Education

OP-ED: Castlemont, Fremont, and McClymonds Don’t Need to be Charters

Published

10 years ago

January 18, 2015

By Jumoke Hinton Hodge, District 3 Oakland School Board Member

The Oakland Post headline was shocking to say the least. There is nothing written or recorded stating schools would be turned over to charters in our Intensive School Support Initiative.

The Call for transformation and the turnaround of sluggish school growth has been discussed for years, frankly. The five schools selected were based on the persistent voices of Latino and African American families asking for quality programs over the last six years I’ve been in office.

The Board of Education, families of color, and the community of Oakland consistently identified our high schools as a vital part of our system. Our high schools must be the centers for our students to excel, explore and come out highly prepared to enter the world.

And for some young people our high schools become a place for survival and safety. We know this to be true of Oakland because they just approved a voter initiative, Measure N of $13 million that supports Career Exploration.

<p><p>Our initiative was, first and foremost, an invitation to educators dedicated to quality education. It was a call to say we must step up to serve our students, families and Oakland’s future. Coupled with systemic and structural changes to inspire equitable and quality education, the District is providing a space to lift up good work in our schools, Last week, the district completed the first round of engagements with all of the impacted school communities. Unfortunately, the fear from misleading public information, like the above-mentioned Oakland Post headline, clouded the process.

This headline led the community to believe that charter schools were the District’s ultimate solution for the turnaround and redesign of struggling schools. Charters can be easy targets, allowing us to avoid hard questions about under performance in our traditional schools.

This call did include Charters. Honestly, they have the freedom to submit charter applications even without a process such as this. I recommend we don’t get distracted by their inclusion, but instead ask the question about the quality of the education and are we equitably serving all of our students.

We should be preoccupied with the questions, how we will link these efforts to a feeder pattern of schools in East and West Oakland – where students of color have been perpetually underserved? How can we guarantee a solid start in their lives from Pre-K through 12th grade, while under our charge?

McClymonds, Castlemont and Fremont have all taken the initiative to articulate their desire to innovate and be at the forefront of their change.

This journey OUSD launched last week will take us 18 months to complete and even longer to sustain. I encourage us all to collectively work through the fear and the hurt from the failed visions of the past.

We can’t move forward together without this commitment.

Let’s use our passion to build better schools, learn from our students, educators, community partners and the public. Together we can display how the Oakland education system can fuel a vibrant economy and improve the quality of life as we witness generations of young people thriving.

Jumoke Hinton Hodge is the District 3 member of the Oakland Board of Education.

Oakland Post

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Art

A Prolific Painter: Artist and Advocate Lois Mailou Jones

Lois Mailou Jones was a prominent African American artist whose career spanned more than seven decades, from the Harlem Renaissance to the modern art movement. She was not only a prolific painter but also an influential educator, bridging cultural gaps and challenging stereotypes through her vibrant and diverse works.

Published

4 days ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of National Archives, Washington, D.C.

By Tamara Shiloh

Her unique journey of self-expression, dedication to art, and advocacy for African American and African themes made her a crucial figure in the evolution of American art.

Jones was born on Nov. 3, 1905, in Boston. Raised in an intellectual and supportive family, she demonstrated an early interest in art, encouraged by her mother, who believed in the importance of creativity. Lois studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she faced racial challenges but persisted in pursuing her passion.

Her pursuit of higher education led her to the prestigious Design Art School, where she perfected her skills in textile design. Later, Jones attended Harvard University and received further training at the Académie Julian in Paris. This European experience greatly influenced her style and broadened her perspective on art.

Jones’s career began in textile design, creating works that were used by leading textile companies. However, her true passion was painting. During the Harlem Renaissance, she moved away from textile design to focus on fine art, exploring themes that reflected her heritage and the African diaspora.

Her early works were influenced by European Post-Impressionism, featuring landscapes and still life, but Jones’s style evolved over time. After spending time in Haiti, she was deeply inspired by Caribbean culture, and her palette became more vivid, her subject matter more symbolic. The influence of African and Caribbean culture is evident in her later works, where she used bright colors and geometric patterns to convey the spirit and stories of the people she encountered.

Her contributions to African American art were significant during a time when Black artists struggled for recognition. She often focused on themes of African heritage, pride, and unity, blending African illustrations and portraits with Western artistic techniques to create a unique visual language that celebrated Black culture.

She was also a dedicated educator. She began her teaching career at Palmer Memorial Institute in North Carolina and later became a professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she taught for almost 50 years. Through her teaching, she influenced generations of young Black artists, encouraging them to explore and express their cultural heritage through art.

In the 1930s and 1940s, she worked to exhibit her work alongside other Black artists, helping to create a platform for voices that had long been excluded from mainstream galleries.

Recognition and Legacy

Jones achieved significant recognition throughout her lifetime, both in the United States and internationally. She exhibited her work across the globe, including in Paris, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Jones continued painting until her death in 1998, leaving behind a rich legacy of artistic achievements and contributions to art education. She broke boundaries by celebrating Black identity and heritage at a time when these themes were often marginalized.

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California Black Media

New California Law Will Protect Students During Extreme Weather

On Sept. 22, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will protect students from extreme weather conditions by requiring the California Department of Education to develop guidelines for school districts to implement during weather patterns harmful to student health. Authored by Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), “Yahushua’s Law” or Senate Bill 1248 addresses an extreme heat-related fatality in Lake Elsinore. During the summer of 2023, a student died after participating in physical education suffered extreme heat-related illness.

Published

4 days ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Yahushua Robinson

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

On Sept. 22, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will protect students from extreme weather conditions by requiring the California Department of Education to develop guidelines for school districts to implement during weather patterns harmful to student health.

Authored by Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), “Yahushua’s Law” or Senate Bill 1248 addresses an extreme heat-related fatality in Lake Elsinore. During the summer of 2023, a student died after participating in physical education suffered extreme heat-related illness.

“No student should ever lose their life on campus to extreme weather when we can take steps to protect them by preparing statewide plans to minimize exposure to the most harmful elements of exposure,” Sen. Hurtado stated last Spring. “I commend the family of Yahushua Robinson, the twelve-year student who lost his life due to heat related illness during on-campus physical education, for lending their emotional strength and compassion for others in order to help ensure that no other student loses their life this way.”

Supporters of the legislation say the lack of uniform guidelines and protocols across schools and school districts in California intensifies the issue, creating an urgent need for safeguards to ensure student safety during extreme weather conditions.

Oakland Post

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California Black Media

More Than 1.2 Million Youth Pre-Registered to Vote, Secretary of State Weber Announced

Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber announced on Sept. 26 that more than 1.2 million young people between the ages of 16 and 17-years-old have pre-registered to vote since the state launched the initiative in September 2016. The state program automatically activates voter registration for pre-registered youth when they turn 18 years of age.

Published

4 days ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber. Photo Courtesy of ShirleyWeber.com.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Weber, who has visited dozens of high schools across the state to promote voting initiatives, said that students are eager to vote and look forward to casting their first ballot, and “the numbers back them up.”

“Young Californians want to be engaged, active participants in our democracy and they can position themselves to do so by preregistering to vote,” said Weber.

Weber said that she is committed to encouraging young people to pre-register to vote, adding that she looks forward to partnering with the California Department of Education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, school officials, and leaders of community-based organizations to expand this effort.

According to Weber’s office, approximately 42% of young voters are registered Democrats, while over 13% are registered Republicans. Another 35% of young voters registered as having “no party preference.”

For more information, Californians can visit the online pre-registration website at www.RegisterToVote.ca.gov. Registration is open to residents who are 16 or 17 and meet all the following criteria:

A United States citizen and a resident of California.
18 years old or older on Election Day.
Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony
Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.

More information about pre-registration for California youth can be found at sos.ca.gov/elections/pre-register-16-vote-18.

Upcoming key deadlines and dates for the November 5, 2024, General Election can be found at here.

Plus, visit http://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/statewide-elections/2024-primary/section-08-general-election-calendar.pdf to view a complete California General Election Calendar with more voting details and updates.