22-0243 Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 2122-0030 - School Consolidations for Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
· Presentation by the Superintendent of Schools of recommendations for School Consolidations for Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24
· Public Comments on proposed School Consolidations
· Discussion of the Board by and between Members and/or the Superintendent of Schools and/or designee(s)
· Action by Board on Resolution No. 2122-0030
As a parent of an OUSD kindergartener and an OUSD TSA, I oppose the hasty, short-sided, and inequitable proposal to close and/or merge so many schools so quickly. The list disproportionately impacts low-income students of color and students with special needs, includes an unrealistic timeline for community engagement and proper planning, and negligently lacks an Equity Impact Analysis.
I urge the Board to pause in order to accurately complete an Equity Impact Analysis and make adjustments based on those findings. Also, take the proper time to engage the impacted students and communities in the planning process to ensure needs will be met. Finally, it is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students.
Please vote with your heart and pause these inequitable and negligent closures that lack a proper timeline.
This proposal is reprehensible, appalling, and racist. The Black Reparations Resolution sought to protect historically Black schools from closure. Now, ignoring the countless hours of organizing and passion devoted to that effort, the board swats it away with the insulting word "notwithstanding." The plan’s disparate racial impact is stunning. Whatever happened to that “equity lens”?
The plan ignores entirely the impact of the charter school industry, which has targeted Oakland for 20 years and bears much of the responsibility for OUSD’s enrollment decline and financial distress. Meanwhile OUSD shows NO reliable evidence that school closures will save money, despite innumerable demands for such evidence.
The plan was clearly prepared ahead of time, without those affected having any knowledge of it or opportunity for input. Now it's being rammed down our throats in under 2 weeks while the board hides behind Zoom screens, afraid to look us in the eye. Shame on you!!
Proud parent of two OUSD graduates. What is the hurry? Do we need a pandemic of school closures just when we may be getting out of our own pandemic? Let's not have THIS be the new normal. Give the kids, parents and teachers a chance.
I strongly oppose the closure of these schools. They are vital to the underserved and underprivileged communities of Oakland, and especially important for children with disabilities. Please keep their community intact, and their education on track!
I'm a parent of a Dewey High School student. Since 2019 my son has been suffering in school due to the pandemic and teacher's only caring about classes as a whole and not students as individuals. At Dewey my son has been able to concentrate on his education because he feels these educators actually care for their students. My son is talking about his lessons and positive interactions with teachers. Also he feels safe on campus he hasn't expressed fears regarding COVID on campus. Furthermore it would be too tremendous of a loss for not only my family but many families in Oakland. Please keep Dewey campus open, students have already adjusted to a new way of living they don't need to lose their school.
I am an OUSD teacher and parent, and I oppose the hasty, short-sided, and inequitable proposal to close and/or merge so many schools so quickly. The list disproportionately impacts low-income students of color and students with special needs, includes an unrealistic timeline for community engagement and proper planning, and negligently lacks an Equity Impact Analysis.
I urge the Board to pause in order to accurately complete an Equity Impact Analysis and make adjustments based on those findings. Also, take the proper time to engage the impacted students and communities in the planning process to ensure needs will be met. Finally, it is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students.
Please pause these inequitable and negligent closures that lack a proper timeline.
My name is Kayla Tran, I am in 10th grade, I attend Fremont High School, and I am a youth organizer with Oakland Kids First. I am opposing school closures and consolidations because it impacts students school life as well as their outside life. When shutting down schools it’s hard for the student to adjust the big change in their life. This is wrong because students shouldn’t be put under this much stress, they already have to deal with the schoolwork/homework they’re given so by shutting down their school and transferring them to another with a whole new learning system it can be even more stressful. Black students should be set up for success by the district providing/investing in their needs and learning tactics that can help them be successful. I demand that OUSD vote NO on school closures and consolidations. Closing schools is wrong because it puts more stress on the students while trying to adjust to their school shutting down. Do the right thing and listen to the community.
As an OUSD graduate, resident, and teacher, I am extremely opposed to this racist, inequitable, violent action towards our Black and Brown students and their communities. We all know this is not right- or else one of your presenters wouldn’t have been crying as she was presenting it last week. There is ALWAYS a choice when it comes to doing something unjust. Always. At this point the community you represent is pleading with you, some educators are even on hunger strike. The situation couldn’t feel more dire or urgent. And if you do vote to close these schools, this won’t be the end of this fight. You are waging a battle against the people of Oakland when you are supposed to be protecting and taking care of them- our Oakland youth. Do better.
I live across the street from Westlake Middle School and Andre San-Chez, one of the two teachers there currently on hunger strike, is my friend. If you truly believe that Black Lives Matter, please don't do this. If you genuinely respect Black History Month, please don't do this. If you value any child's wellbeing, don't do this. But these kids are especially vulnerable and such an action will be devastating for them. You know it. As stewards of this public land and servers of the people of Oakland, you have to find another way to support and empower these communities.
While I understand that our district is financially strapped, What do you do with the closed school site? More importantly, I am concerned that the closure of schools will affect parents' ability to have options near where they live. Many of our children commute over 30 minutes to attend a school that is outside of their neighborhood which affects learning and strains the family. As a parent of 3 kids who attended a "welcoming school" at Laurel Elementary, I saw how our excellent teachers at Laurel Elementary did their best through the prior consolidations. However, the ratio of students to teachers in my kids' classes made it hard for many students to get the proper attention to thrive. Having elementary and middle school ratios around 15:1 or even smaller lend to the better student success. We never had that. Your statistics show that the students' performance is improving. Please consider supporting teachers with additional staff to ensure continued success.
My name is Tiffany Hampton-Amons and my daughter is a 5th grader at La Escuelita. This closure will not only heavily impact my child but for all the children who will be displaced. DO NOT PUNISH our children for Board and City oversight. The money spent on this schools just to turn around a few years later and close them is very suspicious. My child depends on the services and built relationships that she has created since starting there her TK year. By closing the middle school, those bonds will be broken and will take time to rebuild elsewhere systemically causing a decline in a already difficult environment. Also, giving parent 4 months to make plans is ridiculous! At leave give us the time need to prepare our kids and our lives for this adjustment.
My name is Reem Taleb, I am in 12th grade, I attend Fremont High School, and I am a youth organizer with Oakland Kids First. I am opposing school closures and consolidations because I have brothers and sisters who are just in elementary school, and they attend to Horace Mann. They need an education! This is wrong because you can’t take away young children’s education. They need to have an education and learn in order for them to be successful in life. Black students should be set up for success by the district providing/investing in resources for children that attend OUSD public schools and are apart of the low-income community. I demand that OUSD vote NO on school closures and consolidations. Closing schools is wrong because it’s affecting the lives of young children/adults from getting an education and being successful in life. Do the right thing and listen to the community.
Please wait to close so many, many schools at once. Things need to settle after 2 years of upheaval caused by the pandemic. Moreover, students need a chance to return to school in person on a regular basis, to feel safe again, and to regain confidence after missing so much learning. Closing schools will only exacerbate the problem you are trying to solve. Perhaps a creative answer can be found to the financial and staffing problems, given a bit more time.
My name is Socorro Lopez Frasco, I am in 12th grade, I attend Fremont High School, and I am a youth organizer with Oakland Kids First. I am opposing school closures and consolidations because I know of many children who are currently attending schools that are being targeted for school closure. The next step for students would be transferring to another school near their neighborhood. This is wrong because students will feel disconnected in their new school. Students get used to their school campus over the years. Moving from one school to another can lead to children not being able to concentrate because of the need to adapt into the new environment. Black students should be set up for success by the district providing/investing in better resources for marginalized groups of students. I demand that OUSD vote NO on school closures and consolidations.Closing schools is wrong because it can impact students' education in a negative way. Do the right thing and listen to the community.
Since last week I have mused on metaphors and analogies. The one I settled on one in which I went to a doctor to see about the pain I was having in my leg. To which the doctor replied, "Well, it looks like you've got another leg right there next to the one with pain. I think what we'll do is just take that painful leg off and leave you with the one good one. How about that?"
I would seek out another opinion. These closings of thirteen public schools were leaked to us all a week before the Big Meeting. We hardly had time to organize our community around this highly charged decision, and there was some concern that this outrageous choice would sail past our families without a chance for rebuttal. The morning after the Big Meeting, there was a line of kids outside the gate. They were waiting to get in. They were waiting to get into the school that had been their home away from home for most of their lives. I was on the inside, so I unlocked the gate and let them in to start another day.
As an Oakland educator and resident of over 20 years, I strongly oppose the closure of any school on this list, including Horace Mann. These closures will cause harm to our most vulnerable students in the middle of a pandemic which continues to disproportionately harm them. Previous closures have saved little if any money and engendered bitterness in the community.
Horace Mann, like each of the schools targeted, is beloved by its community. Our students are thriving and so happy to be back in school in person. They do not deserve to be uprooted and dispersed to other schools. Many of our students who have faced deaths in their families, housing insecurity, and other stresses. They need to be at a school where they are known and where they have trust in the adults around them. Similarly, relocating/dismissing staff will disrupt relationships that allow our staffs to collaborate to meet the needs of our students at both the closed schools and the designated welcoming schools.
Hola soy madre de una estudiante de tercer grado y de un estudiante de 6 grado no estoy de acuerdo con el cierre de la escuelita no es justo para nosotros como padre ni para ellos los estudiantes
As a parent to two OUSD students and an Oakland resident I oppose OUSD school closures that are disproportionality impacting low-income students of color and low-income students with disabilities. It is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students.
As a parent of an OUSD kindergartener and an OUSD TSA, I oppose the hasty, short-sided, and inequitable proposal to close and/or merge so many schools so quickly. The list disproportionately impacts low-income students of color and students with special needs, includes an unrealistic timeline for community engagement and proper planning, and negligently lacks an Equity Impact Analysis.
I urge the Board to pause in order to accurately complete an Equity Impact Analysis and make adjustments based on those findings. Also, take the proper time to engage the impacted students and communities in the planning process to ensure needs will be met. Finally, it is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students.
Please vote with your heart and pause these inequitable and negligent closures that lack a proper timeline.
This proposal is reprehensible, appalling, and racist. The Black Reparations Resolution sought to protect historically Black schools from closure. Now, ignoring the countless hours of organizing and passion devoted to that effort, the board swats it away with the insulting word "notwithstanding." The plan’s disparate racial impact is stunning. Whatever happened to that “equity lens”?
The plan ignores entirely the impact of the charter school industry, which has targeted Oakland for 20 years and bears much of the responsibility for OUSD’s enrollment decline and financial distress. Meanwhile OUSD shows NO reliable evidence that school closures will save money, despite innumerable demands for such evidence.
The plan was clearly prepared ahead of time, without those affected having any knowledge of it or opportunity for input. Now it's being rammed down our throats in under 2 weeks while the board hides behind Zoom screens, afraid to look us in the eye. Shame on you!!
OUSD parent. take time to come up with a sensible plan for the next school year. Don't rush this one and put it on the backs of students of color.
Proud parent of two OUSD graduates. What is the hurry? Do we need a pandemic of school closures just when we may be getting out of our own pandemic? Let's not have THIS be the new normal. Give the kids, parents and teachers a chance.
I strongly oppose the closure of these schools. They are vital to the underserved and underprivileged communities of Oakland, and especially important for children with disabilities. Please keep their community intact, and their education on track!
Maria Mosley re:Dewey
I'm a parent of a Dewey High School student. Since 2019 my son has been suffering in school due to the pandemic and teacher's only caring about classes as a whole and not students as individuals. At Dewey my son has been able to concentrate on his education because he feels these educators actually care for their students. My son is talking about his lessons and positive interactions with teachers. Also he feels safe on campus he hasn't expressed fears regarding COVID on campus. Furthermore it would be too tremendous of a loss for not only my family but many families in Oakland. Please keep Dewey campus open, students have already adjusted to a new way of living they don't need to lose their school.
I am an OUSD teacher and parent, and I oppose the hasty, short-sided, and inequitable proposal to close and/or merge so many schools so quickly. The list disproportionately impacts low-income students of color and students with special needs, includes an unrealistic timeline for community engagement and proper planning, and negligently lacks an Equity Impact Analysis.
I urge the Board to pause in order to accurately complete an Equity Impact Analysis and make adjustments based on those findings. Also, take the proper time to engage the impacted students and communities in the planning process to ensure needs will be met. Finally, it is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students.
Please pause these inequitable and negligent closures that lack a proper timeline.
My name is Kayla Tran, I am in 10th grade, I attend Fremont High School, and I am a youth organizer with Oakland Kids First. I am opposing school closures and consolidations because it impacts students school life as well as their outside life. When shutting down schools it’s hard for the student to adjust the big change in their life. This is wrong because students shouldn’t be put under this much stress, they already have to deal with the schoolwork/homework they’re given so by shutting down their school and transferring them to another with a whole new learning system it can be even more stressful. Black students should be set up for success by the district providing/investing in their needs and learning tactics that can help them be successful. I demand that OUSD vote NO on school closures and consolidations. Closing schools is wrong because it puts more stress on the students while trying to adjust to their school shutting down. Do the right thing and listen to the community.
Don’t close the schools.
As an OUSD graduate, resident, and teacher, I am extremely opposed to this racist, inequitable, violent action towards our Black and Brown students and their communities. We all know this is not right- or else one of your presenters wouldn’t have been crying as she was presenting it last week. There is ALWAYS a choice when it comes to doing something unjust. Always. At this point the community you represent is pleading with you, some educators are even on hunger strike. The situation couldn’t feel more dire or urgent. And if you do vote to close these schools, this won’t be the end of this fight. You are waging a battle against the people of Oakland when you are supposed to be protecting and taking care of them- our Oakland youth. Do better.
I live across the street from Westlake Middle School and Andre San-Chez, one of the two teachers there currently on hunger strike, is my friend. If you truly believe that Black Lives Matter, please don't do this. If you genuinely respect Black History Month, please don't do this. If you value any child's wellbeing, don't do this. But these kids are especially vulnerable and such an action will be devastating for them. You know it. As stewards of this public land and servers of the people of Oakland, you have to find another way to support and empower these communities.
While I understand that our district is financially strapped, What do you do with the closed school site? More importantly, I am concerned that the closure of schools will affect parents' ability to have options near where they live. Many of our children commute over 30 minutes to attend a school that is outside of their neighborhood which affects learning and strains the family. As a parent of 3 kids who attended a "welcoming school" at Laurel Elementary, I saw how our excellent teachers at Laurel Elementary did their best through the prior consolidations. However, the ratio of students to teachers in my kids' classes made it hard for many students to get the proper attention to thrive. Having elementary and middle school ratios around 15:1 or even smaller lend to the better student success. We never had that. Your statistics show that the students' performance is improving. Please consider supporting teachers with additional staff to ensure continued success.
My name is Tiffany Hampton-Amons and my daughter is a 5th grader at La Escuelita. This closure will not only heavily impact my child but for all the children who will be displaced. DO NOT PUNISH our children for Board and City oversight. The money spent on this schools just to turn around a few years later and close them is very suspicious. My child depends on the services and built relationships that she has created since starting there her TK year. By closing the middle school, those bonds will be broken and will take time to rebuild elsewhere systemically causing a decline in a already difficult environment. Also, giving parent 4 months to make plans is ridiculous! At leave give us the time need to prepare our kids and our lives for this adjustment.
My name is Reem Taleb, I am in 12th grade, I attend Fremont High School, and I am a youth organizer with Oakland Kids First. I am opposing school closures and consolidations because I have brothers and sisters who are just in elementary school, and they attend to Horace Mann. They need an education! This is wrong because you can’t take away young children’s education. They need to have an education and learn in order for them to be successful in life. Black students should be set up for success by the district providing/investing in resources for children that attend OUSD public schools and are apart of the low-income community. I demand that OUSD vote NO on school closures and consolidations. Closing schools is wrong because it’s affecting the lives of young children/adults from getting an education and being successful in life. Do the right thing and listen to the community.
Please wait to close so many, many schools at once. Things need to settle after 2 years of upheaval caused by the pandemic. Moreover, students need a chance to return to school in person on a regular basis, to feel safe again, and to regain confidence after missing so much learning. Closing schools will only exacerbate the problem you are trying to solve. Perhaps a creative answer can be found to the financial and staffing problems, given a bit more time.
My name is Socorro Lopez Frasco, I am in 12th grade, I attend Fremont High School, and I am a youth organizer with Oakland Kids First. I am opposing school closures and consolidations because I know of many children who are currently attending schools that are being targeted for school closure. The next step for students would be transferring to another school near their neighborhood. This is wrong because students will feel disconnected in their new school. Students get used to their school campus over the years. Moving from one school to another can lead to children not being able to concentrate because of the need to adapt into the new environment. Black students should be set up for success by the district providing/investing in better resources for marginalized groups of students. I demand that OUSD vote NO on school closures and consolidations.Closing schools is wrong because it can impact students' education in a negative way. Do the right thing and listen to the community.
Since last week I have mused on metaphors and analogies. The one I settled on one in which I went to a doctor to see about the pain I was having in my leg. To which the doctor replied, "Well, it looks like you've got another leg right there next to the one with pain. I think what we'll do is just take that painful leg off and leave you with the one good one. How about that?"
I would seek out another opinion. These closings of thirteen public schools were leaked to us all a week before the Big Meeting. We hardly had time to organize our community around this highly charged decision, and there was some concern that this outrageous choice would sail past our families without a chance for rebuttal. The morning after the Big Meeting, there was a line of kids outside the gate. They were waiting to get in. They were waiting to get into the school that had been their home away from home for most of their lives. I was on the inside, so I unlocked the gate and let them in to start another day.
As an Oakland educator and resident of over 20 years, I strongly oppose the closure of any school on this list, including Horace Mann. These closures will cause harm to our most vulnerable students in the middle of a pandemic which continues to disproportionately harm them. Previous closures have saved little if any money and engendered bitterness in the community.
Horace Mann, like each of the schools targeted, is beloved by its community. Our students are thriving and so happy to be back in school in person. They do not deserve to be uprooted and dispersed to other schools. Many of our students who have faced deaths in their families, housing insecurity, and other stresses. They need to be at a school where they are known and where they have trust in the adults around them. Similarly, relocating/dismissing staff will disrupt relationships that allow our staffs to collaborate to meet the needs of our students at both the closed schools and the designated welcoming schools.
Hola soy madre de una estudiante de tercer grado y de un estudiante de 6 grado no estoy de acuerdo con el cierre de la escuelita no es justo para nosotros como padre ni para ellos los estudiantes
As a parent to two OUSD students and an Oakland resident I oppose OUSD school closures that are disproportionality impacting low-income students of color and low-income students with disabilities. It is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students.