School board meetings can be painfully long, but they promise not to be dry, bureaucratic affairs this year. That’s because today at Oakland City Hall, the board elected Alice Spearman its new president.

Spearman is not one to tip-toe around the issues. I’ve watched her chest bump a teacher who insulted her (at a televised meeting); cross-examine an eighth-grade KIPP student about her high school selection process; accuse a fellow board member of racism; and, most recently, chide parents for taking advantage of the district’s school choice policies, rather than opting for their neighborhood school. Read the rest of this entry »

Judge Shelleyanne Chang might have just dashed Gov. Schwarzenegger’s dreams of testing all kids in Algebra I by the eighth grade.

In July, the State Board of Education approved the governor’s 11th-hour algebra proposal over the strong objections of California’s top ranking education official, Jack O’Connell.

But today, the Sacramento County Superior Court judge stopped the implementation of this sweeping policy. You can read her 5-page ruling here.

Among other things, Chang said the State Board of Education didn’t give Joe Public much notice that this was all going down: Read the rest of this entry »

Arne Duncan, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, will be our nation’s next education secretary.

The New York Times says Duncan “represents a compromise choice in the debate that has divided Democrats in recent months over the proper course for public-school policy after the Bush years.”

Catalyst Chicago, which covers education reform in the Windy City, says improvements in the city’s public schools have been modest under Duncan’s leadership. A story published yesterday about Obama’s education pick reports:

Duncan’s oft-stated goal was to create the “best urban school district in the nation.” Yet here, as elsewhere, high schools have made little progress. Read the rest of this entry »

For many people, under normal circumstances, summer vacation can’t come soon enough.

But if lawmakers don’t work out California’s budget problems in short order, the state could run out of money as soon as February – and some are speculating about the possibility of closing public schools weeks early.

Last week, a reporter from our sister paper in Vallejo reported that California school officials have discussed the possibility of that “doomsday scenario.” In the story, Hilary McLean, the press secretary for State Superintendent Jack O’Connell, confirmed that it had, indeed, been “bandied about.”

You can read the Times-Herald story Read the rest of this entry »

At a staff meeting yesterday, we discussed possible story ideas for coverage leading up to, and on the day of, the presidential inauguration.

Schools, of course, came up.

I’m sure many Oakland teachers are using this historic event, and the enthusiasm surrounding it, as a teachable moment. Please, fill me in! I’m interested in class (or school) projects, or even just class discussions, related to Barack Obama’s inauguration.

I plan to visit at least one classroom for this story – with a photographer – in January. If you’re interested, send me an e-mail at kmurphy@bayareanewsgroup.com, or call me at (510) 208-6424.

I also welcome you to share your plans, thoughts, and ideas on this forum. Has Obama’s popularity among young people made it easier to interest kids in the political process?

image from seiu_international’s site at flickr.com/creativecommons

Two words came up at tonight’s school board meeting that might sound uncomfortably familiar to those of you who watched OUSD’s financial house implode in 2002 and 2003: Cash flow.

As I listened to the discussion (and the tone of everyone’s voice), it became clear to me that school officials don’t just have to figure out a way to balance the budget in the face of multimillion-dollar cuts. They need to plan, right now, for the possibility that the state — if unable to resolve its mounting fiscal problems — does not make payments to school districts at some point in the coming months.

“We do need to take a very careful look at the cash flow,” interim superintendent Roberta Mayor said. “If the district runs out of cash, that’s a major, major problem.”

With monthly payouts averaging $38 million, however, it’s not like OUSD can survive on its squirreled-away savings for long. Read the rest of this entry »

Jack O’Connell, the state superintendent of public instruction (pictured far right), and Vince Matthews, Oakland’s state administrator, have called for a change in election law that would allow school parcel tax measures — like construction bonds — to pass with 55 percent of the vote, rather than 67 percent. 

Measure N, the failed parcel tax for Oakland teachers, netted about 61 percent approval.

The below letter by O’Connell and Matthews was published in the Tribune today. Would you support the kind of change they’re proposing? Read the rest of this entry »

Ronald Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Green & Gold student newspaper on East Oakland’s Fremont campus, had this advice for his fellow students. -Katy

It’s great to see students excited about a presidential election. It’s great to see a minority make it all the way to the White House. It’s great to see the “equality” in America become a little more equal.

But we think there is a lesson here that students at Fremont Federation need to learn.

Obama was dedicated and committed to his goals. He used hard work and integrity to achieve what most would have called 20 years ago “the impossible.” He didn’t let race be an issue that stood in his way to success and neither should we.

Read the rest of this entry »

I found an interesting column today in the The Root, an online magazine that features black perspectives on the news of the day, about the Obama family’s search for a new school for Sasha and Malia.

The author, Meera Bowman-Johnson, writes:

Most parents struggle with where to send their kids to school. But the decision can be especially agonizing for upwardly mobile black parents. There are worries about low expectations from teachers and peer pressure to value coolness over studiousness. Inevitable accusations of “acting white.” Then there’s an extra pressure to ensure that your children Read the rest of this entry »

Raven Tarrance, a 16-year-old from East Oakland who is serving as a page for the House of Representatives, wrote this essay about watching the presidential election returns in Washington, D.C. with pages representing both parties. -Katy

November 4, 2008: the Election Day that would make history. This was the day that every person, young or old, had the right to let their voice be heard and vote. But the person that made the day so special was Barack Obama, the African American presidential candidate.

My classmates and I watched CNN anxiously while waiting for the results. Obama T-shirts and signs filled the room. As the room overflowed with pages, you could feel the tension rise between the two parties. Harmless teasing turned into candidate bashing. Read the rest of this entry »