Education

Oakland SOL is City’s First Spanish and English New Public School in 10 Years

Published

7 years ago

August 24, 2017

It was a coincidence that Oakland’s first new public school in more than a decade, called Oakland SOL, opened its doors Monday – the same day as the solar eclipse.

However, the School of Language (SOL) itself was not an accident but the product of community perseverance and vision.
Created through three-and-a-half years of hard work and careful planning – overcoming countless obstacles – this dual-language immersion, English and Spanish, middle school was developed as a partnership between the community and the Oakland Unified School District.

This year, the school – located at 1180 70th Ave. near International Boulevard – will serve 75 sixth graders and will phase in seventh and eighth grades during the next two years.

The school is still accepting new students – open to families that want their children to learn English and English-speaking students who want to learn Spanish.

At Oakland SOL, which is based on the energy and commitment of its families, the parents and students chose the principal and teachers. The site itself was a ”fixer-upper,” according to the parents, and families pitched in to paint and make the needed improvements.

“The district was had budgeted money to fix up the space. However, funds were severely reduced because of the budget deficit,” according to one of the organizers.

Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell enthusiastically endorsed the school, saying that community-based schools like Oakland SOL are the path forward for improving the Oakland Unified School District.

Exhilarated after finally being able to see the fruition of their efforts, members of the parent and student design team talked to the Oakland Post on Monday afternoon about what it took to make their school a reality.

The idea for the school started at Manzanita SEED – an East Oakland elementary school – when parents began to think about the need for a dual language immersion middle (sixth through eighth grade) school their children could attend after they finished fifth grade.

The families soon realized that other schools and other parents shared their interest, and they all would be stronger if they worked together.

Teaming up with Oakland Community Organizations (OCO), which is based on a network congregations and schools throughout the city organized to improve conditions, they began to involve families and students from different schools and different backgrounds and cultures.

“We started involving families in different school communities, to make sure that there were opportunities for families from different cultures and different socio-economic backgrounds to participate,” said Alcaraz, a parent and member of the design team, as well a member of the board of OCO.

Team members learned to write grants and proposals to OUSD and other partners, which helped pay for them to visit schools in other communities and helped research existing models for what they wanted to accomplish.

“Some members of the team helped write grants, but this was not done with a lot of money,” said Alcaraz.

Besides parents and students, the design team included educators, including design team leader Katherine Carter, who is now principal at the school.

A lot of the work was done by volunteers, and OCO provided staff support to help with organizing, she said.

“In reality, my experience was that it was faith and commitment that led to this school,” she said. “I wanted this for my daughter Nathalia.”

“It’s been a long haul, but it doesn’t feel like that long because it’s what our hearts wanted.”

Almarie Frazier explained that she got involved because she wanted to make sure her daughter Kamari could continue to be bilingual when she went to middle school.

An OCO organizer “invited me to come to meetings about building connections with other parents. That´s how I got caught in the little web,” she said.

“I didn’t think about coming in and volunteering for all these years. But it was a great experience, getting to know better some people I wouldn’t usually get to interact with on a daily basis,” she said.

“This is our future – we live in a diverse place,” said Frazier. “I feel like I was part of something. I helped build it.”

Ajene Snaer, a sixth grader at the school, has been part of the design team from the beginning as a second grader.

“When I think about it, (I realize) I actually helped to build this school,” he said.

“We started with just a few people,” he said, “and it ended up being a big group of people, agreeing on the same things and making it into a reality.”

To find out more about the school or enroll a student call (510) 636-7992 or email Oaklandsolinfo@gmail.com

Oakland Post

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Related Topics:Bilingual Education Oakland Oakland SOL OUSD spanish speaking

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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.

Oakland Post

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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.