In the face of massive protests, OUSD directors scaled back their plan, but proceeded with closures to address budget problems.
Author Archives: Ashley McBride
Ashley McBride reports on education equity for The Oaklandside. She covered the 2019 Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike as a breaking news reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. More recently, she was an education reporter for the San Antonio Express-News where she covered several local school districts, charter schools, and the community college system. McBride earned her master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University, has held positions at the Palm Beach Post and the Poynter Institute, and is a recent Hearst Journalism Fellow.
Posted inEducation Equity
Protests continue ahead of school board vote on OUSD closures
The Oakland Unified school board is expected to vote tonight on closing or merging more than a dozen schools this year and next.
Posted inEducation Equity
OUSD plan to close and merge schools is met with overwhelming opposition
Community members made their voices heard at a contentious school board meeting on Monday night, and at protests this week. The school board could make a final decision next week.
Posted inEducation Equity
Tonight: Oakland school board looks at controversial school closures
District officials say closures and consolidations are needed to balance OUSD’s budget, but some parents and directors are adamantly opposed.
Posted inEducation Equity
Oakland Unified delays student vaccine mandate
Enforcing the vaccine requirement this year would have likely pushed nearly 3,000 students out of school.
Posted inEducation Equity
After 4 days of boycott, Oakland students say COVID demands have not been met
The students pledge to continue their protest until OUSD provides better testing at all schools. The teachers union is also calling for improved safety measures.
Posted inEducation Equity
On day 1 of student boycott, teachers stage ‘sickout’ closing 3 Oakland schools
Oakland Unified School District has had student absence rates above 20% in January.
Posted inEducation Equity
Oakland high schoolers prepare to ‘boycott’ over COVID safety
With omicron surging, over a thousand students have signed a petition calling on OUSD to do more to make campuses safer.
Posted inEducation Equity
Here’s where Oakland Unified could make $50 million in budget cuts
The school board will vote by the end of the month on the reductions, which will impact school sites and central office staff.
Posted inEducation Equity
Oakland schools are facing $50M in cuts. Here are some budget basics
With Oakland’s school board under pressure to make major reductions, we set out to answer questions about school finances, and provide resources for more digging.
Posted inEducation Equity
Oakland teachers plan ‘sickout’ protest as omicron cases surge
Amid a spike in COVID cases, some educators are pressuring OUSD to provide weekly testing and KN95 face masks.
Posted inEducation Equity
The year Oakland schools reopened
The biggest education news in 2021 was undoubtedly the reopening of schools during a pandemic.
Posted inEducation Equity
Budget decisions loom for Oakland Unified, which faces a $40 million shortfall in coming year
District leaders emphasize the need to increase salaries, but OUSD also faces declining enrollment and attendance, which means less revenue.
Posted inEducation Equity
‘We had no one to run it’: At one Oakland school, a 5-year quest to reopen the library
Educators say libraries should be a basic part of every child’s school experience. But Oakland Unified has struggled to maintain them for decades.
Posted inEducation Equity
COVID forced OUSD’s independent study program to change. Some say for the worse.
The Sojourner Truth program previously served a couple hundred students with flexible schedules and in-person instruction. It’s been replaced by Zoom schooling for over a thousand.
Posted inEducation Equity
Oakland’s student vaccine mandate: Here’s what you need to know
Most OUSD students 12 and up will need to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 1 to continue going to school in person.
Posted inArts & Community
Step into the Black Panther Party’s 1968 office with OaklandVR
The team joins several other groups and individuals in commemorating the Black Panthers’ legacy in Oakland this year.
Posted inEducation Equity
Alameda County could intervene in OUSD over budget concerns
Declining enrollment and heavy reliance on one-time funds has imperiled the district’s finances, county Superintendent L.K. Monroe warned.
Posted inEducation Equity
OUSD is crafting a plan to better serve Black students. Have ideas?
Oakland Unified is getting ready to implement its reparations resolution for Black students, and wants to hear from the public. Here’s how to participate.
Posted inEducation Equity
Oakland Unified considers dropping the D grade
OUSD high schoolers can graduate with Ds, but the grade bars them from admission to California’s public four-year colleges.
