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Oakland Schools in Turmoil as District Threatens to Remove 17 Principals

Published

10 years ago

March 25, 2016

As the school year begins to wind down, planning is underway for next year. But many of Oakland’s schools – especially flatland schools – are in turmoil and are anxiously worrying whether the district administration will allow them to maintain the progress and stability they have worked so hard to build.

Seventeen principals have received warning letters that they may be removed or reassigned. A number of schools have learned that they may have to move for charter schools to “co-locate” onto their campuses and a large number of new teachers have just learned they will be fired at the end of June.

Staff at Place@Prescott in West Oakland are fearful about what will happen to their elementary school if they lose their principal, Enomwoyi Booker, who is one of the principals who received a March 15 warning letter, according to a teacher at the school who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The teacher said the principal, who has been at Prescott for over a decade, “is building rapport with the community. She is popular with the staff and the community. We have spent years building a (community) core that comes together and helps out.”

“We’re fragile,” a poor school in a poor community, the teacher said. “We are partial to our leadership from the years of being deprived of materials. We (finally) get some money and some inkling of materials, and then they take the leadership away.”

“The district administration says one thing, but the next thing you know, they shut you down or throw schools together. We don’t know what’s really going on.”

The teacher said she did not want Prescott to have to share its campus with a charter school.

“If we have to share it with another school, that will kill it,” she said. “With all the gentrification that is going on (in West Oakland), we feel kind of threatened.”

This is also the time of the year the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) sends out “probationary release” letters to teachers who are in their first or second year in the district – a state-approved procedure that allows the district to fire teachers and rule them ineligible ever to work again in an OUSD school, without right to appeal or a hearing.

According to Trish Gorham, president of the teachers’ union, 60 teachers have received probationary releases this year.

“Many have lacked proper support, have never been properly evaluated or coached,” she said. “Many have been thrown in difficult classroom management situations (such as coming in after a succession of substitute teachers), and they receive no help.”

“Some of them have asked for help over and over and have not received it,” said Gorham. The district generally never tells teachers why they are being released, she said.

“Of course, there needs to be a process of evaluation to earn tenure, but you’d think it would be beneficial to support a first-year teacher into a second year, rather than to have an endless cycle of brand new teachers who come into a school without any training,” said Gorham.

She said that the numbers of teachers of color who are receiving probationary releases are disproportionately higher than the numbers of white teachers who are being released.

As a result of constantly removing principals and teachers, many schools are unstable, she said.

One of the schools where parents and teachers are fighting to keep their principal is Westlake Middle School, which is next to Whole Foods by Lake Merritt.

The Westlake community is fearful that their school will be destabilized like other OUSD schools if they lose their principal, Misha Karigaca, who has been at the school for 15 years and leads staff and a group of parents who are enthusiastic about what they have built in the face of years of low funding and lack of district support.

At a meeting with parents and staff last week, district administrators cited persistent low test scores as the reason for removing Karigaca, who they said would be given another position in the district.

Speakers after speaker at the meeting in the school library warned that this was an especially bad time to remove their principal because the school may have to “co-locate” a charter school on its campus next year, a serious disruption when they feel they need a veteran, respected leader and a united faculty to see them through the transition.

Network Superintendent Ron Smith speaks last week at a parent and teacher meeting at Westlake Middle School. Photo by Ken Epstein.

Replied Ron Smith, OUSD Network Superintendent, “It’s a challenging, challenging time – it’s probably not a good time. But two years, three years, five years, there’s probably not going to be a good time.”

A parent said she was not swayed by the test score rationale.

“Eighty-eight percent (of our students) are low income. We have two or three jobs, many parents don’t have both partners at home. I don’t care about these numbers,” the parent said.

“My daughter is receiving music lessons and learning to write down music. She’s in the after school engineering program. I am proud my kid is here – she feels like this is her home,” the parent said.

Network Supt. Smith responded to parents who were fearful that programs at the school will be lost or wrecked as demoralized parents and veteran, beloved teachers flee the school next year.

“If someone says, ‘I’m not going to be here because Misha (Karigaca) is not going to be here,’ that’s their choice to make,” said Smith, who assured the meeting that the school would not be closed in the fall.

“My sole goal is to ensure that to the best of my ability, the doors (will) open next school year,” he said.

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Coming to Orinda: A Lecture on Finding the Strength to Heal and Move Past Fear With Divine Love

“Fear can be overcome and even healed in our lives by discovering the strong connection and relationship we have to something bigger than ourselves—God,” says Lisa Troseth, practitioner of Christian Science healing and international speaker. “By learning to lean and rely on this greater, higher good, we can feel moved to love beyond ourselves—and this frees us from fear and so much more.”

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Lecturer Lisa Troseth will speak on "Moving past fear to healing" on May 23 at the Orinda Library Auditorium. Photo courtesy of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship.

By Oakland Post Staff

Lisa Troseth, practitioner of Christian Science healing and international speaker, will present her talk, “Moving Past Fear – to Healing,” on May 23, at 2:30 PM, at the Orinda Library Auditorium.

The talk will focus on universal healing precepts found in the Holy Bible, especially in Christ Jesus’ life and teachings, showing how they are available for anyone to understand and experience through the lens of Christian Science. The talk is free, open to the community, and jointly sponsored by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Orinda and First Church of Christ, Scientist, Oakland.

“Fear can be overcome and even healed in our lives by discovering the strong connection and relationship we have to something bigger than ourselves—God,” says Troseth. “By learning to lean and rely on this greater, higher good, we can feel moved to love beyond ourselves—and this frees us from fear and so much more.”

Sharing examples of healing from her own life and professional practice of Christian Science, Troseth will explain why Christian Science is both Christian and scientific, meaning that people can prove its effectiveness for themselves, as fully described in the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, written by the founder of the Christian Science movement, Mary Baker Eddy.

Troseth will also touch on the life of Mary Baker Eddy, who came to understand, confirm, and teach what she felt was original Christian healing. Eddy herself said she was especially inspired by Jesus’ demand, “He that believes on me, the works that I do will he do also; and greater works than these will he do, because I go unto my Father” (found in the Gospel of John 14:12 in the Bible).

For over 150 years, people around the world have worked to follow Christ Jesus in this practice of Christianity and continue to do so today, experiencing healings of physical ills and personal difficulties.

Lisa Troseth has been a Christian Science practitioner for many years, helping people on a daily basis through this scientific approach to prayer.

She travels from her home base in Nyack, New York, to speak to audiences around the world as a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship.

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Activism

EBMUD Enshrines the Legacy of its First Black Board Member William ‘Bill’ Patterson

Patterson, who died in 2025 at the age of 94, was remembered as a tireless advocate, mentor, and public servant whose influence shaped generations across the East Bay.

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

William “Bill” Patterson, Jr. Courtesy Peralta College District

By Carla Thomas

On Tuesday, May 12, Oakland honored a towering community figure, William “Bill” Patterson, with the unveiling of a bronze plaque and the renaming of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) boardroom in downtown Oakland.

Board members, family, colleagues, and mentees gathered to reflect on Patterson’s enduring legacy at the meeting.

Patterson, who died in 2025 at the age of 94, was remembered as a tireless advocate, mentor, and public servant whose influence shaped generations across the East Bay.

“This is well deserved,” said Patterson’s cousin, Maria Simon. “He was such a big part of the Oakland community. It’s heartwarming to know he was known by so many people.

“So many credit him with helping them get their first job. It was especially meaningful when he held the Bible for Mayor Barbara Lee’s swearing-in. He truly believed in the goodness of people, in possibilities, and in the power to bring things to fruition.”

Oakland NAACP President Cynthia Adams described Patterson as a father figure. “He took me under his wing,” she said. “This recognition is a very special moment.”

Fellow NAACP member Robert “Bob” Harris echoed that sentiment, recalling Patterson as “a great member of the NAACP and a proud Kappa Alpha Psi man.”

Patterson’s son, William Patterson Jr., reflected on his father’s professional life.

“My father loved his community, and he loved working with EBMUD and spoke highly of his colleagues,” he said, standing alongside cousin Rise Jones Pichon, a former Santa Clara County Superior Court judge.

EBMUD Board President Luz Gómez praised Patterson’s resilience and dedication.

“As his health declined, he would spend half the day in the hospital and still come to our meetings,” she said. “There will never be another like him.”

Activist Cheryl Sudduth highlighted Patterson’s commitment to workforce development and youth empowerment. “He had the vision to bring water careers to students and the next generation,” she said, noting that participants in one of his initiatives received $2,000 stipends.

Sudduth also summed up one of Patterson’s guiding philosophies: “He told me it’s not enough to have a seat at the table. You need to have access to quality resources, the tools to build the table, and the skills to ensure everyone there can contribute. We should be more than a representation; we should reflect determination.”

EBMUD Board Member Andy Katz emphasized the importance of remembrance.

“When you die, you die twice, physically, and then when people stop saying your name,” he said. “By honoring him this way, his name will continue to be spoken for years to come.”

Others in attendance reflected on Patterson’s broad impact.

“It was a joy to watch him accomplish so much,” said EBMUD Board Member Marguerite Young.

Business leader, Delane Sims added that Patterson became a trusted advisor to multiple Oakland mayors.

“We need young people to learn about him so they can become leaders capable of creating meaningful change,” Sims said.

Following public comments, attendees witnessed the unveiling of the bronze plaque in the boardroom foyer, along with signage officially renaming the space in Patterson’s honor.

Born in 1931, Patterson devoted more than seven decades to public service in Oakland and the broader East Bay. Appointed to the EBMUD Board in 1997, he served for 27 years and became its first African American board president. His leadership extended beyond water governance into civil rights, education, and community development.

A three-term president of the Oakland NAACP, Patterson also advised Oakland’s first Black mayor, Lionel Wilson, and played a key role in advancing equity, public health, and environmental justice. He served on the Urban Strategies Council and the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, further shaping public policy.

In 1971, Patterson was a founding director of the Peralta Colleges Foundation, which provides financial assistance and support to students across Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College.

In addition, Patterson mentored countless young people through Oakland’s recreation programs, helping guide future leaders and even professional athletes. Though slight in stature, Patterson will always be remembered as a giant of a man.

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Arts and Culture

Against All Odds: Mary Jackson’s Journey to NASA Engineer

Jackson’s life took a significant turn when she was offered the opportunity to work in a wind tunnel, a facility used to test the effects of air moving over aircraft structures. It was here that her passion for engineering truly took flight. However, there was a challenge: to become an engineer, she needed to take advanced courses that were only offered at a segregated high school.

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Mary Jackson. Public domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

When we talk about breaking barriers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the name Mary Jackson deserves a place at the top of the list.

Jackson was born in 1921 in Hampton, Virginia, a place that would later become central to her groundbreaking work. From an early age, she showed a strong aptitude for math and science—subjects that, at the time, were not widely encouraged for African American women. But Jackson was not one to be limited by expectations. She earned degrees in mathematics and physical science from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), setting the foundation for a career that would change history.

Before joining NASA, Jackson worked as a teacher and later as a research mathematician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that eventually became NASA. Like many African American women of her time, she began her career as a “human computer,” performing complex calculations by hand. It was in this environment that she worked alongside brilliant minds like Katherine Johnson, forming part of a powerful group of African American women whose calculations helped launch America into space.

Jackson did something truly remarkable. She petitioned the city of Hampton for permission to attend those classes. She didn’t accept “no” as an answer. And she won.

In 1958, Jackson became NASA’s first African American female engineer.

But Jackson’s impact didn’t stop there.

Later in her career, she chose to step away from her engineering position—not because she couldn’t continue, but because she wanted to make a difference. She moved into roles focused on equal opportunity, working to ensure that women and minorities had access to the same opportunities she fought so hard to get.

Jackson’s story gained wider recognition through the book and film Hidden Figures, which highlighted the contributions of African American women at NASA. But long before the spotlight found her, Jackson was doing the work—quietly, persistently, and brilliantly.

Jackson retired from Langley in 1985. Among her many honors were an Apollo Group Achievement Award and being named Langley’s Volunteer of the Year in 1976. She served as the chair of one of the center’s annual United Way campaigns and a member of the National Technical Association (the oldest African American technical organization in the United States).

She and her husband Levi had an open-door policy for young Langley recruits trying to gain their footing in a new town and a new career. A 1976 Langley Researcher profile might have done the best job capturing Mary’s spirit and character, calling her a “gentlelady, wife and mother, humanitarian and scientist.”

For Jackson, science and service went hand in hand.

She died on Feb. 11, 2005, at age 83, at a convalescent home in Hampton, Virginia.