Meeting Time: November 18, 2020 at 5:00pm PST
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Agenda Item

H.-1 20-2017 Decision Public Hearing: Adoption by the Board of Education of Staff Report - Recommendations/Findings - Approving Education for Change Public Schools - Achieve Academy - Petition and Proposed Charter - Grades TK-5 - July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2026 (5 Year Renewal).

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    Eva Huffman about 4 years ago

    I strongly support Achieve's 5 year charter renewal. Achieve is a student and family centered community school. Families seek Achieve out for its reputation of providing quality services to students with IEPs - services that facilitate access to and success with the General Education program, accelerate growth towards personalized goals, and meet all the requirements of the law. Achieve also has a comprehensive Multi Tiered System Of Supports that provides quality academic, socio-emotional, behavioral, health, and other personal interventions and mitigations for students not making adequate progress, regardless of IEP status. I hear over and over from parents that they enroll at Achieve because of the comprehensive services and supports offered at Achieve, supports and services families have not been able to access at other schools. The staff and administrative team are incredibly hard working and committed to ensuring all students get the education they deserve.

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    Aron Michalski about 4 years ago

    I am writing to express my strong support for the renewal of Achieve Academy's charter. Achieve has been bedrock school of the Fruitvale community for 15 years, consistently delivering above-average results and above-average growth for an incredibly high-needs student population. I strongly urge the Board to renew the school, and then consider a long-term lease so that Achieve might access millions of dollars in state bond money to provide an updated, safer facility for the students of Oakland.

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    Shannon Tanton about 4 years ago

    I am writing in tremendous support of Achieve Academy. Achieve is a community based school that supports the academic, social, and emotional needs of its' students and families. The students love going to school there and they receive a high quality education. Achieve has been a leader in implementing a strong structured literacy program where students are taught using methods that align with the science of reading. The adults who work at the school - from principals, to teachers, to tutors (where they have one in each classroom!), to paras, and office staff are all some of the most caring people I know. They make sure that decisions are always student centered and do everything they can to do right by kids.

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    Noah Bradley about 4 years ago

    Achieve Academy is a model full service community school. The staff and community partner to ensure the needs of its diverse community, including highest concentration of Mam-speaking families in the city, are met. The focus on early literacy, early intervention, including daily tutoring in the classroom, and differentiation time is leading to strong academic growth. Renew Achieve and see the positive impact on our community for years to come.

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    Emily Lee about 4 years ago

    I strongly support Achieve's charter being renewed because I am both a teacher and a parent at the school. My daughter has been at Achieve since kindergarten, and for the past four years at the school, she has been given an educational experience that I don't believe she would have gotten elsewhere. She, alongside of all Achieve students, has always had a teacher that has been personally invested in her academic success and emotional well-being, and work tirelessly to ensure that. If Achieve remains open in the fall I plan to enroll my younger daughter in kindergarten there because I want her to love school and thrive in the same way my older daughter has. All students deserve to experience how special a school Achieve is.

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    Jessica Qian about 4 years ago

    Achieve needs to stay open in the Fruitvale community. Students and families CHOOSE our school because of the amazing staff, educators, resources, and academic programming the school provides. Achieve works to build up our families and our students to keep our community strong and give families access to any opportunity they need. We employ members of the community because we know that this is what is best for our students. This is a special place full of love and care that truly wraps around students to provide a wholistic approach to schooling. It is a true gem and it would be a great disservice to the community if the school closed. Keep Achieve Open!

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    Susie Kim about 4 years ago

    I fully support the renewal of Achieve Academy because Achieve is an integral part of the Fruitvale and the greater Oakland community. Beyond teaching academic subjects, Achieve fosters strong relationships built on emotional, character, and identity development. The staff at the school work tirelessly on issues of equity and social justice. They promote the overall well-being of students and the community.

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    Julianne Sterling about 4 years ago

    As an art educator, I have taught at more than 20 public schools in the East Bay in Richmond, Albany and Oakland. Achieve is the most student centered school, with incredibly talented and caring staff at all levels. As an educator, I have really felt at home and know that we are all working to give our students a profoundly quality education.

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    KarenBeth Peiler about 4 years ago

    I have been an educator for 13 years (2 years at Achieve) and am an Oakland resident. The teachers, tutors, administrators, and staff at Achieve work extremely hard and creatively to best serve each student. Academic interventions are provided in a variety of structures. Social-emotional and behavioral supports are provided in a variety of ways. Our special education team is amazing. Students do not receive a cookie-cutter approach to help them meet their goals. Rather, the team of teachers and para-professionals creatively design program, curriculum, and supports that best serve each student. Multiple parents of children who have IEPs have told us that they chose to sent their child to Achieve specifically because of our special education team. I am everyday amazed at how much my 1st grade students are learning. I see joy in the faces of my students and my colleagues despite us being in the middle of a pandemic. Please allow us to continue providing quality education to our students.

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    Lauren Kearse about 4 years ago

    Achieve Academy is a school that brings the neighborhood together. OUSD closed the campus and Achieve Academy was born to fill the void in this culturally rich community. Our partnership with community organizations provides resources and support for families and has stepped up to provide so much to families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our school has a strong focus on early literacy and supporting emerging bilingual students.

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    Monica Valerian about 4 years ago

    Achieve is working around the clock to give our students the support they need. Our students have working tech, internet (we support families with WiFi and hotspots), and at least 2 dedicated educators per class (which allows us to provide very small groups/ 1-1 instruction). We run a food bank for our families every Thursday and regularly provide new learning materials. We collaborate with OUSD teachers and coaches, sharing resources and supporting mutual growth. We use the best, research based curricula and provide regular professional development to our staff! We also have a LOT of staff that are members of the community and parents at Achieve! We are working tirelessly to build supports for our Mam speaking families (over 30% of our school). We have several Mam speaking staff members, including an incredible kindergarten educator, Ms. Francis.

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    yessenia romero about 4 years ago

    I support achieve has been a life changing for many of our families and staff, during this new normal achieve have support our families by proving food technology materials also social emotional checking's. I see the growth and support that all students and families have received. My 2 year old son is soon going to start school and achieve is one of the school I want my child to attended even if I live 45 min away. Achieve has shown the passion for each of the kids life's.

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    miriam jimenez about 4 years ago

    hello my name is miriam jimenez i am para professional at Achieve Academy i love working in this school all the staff is really nice always supportive no matter the situation, We are united as a community and are goal is for every student to be successful no matter if its helping them learning a new language or if it is to teach them how to be better in socializing with others i love the school i work for and the kids i work with on the dialy basis. we make families like they are home and that they will have our support

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    Cardellous Snell about 4 years ago

    I support the renewal of Achieve Academy, it is a great school, great for the Fruitcake community. There are alot of great teachers at the school that help Spanish speaking students as well as English speakers grow as students, help them learn & is a very positive influence on the community

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    Gabriel Sanchez about 4 years ago

    I strongly support Achieve's charter renewal. For safety and academic reasons, I pulled my son from an OUSD school, and my experience at Achieve has been wonderful. He has built so much agency around reading goals, math content, and their physical education program is robust. He can't wait to go to school to learn everyday and study the culturally responsive topics that his teachers have hand selected for their students. Every teacher builds long standing relationships with kids, and the school just feels like home. Everyone is constantly trying to do and be better. I love this space of learning, loving, and being!

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    Julie Powell about 4 years ago

    I am writing to support the charter renewal of Achieve Academy. I have worked at Achieve Academy for 5 year as a Reading Interventionist and I am currently a Special Education teacher. Achieve provides an outstanding education to students in the Fruitvale neighborhood and beyond. Our school is a rock in the community and provides many services to the neighborhood, in addition to being a school. Many of our students are immigrants or the children of immigrants and our school has been a gathering spot for these families. During Covid, Achieve teachers and staff have worked tirelessly to continue to provide a quality education for our students.

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    Achieve Teacher about 4 years ago

    Achieve supports ALL learners through high-quality, engaging instruction and a holistic approach to student success. The school has systems and structures set up to ensure students are supported academically and emotionally, as well as providing resources for families during this unprecedented time. The school has proven through test scores and additional quantitative and qualitative data that it is doing whatever it takes to help students learn, even throughout distance learning.

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    YuTing Chen about 4 years ago

    I've been a part of the Achieve team since 2006 and have seen the growth and engagement of this school within the community. This school fosters leaders from within the community and actively seeks input from families when important decisions need to be made so that we can ensure that these decisions are in the best interest of the students. We offer not just academic support but also much-needed social emotional and social service support for our students and students' families, especially for those with students with special learning needs . We also offer consistency and dependability for so many families in the Fruitvale community.

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    Anjali B about 4 years ago

    Achieve Academy wraps around each and every one of their students. I have never seen a school where so many teachers, support staff, and admin are willing to make so many house visits to drop off food, supplies, and do face-to-face home visits. Our students tell me every day how grateful they are to attend a school where they feel at home, where they have a second family checking in on them. Even amidst a pandemic, our students are improving academically! They are reading at home with their families, applying their math work to real life settings, learning to dive deeper in anti-racist work, reflecting and celebrating their own family culture through family interviews and sharing with their classmates. Achieve is truly a place that is infused with passion and determination to support and empower each child in our community. Everyone deserves a place like this!

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    Joanna Cornejo about 4 years ago

    I know that we are in very intense political times. The reality is when closing down a school- our families are the people who struggle the most. We are a community school. We serve our students who live in our neighborhood. We are constantly showing up and supporting our families. In the midst of this pandemic, consider what you would be happening to our Oakland families. Thank you for your time.