And the new principals are…
By Katy Murphy
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 2:31 pm in leadership changes, people, resignations.
After hearing about the retirements of the Fruitvale, Joaquin Miller and Montera principals, I asked the district for a list of all of the existing schools that will have new principals in the fall. It just came in.
Here is the list of 12 14 schools, with the old principals (as of the beginning of 2006-07) and the new ones:
SCHOOL FORMER PRINCIPAL NEW PRINCIPAL
Elementary
Fruitvale Cherie Ivey Terry Edwards
International Community Guillermina Gutierrez L. Karen Monroe
Joaquin Miller Linda Lu TBD
La Escuelita Kristal Chin Tammy Rose
Maxwell Park Ruben Aurelio Mary Louise-Newling
PLACE Jan Hamilton Enomowyi Booker
Rise Sara Stone Carrie Betti
Middle
Cole Toby Hopstone Ivory Brooks
Explore Asali Waters Michael Scott
Madison Quiauna Whitfield Lucinda Taylor
Montera Cheryl Rodby TBD
Peralta Creek David Kumamoto Gregory McNamara
High
Far West Linda McCluskey Beverly Jarrett
Oakland High Clement Mok TBD
Then there are the new principals at the district’s new schools:
Community United Elementary School (Lockwood site) — Pati Ceja
Learning Without Limits (Jefferson site) — Leo Fuchs
International High School — Carmelita Reyes
Alternative Learning Community (Toler Heights site) — Dennis Guikema
West Oakland Middle School (Cole site) — Seyana Mawusi
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August 1st, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Is the Explore principal Michael Scott the same Michael Scott under Randolph Ward that helped convert E Morris Cox to a charter school in a very controversial process?
August 1st, 2007 at 7:47 pm
What about Oakland High? I heard the Principal is gone there, too.
August 1st, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Jim: Good question. I don’t know.
Jasmine: Mok is still listed as the Oakland High principal on the document they sent me yesterday. I’ll check to see if anything’s changed — thanks for the tip.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Clement Mok, principal at OHS, gave notice to the OHS community yesterday . . .
August 1st, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Michael Scott is the same principal that stayed with Cox when it converted.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Jim: Yes, it is the same Michael Scott. I wonder what happened to the charter dream?
August 1st, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I wish them all good luck in their new positions. I hope they all hit the ground running.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:58 am
I think there might be a new principal at Madison Middle School also.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:56 am
I think you’re right. Wow, things change quickly around here. I just called the school, and the receptionist said Quiauna Whitfield was no longer principal. I’ll try to confirm the name of the new hire, if there is one, today.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:16 pm
The principal at Madison will be Dr. Lucinda Taylor, the principal who just finished supervising the final 8th grade at the old Elmhurst.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Also, something is up at KIPP. I think it’s going charter and leaving the district….
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:01 pm
KIPP was grqnted a comversion charter. The school cited that they could no longer exist on just on district funding. They will reciece an excess of $100K from some charter school funder
August 3rd, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I heard KIPP went charter because OEA rejected its contract waiver, which 100% of the faculty signed and supported. This would be typical of OEA, which operates via domination instead of representation.
August 3rd, 2007 at 5:48 pm
KIPP’s principal explained to me earlier this year, before everything was finalized, that it was a combination of funding and staffing concerns. Basically, they wanted to be able to hire and fire their own staff. The OEA’s rejection of the contract waiver — though it didn’t immediately threaten to change the working conditions, since nothing really came of it — was just one more thing to worry about.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I believe that KIPP started with extra funding from a private donator as a Oakland small school. That funding was used up. Going charter as a start-up charter allows the school to to borrow up to 250,000 if approved and they have the correct enrollment.
However, KIPP has applied for two charters. The first charter was not clearly written but was approved by the Board, I believe, as a conversion charter. KIPP then came back to the Board and wanted approval as a start up charter in order to borrow up to $250,000. I believe since KIPP Oakland is a public school it can not receive funding as a start up charter.
I would appreciate clarity on whether Board Member Spearman is correct that KIPP is going forth and opening in August as a conversion charter. I would also like to know the source of any private funding.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Richard:
Your harsh comment about OEA dominating instead of representing is off the mark. OEA represents its members democratically. If the majority wants a change in policy it happens. If you are a teacher lead OEA to newer better representative policies if you can get the membership votes because OEA leadership is representative of its members or that leadership is voted out of office as was shown in the recent defeat of the encumbent OEA President.
Remember that under California’s charter law it was not the entire faulty of KIPP voting to convert to a charter school that mattered but only the signatures of the permanent faculty’s was counted. That vote was less that the fingers on one hand. To say that a handful turning over a public school to a charter school is representative of the majority of teachers in Oakland is misleading. The issue of pay for overtime work is an issue of protecting all teachers in the union from having their wages chipped away by waiving the Contract. I would guess that most union members want their wages protected and paid the wage they won in a Contract that including giving up health benefits.
The fact that KIPP worked with Oakland to become a small school knowing it was a union District shows that KIPP was a Trojan Horse playing OUSD as the fool and pertending to want only to make KIPP work as a public school; but once it was in the District taking the school out of the District as a as a charter. Since KIPP failed to be able to carry on with the inadequate money that public schools must live on in California, it shows that it can not compete with public schools and considers itself a failure as a public school. Some would point to KIPP as a success but ignore the Oakland lesson that successful KIPPs need more money than provided in California.
August 5th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
I would like to nominate Steve Weinberg to fill the position of principal at Oakland High. Even if he doesn’t have an admin credential, I have a friend at UPrep that can do a fairly convincing job of producing important documents.
September 8th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Does anyone know why the ex-principal (Guillermina Gutierrez) of International Community School left in the middle of the school year?
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:36 am
i have heard from a number of people that explore is closing, does anyone have any info
on this?
November 2nd, 2007 at 9:31 am
Sam: Explore is one of the schools on the central office’s low enrollment and low student achievement lists, which means it might close, or it might be restructured, or it might receive more district support to make it work. District staff are meeting with teachers and parents at each of the schools in question to get input on what intervention(s) to take. They say they have not made any decisions.
Last year, the process resulted in the closures of Kizmet, East Oakland Community High and Sherman. Merritt Middle College was also closed, but under different circumstances relating to Merritt College, where the alternative high school was located.
The fate of Explore, BEST, Sankofa, Burckhalter and YES, among others, is supposed to be announced in December.