Katy, please consider a post on this subject.

Question am i projecting, or is it becoming more acceptable to discuss bringing back vocational training to the high schools? Last Mayoral election had a young AM male candidate who made that part of his platform. No one accused him of encouraging tracking.

-len raphael, temescal

We need to find an intervention & discipline policy that works, including for the parents.
And a support mechanism for working or single parents, eg. mandatory after school until 5 or 6pm.

The teachers had better grow a pair and start standing up for themselves and call bad students what they are and demand their removal into schools and programs on seghregated campuses that are more appropriate for these bad students – of any color and any religion. If the districts won’t do that the entire teaching effort can go to hell – and it’s the administrations’ fault, not the teachers and not the teachers’ unions.

No one, OEA member or otherwise, is trying to claim that all teachers are perfect, and that no teachers should be dismissed. Most people agree, however, that many (I daresay most) teachers are doing a good job–the best they can do under the circumstances. Even “GO” concedes that: “There are many wonderfully talented, dedicated, and effective teachers all over Oakland who do this work everyday.”

“GO” also seems to agree with me that teachers are not operating in a vacuum, and need support to teach effectively: “GO understands that to ask this of teachers, we need to pay them more, we need to more adequately support them, we need to engage them as leaders, and provide opportunities for growth…”

This is why I react so strongly when the responsibility of student achievement is dropped in the lap of teachers alone. Even if there were such a thing as a perfect teacher, that teacher would face a major challenge teaching in a class containing students who have emotional issues, behavioral issues, English language issues, chronic absences, no academic support at home, and so on. In other words, it is unfair to blame low achievement on teachers when, in so many cases, the supports are not in place to provide students with the other services they need to achieve.

“GO” and others who seem so focused on nailing teachers against the wall need to direct some of that energy toward pushing OUSD officials to establish the conditions in EVERY school that will facilitate effective teaching. Schools that are populated with a lot of students like those I described above tend to generate lower test scores. Is there any wonder why?
Why would anyone believe changing the teaching staff would have any affect if the conditions remain the same for the students?

When you hear reports of amazing transformations occurring, e.g., Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone, you must not ignore the fact that these programs have been infused with funding that is being used to address the issues I described, such as, in Canada’s case, providing family counseling and one-on-one tutoring. Also, a thread that seems to be common in these schools, charter or public, is a positive school climate supported by a strict discipline policy.

Let’s start looking a what schools are REALLY doing that improves achievement, and stop making teachers the scapegoats for an overwhelmingly complex problem.

This part stood out to me as truly inspiring:

“We ask a lot of our teachers, but we have to ask it. There are many wonderfully talented, dedicated, and effective teachers all over Oakland who do this work everyday. But many is not good enough for our students – all is what is required. If we don’t demand it, our public education system becomes part of the larger system that perpetuates poverty and disadvantage in the same neighborhoods and in the same communities generation after generation. That is unacceptable.”

In my opinion, we need to make sure of three things 1) Oakland puts in place an honest, comprehensive definition of effective teaching, 2) Figure out how to evaluate teachers against that definition to determine if they are good enough to give kids the opportunity they deserve, and 3) Make it possible for principals to give teachers the support they need, and to transition out teachers who don’t improve. It’s what our kids deserve.

Talk about disconnect. Go is Pro anything which to me is a political stance- a compromise if you will.

Just cause you taught in a ghetto don’t mean you were relevant to it. Im sick of organizations and individuals who wear the fact that they work with blacks and brown students for a time as if it were a badge of honor. Patronism is what I call it.

I saw your website and your faces- what have you all done (besides spending a few years in the ghetto) to merit respect ? Your funded by a disnonnected son of a millionaire- what relevance is that to poor students?

I would have respect for the individuals who are anti- teacher unions or anti charters- at least you know where they stand. These guys are looking for a political platform or something cause they sure as hell sound like politicians!

You have said that you want to here what students need – try dicipline, accountability of lazy teachers, sorry leaders, ghetto parents, and school closures. Are you open minded enough for that- I bet not.

GO Public Schools is a pro-student, pro-teacher, and pro-labor organization. Five of seven GO board members are former teachers. Two of three GO staff members have experience teaching in low-income communities and communities of color.

We remain steadfast in our belief that every student – regardless of their demographics or income level – deserves an effective, competent and passionate teacher every day of every year. But the stark reality is that we’re not there yet. The evidence is in the data: the graduation rates, the drop out rates, the hated test scores, the college enrollment numbers – and we need to work together to get there.

We also believe that more teachers need to participate in the democratic processes of the Oakland Education Association which have extraordinary impacts on students, teachers, and other employee groups.

In November 2010, less than 15% of OEA members (341 out of about 2,800) participated in a vote to reaffirm OEA’s strike position. Last year, only 55 votes were cast in the decision about Measure L by OEA Site Representatives out of a possible 99 traditional public schools and 22 child development centers.

We are grateful for the dedication, participation, and service of those individuals who currently participate in OEA.

Our conversation needs to be about what is best for our children – and we need to be open-minded, listening, and learning from each other about how best to serve them.

Quality is everyone’s responsibility and every child’s right.

We would be very interested in partnering with the Oakland Education Association to help make Oakland’s voice more prominently heard in Sacramento regarding adequately funding our public schools.

We’ve posted some additional thoughts to our website at http://www.gopublicschools.org.

Allison Akhnoukh, James Harris, Jonathan Klein, Sheilagh Polk, and Hae-Sin Thomas, Board of Directors, Great Oakland Public Schools

Teachers can dialog with whoever they want, but you have to admit that the media does not cover all groups’ press releases equally. It would appear from some of the evidence I’ve seen here and elsewhere that GO is a classic “astroturf” group, which replaces cash and connections for grassroots organizing and activism.

What I can say for sure is that the actual memo itself is as horrific and convoluted example of doublespeak as you can find this side of the Politburo…