Meeting Time: October 28, 2020 at 4:00pm PDT
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Agenda Item

S.-4 20-2155 Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 2021-0120 - Adjusting Enrollment Priorities at Edna Brewer Middle School.

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    Shira Idris about 4 years ago

    I live in Oakland and I support this resolution.

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    Betsy Kinsey about 4 years ago

    I am an educator and proud member of the Edna Brewer community and I strongly support this resolution. This resolution is the result of committed and thoughtful work by the school community to ensure a more equitable future for Edna Brewer families and generations of Oaklanders. The Board has an incredible opportunity to support this effort and ensure that our school continues to reflect the diversity of our broader community. Please join me in supporting the resolution.

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    paula heath about 4 years ago

    We are Oakland, a diverse and multicultural community. I support this and our amazing leadership that are fighting to preserve the diversity/inclusion at EBMS. So many reasons to keep EBMS thriving. I love that my bi racial/black son an 8th grader at EBMS attends a school that has many kids that represent who he is in the classroom. We came from Crocker Highlands and although I loved the support my son had there from the teachers however I noticed the lack of diversity. He was 1 of 2 black children in the class and attending EBMS has been exciting to see diversity with the teachers and leadership. I again support this important discussion and pilot to ensure EBMS remains diverse. Thank you to all who brought this to the table!

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    Lisa Perkins about 4 years ago

    It's incredibly important to create resolutions now to ensure we maintain the diversity, equity, and inclusion that makes Edna Brewer such a strong learning environment for all students. As a teacher at Edna Brewer, I strongly support this important resolution.

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    Brian Harrington about 4 years ago

    I support diversity and inclusion at Edna Brewer

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    August Spafford about 4 years ago

    As the Community School Manager serving in my 10th year at Edna Brewer Middle School, I strongly support this resolution. The OUSD School Board has a unique and historical opportunity to listen to the school staff and community members to adopt a policy that attempts to decouple the historically racist housing practices of the past from how education resources are distributed in the present. The goal of this proposal is to prevent asset hoarding, and to maintain diversity and inclusion at the largest middle school in OUSD in the context of a rapidly gentrifying city. Please support.

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    Jamie Marantz about 4 years ago

    Brewer exists now, as it is, because the people that worked there had a vision of creating a school where students - all students - succeed and know they are a valued member of a caring, academic community.
    If you don't work towards this goal as a district, then what is the point?
    Make all of our schools more integrated, - an accident of birth should not decide the quality of the education one receives.
    How could you fight this? It's time to DO something to shift outcomes. Be bold-hold up your students-all of them.
    All schools could be more diverse, have more support for true inclusion and best academic practices to raise up all.

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    saba sadeghi about 4 years ago

    The beauty of Oakland is rooted in its multi-cultural community of people that make up the city. In spaces held for and by young people, it is imperative that this multi-faceted aspect of Oakland's community is upheld and nurtured. With shifting demographics in the community, we must not lose sight of the foundations that make Oakland what it is. To ensure the community at Edna Brewer upholds the richness of Oakland's multi-cultural beauty, we must address and prioritize an inclusive enrollment plan that reflects and serves the greater community. To avoid this would, in my opinion, present as a digression from the imperative fight towards a more socially just and inclusive world. As a teacher at Edna Brewer, I am in full support of this Enrollment Initiative.

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    Jessica Gray about 4 years ago

    I was the former PTSA president and taught after-school art for several years at Brewer. My daughter is now in 10th grade and made memories and friendships that will last for years. We valued the diverse environment and saw it as instrumental to her academic and emotional growth. I witnessed the demographic shift happen rapidly and it could be felt on campus. This proposal is a small but important actionable step towards addressing segregation and gentrification in Oakland. Please support.

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    Jonel Seon about 4 years ago

    Education must be equitable, diverse, and inclusive.

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    Sara Nolan about 4 years ago

    As an English teacher at Edna Brewer, I have had the the privilege over the past eight years of hearing our students -- our children, our future -- find and raise their voices. These voices are nurtured by a school and community-wide ethos that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as foundational to a meaningful education for all students -- and they are exactly what is at risk if we do not preserve the diversity of our school community. It is on behalf of those voices that I am raising mine in support of this resolution.

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    Eddie Iny about 4 years ago

    I am a father of a 7th grader at Edna Brewer and we love that EBMS student body truly reflects Oakland's diversity and creates an inclusive learning environment were students benefit from having varied opinions and experiences integrated into their learning. We believe this better prepares our son and all EBMS students to be full participants in an increasingly diverse workforce and society. But demographics in Oakland, particularly in our neighborhood, are changing rapidly. At a time when income inequality is at an all time high, this proposal creates more equity at our school by maintaining the socioeconomic diversity we all value and ensuring that low income students continue to have access to high quality public education. I support the resolution.

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    Joel Kirschbaum about 4 years ago

    The Community Agreed Upon Language is preferable to the Final Language Agreed Upon by OUSD Legal because it better serves the needs of the community at large and therefore does a better job of achieving the overall goal of racial and socio-economic diversity.

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    Nilofer Ahsan about 4 years ago

    I'm the PTSA President at Edna Brewer. I have two daughters, one who graduated from Brewer last year and one who is currently in the 8th grade. The diversity of the student body is one of the key factors which we value about the school and we feel that it has contributed greatly to the quality of their education.

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    Felicity Russell about 4 years ago

    Social and economic diversity is crucial component of our nation.

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    Kay Fernandez Smith about 4 years ago

    I support this innovative Edna Brewer Middle School Enrollment Pilot Initiative. As a parent of two Black 4th and 6th-graders in OUSD, ensuring the diversity of EBMS is important to our family. After attending Crocker Highlands Elementary, we were excited to enroll at EBMS because of its socio-economic diversity amongst students, staff, and faculty. This pilot will help to mitigate the intersectional issues of gentrification and education inequity in Oakland by providing access and opportunity to high-quality education for socio-economically diverse students from across the District.

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    Adam Boroian about 4 years ago

    I support this.

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    Ethan Kirschbaum about 4 years ago

    I was born and raised in Oakland until moving away for college. Its diversity, equity, and inclusion must be protected and it starts with our children. Thank you

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    Jessica R about 4 years ago

    As a parent of two children at Edna Brewer Middle School I want to voice my support for this resolution adjusting the enrollment priorities at Brewer. This enrollment plan will help to ensure that Brewer can continue to serve a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of students.

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    Morgan Kirschbaum about 4 years ago

    As Oakland gentrifies and our citizens and students suffer, school district must not be complicit by remaining neutral. Taking a stand to keep our schools diverse is mandatory for a district that claims it supports equity. Please take a stand, support this, and do not remain neutral. It benefits everyone and is a vital and moral. I am a lifelong Oaklander, born and raised. Future OUSD parent.