Activism

Community Day Staff Fear School Site May Be Slated for Housing Development

“Board President Gary Yee has been open about his desire to look at the Community Day School site as a possible location for the creation of educator housing,” Sasaki wrote in an email to The Oakland Post. “He continues to explore that idea.” Yee visited the site during school hours on February 25. Joshua Simon, whose work history includes real estate development and consulting for non-profit organizations, accompanied him.

Published

4 years ago

March 20, 2022

Zack Haber

Caption: A sign outside of Community Day School's campus. Photo by Zack Haber on March 6.

By Zack Haber

Staff who work at Community Day School, which Oakland Unified School District’s Board has scheduled for closure at the end of the academic year, expressed frustration to The Oakland Post about the possibility of the site’s campus being developed into housing. According to OUSD Director of Communication John Sasaki, Board president Gary Yee has been looking to develop the site.

Yee visited the site during school hours on February 25. Joshua Simon, whose work history includes real estate development and consulting for non-profit organizations, accompanied him.

Yee did not respond to two emails requesting his comment on this story that included questions related to his visit to the school. Simon stated that he did not join Yee during the site visit in any professional capacity.

“As a person with a career of working on nonprofit community benefit projects, I am often asked for my advice,” he wrote in an email to The Oakland Post. “In this case, I had no advice to give. I met with Mr. Yee as a private citizen.”

Community Day School Administrative Assistant Sandra Backer said neither Yee nor Simon signed into the school’s visitor logbook. Staff members objected to the duo coming onto campus unannounced and without signing in during school hours.

“It was very disrespectful and showed a disregard for the policy and safety of our school,” said Vernon ‘Trey’ Keeve III an English teacher at Community Day School. “If you’re visiting a public-school ground, the first thing you should do is sign in.”

Rachel Machtinger, a therapist who works at the school said she “felt angry about them thinking they were just entitled to come onto the campus unannounced.”

In an email Yee sent to Community Days’ principal, which was then forwarded to staff, Yee apologized and stated, “It was insensitive of me to come during the school day and without letting you know in advance.”

Keeve speculated that Yee was checking out the land for a possible development project. This upset Keeve, in part because Yee had not visited the school in recent months as the board was considering whether or not to close the school.

“It felt like a blatant slap in the face,” Keeve said. “So, he has time to come by and survey the land but he doesn’t have time to visit us and see the work we do here? When you consider where our campus is located, it would be a great view if anything gets built there?”

Community Day sits in Oakland’s Leona Heights neighborhood, which features a park in a densely forested redwood groove.

To create housing on its 17-acre campus, Community Day would first have to be closed. Staff and a student at the school have spoken out recently against their school’s planned closure, saying that the site serves a unique purpose that can’t be replaced. Community Day is the only school in Oakland where expelled students can attend in person as they work to clear their expulsion with the district.

To lease or sell Community Day’s campus for housing, the district would also need to form a new 7-11 Committee of community members who would then have to declare its campus as surplus property. There is a recent history of the district forming such a committee, declaring OUSD property as surplus, and then leasing property for housing.

A 7-11 Committee was formed in 2019 and met from May through December of that year. In 9-1 and 6-4 decisions, that committee voted to declare two vacant OUSD properties, a former adult school and a former child development center, as “surplus.” On June 30 of last year, OUSD’s Board then voted 5-2, with Yee voting yes, to lease these properties for 65 years to Eagle Environmental Construction Inc., a private company that plans to construct market rate units, a job training site for residents, and subsidized housing. The lease stipulates at least half of housing units will be set aside for OUSD employees. Members of Oakland Education Association and SEIU Local 1021 spoke out against the lease during that meeting.

Machtinger, along with Keeve, expressed displeasure at the idea of turning Community Day’s campus into housing and coupling that plan with educator housing. Machtinger felt that profit could be a main motivating factor in such a development.

“It feels dubious to me because it’s such attractive real estate,” she said.

Keeve felt that creating educator housing wouldn’t address the root cause of teachers not making a livable wage in Oakland.

“If there’s ever something capitalism would do, it would be to create ‘teacher housing,’” they said. “Teachers should just be paid a livable wage for the places they live in. It seems like a weird band-aid to put on that gaping wound.”

Keeve said they thought living in “teacher housing” would make it difficult to create a separation between work and leisure. They wouldn’t want to live around a group of people who do the same job as them because it would remind them of work.

“I love my colleges and collaborating with other educators while I’m at work,” they said. “But I also create boundaries.”

These days, the future of Community Day remains unclear, Yee has not publicly declared any plans to pursue housing on the site, and Keeve remains focused on teaching.

“Right now, I just want the students to have a good time and get the things they need before the school year ends, and this place could close down,” they said.

Recently, thousands of community members have been pushing back against school closures in Oakland, including Community Day’s. Since five Board directors, including Yee, voted to formally request the district recommend a list of schools for consolidation in mid-January, they’ve seen pushback from staff, parents, students and community members in the form of protests, teacher and student walkouts, a hunger strike, and over a thousand e-comments and comments against closures before and during meetings.

The community has specifically objected to the closures disproportionate effect on Black and Latinx students. Two Board directors, Mike Hutchinson and VanCedric Williams, have also repeatedly voted against closures. During meetings last month, despite the pushback, the board voted to close, merge or downsize 11 schools over the next two years and then voted against a resolution to delay considering closures set to occur at end of this school year for an additional year.

After the votes, pushback has continued in the hopes that school closures still can be stopped. On March 5, hundreds took to the streets to protest the planned closure of Oakland schools. Oakland’s Education Association is also continuing to pursue legal action to stop the closures by filing an unfair labor practice charge accusing the district of violating a deal they reached in 2019 that requires a one year engagement process before any closures can occur.

Zack Haber

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

12 hours ago

December 25, 2025

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

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Lu Lu’s House is Not Just Toying Around with the Community

Wilson and Lambert will be partnering with Mayor Barbara Lee on a toy giveaway on Dec. 20. Young people, like Dremont Wilkes, age 15, will help give away toys and encourage young people to stay in school and out of trouble. Wilkes wants to go to college and become a specialist in financial aid. Sports agent Aaron Goodwin has committed to giving all eight young people from Lu Lu’s House a fully paid free ride to college, provided they keep a 3.0 grade point average and continue the program. Lu Lu’s House is not toying around.

Published

5 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Tania Fuller Bryant, Zirl Wilson, Dremont Wilkes, Tracy Lambert and Dr. Geoffrey Watson. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry

Special to the Post

Lu Lu’s House is a 501c3 organization based in Oakland, founded by Mr. Zirl Wilson and Mr. Tracy Lambert, both previously incarcerated. After their release from jail, they wanted to change things for the better in the community — and wow, have they done that!

The duo developed housing for previously incarcerated people, calling it “Lu Lu’s House,” after Wilson’s wonderful wife. At a time when many young people were robbing, looting, and involved in shootings, Wilson and Lambert took it upon themselves to risk their lives to engage young gang members and teach them about nonviolence, safety, cleanliness, business, education, and the importance of health and longevity.

Lambert sold hats and T-shirts at the Eastmont Mall and was visited by his friend Wilson. At the mall, they witnessed gangs of young people running into the stores, stealing whatever they could get their hands on and then rushing out. Wilson tried to stop them after numerous robberies and finally called the police, who Wilson said, “did not respond.” Having been incarcerated previously, they realized that if the young people were allowed to continue to rob the stores, they could receive multiple criminal counts, which would take their case from misdemeanors to felonies, resulting in incarceration.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys
for a Dec. 20 giveaway in partnership with Oakland Mayor Barbara
Lee. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry,

Wilson took it upon himself to follow the young people home and when he arrived at their subsidized homes, he realized the importance of trying to save the young people from violence, drug addiction, lack of self-worth, and incarceration — as well as their families from losing subsidized housing. Lambert and Wilson explained to the young men and women, ages 13-17, that there were positive options which might allow them to make money legally and stay out of jail. Wilson and Lambert decided to teach them how to wash cars and they opened a car wash in East Oakland. Oakland’s Initiative, “Keep the town clean,” involved the young people from Lu Lu’s House participating in more than eight cleanup sessions throughout Oakland. To assist with their infrastructure, Lu Lu’s House has partnered with Oakland’s Private Industry Council.

For the Christmas season, Lu Lu’s House and reformed young people (who were previously robbed) will continue to give back.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Desmond Gumbs — Visionary Founder, Mentor, and Builder of Opportunity

Gumbs’ coaching and leadership journey spans from Bishop O’Dowd High School, Oakland High School, Stellar Prep High School. Over the decades, hundreds of his students have gone on to college, earning academic and athletic scholarships and developing life skills that extend well beyond sports.

Published

5 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond Gumbs both had starting kickers that were Women. This picture was taken after the game. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

For more than 25 years, Desmond Gumbs has been a cornerstone of Bay Area education and athletics — not simply as a coach, but as a mentor, founder, and architect of opportunity. While recent media narratives have focused narrowly on challenges, they fail to capture the far more important truth: Gumbs’ life’s work has been dedicated to building pathways to college, character, and long-term success for hundreds of young people.

A Career Defined by Impact

One of his most enduring contributions is his role as founder of Stellar Prep High School, a non-traditional, mission-driven institution created to serve students who needed additional structure, belief, and opportunity. Through Stellar Prep numerous students have advanced to college — many with scholarships — demonstrating Gumbs’ deep commitment to education as the foundation for athletic and personal success.

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from
Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond
Gumbs both had starting kickers that were women. This picture was
taken after the game.

A Personal Testament to the Mission: Addison Gumbs

Perhaps no example better reflects Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy than the journey of his son, Addison Gumbs. Addison became an Army All-American, one of the highest honors in high school football — and notably, the last Army All-Americans produced by the Bay Area, alongside Najee Harris.

Both young men went on to compete at the highest levels of college football — Addison Gumbs at the University of Oklahoma, and Najee Harris at the University of Alabama — representing the Bay Area on a national level.

Building Lincoln University Athletics From the Ground Up

In 2021, Gumbs accepted one of the most difficult challenges in college athletics: launching an entire athletics department at Lincoln University in Oakland from scratch. With no established infrastructure, limited facilities, and eventually the loss of key financial aid resources, he nonetheless built opportunities where none existed.

Under his leadership, Lincoln University introduced:

Football
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Men’s and Women’s Soccer

Operating as an independent program with no capital and no conference safety net, Gumbs was forced to innovate — finding ways to sustain teams, schedule competition, and keep student-athletes enrolled and progressing toward degrees. The work was never about comfort; it was about access.

Voices That Reflect His Impact

Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy has been consistently reflected in his own published words:

“if you have an idea, you’re 75% there the remaining 25% is actually doing it.”
“This generation doesn’t respect the title — they respect the person.”
“Greatness is a habit, not a moment.”

Former players and community members have echoed similar sentiments in public commentary, crediting Gumbs with teaching them leadership, accountability, confidence, and belief in themselves — lessons that outlast any single season.

Context Matters More Than Headlines

Recent articles critical of Lincoln University athletics focus on logistical and financial hardships while ignoring the reality of building a new program with limited resources in one of the most expensive regions in the country. Such narratives are ultimately harmful and incomplete, failing to recognize the courage it takes to create opportunity instead of walking away when conditions are difficult.

The real story is not about early struggles — it is about vision, resilience, and service.

A Legacy That Endures

From founding Stellar PREP High School, to sending hundreds of students to college, to producing elite athletes like Addison Gumbs, to launching Lincoln University athletics, Desmond Gumbs’ legacy is one of belief in young people and relentless commitment to opportunity.

His work cannot be reduced to headlines or records. It lives on in degrees earned, scholarships secured, leaders developed, and futures changed — across the Bay Area and beyond.