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Teachers and Union Ask: Does OUSD Have a Tech Plan to Open Schools?

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Some Oakland public school teachers and their union, the Oakland Education Association (OEA), are expressing concern that the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) might not provide adequate technology, technological support, and preparatory time to understand distance learning technology before the school year starts.

“We need time to prepare and we need students to have access to the technology they need,” said OEA’s secretary and special education teacher Bethany Meyer.

OUSD has announced that teachers are scheduled to have three days of professional development from August 5-7, then instruction will start on August 10. The three-day professional development session is the same amount of time Oakland teachers have recently been allotted to prepare for a typical school year. But circumstances have radically changed for the 2020-21 school year.

A recent announcement from Alameda County Supt. of Schools L. Karen Monroe indicates that OUSD could rely entirely on distance learning far longer than initially planned.

“Until Alameda County is off the State Monitoring List for 14 consecutive days, all Alameda County schools may only provide distance learning to their students,” read the statement, which came out on July 24.

A recent surge in COVID-19 cases put Alameda County on the list. OEA released a video on Monday demanding that the district make a return plan specific to Oakland, which has a COVID-19 case rate more than seven times higher than the rest of the county.

One East Oakland zip code, 94603, has a case rate over 14 times higher than the rest of the county. With the risk of COVID-19 spreading so high in Oakland, many teachers anticipate distance learning becoming necessary for the foreseeable future.

“We’re trying to negotiate safe, equitable, well-resourced schools so that when we do return it’s actually safe for kids. We don’t think distance learning is the best way to learn and I’ve never heard any teacher say they like it better than in-person teaching,” said Meyer. “But we have to do what’s safe.”

OEA is asking for a two-week professional development period to adequately prepare for the new technology and increased state guidelines for the instructional minutes required for distance learning.

“Increasing the instructional minutes will be a dramatic improvement for kids. We agree with the district on that,” said Meyer. “But we don’t agree you can just jump into that on the first day without time to plan for it.”

Teachers also want to be sure that students and parents have the technology and technological support from the district to access distance learning. OEA did a study at three schools in East Oakland and three schools in West Oakland that found over 30% of students were not able to consistently access distance learning. When distance learning started last spring, teachers also were put in the role of helping families with the technology, a service they were never trained to provide. They want more aid from the district this year.

“[Providing tech support] can’t fall on teachers because we can’t do it while we’re teaching,” said kindergarten Teacher Sara Shepich. 

The Oakland Undivided campaign, which is largely run by two non-profit businesses Tech Exchange and The Oakland Education Fund, has $12.5 million, $10 million of which was donated by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, in funds for technology and technological support but Shepich questions if they have a good plan and the information they need to adequately support OUSD.

“All these outside organizations are involved but they can’t tell us the details of their plan,” said Shepich.

OUSD released a press release on July 22 saying that Oakland Undivided would distribute 25,000 computers in the first two months of school to Oakland students, provide internet hotspots for those who need them, as well as support with the technology. But no firm dates have been announced for when the computers will arrive or when hotspots will be set up. OUSD is asking parents to complete a Tech Check survey they plan to e-mail on August 3, but Shepich points out that that survey will be most accessible to those who already have the technology.

“Some of my families don’t have smartphones. Their phone is just a phone,” said Shepich, who worries that families won’t be able to access e-mail to fill out the survey.

Shepich asked OUSD and Oakland Undivided to set up a telephone hotline that parents could use to inform them about their technology needs and access help, but there have been no plans announced to provide such a service. She also advocated for translation services in Mam, the only language some of her families speak fluently, but has not seen plans for that.

OUSD’s press release said they would provide on paper and in-person ways to fill out the survey, but they did not respond to direct questions about when and where those methods of filling out the survey would be available. The district also did not respond to a direct question asking why they are waiting until August 3 to send out the survey, a week before the first day of school.

Oakland Undivided dollars are set to cover not only OUSD schools but charter schools as well, even though at least 15 charter schools qualified for and already received COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Payment (PPP) funds from the federal government that OUSD schools could not qualify for. The total amount of PPP funds amounted to almost $19 million, according to inthepublicinterest.org.

While OUSD schools need Oakland Undivided funding for computers, hotspots, and training, charter schools like Lighthouse Community, American Indian Middle Schools, and Education for Change could be set to receive some of the funding even though they each have already received millions in emergency COVID funding.

The situation has some parents worried, particularly because they faced difficulties accessing distance learning last spring.

Crystal Beltran, who’s daughter attended kindergarten last year at Global Family Elementary school, said sometimes she faced difficulties accessing distance learning. When that happened she called her daughter’s teacher but she said “there was really nothing much she could do.”

Beltran said she received no help from the district with technology support at that time.

“I think there needs to be more support for the kids,” said Beltran, “because as it is, it’s hard for them to learn online.”

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Activism

ESSAY: Technology and Medicine, a Primary Care Point of View 

The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, restricted millions of people to their homes, which required reliance on the internet for communication and information.  Personal internet searches became essential to understanding information about COVID, human physiology, symptoms, and keeping up with vaccine updates.  However, this increase in independent online research resulted in people accessing more misinformation circulating on the internet. This posed a challenge for medical providers trying to treat patients according to research-based guidelines.  With so much information within reach, it was difficult for providers to help their patients distinguish between legitimate evidence-based sources and opinion, speculation, and fabrication.    

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Dr. Adia Scrubb Photo provided by California Black Media..
Dr. Adia Scrubb Photo provided by California Black Media..

Dr. Adia Scrubb
Special to California Black Media Partners

Technology has enhanced communication between medical professionals and patients; improved patient care management; and eased access to care and information, benefiting both patients and medical clinicians.

However, despite the ease and many conveniences these patient care improvements have ushered in, adequate patient care still includes physician supervision, examinations, and interaction, which present challenges for keeping up with demands on the healthcare system and accurate patient education.

Technology has made more educational resources available at our fingertips, and it has created independence for those who want to know more about their bodies.

The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, restricted millions of people to their homes, which required reliance on the internet for communication and information.  Personal internet searches became essential to understanding information about COVID, human physiology, symptoms, and keeping up with vaccine updates.  However, this increase in independent online research resulted in people accessing more misinformation circulating on the internet. This posed a challenge for medical providers trying to treat patients according to research-based guidelines.  With so much information within reach, it was difficult for providers to help their patients distinguish between legitimate evidence-based sources and opinion, speculation, and fabrication.

Nowadays, patients continuously arm themselves with medical information and challenge clinicians with the research they gather from internet sources to advocate for themselves and their care.  This often leaves medical professionals with the complex task of navigating challenging discussions, pointing patients to validated and verified medical information, and following evidence-based medical guidelines for treatment.

Reviewing information before an appointment can certainly make an office visit much more productive, but it is essential to acknowledge the possible bias and limitations of internet searches.  Consideration of the author, source, and date of the information may help determine its validity.

Furthermore, simply asking medical professionals for their preferred patient information resources will direct patients to safe and validated information that is in line with standards of care practices.  This can help patients better understand the recommendations from their doctors and streamline their internet searches.

Access to individual online medical record information, such as blood tests, MRI reports, and office visit notes, has been a significant expansion of technology in medicine. This digitization of medical information enables and positions patients to take a leading role in managing their care.  What used to be multiple sheets of paper in a large file folder is now a click away at any time.  Despite these benefits, instant access can be overwhelming for both patients and medical providers, especially since patients, in many instances, can receive their test results online before the physician has had the opportunity to review them.

Patients may review the office visit notes or their lab results out of context or misinterpret information, which can lead to anxiety, confusion, and fear.  Clinicians are put in a difficult position when they are not able to suddenly break away from their scheduled office visits to reassure an unscheduled patient about their results and next steps.

Medical providers have tools to assist with identifying sensitive results that need urgent review, and efforts are made to notify anxious patients as soon as possible.  However, a patient can be proactive in scheduling a follow-up visit ahead of time to review results with their provider specifically.  This can help patients avoid the stress of suddenly trying to get a hold of their doctor when dealing with unclear or concerning results.  Normal test results often don’t require explanation, but allowing several days for your provider to work through hundreds of test results before sending messages requesting clarification will help medical professionals prioritize their responses to test results based on medical urgency.

Technological improvements such as online messaging and video/telephone appointments have made access to care much easier both for patients and clinicians.  Telephone and video visits have been especially beneficial for patients who are elderly, disabled, or do not have access to transportation.  However, the increase — and ease of — access has created much higher demand for physician time both during and outside of the office visit.  Test results, patient messages, insurance forms, emails, and medication requests are all pouring in while providers conduct their daily scheduled appointments.  Thus, very little time is left in the day for a clinician to respond to every email, fill out every form, and review every lab result when they are responsible for 1,800 or more patients.

This situation, unfortunately, creates a perceived delay in response in a culture where an instant response is expected from messaging and phone calls.  But the reality is that the medical provider is constantly playing catch up to thousands of inquiries due to the around-the-clock online access patients now have.

Patients can make the most of their experience and their physician’s time by taking the time to learn their physician’s communication preferences.  Despite the multiple modalities of access (telephone, email, video, in-person), a medical provider will have a preferred method of communication with their patients.  Some may ask their patients to make an appointment to explain a complex topic, instead of responding to multiple messages. Others may prefer to communicate via phone call if they have to deliver bad news.

There will likely be more medical providers who prefer to communicate only through email or video appointments as remote work becomes more common. If a patient’s communication preferences align with their physician’s preferences, it will create a stronger patient-doctor relationship and foster more effective and impactful communication.

The expansion of technology in medicine has fostered better collaboration, communication, and education between patients and their medical professionals.  Combining electronic resources with rapport, mutual respect, and trust for providers will help patients navigate this new landscape of healthcare.

About the Author   

Dr. Adia Scrubb, MD, MPP, is a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician currently practicing in Solano County. 

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Alameda County

After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week. These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

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Oakland City Hall. File photo.
Oakland City Hall. File photo.

By Post Staff

The City Oakland is requiring all employees to return to the office, thereby ending the telecommuting policy established during the pandemic that has left some City Hall departments understaffed.

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week.

These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

The administration may still grant the right to work remotely on a case-by-case basis.

In his memo to city unions, Johnson said former President Joe Biden had declared an end to the pandemic in September 2022, and that since then, “We have collectively moved into newer, safer health conditions.”

Johnson said “multiple departments” already have all their staff back in the office or workplace.

The City’s COVID-era policy, enacted in September 2021, was designed to reduce the spread of the debilitating and potentially fatal virus.

Many cities and companies across the country are now ending their pandemic-related remote work policies. Locally, mayoral candidate Loren Taylor in a press conference made the policy a central issue in his campaign for mayor.

City Hall reopened for in-person meetings two years ago, and the city’s decision to end remote work occurred before Taylor’s press conference.

At an endorsement meeting last Saturday of the John George Democratic Club, mayoral candidate Barbara Lee said she agreed that city workers should return to the job.

At the same time, she said, the city should allow employees time to readjust their lives, which were disrupted by the pandemic, and should recognize individual needs, taking care to maintain staff morale.

The John George club endorsed Lee for Mayor and Charlene Wang for City Council representative for District 2. The club also voted to take no position on the sales tax measure that will be on the April 15 ballot.

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Activism

Freddie Ray Turner, 75

Fred enjoyed a 27-year career (1972-1999) with the Oakland Unified School District.  Starting as a classroom teacher, he went on to serve as a vice principal, principal and retired as director of Student Services.  But retirement was not in the cards for Fred.  He went on to serve as the Fremont Unified School District’s director of Pupil Services for five years, retiring in 2004.

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Freddie Ray Turner. Courtesy photo.
Freddie Ray Turner. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Freddie Ray Turner was born in Mesa, Arizona, on July 15, 1949, the youngest of Carlanthe and Jimmie Turner’s seven children.  Fred attended the Chandler public schools and graduated high school in 1966.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama and Spanish from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

Relocated to the Bay Area, he continued his education, and earned a master’s degree in Education Administration from California State University-Hayward.

Fred enjoyed a 27-year career (1972-1999) with the Oakland Unified School District.  Starting as a classroom teacher, he went on to serve as a vice principal, principal and retired as director of Student Services.  But retirement was not in the cards for Fred.  He went on to serve as the Fremont Unified School District’s director of Pupil Services for five years, retiring in 2004.

Throughout his life, Fred traveled the world.  He didn’t just have a “travel bug,” Fred was a travel bug. He graduated from overnight stays in youth hostels in Paris, Rome, and Madrid to vacationing in much finer accommodations in Kenya, Turkey, China, Japan, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Amsterdam, and South Africa.  If there was an airport, at some time in his life Fred Turner landed in it.

Fred was a devoted member of Brother-to-Brother from 2005 until his passing.  He was also a life associate of the East Oakland-Hayward section of the National Council for Negro Women, an organization he strongly supported since 2013. Fred also served on the Board of Directors for the Leadership Institute at Allen Temple Baptist Church.

An avid reader, Fred’s response to the lockdown caused by the 2020 COVID pandemic was to organize “Plot Chasers,” a close group of friends who meet weekly to read and discuss short stories.

Fred passed away on Dec. 15, 2024, following a brief hospitalization. He was predeceased by his parents, his sister, Madelyn, and brothers Robert Lee and Franklin Eugene.

He leaves to mourn his surviving siblings Artie Mae Clark, Dorothy Rome, and Jimmie Richard Turner; first cousin, Catherine Markham; a host of nieces and nephews, great- nieces and nephews, and very close friends.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Allen Temple Family Life Center, 8501 International Blvd., in Oakland, CA.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that friends honor Fred’s memory with a donation in Fred’s name to the National Alzheimer’s & Related Disorders Association, or to the East Bay AIDs Advocacy Foundation. 

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