Education

Schools Rule in Marin

Published

9 years ago

July 14, 2015

Every child in Marin should have access to quality education and innovative programs. In the world of increasing educational needs, that seems like a far-fetched dream.

But, SchoolsRule-Marin is working hard to make that dream a reality in Marin.

The SchoolsRule-Marin held their third annual Enchanted Circus fundraising gala at the Marin County Fairgrounds on June 30, the eve of the Fair’s Opening Day, where 500 people gathered to support Marin’s public school students.

The event began with a cocktail reception in the Fine Arts Exhibit where guests had the opportunity to purchase art before the exhibit opened to the general public.

“Many of these artists are alumni of Marin County Public Schools,” said Trisha Garlock, Board President for SchoolsRule-Marin.

SchoolsRule-Marin is a coalition of all Marin public school foundations working in partnership with the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE) to benefit every student in the county’s public schools, regardless of their economic status.

“Every child has great potential that must be nurtured and supported in our schools and our community,” said Mary Jane Burke, Marin County Superintendent of Schools.

SchoolsRule-Marin seeks to engage the community in dialogue around important issues in education, to encourage volunteerism in the schools, and working together as one to raise funds for all students in Marin public schools.

“SchoolsRule has built itself on a venerable American principle: ‘All for one, one for all.’ Not only is this a laudable philosophy, it’s a brilliant strategy,” said Tom Peters, President and CEO of Marin Community Foundation, founding partner of SchoolsRule.

While each district’s foundation raises money independently, SchoolsRule provides an avenue for donors to financially support schools countywide without having to specify amounts to different districts. With the donations of their generous business and individual donors in the community, SchoolsRule-Marin has distributed more than $1 million since 2012, on a per-student basis, to the school foundations and districts in Marin County.

This October, the fourth annual distribution of SchoolsRule-Marin funds will take place at MCOE.

“All 35,344 children in Marin Public Schools will benefit, whether by creating a painting in art class, participating in a literacy class supporting English learners, playing basketball in PE class, or utilizing the latest technology to give the precious gift of communication to a child with special needs,” said Burke.

Visit www.schoolsrule.org to learn more.

This article was adapted from the Marin Center Magazine “On With The Show” Marin County Fair 2015 program.

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Bay Area

Faces Around the Bay: Sidney Carey

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland. Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

Published

6 mins ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of Sidney Lane.

By Barbara Fluhrer

Sidney Carey was born in Dallas, Texas. He moved with his family to West Oakland as a baby. His sister is deceased; one brother lives in Oakland.

Carey was the Choir Director at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church for 18 years.

He graduated from McClymonds High with a scholarship in cosmetology and was the first African American to complete a nine-month course at the first Black Beauty School in Oakland: Charm Beauty College.

He earned his License, and then attended U.C., earning a secondary teaching credential. With his Instructors License, he went on to teach at Laney College, San Mateo College, Skyline and Universal Beauty College in Pinole, among others.

Carey was the first African American hair stylist at Joseph and I. Magnin department store in Oakland and in San Francisco, where he managed the hair stylist department, Shear Heaven.

In 2009, he quit teaching and was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. He was 60 and “too old for a heart transplant”. His doctors at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) went to court and fought successfully for his right to receive a transplant. One day, he received a call from CPMC, “Be here in one hour.” He underwent a transplant with a heart from a 25-year- old man in Vienna, Austria

Two years later, Carey resumed teaching at Laney College, finally retiring in 2012.

Now, he’s slowed down and comfortable in a Senior Residence in Berkeley, but still manages to fit his 6/4” frame in his 2002 Toyota and drive to family gatherings in Oakland and San Leandro and an occasional Four Seasons Arts concert.

He does his own shopping and cooking and uses Para Transit to keep constant doctor appointments while keeping up with anti-rejection meds. He often travels with doctors as a model of a successful heart-transplant plant recipient: 14 years.

Carey says, “I’m blessed” and, to the youth, “Don’t give up on your dreams!”

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Bay Area

Emiliano Zapata Street Academy Celebrates 40 Years Serving Oakland Families

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Published

17 mins ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Live music was part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, on April 27, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue and 29th Street. Photo by Ken Epstein.

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a public alternative high school, celebrated its 50^th anniversary this year with a community party and festival last Saturday with live music, good food, vendors’ booths, and activities for adults and children.

Attending the Saturday, April 27 celebration were current and past students, families, faculty, and supporters of the school. The school is located at 417 29^th St., and the celebration was held nearby at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

For more information, go to www.streetacademy.online or call 510) 874-3630 or (510) 879-2313.

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California Black Media

State Ed Chief Tony Thurmond Pushes Bill to Train Educators

State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) Tony Thurmond is advocating for comprehensive training for teachers in reading and math, emphasizing the urgent need to improve student academic outcomes across California. On April 24, during testimony in the Senate Education Committee, Thurmond backed Senate Bill (SB)1115, which aims to provide evidence-backed educator training. The committee passed the bill with a 7-0 vote.

Published

19 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

By California Black Media

On April 24, during testimony in the Senate Education Committee, Thurmond backed Senate Bill (SB)1115, which aims to provide evidence-backed educator training. The committee passed the bill with a 7-0 vote.

Thurmond pointed out to the committee that existing funding for educator training in literacy and math only covers about one-third of California’s educator workforce. SB 1115, Thurmond said, would fund the remaining two-thirds.

“This is an issue of moral clarity,” according to Thurmond. “In the fifth-largest economy in the world, and in an age when we have access to substantial brain science about how students learn, it should be unacceptable to train only some educators in the best strategies to teach essential skills.”

SB 1115 incorporates multiple research-backed methods, including phonics, and it aligns with the California ELA/ELD Framework, which encourages biliteracy and multilingualism.

Thurmond emphasized the moral imperative behind the push for enhanced training by noting that 70% of incarcerated adults struggle with reading or are illiterate.

“Every child should feel supported as they learn to read and every teacher should feel confident in their ability to support students’ foundational literacy,” Thurmond said. “SB 1115 is about ensuring that all children have the opportunity to read by third grade, and that all children have a shot at the life-changing outcomes that come from early literacy.”

The next step for SB 1115 is a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 6.