Bay Area

School Leaders Share Scenarios for Reopening Oakland Schools in Fall

Published

4 years ago

July 15, 2020

By BCN

Nearly 2,600 families watched a presentation given by Oakland Unified School District leaders on July 2 who described scenarios for reopening schools in the fall.
The meeting started at about 5:00 p.m. and was available on Zoom in English, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese until Zoom reached its limit of 1,000 users, prompting school leaders to ask families to watch on YouTube.
School officials emphasized that the plans they described that evening were not final, but one option for all families is distance learning for the entire year.
“What we’re sharing tonight is not the final plan,” Supt. Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammel said.
She wanted to avoid using the word “final” because, while school officials have greater clarity on what school in the fall will look like, it depends on several factors.
Clarity has come recently in Assembly Bill 77, which says instruction should be in-person to the greatest extent possible.
But school district leaders said that what school will look like in the new year depends also on negotiations with labor leaders and guidance from the state and county.
The ideas school leaders shared were based partly on what they have heard from families so far.
School leaders had planned to give families the opportunity to provide feedback during the meeting in breakout groups but were deterred by Zoom’s limits on participation.
Assuming children go to school in person at all, school leaders are proposing phased approaches depending on how safe it is for students to be on campus.
At the elementary school level, for example, a Phase One approach would provide small-group, on-campus instruction for some students, while others would check in with their teacher on campus on Monday and check out on campus on Friday.
Phase Two would involve in-person instruction for groups of eight to 10 students one day a week. A different group of students would be taught on campus on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Phase Three would involve groups of 12 to 16 students in campus classrooms.
The daily instructional minutes required in the coming year will be the same as in previous years for kindergarten students, but for students in grades six through 12 it is significantly lower, district leaders said.
But the minutes for those students will count whether they are in-person or online.
The number of instructional days for all students will remain unchanged at 180.
“This is a status update for the community,” said Sailaja Suresh, COVID-19 action team coordinator for OUSD. “And leaders want to know from students and parents what else needs to be addressed.”
Another community meeting for parents will take place on July 13 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. when final or close-to-final plans will be shared with families. Families can get the details for that meeting at ousd.org/calendar.

By BCN

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

6 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”