By Ken Epstein

In an escalation of labor pressure, hundreds of teachers boycotted district-organized Professional Development (PD) sessions, instead attending a mass, Oakland Education Association (OEA) rally this week at Lake Merritt to demand the Oakland Unified School District begin bargaining “in good faith” for a new union contract.

The rally Wednesday afternoon was held at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater, across from the Oakland Museum.

Chairing the rally, OEA Vice President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer said the union has been trying to negotiate for months with the school district for a new contract but has not received responses to its demands for “dignity, respect in the workplace … for a living wage (and)… for student supports and community schools.”

“Oakland has been bargaining with OUSD for safe and racially just community schools,” she said. “We are here today to demand that OUSD bargain with us in good faith.”

OEA Interim President Ismael Armendariz said, “Today, we took a step in having a labor action; we walked out on our [professional development]. That is an escalation.”

“OUSD has been bargaining with OEA since October,” he continued.  “We have a 51-member bargaining team that spent hours crafting [21] bargaining proposals. OUSD has come to the table with two unserious proposals and zero counter [proposals].”

Criticizing the district’s approach to bargaining in public, he said, “We cannot bargain on Facebook Live; we are going to bargain at the table.”

He accused the district of spreading “fear, uncertainty and doubt to divide us as workers,” which is a “boss tactic,” adding that the district is talking about a budget crisis, even though it has received $66 million from the state to develop community schools.

“There is always a budget crisis when we’re bargaining,” Armendariz said.

OEA is getting ready to take a vote to see if members are prepared to strike if necessary. Also, word is circulating that some union members are getting ready for a short unauthorized or wildcat strike to demonstrate teachers’ willingness to stand up to the district.

Even though the district is not in financial difficulties, it has passed a budget proposal that includes possible school closures or mergers, as well as layoffs and a hiring freeze.

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland High School varsity basketball team took the state championship on Friday, March 11 in Sacramento at Golden Arco 1 Center. 

The team’s 59-43 victory over Buena High School of Ventura in the CIF Division 3 championship game was the highlight of a five-game winning spree.

It is the first time in the Wildcats history that Oakland High’s team has had this victory.

“I am so proud of the team,” said Wildcats Head Coach Orlando Watkins. “They put in the work and worked together, and now they’ve made history.”

Watkins couldn’t be more proud of how the team’s accomplishment. Notable were teammates Money Williams scoring 22 points, Anthony Lacy scoring nine points and seven rebounds; Te’Shawn Gamble’s brought in nine points, and Josh Clark had eight points.

When the team fell short of winning the AOL (Oakland Athletic League) title, Watkins said he could feel the team shift and build momentum toward success.

Many of the team members and coaches are still letting the win sink in.

“I don’t think it has really sunk in yet,” said Assistant Coach Eric Van Laeken. “Winning the state championship was amazing. I’ve been coaching middle and high schoolers since I graduated from college in 1996. This championship means lot. It was our goal to win, and we actually pulled it off.” 

Oakland High School’s Athletic Director Jonas Perez said the team’s work ethic was the key to their success. “I saw the hard work these individuals put in every day from the beginning. Some of them have been with us since freshman year. Having this championship here at Oakland High is a great feeling.”

For Zaymani Mitchell, winning was a dream come true. “It’s great to accomplish something we’ve wanted since the beginning of the season,” said Mitchell. “Coach Watkins and Coach Will (Lew) have really been there for us. And they’ve prepared us to be professional Black men for life after high school.”

Freshman Rohm Neal who plays shooting guard said, “This win means a lot. A lot of work was put in to reach our goals. Our coaches teach us a lot of lessons in basketball that apply to every day life.” Neal hopes to become an artist, a large scale oil painter.

Point Guard Erick Jackson reflected on the record the team broke. “It feels unreal and not an achievement anyone has done before us. A lot of energy from the team and mentoring from the coach and staff are how we made it.” 

Power Forward and Center Jaylon King, who returned to the Bay Area from Stockton said, “I’m glad I could contribute to the team’s legacy.”

For Guard Caruji West, a lot of team bonding contributed to the team’s success. “Our team worked well together, but I have mixed feelings. I’m glad we won, but I’m sad that the season is over,” he said.

Associate Head Coach Will Lew with Assistance Coaches; 

Angel M Macedon, Frank Miller, Torrence Spencer, and Jeff Davis

unboxed dozens of sneakers for the champion team, a gift from Oakland High alumni and NBA All-Star, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers in the school’s gym.

Prior to their state championship win, Lillard in a video, addressed and encouraged the team. He had also seen the team perform at a pre-season game in Portland and spoke of the team’s potential.

Lillard, a longtime supporter of Oakland High, funded the team’s remodeled gym.

Surrounded by Assistant Coach Will Lew, Jeff, and Trainer Macedonia, the players tried on their brand-new kicks.

According to Watkins, Lillard is equally proud and will continue to reward the winning team.

By Daisha Williams
Post News Group Intern

When Oakland School of the Arts students get a break from class, they frequently stop at their favorite hangouts for food and drinks in downtown Oakland, including three Black-owned spots, Dusk Coffee, Mama T’s, and Rare Blend Coffee.

Black-owned businesses tend to be hard to find because they are hard to keep around. However students at Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) help keep these businesses around by visiting so frequently.

A high schooler’s day is long, with eight hours of school, and for many, extracurricular activities after school. Caffeine is a much-needed energy boost for many students, and coffee is an easy, delicious, way to get it.

Both Dusk Coffee and Rare Blend Coffee get a significant amount of business from OSA students.

A rose latte is one of the appealing drinks that Oakland School for the Arts students buy at Dusk Coffee. Photo by Daisha Williams.

Rare Blend is a small cafe that sits on the corner in between the school and the parking lot on 19th street. There are tables and little booths inside, but students tend to prefer sitting outside in the alleyway in groups of six to eight, with a few at a time going inside to get drinks. In addition to coffee, Rare Blend offers small pastries and smoothies.

Dusk Coffee is a little farther away, on 16th street, but still incredibly easy for students to go to on their lunch break. There are many tables and chairs outside their cafe, so students often eat lunch here as well. The cafe is decorated in neutral colors, contrasting with Rare Blend’s colorful aesthetic. In this sense, Dusk is a very traditional coffee shop. In other ways it is incredibly unique, one example being their inclusion of fun menu items like their rose latte.

OSA’s high school students are able to go off campus for lunch and a popular spot for them is Mama T’s, named after the owner. Unlike many local restaurants, Mama T’s has been around for almost 15 years, so it has a long-standing reputation with OSA students.

While many small businesses shut down during 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Mama T’s was one of the few businesses that stayed open.

When asked about the pandemic affecting her restaurant, Mama T said, “It definitely impacted me, not only not having the school, but also the City Hall workers and everyone else. The thing that saved me was that I got a contract to make lunches for homeless people.”

Formerly known as Catered 2 U, after restrictions were lifted  the restaurant rebranded to Mama T’s, named after the owner. Located less than a block from OSA’s main entrance, the business has no seating area, just a kitchen and a counter.

Still, kids don’t mind standing as they wait for their food before going elsewhere. When asked about the amount of business they get from OSA students, Mama T replied, “Enough so that I created the OSA menu. There are several other schools in the area but I don’t do it for them because they come once every three or four months… I get students from OSA every single day.”

The OSA menu has specific meals for the students, as well as discounts on normal menu items. One menu item that is extremely popular with the students is their fries, which is featured on the OSA menu for only $3  a serving. Robert O’Grady, a junior at OSA said, “Their fries were legendary…. There’s no word to describe it, their fries were on everybody’s mind.”

Other popular menu items include their chicken nuggets and their “famous” fish sandwich.

William Truong, OSA’s student body president, called Mamma T’s “the place I go to treat myself to something good.”

If you’d like to visit, here are the addresses for all the places mentioned.

Mama T’s: 1711 Telegraph Ave

Rare Blend Cafe: 555 19th St

Dusk Coffee: 1615 Broadway