Activism

Holy Names University Awards Oakland Teachers with Tuition-free Teaching Credentials

“By removing the financial barrier to receiving a teaching credential, we hope to improve student success and disrupt inequity in urban school systems,” said Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, HNU’s Dean of the School of Education and Liberal Arts and VP for External Relations and Strategic Partnerships.

Published

3 years ago

September 17, 2022

Oakland Post

Pictured: Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, HNU’s Dean of the School of Education and Liberal Arts and VP for External Relations and Strategic Partnerships.

By Post Staff

This fall, Holy Names University (HNU) will award full-tuition scholarships to 20 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to Oakland’s students. Recipients of HNU’s Urban Educators Project scholarship have pledged to teach in OUSD schools for the next five years.

Working with OUSD, HNU’s Urban Educators Project strives to increase the number of fully credentialed teachers in urban schools, address the ongoing teacher shortage in the Bay Area, and increase the pool of teachers of color.

Teachers who work in historically under-resourced schools with low teacher retention are prioritized for this scholarship.

“We have this incredible opportunity to increase the diversity of our local teachers and make sure Oakland students see themselves reflected in the classroom,” she said.

OUSD Chief Talent Officer, Tara Gard, is thrilled with the HNU investment.

“Our District Strategic Plan focuses on the development of diverse, representative educators who reflect the identities of Oakland students and families,” she said. “The OUSD Urban Teachers project aligns perfectly with our OUSD pathways that support the development of our classified, afterschool, and diverse aspiring educators.”

“We know what a huge barrier post-baccalaureate education can be and this support from Holy Names University is critical for our educators and district,” she said.

Added Dr. Mayfield, “Teachers with credentials are better prepared and more likely to stay in the profession. We hope this project will help to keep our best teachers teaching in Oakland schools.”

The School of Education and Liberal Arts at HNU specializes in preparing students to teach in urban settings. Students are encouraged to view their work through a lens of equity, and to engage in issues of race, language, and power to promote individual and community transformation.

Along with the Single Subject Credential, Multiple Subject Credential, and Education Specialist Credential, the School of Education offers a Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, Master of Arts and Certificate in Educational Therapy, and Bilingual Authorization.

Funding for HNU’s Urban Educators Project is provided by the R.H. and Jane Logan Scholarship fund. For more information about HNU’s Urban Educators Project, contact Dr. Kimberly Mayfield at mayfield@hnu.edu.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.