Community

Parents Fight to Keep Kaiser Elementary Open

Published

7 years ago

April 1, 2019

As Oakland’s School Board and Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell attempt to implement their Community of Schools Plan, which calls for closing up to 24 schools, many Kaiser Elementary School community members are frustrated.

The plan includes closing Kaiser’s campus to merge with Sankofa Elementary School, which is about a 4-mile drive away.

Though the district plan promises a quality school in every neighborhood, Kaiser is the only public school in the Hiller Highland area and has test scores that meet or exceed state standards at a 14 percent higher rate for math and about 7 percent higher rate for reading and language proficiency above the state average.

“It doesn’t make any sense to close a successful school,” said Mellissa Korber, whose son is a third-grade student at Kaiser. She transferred her child to Kaiser from a previous school because she needed after school care, which Kaiser provides for him.

Korber appreciates that the school has addressed her son’s emotional needs by providing services to help him with anxiety. She worries that transferring to a new school campus could be overwhelming for him.

Though Kaiser community members and leadership in OUSD have had two meetings about the closure, Kaiser community members say they have not been allowed to ask questions or address their concerns.

When Johnson-Trammell attended the second meeting Feb. 21, the first day of the Oakland teachers strike, she asked the attendees to break into small groups to provide feedback. Kaiser parents, teachers, and alumni insisted on asking direct questions and chanted “no breakout groups!”

But Supt. Johnson-Trammell refused to answer direct questions.

“We feel that school mergers and closures do not work,” said Kaiser PTA President Celeste Colbert Stanley. “We have not seen any evidence that when schools are merged they continue to grow and thrive.”

Frustrated with the district’s plans, Stanley and members of the Kaiser community have organized to stop them. Since the PTA is limited legally in what it can do to challenge district policies and plans, Kaiser parents have formed the Kaiser Advocacy Committee (KAC), which is looking into legal methods to stop the closure, showing up at school board meetings to question policy and reaching out to get more support from Oakland residents.

Many Kaiser community members wonder why the district is planning on closing their campus and what they plan to do with it.

“What’s happening to the school if Kaiser is closed?” said Stanley. “Is it going to go to a charter? Are they going to sell it?” Mike Hutchinson of Oakland’s Public Education Network (OPEN) is concerned about the long-term ramifications of selling public school buildings and land in Oakland.

“We cannot let the school board make permanent decisions,” said Hutchinson. “If they sell the property, it’s gone forever. If we have extra land, we should figure out the best educational use for that land.”

In order for the district to sell public school property, state law requires that their decisions be approved by a local 7-11 committee, which will have seven voting members and four alternates. Teachers, community members and at least one school principal have applied to be on the committee.

While the school board has yet to vote to close the Kaiser campus, they have informed Kaiser that they have recommended the campus’ closure, which would happen in the 2020-2021 school year.

OUSD Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Valerie Goode said 7-11 Committee would make the decision on the fate of the Kaiser campus.

“If the current recommendation to relocate Kaiser Elementary program to a new location is approved by the OUSD Board of Education,” Goode said, “then our 7-11 Committee would make a recommendation for future use of the current Kaiser site.”

Zack Haber

Posts by Zack Haber

Related Topics:Henry J. Kaiser Elementary School Oakland Schools OUSD

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

18 hours ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Posts by bpusa-syndication

Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

20 hours ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.