Bay Area

Oakland Students Find Learning and Classroom Disparities in New Report

The Oakland-based student program, Energy Convertors, released their yearly report on learning proficiency and classroom management for the 2023-2024 school year. Fellows in the program found that students in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) believed they were proficient in English and math curriculum, when in fact they were not. Energy Converters fellows surveyed 353 OUSD high school students (1% of all OUSD students) asking questions based on how they felt they were doing in their classes, how teachers were conveying proficiency goals to them, and whether teachers were keeping a conducive classroom environment.

Published

12 months ago

June 13, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland students released a report showing learning and classroom disparities that are hindering their education. Photo by Ridofranz, iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

Energy Converters fellows surveyed 353 OUSD high school students (1% of all OUSD students) asking questions based on how they felt they were doing in their classes, how teachers were conveying proficiency goals to them, and whether teachers were keeping a conducive classroom environment.

The report, titled “Demanding Proficiency over Pageantry”, found that 3 out of 4 students surveyed believed that they were reading on grade-level and 3 out of 5 students believed they were meeting the grade-level standard in math.

Nearly 75% of those surveyed also said that a teacher has not discussed whether they were reading or understanding math proficiently.

A study conducted by Families in Action (FIA) Oakland showed that in the 2021-22 school year only 36% of students were at grade-level reading proficiency and 26% were proficient in math.

The FIA study also showed that Black and Latino students had the lowest proficiencies in these areas at 12% and 15% respectively.

MarQuis Evans, program manager of Energy Converters, told the Post that their annual reports are based on the experiences and topics that their fellows are encountering at their schools. The students are asked to share how they feel about a particular situation, in this case how well they are doing in the classroom, and then tasked with researching the effects of those subjects in relation to Oakland students.

“A lot of students were voicing that they passed a class but they don’t necessarily know if they understand [the subject],” Evans said.

A goal of Energy Convertors is making sure the kids know that they have to be their biggest advocates in school. Teachers deal with many students over the course of their day so knowing how to ask the right questions about their educational needs is imperative.

Charles Cole, founder of Energy Convertors, said he’s pushing this responsibility onto students and their parents because they are ultimately the ones who have to deal with the consequences if they’re not staying on top of their work.

“No one is coming to save you,” Cole said.

Another finding in the report was that many students, 80% who took the survey, said they were not aware that they were chronically absent. To be considered chronically absent, a student has to miss 10% of the total school days in the year, which could mean anytime over 18 missing days.

Vulnerable groups in California such as students with disabilities, English-learners, and students of color all have high absentee rates ranging from 25% to 37%, according to the CA School Dashboard.

The report recommends that schools should use incentives, like rewards, to push kids into attending their classes. It also states that students should be communicating why they are missing from their classes and what support they might need in order to attend more frequently.

Michelle Coleman, former OUSD administrator and current principal in West Contra Costa, said it’s important for students to be able to express their concerns about their education.

Coleman explained that in her experience it helped to keep all stakeholders informed about what was going on. For example, the school would notify parents after a certain amount of absences and would offer support in cases where resources might help get the student to attend school more often.

She shared that she wished students understood that as much as they are having struggles, teachers are also trying their best to keep kids in line and help them achieve grade-level goals, but it’s hard for them to care more about their education than the student actually cares for.

“I have high expectations, but it’s because I believe in you, and I know you can do it, and I will help you get there, but I need you to help yourself first,” Coleman said.

Coleman stressed that the most important aspect in all this is that the students feel like they are succeeding and the people around them are rooting for them to do so. Educators are setting these kids up to be functioning members of society and to give back to the community the same way they were given opportunities and chances because it ultimately takes a village to raise these students.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

3 days ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

1 week ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.