In recent weeks, safety concerns have forced OUSD schools to cancel instruction. Community members are pushing district officials to take action.
Category: Education Equity
Diversity groups in Oakland schools provide space for difficult conversations about race, power, and privilege
Backlash to a playdate for students of color at Chabot Elementary highlights the importance of equity initiatives at OUSD, parents said.
Student homelessness in OUSD grew nearly 70% in 3 years
Oakland Unified counted 1,780 unhoused students in 2023. We break down several factors responsible for the increase.
Want to help kids read? Apply to receive free books and money to start a literacy program
The Oakland Literacy Coalition is looking to support community groups serving preschool to high school-aged children.
Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s foundation to raise $50 million for Oakland schools
Launched in 2019, the Eat.Learn.Play Foundation has refurbished half a dozen Oakland schoolyards this year.
Legal sideshows? These young East Bay developers made a video game that reimagines Oakland car culture
“Highsidin’” grew out of the nonprofit Gamehead’s work to bring racial and economic diversity to game development
East Oakland school demands OUSD take steps to release state money for campus fixes
Teachers and students at Cox Academy, a public charter, have dealt with leaky classrooms, an aging play-structure, and flooded basement.
Chabot Elementary evacuated, school canceled due to bomb threat
The Oakland school was deluged with harassment and racist threats after conservatives on social media criticized a “playdate social” event. Classes resumed on Wednesday.
Oakland youth could vote in school board elections as early as 2024
Measure QQ, which lowers the voting age to 16 for OUSD board elections, has faced roadblocks since it was approved by voters in 2020.
How can Oakland Unified be more efficient? Report lays out plan, including school closures
A majority of the school board is opposed to closures, but an agency recommended them to help the district improve services.
Judge to decide if California failed low-income students during COVID
A lawsuit filed in 2020 by students in Oakland and L.A. got an Alameda County court’s approval to go to trial later this year.
Want to help Oakland schools? OUSD needs volunteers for several citizen committees
You can help to ensure that Oakland Unified is spending its tax dollars properly.
OUSD special election candidates are back on the ballot
Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez and Jorge Lerma were told they didn’t qualify to run for the vacant District 5 seat due to confusion over district boundaries during the signature-gathering process.
Major city error leaves no candidates in Oakland school board election
The District 5 special election is in disarray after the city gave candidates the wrong district boundaries to collect signatures.
Here’s another chance to get free tuition at these East Bay colleges
Choose from over 800 classes because fall is free for the second year in a row at Laney and Merritt colleges.
OUSD once had a school dedicated to the arts. Former students reunited to remember it
During the 1970s and 80s, the Renaissance School encouraged hundreds of Oakland middle and high-school students to pursue the creative arts.
OUSD school board meetings are back. Here’s how to get involved
With a vacancy in District 5, the Oakland Unified School District board will have only six voting members until a special election in November. The first public meeting is Wednesday, Aug. 9.
First day of school at OUSD brings optimism and jitters
With a teachers strike now behind them, OUSD leaders are shifting their focus to improving attendance and literacy rates in the upcoming year.
Homies Empowerment is on track to open its Freedom School, despite burglary
The East Oakland organization has raised more than $13,000 to replace laptops, sound equipment, and other tools that were stolen from its campus last weekend. The new school opens on Sept. 11.
Summer ends soon for 34,000 Oakland kids. Why does school start so early?
OUSD’s school year starts Monday, while school districts in Berkeley and San Francisco will still be on break.