Bay Area

Teachers Demand Equal Access to Online Learning

Published

6 years ago

April 30, 2020

More than 340 teachers — members of the Oakland Education Association (OEA) — joined with parents, students, and other community members this week to send a letter to Oakland Unified School District Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff demanding they take “all necessary measures” to provide Oakland students with access to the internet, according to a press statement.

“We demand that the Oakland Unified School District and the City of Oakland immediately arrange with internet providers to provide free universal internet throughout the city,” according to the teachers’ letter.

Emphasizing the importance for internet access for all students at this time, OEA President Keith Brown said, “There is no equity in education for our most vulnerable students if all Oakland families do not have access to the internet. “In some flatland schools, between 25-50% of our families have little or no access to online classwork.”

Added Patricia Segura, a teacher at Oakland’s Fremont High School, “Nearly a fourth of our Fremont High students do not have access to the internet. This makes distance-learning a problem of equity. It is unfair for students and we need a city-wide solution quickly.”

OEA has launched a social media campaign of #internet4all to raise awareness that during the COVID-19 pandemic, internet access is a human right and must be extended to all families. According to the demand letter, “in the absence of internet for all students, distance-learning is a lie.”

Teachers have learned that a large number of students attending Oakland public schools in East and West Oakland have little or no access to the internet. Now that OUSD has unrolled its “distance learning” program and teachers are expected to conduct online classes, this means that many students in the city’s high-needs communities will have great difficulty accessing their classes and doing this work.

There are reports that attempts by parents to purchase internet services have also failed. According to Judy Greenspan, a teacher at United for Success, a mother of a 7th grader said that she spent over an hour on the phone trying to set-up an account on Comcast, only to be disconnected and told that she had to go online to apply for the service. She eventually found out that the company was not scheduling any more in-home appointments.

“Programs like Xfinity/Comcast and AT&T have long wait times, aren’t taking appointments, require credit cards or other resources that undocumented families cannot provide, or promise one free month of access only to later start charging families for a service they can’t afford. Surely Comcast, AT&T, and other providers can do better by our community,” according to the teachers’ letter.

While the district offers to drop off paper worksheets packets to families without internet access, “paper packets are in no way a substitute for connecting with teachers and resources online, especially since the situation evolves rapidly and will likely continue through the summer and into next school year,” the letter said. “Failing to provide internet access for everyone will only stretch learning gaps.”

To view the letter, go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XtQ9yZxFA63HLX83V8xKiorNTSHe79F-jkw4eIW-vD8/edit

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Bay Area

IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

7 days ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.