Coronavirus

Street Academy’s Parents and Teachers Plan Together for School in the Fall

Published

4 years ago

August 13, 2020

Street Academy graduates - Emunti Herrera; Simone Kuykendall and Yoanna Rodrigue. Photo by Gina Hill.

A happy mix of Oakland Street Academy staff and parents planned the school’s approach to distance learning together at an evening Zoom meeting.

It was not like a lot of education meetings. Parents weren’t being “talked at.” They came with their children. The Spanish translation was homey and natural; and there were lots of jokes.

Of course, this is in keeping with roots of The Street Academy. It was born out of the Civil Rights movement, a period much like this one when Black and Latino youngsters filled the streets and college campuses with demands for a respectful approach to them, their communities, and their education.

First on the agenda was an “icebreaker” led by Bukola Lawal, a graduate of Street Academy and now one of its administrative leaders. Everyone viewed three intriguing pictures on the Zoom screen and explained why one of those fit their mood. Gina Hill, another school leader, led a process called Transformative Life Skills. Everyone closed their eyes and took collective sustained breaths, listening to Gina’s calming voice. And then she led the group in a period of silence in honor of the late Civil Rights icon John Lewis and the legacy of the school’s founding.

The staff explained the basics of what would happen in the new semester. “OUSD has decided that everyone will be learning at a distance for at least the first four weeks of school.”

Everyone will come to school every day online, and students will continue to meet with their “consulting teachers,” the special adult who helps them with everything from college advice to personal problems.

Then the parents and students were asked what they needed. “What will make distance learning work for you? Are there any things we did in the Spring that worked really well?”

One father said that text messages helped him. “I have several children. So I need these texts to keep track of what they’re supposed to be doing.”

A student said she especially liked what happened with one of her teachers during the Spring when distance learning first started. “We had class on Google classroom. She explained everything and then we did some work together. Then she was also available later for more office hours. So I could get online with her and ask about anything I didn’t understand.”

Another parent said she didn’t feel she had done all the things she could have done during the Spring term. “I’m setting up our place now so that there’s a space set aside for him to do his schoolwork, but I don’t have a desk.” A staff member offered to bring over a desk that they could use.

The staff committed to making sure that every family had a computer and internet access, and asked families to fill out a survey that would capture anything they had missed in the discussion.

One mom asked about the continuation of the Street Academy’s practice of making sure every student completed college preparation and application activities. Staff talked about how this would continue online and intensify through a new partnership with local colleges.

The curriculum has been expanded this year with two new elements. In partnership with Holy Names University, Street Academy students will be helping new teachers in the School of Education learn how to teach, a dramatic and exciting role reversal. And teachers are planning for cross-disciplinary studies on big topics like the debate on policing, COVID-19, or other critical issues.

Staff member Juan Ramirez ended the parent meeting with, “Wait until you hear the plan for the curriculum this year. We’re definitely the school of the future”

People who are interested in this school that operates like a family can e-mail gina.hill@ousd.org

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California Black Media

Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis Go Head-to-Head in Nationally Televised Debate

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis. As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

Published

5 months ago

December 10, 2023

Oakland Post

The debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis was moderated by Fox News personality Sean Hannity. California Black Media image.

By California Black Media

In an intense, 95-minute-plus televised faceoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30, the men traded jabs and putdowns, defended their respective gubernatorial records, disagreed sharply on how to solve the country’s most pressing problems, and expressed clashing views on the performance of the Biden-Harris administration.

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis.

As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Newsom said. “I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’ record and the Republican Party’s record” with that of California.

DeSantis blasted Newsom’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and criticized Newsom for prevalent crime, homelessness and deteriorating social conditions in California cities.

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned.”

Newsom took a jab at DeSantis’ presidential candidacy, predicting that the Florida Governor would be endorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump soon.

“There’s one thing we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.

Oakland Post

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BayCityNews

FDA Updates Approval of Pfizer Booster Vaccine for Children Under 5

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5. Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

Published

1 year ago

March 22, 2023

Oakland Post

As of December 2022, children age 4 and younger who have not been vaccinated receive the omicron variant-specific booster vaccine as the third dose in their primary vaccine series, following two doses of the original Pfizer vaccine.

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5.

Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

However, children in that age range who completed their initial vaccination series before December 2022 only received three doses of the original Pfizer vaccine, and are less protected against more infectious variants of the virus as a result.

FDA officials updated the vaccine’s emergency use authorization Tuesday to allow those children who only received the original Pfizer COVID vaccine to receive one dose of the bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed their initial series.

Other children under age 5 are not eligible for the booster, although everyone age 5 and up is eligible for a booster.

“Currently available data show that vaccination remains the best defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 across all age groups, and we encourage all eligible individuals to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Clinical data has found that both the original Pfizer vaccine and the booster vaccine that targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are safe for everyone aged 6 months and up and effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID infection, including serious illness and death.

COVID vaccines are available at primary care providers, retail pharmacies and some facilities operated by local health departments.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

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Bay Area

COVID-19 Response Grant Program

The City of Union City will be issuing another round of its COVID-19 Response Grant Program. The program has distributed approximately $620,000 in grant funds and forgivable loans to the community to respond to the impacts of COVID-19 and will distribute another $322,000 through this latest round of funding. The City will utilize federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and CARES Act funds.

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2023

Oakland Post

The City will be holding two informational/technical assistance meetings to support residents and businesses with their applications and respond to any questions. These meetings will be streamed via Zoom. See below for meeting information and Zoom meeting links.

Grants are available through the City’s Road to Recovery Small Business Assistance Program and the Residential Rental Assistance Program. The City began accepting applications on March 6, 2023, at 9 a.m. and will begin reviewing applications (up to 50 applications for each grant opportunity) submitted on or before March 30, 2023, at 5 p.m. The program information and the online application are available on the City’s website:

https://www.unioncity.org/548/COVID-19-Response-Grant-Program

Tuesday, March 14, 2023: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

https://unioncity-org.zoom.us/j/89061570160

Wednesday, March 15, 2023: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

https://unioncity-org.zoom.us/j/81868680531