doing regarding furlough days. Hal replied that some were using up to 10 days.
  
• Classified Staff (non-teachers): Alice Spearman asked about classified staff, expressing concern that adequate levels of service would not be provided to students at school sites if schools cut classified staff to save teacher jobs. Hal replied that some classified services, such as custodians, were centrally funded, and that the district worked with school sites to make sure minimum standards were followed. School sites do, however, have flexibility around how they spend their money on classified staff.
• Adult Education: Jody London asked what would be left of Adult Education if we flexed all but $1M of the funding, and wondered what other districts are doing regarding Adult Ed. funding. Maria Santos replied that most services would be gone, except for a few such as basic GED, and that many districts have cut it entirely.
• A-G Requirements: Spearman asked whether it is possible that OUSD would relax or suspend the A-G graduation requirement. Hal said 'no.'    
• Strategic Plan: Gary Yee asked how the budget impacted the district's strategic plan. Maria Santos replied that the resources necessary to implement the strategic plan had been protected.
• Facilities: Jumoke Hinton-Hodge asked if the district was going to "flex" any of the money used for facilities upkeep. Hal said 'no' because the district needs to take care of its buildings.

Resources

• How the State Budget Impacts Education Funding
  
• FAQs about Education Funding in California
  
• California School Boards Association State Budget Alert
• OUSD Budget Crisis Information

---

Please note: The above information reflects our best understanding of what was presented on April 6th. We have tried to characterize the main points from the conversation, and provide links to relevant resources. If you have comments, questions, or further ideas, please share them here. 

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Key Questions for the Oakland Teacher Convention

On Thursday evening, over 200 of Oakland's best teachers will be attending Oakland's first Teacher Convention. OUSD's Effective Teaching Task Force organized this two-and-a-half day convention, where teacher leaders will collaborate to define the priorities for a five-year strategic plan that will address teacher evaluation, compensation, site-based conditions, recruitment, retention, and professional development.

To help inform the critical conversations that will be taking place at the convention, GO Public Schools Information Center staff, board members, and policy fellows, in collaboration with members of the GO community, compiled the guide below with key questions, research, and data.

We acknowledge that:

• Funding stability and adequacy are arguably the most important conditions to support our teachers.
• Many conditions necessary to support teachers are not discussed in this guide.
• OUSD has many good policies and practices that support effective teaching that should be continued.
• The teachers who participate in the convention this week will bring a wealth of perspectives, knowledge, and understanding far beyond what our small group of educators and community have compiled.

Teachers are Leaders and Share Decision-Making

• In which school-site decisions should teachers be involved?
• What teacher leadership roles should exist at each school site?
• What is the role of a teacher in determining professional development at school sites?
  

Teacher Evaluation and PD are Supportive and Data-Driven

• What is the purpose of teacher evaluation?
• How should teacher evaluation support teacher professional development?
• How should teacher evaluation inform professional development decisions at the site and district levels?
• How should data and evidence about student learning inform evaluations and professional development?

Schools and Teachers Choose Each Other ("Mutual Consent")

• What are the roles of parents, teachers, and principals in selecting a teaching team?
• When should candidates outside of the district be considered to fill vacancies at schools?
• How can schools with high teacher turnover attract and retain quality teachers?
• What should be the role of seniority in teacher placement?
• What are the consequences of resignations, vacancies, or new openings at different points in OUSD/OEA hiring timeline?

Every School Has a Great Leader

• What is a school leader's role in creating conditions to support teachers?
• What qualities and skills must school leaders possess to support great teaching?
• How much autonomy must school leaders have to lead great schools?
• How important are a school leader's expectations of teachers? Students?

A System that Works for Teachers

• How can OUSD's central office services support effective teaching?
• How can OUSD's salary schedule be modified to help retain teachers?
• What conditions, inside and outside of school, support effective teaching?

The teachers who participate in the convention this week will bring a wealth of perspectives, knowledge, and understanding far beyond what our small group of educators and community has compiled. We look forward to hearing about the conversations that emerge from a successful convention, and to partnering with teachers and the district to turn the ideas from the convention into actions to support teachers and students. Congratulations to the Oakland Unified School District and the Oakland Education Association for creating this opportunity for Oakland teachers.

Click here to download the full PDF. If you would like a print copy of this guide, please let us know!

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Special Board Meeting TONIGHT

The coming six weeks are critical for OUSD students. The Board of Education is grappling with the state-wide budget crisis and will soon decide whether to lay off over 500 teachers and how to cut at least $30.5 million from the OUSD budget. To date, school sites have been asked to shoulder the majority of budget cuts.  

Your voice needs to be a part of this conversation. Attend the Board of Education's Special Budget Meeting TONIGHT, April 6, at 5pm at the Board Room, 1025 Second Avenue. (Public comment follows staff presentations)

Here are the agenda, Special Presentation to the Board, and corresponding documents (11-12 Budget Development: Unrestricted General Fund Assumptions, and Summary of Consultants) to be presented tonight.

GO commends the efforts of principals from elementary, middle, and high schools across Oakland who have been working hard to make sure that students stay at the center of the discussion. For the past several weeks, a group of principals has been meeting (with support from GO Public Schools and OCO) to review the 2011-2012 budget, sharing information, polling colleagues, and collecting data about the potential impact of the budget cuts on students and school communities across the city.

The principals' presentation, available here, includes both facts and the recommendations that they will be sharing tonight.

Facts:

• Schools cut $350 per pupil in Results Based Budgeting (RBB) for the 2011-2012 school year.
• The State says we need to cut at least $825 per pupil next year. 
• OUSD leadership recently reversed its position of no central cuts, and has indicated that they can cut $350 per pupil.
• At high poverty schools, cuts may eliminate the supports students need to access core programs.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Why Sacramento City Matters for Oakland

As a result of the state budget crisis, more than 18,500  pink-slips were sent to California teachers on March 15. Here in Oakland, the district issued 538 layoff notices to certificated district employees.

A state policy known as "last-in, first-out" (LIFO) determines which teachers receive pink slips. Teachers, students, and families city-wide have been stunned by both the sheer number of layoffs and the recognition that LIFO policies hit some schools harder than others. Those schools hit hardest tend to be in the city's poorest neighborhoods, often with the highest levels of crime, lowest levels of student achievement, and highest levels of teacher turnover.

Sacramento City protects students' constitutional rights.

In Sacramento City, Superintendent Jonathan Raymond and the Board of Education sought to protect students in the six "Superintendent's Priority Schools" from the effects of teacher layoffs. These academically troubled schools, where the district had difficulty recruiting staff, were identified in March 2010 as part of an effort to improve under-performing schools that had failed to adequately serve students. Students at these six schools will not experience the devastating effects of teacher layoffs because none of their teachers will be laid off for the 2011-2012 school year.

Using the Law to Protect: Sacramento City's action to protect students is based on a state law that calls for two important exceptions to seniority-based lay-offs ("Skipping"). Under the Education Code, Districts are allowed to deviate from seniority-based layoffs:

1. for hard-to-staff fields (such as special education, math, or science), Cal. Educ. Code §44955(d)(1); and
2. "for purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws." Cal. Educ. Code § 4955(d)(2).

(Click here to read about the settlement in LAUSD that complies with this provision).

The Board Leads: On March 3, 2011, the Sacramento City Unified Board of Education approved a Resolution to Determine Criteria for Deviation from Terminating a Certificated Employee in Order of Seniority also known as "Skipping Criteria." In addition to skipping teachers in "hard-to staff" fields, the district also chose to "skip" the teachers working at the Superintendent's Priority Schools.

From the Resolution, Sacramento City's "Skipping Criteria" include the following:
 
1. individuals with the following certifications:

• BCLAD (bilingual)
• Special Education
• High school math

2. individuals teaching in Priority Schools (the 6 schools designated by the Superintendent) [emphasis added]

3. individuals with the following experiences:

• one or more years teaching in the Dual-Language Immersion Program
• two or more years teaching and/or specialized training in a home or hospital setting
• formal Waldorf method training
• experience in the Accelerated Academy Program

What can Oakland Unified do now?
OUSD must use the power it already possesses under the Education Code to uphold students' constitutional, fundamental right to basic equality of educational opportunity.  Current law (Education Code) requires a district to deviate from seniority-based layoffs "for purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws." Cal. Educ. Code § 44955(d)(2).

Rescinding Layoff Notices: The first step is to figure out how to rescind the layoff notices that have already been issued. Recognizing the no teacher layoff is good, OUSD should begin by working with the Oakland Education Association (OEA) and community groups to develop criteria for how to rescind the layoff notices issued on March 15. OEA President Betty Olson-Jones, in a March 22 open letter to the community, states that the OEA is "open to creative suggestions that will help minimize the instability caused by massive layoffs[.]"[1]

The criteria should be developed by OUSD, OEA, and community groups in such a way that will:

1. protect the most vulnerable schools that would otherwise suffer dramatic percentages of teacher layoffs;

2. distribute the remaining teacher layoffs more fairly across our public schools; and

3. be respectful of teachers and their collective bargaining rights.

This plan might include options such as entirely rescinding the layoff notices for the teachers at a select group of schools deemed most academically vulnerable, creating categories of schools based on academic performance and assigning each category a maximum percentage of the staff which can be laid off; or rescinding the notices such that no school has more than the district average of layoffs.

In the future, OUSD can also provide effective teacher attraction and retention supports at those schools that have suffered from high teacher turnover rates and have a disproportionately high number of newer teachers, with the goal of reducing teacher turnover at those schools.

For more information:

• OUSD Layoff Information
• SCUSD Board Resolution
• Article: SCUSD to create 'Superintendent's Priority Schools' for six most academically troubled schools
• Editorial: Latitude Needed on Last Hired First Fired.
  

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

OEA Executive Board Elections - coming soon!

There are 3 officer seats up for election:

• 2nd Vice President (incumbent: Rosenda Thomas)
• Secretary (incumbent: Steve Neat)
• Treasurer (incumbent: Mark Airgood)

There are 5 Executive Board seats up for election:

• Board Seat #1 (incumbent:Tania Kappner)
• Board Seat #2 (incumbent:Rodney Brown)
• Board Seat #3 (incumbent: Bob Mandel)
• Board Seat #4 (incumbent:Craig Gordon)
• Board Seat #5 (incumbent:Aimee Green)

The term for the above seats is July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013.

There are 3 CTA State Council Seats up for election:

• Seat #1 (open)
• Seat #3 (incumbent: Manny Lopez)
• Seat #4 (incumbent: Steve Neat)
• Alternate (open)

The term for the above seats is July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014.

Timeline:

• April 4: Nominations close, and all candidate statements are due at the end of the Rep Council meeting
• April 4: Rep Council meeting at Oakland International High School (4521 Webster Street) - candidates will be given 2 minutes to speak
• May 9-13: Election window

OCO to Host Community Meeting to Discuss Budget and Layoff Crisis - Monday at 5:45

Please join parents, teachers and principals for a strategy meeting to address the impact of budget cuts and layoffs at school sites across Oakland.

The purpose of this meeting is to develop action strategies to minimize budget cuts to school sites and prevent disproportionate impact of teacher layoffs on schools serving the most vulnerable communities.

The meeting will be held at the OCO Offices - #2 Eastmont Mall (upper level) - on Monday, March 14th at 5:45 PM.

Pizza will be provided.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

A Youth's Perspective on the Budget Crisis

by Elaine Barfield, MetWest High School Sophomore and GO Public Schools Intern

"What makes you think I care about your education? Am I supposed to be worried about if you're learning and if you graduate or go to college? I know that you're the future, but do I really want to fund your school or is purchasing real estate a better investment?"

These are some of the things that I think of when I hear about budget cuts in schools. The famous cliché is, "you are the future of America", but when I hear and see what's going on, I wonder if adults are saying that, but don't really care. Their actions don't match their words.

In many schools right now, the most interesting and enjoyable programs are being removed, and being replaced with things that aren't as engaging or effective as before. When that happens, it's just showing us students what you adults think about us, like, "I want you to be intelligent, but I can't afford to pay for a quality education for you. You don't need any more art, dance, sports, or after school programs - the ones that are keeping you in school."

Many effective teachers are being removed from their jobs because of the "Last Hired, First Fired" policy. Some people may think that the last ones hired don't have much experience in teaching, and therefore are not effective. I know from experience that sometimes, they're the most effective teachers. Sometimes, it's the new teachers and not just the older ones who can connect with students and know some of what they like or they're interested in. I know exactly what it feels like to have a great teacher leave and be replaced with a poor one. It happened to me in middle school. After that experience, nothing was ever the same in school for me.

Currently I'm a sophomore student at MetWest High School in Oakland, where I can surely see the effects of budget cuts. At my school, the budget cuts have affected us in many ways. We don't have enough supplies, and if we have some, they're broken, messed up, worn out, or not up-to-date. We don't have a library, gym, cafeteria, lockers, fully functioning windows, or good food. And, to put the icing on the cake, we don't even have our own school; we share it with KDOL radio, Channel 27 TV, and a college preparedness group. As you're reading, you can see through my words some of the ways this budget crisis is affecting my education. And if nothing is done about it, it'll just get worse. 

My plan, after finishing high school, is to become a pediatrician or a lawyer. Without a quality education, none of that will happen. In today's society, we need more than just a high school diploma to help us get a job. We need AAs, BAs, Masters, and Doctorate Degrees. And the budget crisis is right in the front line, blocking our path to a high quality education. If we don't do something to improve our system now, it'll affect the education of generations of young people to come. I hope people stand up for me. I hope people stand up for all the students of Oakland.

Read Comments (1) - Leave a Comment

Oakland's Hard Decisions

With over 85 Oakland education advocates in the room, a thought-provoking presentation from MK Think, and lots of maps and data for review, last Thursday was an opportunity for our community to come together to discuss the demographic, enrollment, and facilities data that OUSD will be using to make challenging strategic planning decisions.

As announced on Thursday, our Oakland community has two weeks to weigh in and offer feedback to the Board of Education on approaches to district asset allocation and right-sizing.

At tomorrow night's Board of Education meeting, board members and community will review data we discussed along with new scenarios from MK Think.

The presentation offers four scenarios for the board's consideration: 

1. Efficiency - operate the fewest sites possible (larger sites offer best economies of scale)
2. Remove portables - eliminate portables and concentrate resources on permanent buildings
3. Neighborhood - align capacity with neighborhood population and minimize overlap of site coverage areas
4. Choice - accommodate student preference patterns

Our understanding is that two weeks from tomorrow, on March 23, the Board will have another discussion and begin making recommendations to staff about the direction they want to go.

What You Can Do

1. Attend and speak at the Board Meeting on Wednesdays March 9 and March 23 at 5pm at 1025 Second Avenue.
2. Contribute to the conversation on our website - offer your feedback and recommendations in the comments section below.
3. Send GO Public Schools your thoughts today! We'll compile them and share with the Board and the Regional Assets Task Force.

Resources

• OUSD-MK Think Asset Management: District Rightsizing Scenario Modeling 3/9/11
  
• Notes from table discussions at 3/3 GO/MK Think event
• 2010-11 OUSD enrollment data by school
• 2010 OUSD API data by school
  
• 2009 Oakland Charter Public Schools data by school
• 2010 Oakland Public Schools API Map
  
• 2010-11 Live-Go Data by school <requested from OUSD>
  

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

CALL TO ACTION: Become a Delegate to the OUSD Teacher Convention

SHAPE THE FUTURE OF TEACHING IN OAKLAND

On April 7, delegates from every Oakland Unified school site will come together at the Emeryville Hilton for Oakland's first Teacher Convention. This is a unique opportunity for teacher voices to develop policy to support effective practice in Oakland Unified.

Will you be there?

OUSD's Effective Teaching Task Force is organizing this two-and-a-half day convention, where teacher leaders will collaborate to define the priorities for a five-year strategic plan that will address teacher evaluation, compensation, site-based conditions, recruitment, retention, and professional development. The convention represents an unprecedented opportunity for teachers doing amazing work for Oakland students to set the direction for accelerating improvement in instructional practice across our city.

TAKE ACTION: NOMINATE YOURSELF

Nominate yourself to be your school's delegate at the April 7-9 Oakland Teacher Convention. Principals and OEA site reps should be bringing information about the convention to a staff meeting next week, and voting for delegates will occur a few days later. Nominate yourself. Represent your school.

Our students are counting on you to advocate for them.

Effective teaching will be assured when...

• Teachers are: provided time and compensation for collaborating with each other and for participating in relevant professional development; recognized, accountable, and rewarded for their impact on student learning and achievement; and provided opportunities for professional growth.
• Teachers use multiple data sources to assess and adjust instruction, student interventions, professional development, and curriculum decisions.
• Teachers consistently review student work against student learning standards, and assess and adjust teaching practice to better serve student needs.
  
• School sites are provided with budgets, resources, training and tools to build the capacity of their staffs, ensuring that all are focused on high performance student outcomes and standards of work.
• We have a higher base salary for teachers, as well as incentives to retain and reward effective teachers and those who choose to teach in high-needs communities, that is, teachers are paid more!
• Teacher salaries are competitive with those of surrounding districts and communities.

Add your ideas as a delegate on April 7!

Helpful Links

• Have questions about the convention? Email Ash Solar or call him at 510-879-8666.
• Click here to watch the Teacher Task Force's video about the convention.
  
• Resources from the Effective Teachers Task Force

---

GO Public Schools believes that we must focus on recruiting and keeping an effective teacher in every Oakland classroom. Current studies confirm that among in-school factors, teacher effectiveness is the single most important factor in student learning. Further, effective teaching can close achievement gaps and overcome the impact of poverty on student learning and educational attainment.

Click here to learn more about GO's ideas about teacher effectiveness.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Oakland Education Leaders Endorse Let Us Vote Campaign

Great Oakland Public Schools community asks Sacramento to "Let Us Vote" to preserve K-12 public school funds

Oakland, CA - February 28, 2011: Great Oakland Public Schools and Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network are proudly supporting the statewide Let Us Vote! campaign. We represent parents, teachers, principals, students and community leaders locking arms to show support for Governor Brown's budget, including a proposed June ballot measure that will preserve basic funding for public schools.

Legislators and the Governor are already receiving pressure through a flood of letters, e-mails and calls leading up to the March 10 deadline to put the ballot measure in front of voters in June. In the first nine days, the Let Us Vote! campaign has garnered over 13,000 email letters to legislators, with letters from all 80 assembly districts and all 40 senate districts. Oaklanders have already sent over 700 email letters to legislators to support our schools, our children and our future. We expect to reach 1000 letters in the next few days.

"Democrats and Republicans in Sacramento are hearing a clear message that we need them to move forward a proposal to preserve funding for public schools," said Jonathan Klein, an Oakland parent with Great Oakland Public Schools.

California faces a $25 billion deficit and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) faces a $30 million budget deficit for next school year, after already cutting $122 million over the past 18 months. For the first time in this recession, OUSD plans to lay off teachers, which will further destabilize our school communities. "Budget cuts, to me, are an excuse for people in power to use money for other things. When they talk about budget cuts at schools, it's like saying 'I don't care about our educational system, I don't care about youth learning'," stated a 10th grade student at Oakland's MetWest High School.

The Governor's plan is to cut spending by approximately $12.5 billion and generate another approximately $12 billion by renewing a tax extension that is set to expire on July 1, 2011. The ballot measure will allow Californians to vote on the tax extension. Currently, at least 4 additional legislators need to sign on in order for the tax extension to reach voters.

A recent poll completed by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) indicates that nearly 75% of Californians oppose cuts to K-12 education. Of those, 82% are willing to pay higher taxes to fund education. According to PPIC, between 2007-08 and 2010-11, the state's contribution to K-12 has decreased by 13 percent--and when one controls for inflation the decrease is greater. Yet, the legislature is still arguing about putting a revenue measure to protect school funding on the ballot.

Although this tax extension measure won't solve fundamental school funding issues, Oaklanders fundamentally believe that if the legislature doesn't allow this vote to reach Californians, the legislature will be robbing our children of the chance to have an adequate education. Without this revenue measure, parents are expecting devastating and debilitating changes to their children's schools.

"I've already seen the negative impacts of budget cuts over the years. We are doing the opposite of what needs to be done. Our schools need more money, more resources. At my son's school, we are at risk of losing all of the wonderful adults who support school climate and culture. How are schools seriously expected to meet goals of providing quality education under these conditions?" said the parent of a Westlake Middle School 6th grader.

Oaklanders can join the movement to Let Us Vote! by sending an email or calling legislators; instructions are available at www.gopublicschools.org/2011/02/oakland_demands.php.

Great Oakland Public Schools is a coalition of parents, educators, students and community leaders. GO Public Schools provides leadership, education, and information to ensure that all Oakland students have access to excellent public schools in their neighborhood and throughout Oakland.

The Bay Area Parent  Leadership Action Network (PLAN) is a regional network working to unite and strengthen diverse parents and organizations to promote education justice through training, leadership development, organizing, and advocacy.

Educate Our State is a parent-led, statewide campaign to unite the voices of Californians in support of high quality K-12 Public Education and demand real change. Educate Our State represents 35,000 parents from across California and has combined forces with the Campaign for Quality Education, a coalition of over 20 organizations statewide.

For more information and to join forces visit www.gopublicschools.org / info@gopublicschools.org or www.educateourstate.org / educateourstate@gmail.com.

         

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Oakland demands: "LET US VOTE!"

Funding for public education in the State of California is in crisis. Governor Brown's budget for K-12 public education assumes an extension of temporary taxes for another five years. These taxes are set to expire on July 1, 2011 unless the citizens of California vote to extend them.

But, first, the state legislature has to agree to bring the vote to Californians. We need 2/3 of legislators to agree by March 10, and right now, we are still short by at least 4 legislators. We need to take immediate action.

Take Action NOW:

1. Send an email letter to your legislator asking him or her to "Let Us Vote!" to save public education funding.
2. Ask your friends and relatives across the state to send a letter to their legislator today.
   
3. Bring the "Let Us Vote!" letter (DOC here) to the next community meeting or event you attend, and ask people to take action immediately.

California voters must have the opportunity to vote to save public education funding. Let's make sure our legislatures hear our message loud and clear.

• Oakland Unified Budget Crisis Resource Page
• Educate Our State
• EdSource School Finance Resource Page

Local Supporters

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

OUSD Teacher Layoffs: Why Los Angeles Matters for Oakland

For the first time during the current recession, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) school sites will likely have to lay off teachers. For the past few years, school sites have protected teachers in their budgets and enough teachers have voluntarily left OUSD to avoid layoffs.

OUSD may lay off hundreds of teachers next year. The numbers will be less if a tax extension measure is placed on the ballot by the state legislature next week and is passed by California voters in June. Teachers who might be laid off must be given notice by March 15th.

Normally, the newest teachers are laid off first. A school site may cut a teaching position, but District-wide seniority will decide which teacher(s) actually get cut from the school. "Bumping" occurs when a teacher who did not get laid off has to give up her/his position to a teacher with higher seniority. This state policy is known as a "last-hired, first-fired" or "reverse-seniority" layoff policy.

How does what happened in Los Angeles impact Oakland?
In February 2010, students at three Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) middle schools filed a class-action lawsuit against LAUSD, charging that students' rights to a quality education were being violated by a strictly "last-hired, first-fired" layoff policy. The students argued that the layoffs were unfairly damaging to their schools because they had so many new teachers. For example, at Liechty Middle School, 72 percent of the teachers received layoff notices last school year. The layoffs were stopped by a Los Angeles Superior Court last May.

State law allows for an exception to seniority-based layoffs "for purposes of maintaining or achieving compliance with constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws." The Court found LAUSD's layoffs caused a "real and appreciable impact on Plaintiff's fundamental right to equal education opportunity."

The settlement reached by students, LAUSD and Partnership for Public Schools, and approved by the LAUSD board in October 2010, requires that 45 LAUSD "targeted schools" that meet agreed-upon criteria be shielded from teacher layoffs. Those 45 schools will receive LAUSD support to increase teacher and administrator attraction and retention. Also, the layoffs that would have been at those schools will be spread out more evenly among the rest of LAUSD's schools. The final settlement was challenged by United Teachers of Los Angeles.

These excerpts from the Los Angeles Superior Court's Final Approval of Settlement indicate why the Court upheld the settlement against a challenge from the United Teachers of Los Angeles:

"Under no circumstances can LAUSD bargain away students' constitutional rights" (p.4)

"The evidence adduced at the final approval hearing confirms that high teacher turnover devastates educational opportunity in multiple ways: time and resources are spent orienting newly assigned teachers; collaboration among teachers is disrupted; teacher-student relationships are fractured; and the faculty infrastructure is undermined."(p.22)

"As this Court already recognized, teacher turnover can have many causes. Teachers may transfer to other schools, retire, or leave the profession. But voluntary turnover cannot be prohibited; layoffs can."(p.28)

"Substantial evidence throughout this litigation has shown how budget-based layoffs devastated the teaching corps at struggling LAUSD schools, removing dedicated teachers who were committed to teaching at those particular schools."(p.29)

"Providing more stability at the Districts' other struggling schools is therefore critical to allow for reform efforts...the principal at Gompers [middle school] has recruited a corps of teachers who were 'among the best teachers [she has] ever encountered in her career'....The schools invested substantially in teacher development. But the seniority-based layoffs decimated those turnaround efforts. As Mr.Deasy [the incoming LAUSD superintendent] testified, reform plans are wiped out by turnover."(p.34)

What can OUSD do?
OUSD must uphold students' fundamental right to basic equality of educational opportunity.

OUSD could comply with this state constitutional mandate to provide an equal education to all students by working with the Oakland Education Association to develop criteria for layoffs that protect the most vulnerable schools that would otherwise suffer dramatic percentages of teacher layoffs, and distribute the remaining teacher consolidations more fairly across our public schools.

OUSD can also provide effective teacher attraction and retention supports at those schools that have suffered from high teacher turnover rates and have a disproportionately high number of newer teachers, with the goal of reducing teacher turnover at those schools.

Click here to read GO's post from June 2010 when the suit in LA was first filed on behalf of students at three LAUSD middle schools.

For more information:

• OUSD Layoff Information, including links to related laws
• LAUSD Court Order
• LAUSD Settlement
• Judge OKs settlement that limits use of seniority in L.A. teacher layoffs
  
• Judge Approves Landmark Settlement in Reed v. State of California

UPCOMING EVENT: Oakland's Changing Demographics: OUSD's Hard Decisions

How many schools does Oakland Unified need in its portfolio? How many students should our district aim to serve? What data will be reviewed to make these decisions? 

Featuring data and analysis from partner MK Think, GO Public Schools invites you to Oakland's Changing Demographics: OUSD's Hard Decisions, a community convening to discuss the capacity, enrollment and demographic data being used for OUSD strategic planning. Click here to view a 2009 MK Think presentation that outlines the facilities and assets of OUSD.

Please join us on Thursday, March 3, from 5:30-8:00pm at the Jack London Aquatic Center to discuss these important issues. Refreshments and child care will be provided.

Click here to RSVP!

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Statement on Education Budget Crisis

Last week, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) leadership released their 2011-2012 budget proposal amidst the challenging economic environment here in Oakland and budget crisis statewide.

Earlier this month, Governor Brown proposed a special election in June to increase taxes in an effort to preserve education funding. If the Governor's proposal does not pass, education funding statewide will take massive hits. OUSD leadership has asked school sites to prepare two budgets - one for if the Governor's proposal passes, one for if it fails.

In the best case scenario where the tax passes, the current OUSD proposal still cuts $7.2 million in unrestricted funds from the district budget, and OUSD leadership is proposing that schools bear 100 percent of that burden. This translates to cuts of approximately $190 per student, or about $56,000 less for a school of 300 students.

In the worst case scenario where the tax does not pass, the current OUSD proposal cuts $19.1 million in unrestricted funds from the district budget, with school sites again bearing 100 percent of the cuts. This translates to approximately $500 per student or $150,000 less for a school of 300 students.

In either case, these cuts are on top of a reduction in schools' Title I allocation. Our schools serving the most vulnerable student populations may have to cut upwards of $500 or $750 per student.

As we navigate this complicated and difficult process, we urge OUSD leaders to apply these child- and school-centered values for resource allocation.

Value #1

We value preserving resources close to students and keeping cuts as far away from students as possible.

School communities city-wide are contemplating another year of very difficult decisions about increasing class sizes, combining classes, canceling academic intervention programs, decreasing teacher preps and collaboration time, etc. The proposed cuts to sites will have devastating effects on schools' instructional programs. Below are specific examples from two OUSD schools:

"We are a 250-student school with a high free-and-reduced lunch population. Because of the reductions in Title I and General Purpose (GP) funding, we have to make a $200,000 cut. Cuts in Title I are particularly brutal as they affect our most vulnerable students. Schools with the highest rates of Title I will have to make the biggest cuts. At our school, we will have to consider options like dramatically increasing class size, eliminating summer interventions, releasing a reading intervention teacher, doing away with our Reading Partners contract, removing our school-wide data coaching, removing our teacher coaches for beginning teachers, and more."

"We are 400-student school with a low free-and-reduced lunch population. We have to make a $200,000 cut. We could barely afford our base program before this cut. We have no choice but to close teacher positions and dramatically increase class size. When we raised class size last year, our school grew and it had a dramatic impact on enrollment at many nearby schools."

In addition, we know that many of the most important factors that drive teacher retention are conditions at the school site - conditions that will be adversely impacted by the proposed cuts at sites.

Value #2

The school and central office budget development process and decision-making should be transparent so that school communities can participate. We value having the information we need to contribute to good decision-making.

We request that more detailed information about how central office budget resources are being used be made public. The central office should be responsible for providing evidence of student impact to support the trade-off of cutting programs and instructional staff at school sites.

We know the central office has been cut dramatically and reorganized in recent years.
We appreciate that the central office took a giant hit last year. We still believe that some cuts need be made centrally this year. School communities cannot support a budget where schools take the entire cut, especially when there has been little transparency about how the central office is using its resources.

Value #3

Funds should be used flexibly to maximize resources for students.

In this time of budget crisis, the state legislature has allowed specific restricted resources to be used without restriction. We must use this "categorical flexibility" to decrease the hit to schools and maximize the resources going to classrooms. And, if there are more flexible resources that can be sent to sites, they should be. While we understand that these are one-time monies, the purpose of these flexible monies is specifically to help districts weather the worst education funding crisis in the history of California. We should use it accordingly.

We support the Board of Education's clear priority and direction to staff to eliminate Oakland Unified's structural deficit. OUSD has made strong progress reducing expenditures while contending with extraordinary declines in state revenues.

OUSD is in the middle of a strategic planning process through which district leadership intends to "right-size" the school district, define quality schools, quality teaching, and quality leadership, and align our efforts towards those ends. Many structural changes including school closures are likely to result from this process. The hard work of restructuring the district (how many schools and where? which programs and services and where?) is the best path to eliminate the remaining structural deficit.

Moving Forward

Our schools and district face immediate budget challenges. Difficult decisions will be made in the upcoming days and weeks, and we urge our community to join together around the values proposed above. Our schools and students will continue to improve if we prioritize keeping resources where they are needed most - with our students.

We ask Oakland Unified to 1) make central office department budgets public, 2) send at least $6.9 million of categorical flexibility resources to school sites, and 3) work with community to identify additional central resources that might be allocated to sites.

This June, if the Governor's proposal prevails in the legislature, our state will have an opportunity. Governor Brown's ballot measure to extend temporary taxes would provide at least an additional $12 million to Oakland public schools.

We must collaborate across schools - district and charter - and organizations to create a unified citywide coalition to ensure that Oakland is mobilized to support passing the Governor's proposal.

Click here to download this statement as a PDF.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

OUSD Launches Thriving Students Website

Check it out! OUSD launched a website dedicated to Thriving Students. It has everything you need to know about OUSD's plans to build a Full-Service Community School District. 

OUSD Strategic Planning - January Update

Oakland Unified has 6 months remaining on its timeline to complete a new 5-year strategic plan for public education in the City of Oakland.

This process is a powerful opportunity for community members -- parents, students, teachers, principals, taxpayers, school and central office employees, charter school employees and families, nonprofit, labor, faith, elected, and business leaders -- to provide input and resources, and build relationships to realize the aspirations of our ambitious new strategic direction -- Community Schools, Thriving Students.

The process began in June 2010, when our Board of Education approved Thriving Students and announced 14 task forces that will each draft chapters of a 5-year strategic plan. The expectation is that each chapter will include 1-, 3-, and 5-year implementation milestones for the Oakland Board of Education to review and adopt by June 2011.

At a December retreat, the Board of Education heard 5-minute updates from each of the task force leaders about the objectives and progress of their work.

Click the images for video clips of the individual task force updates.

---

Effective Teaching
Will make recommendations to improve the evaluation system, hiring practices, compensation, career pathways, and professional development for OUSD teachers.

 

Upcoming Event(s): January 20 from 4:30-6:30pm at Cole (1011 Union Street) 

---

African American Male Achievement
Has opportunity to develop out-of-the-box solutions and bring together resources to ensure that African-American males thrive in Oakland.

Upcoming Event(s): January 11 from 5:00 - 7:30pm at location TBA

---

Quality Community Schools Development
Will develop school quality standards for all Oakland public schools and a process through which to support and hold all schools in the portfolio accountable for meeting the standards -- implications for closures, new school development, turnarounds, and role of charters.

Upcoming Event(s): January 10 at 5pm at Tilden School, 4551 Steele Street

---

Regional Governance
Will 1) make recommendations about how local community and OUSD can share governance of schools; 2) do asset mapping of each region and align resources and services, 3) identify specific strategies for moving region forward

Upcoming Event(s): TBA

---

Effective Principal and Leadership

Will define the criteria by which Oakland hires, develops, and evaluates principals

Upcoming Event(s): January 25 from 4-6pm at the Tilden Campus, 4551 Steele Street, Portable D

---

Results Based Budgeting
Will make recommendations about 1) what decision-making authority school communities have over budgets and spending and 2) the funding formulas for allocating resources (how much money each school receives)

Upcoming Event(s): TBA

---

Options and School Choice
Will determine the future of school choice in Oakland

Upcoming Event(s): January 24 from 6:30-8:00pm, Westlake Middle School (2629 Harrison Street)

---

Facilities and Asset Management

Will identify potential revenue sources from facilities assets and make recommendations on the optimal number and size of schools in each region.

Upcoming Event(s): TBA

---

Core Curriculum

Will answer the question of what students will need to know and be able to do at each grade level in order to be ready for both college and careers upon graduation.

Upcoming Event(s): January 11 at 4pm, Tilden School Auditorium (4551 Steele Street)

---

Financial and Operational Readiness

Will make recommendations to eliminate OUSD's structural deficit and improve the efficiency of OUSD operations and support systems.

Upcoming Event(s): TBA

---

Full Service Community Schools

Will define what OUSD means by full service community schools (FSCS) and full service community district. Will design a rubric for the components of a FSCS so that schools can rate their status in becoming a FSCS and determine where they need to work.

Upcoming Event(s): January 13 from 3:30-6:00pm at 495 Jones Street

---

Healthy Kids, Healthy Oakland Data

Will develop a single-shared data system which will include academic performance, test scores, attendance, truancy, nutrition, housing, physical/mental health, recreation, crime/violence, etc.

Upcoming Event(s): TBA

---

Literacy
Develop approach to ensuring literacy for college and career readiness pre-k to grade 12

Upcoming Event(s):January 11 at 4pm, Tilden School Auditorium (4551 Steele Street)

---

Secondary Experience and Achievement

Will make recommendations to redesign the secondary experience to ensure that all students graduate and meet the board's new policy around UC/CSU A-G requirements.

Upcoming Event(s): February 3 at location TBA

Click here to view a 90 minute video of the presentations.

---

CALL TO ACTION

One of our most deeply held values as Oaklanders is that those impacted by decisions should be included in the decision-making. Many community organizations and voices expressed interest in helping shape this new strategic plan for Oakland public schools.

Over the next 6 months, it is up to each of us as parents, educators, and community members to show up to listen, share, dialogue, and create the bright future our children and youth deserve.

We urge members of the GO network (particularly teachers and parents) to consider joining and/or participating on a task force.

This is our education community's opportunity to shape the future of Oakland public schools.

Together, we can seize this moment to establish an innovative and student-centered direction for our city's public schools.

---

FIVE IDEAS FOR IMPACT

1) Start participating in a task force yourself - and ask one friend or colleague to join you!

2) Bring task forces up at your School Site Council, PTA, or ELAC meeting and ask other parents and teachers to commit to participating.

3) Send an email directly to the Task Force lead with your experiences and perspective.

4) Make the OUSD Calendar or GO's OUSD strategic planning portal the homepage on your browser so you stay informed about the latest news.

5) Be positive and solution-oriented whatever you do!

---

RELATED CONTENT

GO statement from June 2010 expressing support for the Board of Education's unanimous adoption of this new direction developed with the leadership of Superintendent Smith and asking for greater emphasis and further discussion about the role of effective teaching and empowered school communities within the new framework.

GO letter from October 2010 raising questions about the pace of the work and task force membership, composition, and participation expectations.

Blog post about October 28 meeting when GO hosted OUSD task force leaders for an update on the planning process and dialogue within each strategic planning task force.

OUSD Task Force Website and Calendar

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Additional Thoughts on GO's 2011 Wish List

GO Public Schools would like to offer an appreciation for the lively discussion that Katy Murphy's posting of our 2011 Oakland Education Policy Wish List has prompted. The more of us that are willing to talk openly and honestly about our experiences and perspectives - the stronger the dialogue, the better the decisions, and the greater will be the outcomes for our kids.

GO Public Schools is a pro-student, pro-teacher, and pro-labor organization. Five of seven GO board members are former teachers. Two of three GO staff members have experience teaching in low-income communities and communities of color.

We remain steadfast in our belief that every student - regardless of their demographics or income level - deserves an effective, competent and passionate teacher every day of every year. But the stark reality is that we're not there yet - the evidence is in the data: the graduation rates, the drop out rates, the hated test scores, the college enrollment numbers - and we need to work together to get there.

We offer here a few points of clarification about a couple of our wish list items that have catalyzed the ongoing commentary.

The Oakland Education Association is a powerful voice and an important stakeholder in the Oakland education policy dialogue that influences decisions that extraordinarily impact students, teachers, and other employee groups. GO actively urges teachers and school sites to be sure that their voices are included in OEA's democratic processes.

Last year, there was only minimal to moderate participation from Oakland teachers in the core decision-making bodies and activities of the union.

• In March 2010, only 34% of dues paying OEA members (940 out of 2,800) voted in the election for the OEA president
• In January and May 2010, only 28% and 27% of dues paying OEA members (771 and 775 out of 2,800) participated in the two strike authorization votes. This means that 70% of union members were silent on both occasions.
• In November 2010, only 12% of OEA members (341 out of 2,800) participated in a vote to reaffirm OEA's strike position

In addition, there is evidence of low levels of representation at the monthly OEA Site Representative Council meetings. There are 99 traditional public schools and 22 Child Development Centers in OUSD and each site may send at least 1 OEA Site Representative. Last year, the OEA Representative Council voted 43 to 12 to remain neutral on Measure L - a total of 55 votes were cast.

An example of OEA's power and the resulting consequences for public schools in Oakland can be seen in the recent Measure L ballot initiative. Measure L garnered 66 percent approval from Oakland voters, but failed to pass by about 450 votes against the measure. Despite OEA's official neutrality, members of the OEA leadership actively campaigned against Measure L - discouraging support at staff meetings, posting on blogs, and standing outside schools discouraging parents from supporting the measure.

When Measure L was defeated on November 2, every Oakland teacher (and other site-based employee) lost tens of thousands of additional dollars they would have received in increased compensation over the 10-year life of the tax.

We are grateful for the dedication, participation, and service of those individuals who currently participate in OEA. We know there are site reps chosen because they are great teachers. But serving as a site representative is too often seen as an extra duty that a member of a school team needs to accept - independent of reputation for great instructional practice or results for students.

Our wish list also raised the case of a principal who has a teacher that is not meeting the needs of her students.

Schools serving larger numbers of children who are coming to school behind or coming to school disengaged and unmotivated need very effective teachers - teachers who can close that achievement gap and accelerate their learning, can differentiate for all the levels and learning styles, and build the relationships necessary to motivate and engage some of our "falling through the cracks" youth.

This principal's struggle has to do with her need to have a school of very effective teachers to really address the needs of the student population she serves. A teacher who is perpetually mediocre will not be able to address the needs of the student population at that school. But the current system does not support this principal to remove the perpetually mediocre teacher - and our students lose precious instructional time that cannot be recaptured.

We ask a lot of our teachers, but we have to ask it. There are many wonderfully talented, dedicated, and effective teachers all over Oakland who do this work everyday. But many is not good enough for our students - all is what is required. If we don't demand it, our public education system becomes part of the larger system that perpetuates poverty and disadvantage in the same neighborhoods and in the same communities generation after generation. That is unacceptable.

GO understands that to ask this of teachers, we need to pay them more, we need to more adequately support them, we need to engage them as leaders, and provide opportunities for growth, which is why we worked so hard to get Measure L passed (in collaboration with other labor organizations) and why we push OUSD to push resources to schools and cut central budgets.

We need a clear community understanding of what Oakland means by an "effective" teacher, and tools and processes in place to ensure a great teacher for every child.

Our conversation needs to be about what is best for our children - and we need to be open-minded, listening, and learning from each other about how best to serve them.

We should not tolerate mediocrity in our public schools. Quality is everyone's responsibility and every child's right.

We would be very interested in partnering with the Oakland Education Association to help make Oakland's voice more prominently heard in Sacramento regarding adequately funding our public schools.

Thanks to everyone on the list and in the community for your work on behalf of Oakland children and youth. Here's to a great 2011!

Allison Akhnoukh, James Harris, Jonathan Klein, Sheilagh Polk, and Hae-Sin Thomas, Board of Directors, Great Oakland Public Schools

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

GO Public Schools Happy Hour - Friday, January 7

What: Join fellow Oakland educators for a welcome back celebration. You'll also get a chance to learn about the work of GO Public Schools.

When: Friday, January 7th from 4:30- 6pm

Where: Quinn's Lighthouse ~ 1951 Embarcadero East  (Embarcadero Cove Marina - Oakland, CA 94606)

Free drinks for the first 10 teachers!

Oakland Education Policy Top 10 Wish List for 2011

2011 brings renewed opportunity for us to get things done for Oakland students. Here is GO's Top 10 Wish List for 2011!

1. Participation from Oakland's best teachers in the Oakland Education Association's Representative Council and March 2011 Executive Board Election.
   
2. A Deputy Mayor for Education in Mayor Quan's office who knows the issues, speaks for all students, and is empowered to convene and align agencies and partners.
3. Wisdom within Oakland's education leadership to ensure that Thriving Students (OUSD's new strategic direction) puts Oakland public schools on a path to be both hubs of services and centers of learning and high-quality teaching.
4. An outcomes orientation for these final 6 months of OUSD strategic planning that sees the forest through the trees and doesn't spend all its time and energy on process.
5. A new and better answer to an Oakland principal who in a recent meeting said that the biggest pain point within OUSD is having to retain mediocre teachers.
6. Audacity and resilience among West Oakland leaders to come together to do something different and bold on behalf of West Oakland public schools and students.
7. Specificity within Thriving Students about the positive role charter public schools play in providing quality educational opportunities to Oakland children and youth.
8. Constructive dialogue to address long-standing critiques of Oakland's charter movement (e.g. access to special education programs, "creaming," expulsion, etc.)
9. Increased vision and emphasis on the roles of education technology and virtual learning environments in our public schools as we endeavor to do more for our students with fewer resources.
10. Generosity of spirit across neighborhoods, communities and organizations with renewed mindfulness of the proverb that rain does not fall on one roof alone.
    

In 2010, GO was an important watchdog for student-centered policy and good governance on the Board of Education -- launching new websites and a policy fellowship, and continuing the Board Agenda Watch which previews and reports on every board meeting.

GO played a critical role on the YES on Measure L campaign and emerged as an important actor on the local political scene -- providing Oaklanders with a video voter guide of candidates' views on education policy and demonstrating to local candidates that student-centered positions are good politics.

GO also convened community dialogues about the role of the school board, OUSD's strategic planning task force process, and effective principals which were attended by more than 300 Oakland community members.

In 2011, GO will continue to 1) advocate for GO's beliefs and visions within OUSD's strategic planning process, 2) promote engagement among Oakland teachers with OEA and OUSD decision-making, and 3) participate in the West Oakland coalition working to change conditions and accelerate achievement for West Oakland students.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Join Us! Teacher Happy Hour December 10th

What: A networking event for Oakland teachers to learn about GO Public Schools and meet fellow educators and education advocates

When: Friday, December 10th from 4:30-6pm

Where: Chop Bar: 247 4th Street at Alice (near Jack London Square)

Who: All Oakland education advocates are welcome to join us!

Principal Leadership Dialogue Next Week

Join GO Public Schools and New Leaders for New Schools for an evening of learning and dialogue about principal effectiveness in Oakland.

This is a chance for us - community members, principals, teachers, parents - to come together to consider how the district can ensure an effective leader in every Oakland public school.

Location: Jack London Aquatic Center, 115 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA 94606
When: Wednesday, December 8, 5:30 - 8:00PM

Refreshments and child care will be provided.

Click here to RSVP!

Agenda
5:30 - Networking and refreshments
6:00 - Program (Details below)

Gia Truong, Executive Officer of Leadership, Curriculum, and Instruction in OUSD and participant in the New Leaders for New Schools program will open the evening with an overview of the work and impact of New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS) in Oakland.

Next, Matt Kelemen of NLNS will present highlights from Evaluating Principals, a recent white paper released by the organization, highlighting ideas for the design and implementation of evaluation systems to increase principal effectiveness.

A panel of Oakland education stakeholders, including principals, teachers, and parents, will respond to the ideas presented, considering how the research applies to Oakland's public schools. Panelists include Jerome Gourdine, Principal of Frick Middle School, Monica Thomas, Principal of Greenleaf Elementary, Enikia Ford-Morthel, Principal of Cox Academy, Karen Pezzetti, teacher at Life Academy, and Emma Paulino, Oakland parent and OCO lead organizer.

Finally, you will have the opportunity to break into small groups to reflect on, discuss, and provide input to the Oakland community on the topics of the evening.

Click here to RSVP!

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

OUSD Strategic Task Forces: Upcoming Meetings

It's a busy month for OUSD strategic planning task forces, and the community is invited to participate in all meetings! Click on the links below to find out the time and location for each of these upcoming task force meetings, and click here for a complete calendar and task force overview.

• November 18, 3:30pm - Full Service Community Schools

• November 18, 4:30pm - Teacher Effectiveness

• November 18, 6:30pm - Quality School Development Group

• November 30, 2:00pm - Core Standards and Curriculum

• November 30, 4:00pm - Effective Principals and Leadership

• November 30, 6:00pm - Regional Neighborhood Zone Approach

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

GO in Spanish!

Much of the content of the GO website is now available in Spanish! Click here to access our Spanish language site.

Google translate can be used to translate our website into many other languages. Click any of the language links at the bottom of the home page to get started!

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

What do election results mean for Oakland Public Schools?

From local government to Capitol Hill, new leaders elected on November 2 could influence improvement for Oakland's students.  What do these leaders have planned for our schools?  

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

GO Hosts OUSD Strategic Planning Workshop

On October 28, over 115 Oakland education advocates came together to participate in a strategic planning workshop with OUSD's task force leaders. The room was filled with diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise, and the GO network was offered a tremendous opportunity. OUSD leaders published dates, times, and locations for all upcoming task force meetings, and extended an invitation to the community to engage in building the district's strategic plan together.

This is the opportunity we've been asking for - OUSD leadership opened up the strategic planning process to the Oakland community. Our voices will contribute to the rich conversations and decisions that will shape the new strategic plan.



Vernon Hal, OUSD's Chief Financial Officer, shared with the GO community that the district's strategic plan includes ten strategic initiatives (comprised of 14 task forces), divided into two big buckets:

1. High Quality Effective Instruction
2. Readying the Organization to become a Full Service Community District  

Community Engagement



While each of the 14 task forces has a different process, timeline, and work plan that corresponds with its group's goals and deliverables, Mr. Hal explained that there are a variety of ways people can get involved with the process of turning the strategic vision into reality.

What you can do: Attend a task force meeting. All dates, times, and locations are published on OUSD's calendar, with the upcoming meetings as follows:

• November 1, 6:30pm - Quality Schools Development Group
• November 4, 2:00pm - Secondary Experience and Achievement (SEAN)
• November 4, 3:30pm - Full Service Community Schools Task Force
• November 4, 4:30pm - Teacher Effectiveness Task Force Task Force
  

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Who will be Oakland's Next School Board?

"One of the things that I have been talking to many people in union leadership about is developing a career ladder so teachers who are working and serving effectively in high turnover schools can maybe have a position as a senior teacher to provide a curriculum and pedagogical anchor in the school."

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Get Out the Vote for Yes on L

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

OUSD Strategic Planning Portal

In June 2010, the OUSD Board of Education unanimously approved a new strategic direction for Oakland's public schools: Community Schools, Thriving Students.

Plans include the development of strategic task forces to support the creation of a full service community district that serves the whole child, eliminates inequity, and provides each child with an excellent teacher every day.

It is critical that parents and teachers are represented on every task force. GO Public Schools shared a letter with OUSD leaders expressing concerns about the lack of community involvement in the strategic planning process so far, and has invited district and task force leaders to a community meeting on Thursday, October 28th to share the objectives, work plans, and opportunities for community engagement.

Click on the links below to learn more about each of the task force's goals, deliverables, leadership, process, and time line.

• Empowering and Ensuring Effective Teachers
• Effective Principals and Leadership
• Core Curriculum for College and Career Readiness
• Full Service Community Schools
• Regional Governance Team
• Options and School Choice Inquiry
• Results-Based Budgeting
• Regional Neighborhood Zone Approach
• Quality Community Schools Development

Read Comments (1) - Leave a Comment

YES on L: Volunteer Opportunities THIS WEEK

There's lots you can do THIS WEEK to support the Yes on L campaign!

• Help us deliver lawn signs this Thursday, October 14 from 2-4pm or 4-6pm.
  
• Join volunteers for YES on L phone banking this Sunday, October 17 from 4-7pm.
  
• Email Jasmine or call 510-868-8800 for details on how to get involved!
  

Support our public schools - volunteer today! 

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

VIDEO: School Board Candidates Discuss Public Education in Oakland

GO Public Schools introduces Vote for Oakland Students: School Board Candidate Video Voter Guide 2010.

GO members interviewed all four school board candidates to find out their plans for improving public education in Oakland. Click each candidate's image to view a different segment of the interview. 

 

     

     

 

There are four school board candidates vying for three seats:

• District 2: David Kakishiba (unopposed)
  
• District 4: Gary Yee v. Ben Visnick
• District 6: Chris Dobbins (unopposed)

Vote for Oakland Students: School Board Candidate Video Voter Guide 2010 joins GO's Mayoral Candidate Video Voter Guide on the GO website along with extensive candidate questionnaires and general information on the elections and voting.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

ALERT: GO Launches Vote for Oakland Students: Video Education Voter Guide

On November 2, Oakland voters will elect a new mayor. While crime and economic development often grab the headlines, foundation for a prosperous future and the solution to many of our challenges lie within our public schools. Over the course of two Monday nights (September 13th and 20th), members of Great Oakland Public Schools interviewed all ten mayoral candidates at KDOL Studios about public education in Oakland. The Vote for Oakland: Video Education Voter Guide is being shared on the GO website so that any Oakland voter can see and hear what candidates intend to do for Oakland schools and students.

Many candidates acknowledged that improving our public schools and educating our youth are the most important items we need to tackle as a City. The candidates' level of expertise and education ideas were wide-ranging. Many Oakland families, teachers, and community leaders expect to see much stronger efforts from City Hall and the School District to work together than what they have seen in the past.

After candidates made their opening statement about their education platforms, GO members asked three questions:

1. What will you do to attract and retain great teachers in every Oakland public school?
2. OUSD's new strategic vision, Thriving Students, requires tremendous collaboration and partnership between OUSD and City Hall, including on facilities, health, safety, and more. How would you have City Hall partner with the school district to serve our students?
3. How do you envision the Mayor's role as an advocate for our students?

Oakland mayors have had an assortment of ways of working for better public schools. Mayor Elihu Harris convened an "Education Cabinet" for several years, Mayor Jerry Brown got voter approval to appoint three people to the school board (the measure expired in 2004), and Mayor Ron Dellums has a senior education advisor on his staff. Mayors across the United States are attempting to improve education outcomes through advocacy, better management, and bringing community assets to schools.

The Vote for Oakland: Video Education Voter Guide is posted along with extensive candidate questionnaires and general information on the elections and voting. In addition, DVDs of the interviews have been distributed to hundreds of Oakland education stakeholders, including principals, teachers, and community members. Recipients are encouraged to host a house party or other viewing forum to talk about the upcoming election and the importance of Mayoral platforms on public education. For those interested in obtaining a copy of the DVD, GO Public Schools will make every effort to accommodate requests. Please email us at info@gopublicschools.org to request a copy.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Yes on L Campaign Kick-off a Success!

Over 100 advocates for public education in the City of Oakland came together this morning at the Yes on L Campaign Kick-off at Sequoia Elementary School. In addition to parents, students, teachers, and principals from across the City, School Board Directors London, Yee, Kakishiba, and Dobbins represented OUSD alongside Superintendent Tony Smith. The enthusiasm in the room was palpable as Superintendent Smith rallied the crowd around the need to support excellent teachers in Oakland's public schools.

A wide range of community organizations attended the rally, demonstrating a strong, diverse show of support for Measure L and Oakland's public schools. In attendance were representatives from EBAYC, Oakland Schools Foundation, GO Public Schools, West Oakland Education Brain Trust, Oakland Community Organizations, Faith Network, Oakland Parents Together, California Charter Schools Association, UAOS, and more!

The Measure L campaign has 38 days to go - get involved now!

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Oaklanders Come Together for YES on L!

Oaklanders across the city are coming together for YES on L: The Oakland Student Achievement, Safety, and Support Measure.

Massive state budget cuts, reduced federal funding, and a sluggish economy forced OUSD to slash $122 million from our 2010-11 budget. The District has already laid off more than 600 people, including teachers, aides, librarians, custodians, school nurses and security staff. These types of devastating cuts simply cannot continue.

YES on L helps Oakland schools retain experienced, effective teachers by paying competitive salaries.

YES on L provides ALL Oakland schools additional funding - not just a select few - so that ALL of our schools, including those who need it the most - have resources and support staff to meet children's essential social, emotional and academic needs.

Measure L benefits all school site employees and includes exemptions for low-income taxpayers and fiscal accountability provisions such as requiring review by a Citizens' Oversight Committee, public expenditure reports, and guaranteed annual independent audits.

Please keep reading and take 5 minutes to support "Yes on L" right now.

Si, se puede.

Jonathan

---

#1 ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LIST OF SUPPORTERS

Click here to add your name to the growing list (see below) of Oakland leaders and citizens who are joining together to provide an additional $20 million for Oakland public schools for each of the next 10 years.

---

#2 DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION AT YOUR SCHOOL SITE

OUSD and charter public school employees are permitted and encouraged to distribute informational materials about Measure L within your school communities -- at Back-to-School nights, PTA, SSC, and ELAC meetings, through home-school folders, and via other opportunities.

OUSD employees are not permitted to engage in advocacy on behalf of ballot measures while at work, so the language in these documents is meant to be informative rather than persuasive in nature.

Click here to download OUSD's informational materials for English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian readers.

---

#3 FOLLOW THE CAMPAIGN ON FACEBOOK

Click here to join the YES on L Facebook page. The YES on L campaign will share updates on campaign activities and events between now and election day - November 2, 2010.

---

#4 PUT UP A LAWN SIGN AND/OR HELP THE CAMPAIGN

Click here for a YES on L lawn sign or to volunteer on the campaign. YES on L is organizing visibility and voter contact events in every Oakland district.

---

#5 MAKE A DONATION

Click here to make a donation to YES on L. YES on L needs your support to ensure it has the financial resources to reach Oakland voters between now and election day.

---

YES on L Supporters

Click here to add your name to the list.

Elected Officials
Sheila Jordan, Alameda County Superintendent
Gary Yee, OUSD Board President
David Kakishiba, OUSD Board Member
Jody London, OUSD Board Member
Alice Spearman, OUSD Board Member
Chris Dobbins, OUSD Board Vice President
Jumoke Hinton-Hodge, OUSD Board Member
Pat Kernighan, Oakland City Council
Larry Reid, Oakland City Council
Jean Quan, Oakland City Council
Ken Rice, OUSD Board Member (ret)
Kerry Hamill, OUSD Board Member (ret)
Nicky Yuen, Peralta CCD Board Trustee

Community Organizations
Alameda County Democratic Party
Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club
Oakland League of Women Voters
Oakland Community Organizations
Great Oakland Public Schools
East Bay Asian Youth Center
Bret Harte Middle School PTA

Education and Community Leaders
Dr. Robert W. Blackburn, Former OUSD Superintendent
Dr. Ruth B. Love, Former OUSD Superintendent
Henry Hitz, Oakland Parents Together
Joanna Lougin, Former OUSD Principal
Morris Tatum, Head Custodian, Oakland High School
Sally Barry, PTA Vice-President, Chabot Elementary
Jesse Phelps, PTO Co-President, Emerson Elementary
Mike Fee, PTA President, Joaquin Miller Elementary
Celia Davis, PTA President, Bret Harte Middle School
Karen Pezetti, Former OUSD Teacher of the Year
Anthony Cody
Caleb Cheung
Susan Audap
Hae-Sin Thomas
Jean Driscoll
Judy Schwartz, Parent, Oakland Technical High School
Meg Stewart, Resource Specialist, Bret Harte Middle School
Brian Rogers
Dagmar Serota
Donn Harris, Executive Director, Oakland School for the Arts
Ron Strochlic, Parent, Glenview Elementary
Erin Kollings, Teacher, Futures Elementary
Paulette Drawsand, Attendance Clerk, OUSD
Deanita Lewis, Parent Coordinator, Coliseum College Prep Academy
Peter Fiske, Parent, Chabot Elementary
Jessica Stewart, Former Teacher, Elmhurst Community Prep Middle School
Bruce Buckelew, Oakland Technology Exchange West
Bob Spencer, Board Chair, National Equity Project
Amy Boyle, Teacher, Coliseum College Prep Academy
Erica Favela, Teacher, Greenleaf Elementary
Juliana Houston, Teacher, Westlake Middle School
James Barton, Teacher, Berkley Maynard Academy
Emily Sacks, Resource Specialist, Redwood Heights Elementary
Michael Alston, Teacher, Montera Middle School
Liz Sullivan, Oakland Community Organizations
Mark and Karen Bloom, Parents, Joaquin Miller Elementary School
Suzanne Loosen, Oakland League of Women Voters
Yuri Vasquez, 2010 Valedictorian, Mandela High School
Michele Clark, Executive Director, Youth Employment Partnership
Gianna Tran, Deputy Executive Director, East Bay Asian Youth Center

This is a partial list of YES on L endorsements. YES on L enjoys the support of hundreds of Oakland citizens from all walks of life. Organizations are included for identification purposes only.

Click here to add your name to the list.

Click here for more information about YES on L: Oakland's Student Achievement, Safety, and Support Measure

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Now is the time! Show your support for Measure L, OUSD's parcel tax

On November 2, Oaklanders will vote on Measure L, The Student Achievement, Support and Safety Measure. If it receives the two-thirds vote needed to pass, Measure L will generate $20 million annually for ten years to increase compensation for Oakland's teachers, student support staff, and school-site health and safety personnel.

Why is this so important?

• 55% of Oakland teachers leave after three years
• Oakland loses more than 14% of its teaching force annually
• Average teacher salaries in Oakland rank at or near the bottom when compared to other districts locally and throughout California
• The average Oakland teacher can earn $10,000 more simply by transferring to a neighboring district      

Why now?

• Oakland Unified has already cut $122 million from the budget, including more than 600 personnel positions
• 7 out of 10 Oakland voters agree that the district simply does not have the resources to increase teacher salaries (June 2010 Poll Results)

Facts about Measure L:

• Yes on L helps ALL Oakland schools with additional funding.  
• Money from Measure L will go directly into compensation for effective teachers and staff, bringing Oakland on par with neighboring school districts, allowing us to help keep excellent Oakland teachers in Oakland schools.
• Measure L priorities help ensure every school has adequate student support staff, including teachers' aides, safety officers, and custodians.
• Learn more here!
  

Endorse Measure L now!

Spread the word

Volunteer

GO Public Schools Policy Fellowship

About the Fellowship
GO Public Schools offers education advocates the opportunity to research and impact local policy decisions as related to public education in the City of Oakland. We are seeking fellows to focus on the each of the Oakland Unified School District's board committees: teaching and learning, intergovernmental relations, facilities, safety, and finance and human resources. Fellows will gain practical experience in research and writing, policy advocacy, and educational outreach.

Policy fellows will:

• Review agendas, attend meetings, and highlight decisions of Oakland Unified School District Board of Education meetings, including committee meetings; draft blog posts for GO website; represent GO Public Schools at meetings; engage with Board members as needed
• Provide in-depth policy analysis and reporting on local and federal education policy issues as they relate to GO Public Schools
• Advocate around GO's positions and strategies for improvement  
• Draft, edit, and finalize press releases, policy and endorsement letters, board memos, and talking points
• Support GO's overall policy positions and advocacy strategies for advancing the organization's mission

Benefits:

• Opportunity to impact public education policy in Oakland
• Be part of a dynamic team of educators and education advocates
• Gain practical research, writing, and advocacy skills
• Opportunity to interact with elected and appointed district officials

Qualifications Required
The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with strong project management and communication skills. This individual will support our policy research and analysis. 

Qualifications include:

• Understanding of and/or willingness to learn about Oakland and Oakland Unified School District stakeholders
• Strong and strategic written and verbal communication skills, with a willingness to engage in public speaking
• Flexibility and transportation to attend Board of Education committee and/or regular meetings as assigned (Note: some Board committees meet during the day, while others meet in the evenings. Fellows must commit to attending a strand of meetings).
• Commitment for full semester (September 2010 - January 2011) with opportunity to extend through June 2011

This is a part-time fellowship, which will involve some travel around Oakland.

All applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to Erika Abelon, Managing Director, via email: erika@gopublicschools.org. Please include the reference "Policy Fellowship" in the subject line.

Deadline to apply: September 3, 2010.

Who is Running for Oakland School Board This November?

District 2 - David Kakishiba (running unopposed)
David Kakishiba (incumbent) is the Executive Director of the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC) and is also a life- long living advocate for students. He was one of the founders of several youth organizations including  Oakland Kids First, Youth Together, and Youth Sounds.

District 4 - Gary Yee, Ben Visnick
Gary Yee (incumbent) has been a resident of Oakland for many years and has been an educator for over thirty years. He  began his career in public education in 1973 as a third grade teacher at Cleveland Elementary School, directing the district's Gifted and Talented Education Program (1983-85), serving as assistant principal at Franklin Year Round School and Principal at Hillcrest School (1985-90), and Assistant to the Superintendent (1992-1995). He  graduated from Castlemont High School, the University of California at Berkeley, California State University at Hayward (Teaching Credential and Masters in Public Administration), and Stanford University.

Ben Visnick is a Social Studies teacher at Oakland Senior High School. He received his BA in History from Brandeis University, his teaching credential from Temple University, and his MA in American History from San Francisco State University.

District 6 - Christopher Dobbins (running unopposed)
Christopher Dobbins (incumbent) attended and graduated from Carl B. Munck Elementary School, Montera Junior High School, and Skyline High School. He has a B.A. in Urban Planning from U.C. Berkeley, a Single-Subject teaching credential in Social Studies from California State University, a Masters in Public Administration from California State University, and a  JD and  a Masters of Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Stay tuned to GO Public Schools to hear from these candidates.

Back to Elections Home Page

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

Teacher Parcel Tax - How it can ensure effective teaching in every classroom, every day

GO Public Schools applauds the Oakland Unified School District's Board of Education for taking leadership to increase the salaries of our teachers and other school staff, and in particular, focusing the parcel tax to "retain effective and skilled teaching staff to improve student achievement, and to fund teacher development to improve teacher performance." GO Public Schools continues to advocate that an effective teacher in every classroom is the single most important in-school factor determining student achievement.

The proposed parcel tax measure would raise $20 million for the Oakland Unified School District, providing an approximate 6% raise to teachers, student support staff, and school-site health and safety staff. To learn more about the provisions in the measure, please click here.

In order to ensure that the collected parcel tax funds actually increase student achievement, GO Public Schools would ask the Board to commit to not spending any Oakland taxpayer dollars until the Board adopts a definition of effective teaching, a clear system for measuring effectiveness, and a system for supporting teachers who do not meet this standard of effectiveness. GO believes that this commitment would support the District in its stated goal of having an effective teacher in every classroom, every day.  Without this commitment, GO does not believe that the district will be able to truly correlate the use of tax dollars with teacher effectiveness and increased student performance.

Therefore, GO Public Schools respectfully asks that in addition to placing the parcel tax on the ballot, the OUSD Board of Education passes a Resolution stating that any funds collected from the parcel tax cannot be used until a clear definition of effective teaching and an evaluative system for measuring teacher effectiveness are adopted by the Board. We believe that by passing this Resolution, the Board will be holding itself accountable to its own strategic priorities and the taxpayers of Oakland.

In addition, the proposed ballot measure does not address teacher recruitment. While increased salaries will help with teacher recruitment in Oakland, it will not, by itself, ensure an effective teacher in every classroom. We ask that the issue of recruiting quality teachers be addressed by the Board as part of this measure, or in some other clear manner. Our teacher workforce is facing a large wave of retirements in the next few years; this parcel tax presents an opportunity to help Oakland attract the teaching force our children deserve.

We understand this parcel tax is just one tool to ensure an effective teacher in every classroom, and we ask that the Board make the most of this unique opportunity for voters to support improved public schools in Oakland.

The Board of Education will be holding a special meeting tomorrow at 8pm at 1025 Second Avenue to discuss this parcel tax measure, and will vote on whether to place it on the November ballot. Join them to share your thoughts!

GO Hosts Speaker Series: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Oakland School Board

Chris Maricle, from the California School Boards Association, delivered the keynote address on the Roles and Responsibilities of the Oakland School Board. Mr. Maricle discussed the basics of school governance structures, the ways in which school boards exercise their leadership, and the role of the public in electing and influencing the school board's priorities and activities. He shared that the Board has five key responsibilities - to provide direction, structure, support, accountability, and community advocacy and support to ensure a high functioning, high quality public school district. He also spoke of the attributes of effective board members: preparation, focus, mindfulness, and manner. While we elect individuals to the board, and individual board members have influence over their colleagues, the board makes decisions as a unified body. Where does the public fit into all of this? The community's role includes participating in the election process, attending meetings, and offering to help.


Participants left the event inspired to engage more meaningfully with school board members and make informed choices when voting for school board candidates this November. Great Oakland Public Schools is excited about the momentum coming out of the event, and is committed to being a source for relevant, quality information about the 2010 November elections! GO Public Schools is YOUR 2010 election connection!
 
Here's what you can do right now: 

• Become a member today!
• Review our up-to-date Elections Information: Candidate questionnaires, interviews, endorsements and more!
• Volunteer to help GO increase its presence in the community by participating in one of the many community events we've got lined up!
• Become a GO2! Learn more about this important volunteer role and how you can represent your community.
• Join the Board Agenda Watch team and help us preview, attend, and review board and committee meetings this year! 

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

If you want great Oakland public schools....vote for them on November 2nd!

GO Public Schools presents Questions for Candidates and a July 21st presentation on TheRoles and Responsibilities of the Oakland School Board (details below).

Questions to ask your candidates for SCHOOL BOARD, CITY COUNCIL and MAYOR:
1) All candidates say they stand for good education in our schools. What specifically would you contribute to a quality education for every child in Oakland?
2) What will you do to attract and retain great teachers in every Oakland public schools?

3) What role should charter schools play for students and families in Oakland?

4) Next fiscal year the City faces a $42 millions shortfall and the school district faces a $122 million shortfall. How do you envision these two agencies work together during these hard times?

5) President Obama created the largest single Federal investment in education in history. How will you ensure Oakland students benefit from this funding?

6) What will you do to support OUSD's new Strategic plan?

7) In what specific ways will you work with OUSD Superintendent Smith and Police Chief Batts to keep our children safe?

8) What State- level practices and policies hold back the quality of our public schools and what are your plans to change them?

9) The current public school system is financially unsustainable and does not produce equitable and excellent outcomes for all students. What are your ideas for the public school system of tomorrow?

10) Where do you turn for information and ideas about how to improve Oakland public schools?

 

Elections Kick-Off!

GO Public Schools and The League of Women Voters of Oakland present: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Oakland School Board, with Chris Maricle of the California School Boards Association.

RSVP Today!

Wednesday July 21
5:30pm-8pm
Jack London Aquatic Center
115 Embarcadero, Oakland

• Learn what the Oakland school board's job is, and what a great school board looks like
• Learn how to engage the school board and superintendent
• Network with other Oakland leaders and education advocates
• Learn about Oakland school board elections this year 
  

Ice Cream Social begins at 5:30!
Free parking
Child care available upon request

RSVP Today!

OUSD Strategic Direction: Thriving Students

Board of Education Strategic Retreat #4   
June 19, 2010   

On Saturday, the Board of Education unanimously approved the strategic direction for the Oakland Unified School District proposed by Superintendent Smith and his leadership team.

GO Public Schools members in attendance were excited to hear and see our city's education leadership coming together around a clear direction and vision to support Oakland's children.

While enormous fiscal, human resource, and political challenges lie ahead, our hope is that Oaklanders will stretch across lines of neighborhood, race, income-level, charter and district roles to come together in support of the Superintendent's objectives to better serve our students.

Over the next year, the district will convene 10 task forces to support the development of a five-year strategic plan to advance improvement in our public schools. By working together, Oakland will become a place of connection, care, and excellence for all of our young people. This past Saturday afternoon, at the OUSD district office at 1025 2nd Avenue, Oakland was on the move.

While it will take time to digest and understand the depth and breadth of OUSD's new strategic direction, the following are initial thoughts on the Thriving Students Framework:
 
Areas of alignment with GO Beliefs and Vision

Puts Children First
OUSD's Thriving Students Framework states that "educators, parents, and community partners ask themselves continuously how decisions, strategies, resources, and innovations will impact all OUSD children and in particular those who have been underserved." This aligns with GO's value that "above any other priority, stakeholder, or policy, our school system's top priority must be to increase student learning and achievement."
 
Equity
GO seeks equitable opportunity, resources, and outcomes for students of all backgrounds and neighborhoods. Thriving Students' emphasis on African-American male achievement and needs-based resource allocation has high potential to move our public schools closer to these goals. We expect the work of these initiatives to be broadly applicable to all undeserved/ underachieving groups.
 
One Oakland
GO's Beliefs and Visions are clear: "It takes a village to raise a child, and Oakland is a robust and strong village that is being underutilized. We must commit to work together to create strong and purposeful partnerships for positive change and improvement."
 
On Saturday, Superintendent Smith commented; "We have a linked fate, our city has to come together in support of our children and youth. OUSD will be the platform to organize the dialogue to unify Oakland for the academic and social success of our children. We must acknowledge that what we've been doing is completely inadequate; that we need to do something radically different to get fundamentally different outcomes for our children." GO could not agree more strongly.

Quality, Neighborhood Options
The proposed "Quality Community Schools Development Group" has the potential to support, hold accountable, and incubate innovative programs in alignment with GO's belief that families in every neighborhood should have quality choices about where to send their children to school. Thriving Students supports GO's vision that "Oakland should become a student-outcomes oriented center for innovation and achievement in education."

Areas of GO Beliefs and Vision that require more emphasis and discussion

Effective Teaching
GO supports Directors Gallo and Kakishiba's comments and questions about how the plan will ensure that OUSD has an effective teacher in every classroom. We agree with Director Gallo that OUSD needs to make changes to increase and differentiate support for teachers, to redesign the evaluation system to include evidence of student learning, and to increase compensation to attract and retain the best teachers for our students.

GO calls on OUSD leadership, in partnership with community and educators, to continue to explore the implications of the evidence that, among in-school factors, teacher effectiveness is the single most important factor in student learning.

Empowered School Communities
GO believes that families, teachers, principals, and students have the responsibility of making site- and community-based decisions to improve student outcomes.

GO will work with the Superintendent and Board of Education to continue to move the system toward increasing school site autonomy and flexibility regarding four key areas:
1.    People: Hiring, dismissal, job/role structures, compensation etc.
2.    Time: Schedule and calendar
3.    Program: Curricular and programmatic diversity
4.    Money: Agility with resources to meet changing and local needs

While the Thriving Students framework calls for dramatic change, it is not clear how far leaders are willing to push to change existing constraints within education code, district policy, and collective bargaining agreements to improve conditions for schools and students.

What you can expect from GO

GO will continue to help Oaklanders understand and act upon the direction set forth in the Thriving Students framework. As we understand the task force process, we will invite and encourage the GO network to participate.

GO will also continue to share and access the promising education ideas, strategies, and practices from within Oakland and around the nation through our online community and events.

Upcoming blog posts will focus on building our understanding of "full service community schools" and the efforts of other cities to improve teacher effectiveness through innovative changes to evaluation, compensation, and support practices.

GO will also invite Superintendent Smith for discussion in August about the Thriving Students framework, to learn more about how OUSD plans to partner with community on implementing this new direction, and how our network can participate in the task forces to develop the 5-year strategic plan.

GO will share comments submitted online from our network with the Board of Education and Superintendent.

Click below to add your comments on the new strategic direction: What are the plan's strengths? What weaknesses do you see? What questions do you have?
 

Read Comments (1) - Leave a Comment

Let Oakland Voters Decide!

On Saturday, the Board of Education discussed the status of efforts to develop a parcel tax to ensure that Oakland can attract and retain the best teachers for our students.

Over the next couple weeks, Director Kakishiba will work with a firm to poll the community about the potential measure and the Board decided to schedule a special meeting after the July Fourth holiday to consider the results.

The documentation to place the measure on the November 2010 ballot must be filed by August 6. If it decides to move forward, the Board will likely meet again later in July to come to agreement about what specifically they're going to ask the voters to support.

Parcel Tax Benefits

From our understanding of the discussion, a successful measure will do four things:

1. Increase compensation for teachers to be competitive with other local districts
2. Include incentives for hard to staff subject areas and high need schools
3. Benefit students and teachers at both district and charter public schools, ideally pegged to the percentage of Oakland students in both schools
4. Increase compensation for all school employees

Our hope is that the Board is polling about scenarios that meet all of these criteria. Oaklanders will be less in interested in just improving teacher compensation.

Ultimately, we want to be sure that the measure "solves the problem" and makes us competitive to attract and retain the best teachers for our children.

How You Can Help

City and education leaders need to hear from community that we want to prioritize our children, teachers, and schools.

City and education leaders need to coordinate a shared approach to November ballot measures so that we can support our students and teachers while sustaining other essential city services.

Add your name to our petition in support of the parcel tax. Urge school board members to let Oakland voters decide whether they want to pay our teachers more. The board should not stand in the way of Oaklanders having the opportunity to vote!

Call or email our elected city and school district leaders urging them to collaborate and get this done for our children.

Read Comments (0) - Leave a Comment

TOMORROW: Parcel Tax and OUSD Strategic Retreat

Tomorrow afternoon, Oakland education advocates have a critical opportunity to learn about the Board of Education and Superintendent's vision for improving our public schools and the strategic direction for OUSD.

In particular, GO members will learn more about how OUSD's strategic direction aligns with our six focus areas:

1) Effective teachers.
2) Strong leadership.
3) Individualized education.
4) Empowered school communities.
5) Choice about schools.
6) One vision. One Oakland.

In addition, the Board will discuss "whether a parcel tax election shall be called for November 2010 General Election Ballot to support the educational mission of the District."

It is critical that our network understands the Board and Superintendent's plans as we set priorities for our advocacy and work in the coming year.

OUSD posted five key documents to support tomorrow's discussion:

1) Letter from Superintendent Smith inviting the OUSD community to participate in the process

2) Building the Plan Together Part I: A one page "at-a-glance" overview of the 10 strategic areas for work and discussion during the 2010-2011 strategic planning year.

3) Building the Plan Together Part II: An eleven page overview of the proposed planning process, community engagement, workplans and outcomes for the 2010-2011 year.

4) Building the Plan Together Part III: A proposal to create task forces to lead the work within each strategic area with questions for board feedback during tomorrow's discussion.

5) Thriving Students: A 57-page narrative further detailing the strategic direction, theory of action, and plans to ready OUSD to become a full-service community district.

The retreat is scheduled for 1-4pm tomorrow in the board room at 1025 2nd Avenue.

GO Public Schools urges community to attend and participate in support of a student-centered, innovative plan for our public schools.

Teacher Parcel Tax Petition - SIGN TODAY!

Oakland education advocates must come together NOW to encourage our school board to place the teacher parcel tax on the November ballot.

• The only way we can increase teacher salaries without cutting more jobs is a parcel tax.
• Oaklanders should get to decide if they want our teachers to be paid more.
• A $25 million parcel tax could translate into a 5 percent raise for all public school teachers in Oakland, with 80 percent of funds raised supporting district public school teachers and support staff.
• A parcel tax is the single largest, most immediate, and least controversial source of revenue that can be applied to employee compensation.
  

Let the Board of Education know that you support a local parcel tax to increase teacher compensation. OAKLAND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS DESERVE BETTER!

Teacher Parcel Tax - TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Oakland Teachers Deserve To Be Better Compensated!

Massive funding cuts to education are currently plaguing the State of California and the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). As of the first reading of the Adopted Budget for 2010-2011 at the June 9th Board Meeting, district officials shared that the 2010-11 budget, $558 million, represents a cut of $110 million from the previous year's. This reduction includes the elimination of 505 full-time positions (or 10 percent). OUSD expects additional cuts mid-year once the State budget is approved.

The only way we can increase teacher salaries without cutting more jobs is a parcel tax.

With all of these funding cuts, one of the only ways that OUSD will be able to support its efforts to recruit, hire, and retain the highest quality teachers is by passing a parcel tax that will bring teacher compensation more on par with compensation levels found in other Bay Area districts.

On February 1, 2010, OUSD's Board Finance and Human Resources Committee considered two draft parcel tax proposals to increase teacher compensation in Oakland. While the proposals were tabled due to time constraints, the Committee agreed to consider a parcel tax proposal for the November 2010 election. In order to understand the possible public support for a November parcel tax, the Board of Education is conducting an opinion poll of likely November voters. The Board Finance and Human Resources Committee will review the results of this poll and will make a recommendation to the full board as to whether the parcel tax should be placed on the November ballot. The full board will likely meet in a special session to make a final decision before the August 6th Alameda County filing deadline.

Oaklanders should get to decide if they want our teachers to be paid more.

OUSD Board members' feelings about the parcel tax measure continue to be mixed. While some members have expressed doubts about getting enough voter support given the state of our local economy, others have shared concerns about the lack of support the Oakland Education Association has shown for a parcel tax that includes a 15 percent allocation to public charter schools. The issue of whether the tax will be a flat parcel tax or a square footage parcel tax is also still undecided.

What would a $20 - $25 million parcel tax mean for Oakland teachers? $25 million could translate into a 5 percent raise for all public school teachers in Oakland, with 80 percent of funds raised supporting district public school teachers and support staff.

For the Board of Education to place a parcel tax to increase teacher compensation on the November ballot, all stakeholder groups will need to join together around this issue.

A parcel tax is the single largest, most immediate, and least controversial source of revenue that can be applied to employee compensation.

Let the Board of Education know that you support a local parcel tax to increase teacher compensation. Email your board member today - OAKLAND TEACHERS DESERVE BETTER!

GO Photos from the Temescal Street Fair

GO Public Schools participated in this year's Temescal Street Fair! We asked community members "what makes a teacher great?" and received responses from Oakland students, teachers, parents, and community members.

Here are some photos from the day!

Visit GO at the Temescal Street Fair!

Support Oakland's public schools! Visit the GO Public Schools table at the Temescal Street Fair, this Sunday from noon - 6pm!