Community

Retirement a Blessing After Lengthy Teaching Career at Oakland Public Schools

“As for me with this welcoming retirement, I am looking forward to spending more time with my nieces and nephews, developing a mentor program, and implementing fundraising activities for college students at my church. I will see you in my travels,” she said.

Published

3 years ago

January 29, 2021

Kiki

Beverly Robinson, at home, celebrating the start of her retirement. Photo courtesy of Beverly Robinson.

After a career in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), spanning over 40 years, Beverly Robinson retired on January 15. Her next full-time project: “resuming my joy of traveling when it’s safe.”

Robinson served as an Instructional Assistant, Special Education teacher and administrator for OUSD. She got her first job as an A.I. at Claremont Middle School right after graduating from UC. Berkeley in 1977 under Title I funding and worked in that position for two years.

She later returned to school to earn her teaching credentials. Robinson was then hired as a special education teacher in 1981 and taught early childhood pupils for seven years at Ralph Bunche Center in West Oakland.

At Manzanita Elementary School and Manzanita Child Development Center, where she taught for 12 years, Robinson pioneered one of the first integrated pre-school programs to include children with disabilities.

Robinson later became a site administrator in the Early Childhood Education Dept. with responsibility for developing and implementing programs for children aged 3 to 9 years old in multiple child development centers. She supervised child development centers in North, West and East Oakland for 10 years.

As a site administrator, she worked with Jewish Family Services to provide a consultation model of mental health care services to children, families and staff. Through a federally funded Early Reading First grant, she was part of the implementation of classroom learning strategies contributing to the early literacy of pre-schoolers and the improvement of their standardized assessment scores.

In her last position, Robinson was a home and hospital teacher. Here, her students had disabilities who were ill and medically fragile. Because her students were not permitted to attend school, she would drive to their home and provide instruction on an individual basis.

Robinson participated and served as a mentor teacher in the Special Education Induction Program for six years.

She is currently a member of St. Paul AME Church, Berkley, and serves as the chairperson of the Stanley A. Whittaker/Maxine Irvine Scholarship Committee. Robinson is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Alpha Nu Omega Chapter – Oakland/Berkeley/Richmond, CA.

Her parting words for her fellow teachers were: “Never hesitate on what you can do for a child,” said Robinson. “Be committed, be bold, be courageous, be compassionate and most importantly, shake things up in the system for children.

Kiki

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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

Published

4 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.

Oakland Post

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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

1 week 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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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.