Meeting Time: April 07, 2020 at 4:00pm PDT
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Agenda Item

S.-3 20-0605 Approval by the Board of Education of a Charter School Facilities Agreement between District and Aspire Public Schools, Inc., a California non-profit public benefit corporation ("Aspire") operating Aspire Berkeley Maynard Academy (the nonprofit corporation and the Berkley Maynard Academy, for use of the facilities (formerly Golden Gate Elementary School) located at 6200 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland, CA 94608-2228, for a term of fifteen (15) consecutive fiscal years, commencing on July 1, 2020 and ending on June 30, 2035, subject to earlier termination as set forth in this Agreement ("Initial Term"), for annual rent as set forth in Section 3 of Agreement.

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    Clara Lopez over 4 years ago

    I support the rent reductions and I support BMA because I found that they are committed to the students to achieve their goals and always constant to make sure they are doing well in my case this is my second child attending BMA and very happy to be a part of this friendly community.

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    John Fanning over 4 years ago

    I am a North Oakland resident and I support the renewal of the lease for Berkley Maynard Academy, a long-standing successful school serving primarily young people of color (45% African American, 39% Latinx, per the school website) and winning awards and recognitions for their work from educational organizations, and recently from the National Action Network, a prominent Civil Rights organization. The most local school to me (Santa Fe) got closed, was not re-opened despite community support, then became a temporary facility for another school while it went under seismic renovation. We need more stable, high-quality schools in the neighborhood. Let's please not de-stabilize Berkley Maynard and potentially lose another North Oakland elementary school

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    Mechele Mayes over 4 years ago

    I believe the rent reduction should be granted as the school allows many benefits for the black and brown children if the community and would allow for continued generations to attend and receive one of the greatest educations available

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    Audrey Boochever over 4 years ago

    I absolutely support this, BMA does FANTASTIC work for the community. All the students and teachers are fantastic and BMA does incredible work of focusing on the WHOLE child. I am so glad this option exists in the community.

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    Xin Lin over 4 years ago

    I'm writing in support of the facilities lease renewal for Berkley Maynard Academy. BMA students deserve a facility such as this to continue their journey towards academic excellence.

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    Rajesh Varma over 4 years ago

    I am writing to support the facilities lease renewal for Aspire Berkeley Maynard Academy (BMA). This school has track record for providing black and brown students with a high quality education. BMA provides Oakland families a place where their students can thrive and be supported in their educational journey in a model school that has received national recognition for the amazing academic support it provides to the black and brown students in the community.

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    Yvette Mancilla over 4 years ago

    The location provides families who work and contribute to Oakland, a place where students can thrive and be supported in their educational journey! The students deserve a facility that is reflective of their potential and ability to succeed in our world -- no matter what. Now, more than ever, it's important to provide the necessary support and access students and their families require to have a better and brighter future, and in this case, it comes in the form of a lease renewal for BMA. Please consider to support this facility for BMA.

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    Kendra Madison over 4 years ago

    MY son has been a student at BMA for the last 6 years. This school is conveniently located near my home and work as well as other parents. The scholars at BMA are in need of all the funding we can get to keep the school up and running.

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    Rochelle Williams over 4 years ago

    I previously stood before the Board and spoke from my heart about how caring and supportive the school, as well as leadership, has been for me and my children at BMA. In January 2020 the fruits of their hard work was acknowledged by an unanimous vote from the Board for a 5 year extended renewal. The work does not stop there! I have deep ties to the community: I attended Golden Gate as a child, My oldest daughter attended BMA and was the 1st student to skip from 5th grade to 7th grade at the time of her enrollment and I now have two children I am adopting enrolled there. The diversity of the students and staff lends to the high quality and culturally responsive environments that promotes learning/academic success every day. The school deserves a facility that is reflective of their potential and hard work and levels the "playing field" in class and on the yard. We appreciate the Board and support from the community to fund our classrooms and overall campus for today and years to come.

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    Mala Batra over 4 years ago

    Hello,
    I am writing to ask you to please vote in support of the Prop 51 agreement for Aspire BMA.
    Aspire BMA serves 46% African American students and has received national recognition for their amazing work service of Black and Brown students in Oakland. TAspire BMA has achieved growth in both ELA and Math on SBAC in the past year. Supporting this initiative will support the school with a school building worthy of these amazing scholars - with ADA compliance and safe learning spaces.
    Thank you for your consideration and support.
    Mala Batra

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    Matthew Williams over 4 years ago

    My daughter is a scholar (TK) at BMA and it is imperative that the school remain in it current location. While the diversity of the Bay Area is widespread, the concentration of African American scholars at this school is vital to my child's education and growth. In fact, on her first day of school she came home saying how much she loved all the "Black Girl Magic" at the school. This shows that while its important to have minority educators it's equally as important to have minority scholars that look and act like my daughter. Having this experience in an environment that is academically challenging and physically safe, without question, becomes a building block in my daughter's connection to her education. Maintaining an environment where everyone is invested in your child's learning is how a school becomes family. Please renew the lease for BMA so my daughter can grow in a safe learning environment.

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    Lynn Fuller over 4 years ago

    My granddaughter attends Berkley Maynard Academy's TK (Transitional Kindergarten) class. I volunteer one day a week in her classroom helping with the center time activities. I am a retired teacher and taught Kdg. through 2nd grade in Mt. Diablo Unified District for 42 years. I am impressed with the professionalism and talent of both teachers and am amazed at the academic progress my granddaughter has made in pre-literacy and math skills. I also appreciate their emphasis on social/emotional learning. BMA is a TREASURE!

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    Sandie Stringfellow over 4 years ago

    I support facilities lease renewals for any school that is successfully serves Black & Brown students & has deep ties to the community it serves. BMA is a model school that has received national recognition for the amazing work that they do for Black and Brown students.To try & strip a school of its facility is an attempt to force the school to close. To close a school that outperforms OUSD district schools for Black & Brown children sends a clear message to these communities: your children's education doesn't matter. The nearest OUSD elementary school to BMA is Sankofa, an extremely low-performing school, and the nearest OUSD middle school is Claremont. Black students at Maynard greatly outperform Black students at Claremont, despite Claremont being considered a "good school"- it is not good for Black children. Do not strip a school of its facilities & force the school to close, unless there are ample spaces at OUSD schools which provide an excellent education for Black students.

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    HaeSin Thomas over 4 years ago

    I am glad to see that OUSD will be leveraging 10s of millions of State dollars for their facilities while ensuring BMA students are in a modernized and SAFE facility. This is the smart and economically strategic move when OUSD has such need around resources to modernize and improve their facilities.

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    Maria Barajas over 4 years ago

    I am writing to support BMA. BMA students deserve a facility that is reflective of their potential and ability to succeed in our world. It is a great school with good opportunities for all their students.

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    Daisy Moore over 4 years ago

    As a seventy one year old grandparent I take great pride in addressing the OUSD in support BMA. I CURRENTLY have 5 grand children there and 2 grands who have graduated from BMA. It's a remarkable school and the scholars are going on to prestigious schools all over the United States. Mine included. The Principal is an awesome man who works side by side with his teachers and students. Living in a predominate neighborhood of black and brown children Mr. Stack has a diverse group of teachers who are dedicated to teaching the scholars and preparing them to go out and be a success in any environment. Again I support BMAs request for the funding they're requesting. Sincerely, Daisy Moore

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    Edward Cremata over 4 years ago

    BMA is a standout school and absolutely fulfills it’s mission as a public school providing academic excellence and opportunity for the students of OUSD. They deserve a facility that will allow generations of scholars to thrive.

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    Kimi Kean over 4 years ago

    Aspire BMA recently received a unanimous 5-year approval from the OUSD BOE for their charter renewal petition, which highlighted their CORE academic growth over three years and their strong outcomes for African American and Latinx students. Aspire BMA is a high quality public school that has served the North Oakland community. Yet, their historic school building has suffered from a lack of maintenance. I have witnessed major flooding in the building, flooring issues, and uneven blacktop that has led to student injuries. This FUA provides much needed funds for the rehabilitation of the Golden Gate site. Approving this item is a big win for OUSD in two ways: 1) supporting a high quality school to serve its students in a safe and modernized building and 2) leveraging millions of dollars of state grant funds to pay for expensive maintenance costs at no cost to OUSD.

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    Maribel Sainez over 4 years ago

    Now more than ever, families and students in Oakland need to feel valued, seen and supported. Let's get behind this amazing school and the incredible work that its doing to support our most vulnerable communities. As a parent and resident of Oakland we need high quality options that serve ALL kids! I fully support the facilities lease renewal and call on you to do right by students, parents, extended family members and the individuals who dedicate their life's work to teaching and serving students at BMA.

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    Arthel Cargill over 4 years ago

    I stand with BMA and believe that its students deserve a facility that is reflective of their potential and ability to succeed in our world. They deserve an equitable education, beginning with a facility that supports their learning and growth!