Oakland Unified School District
Encyclopedia
Oakland Unified School District is a public education
school district
which operates elementary school
s (K-5), middle school
s (6-8), and high school
s (9-12) in Oakland, California
.
.
In 2003, the state Legislature passed an emergency $100 million loan for the insolvent school district leading to state control of the 48,000-student school system. Randolph E. Ward, Ed.D., was appointed in2003 to serve as state administrator for the school district.http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr03/yr03rel29.asp
During its early twentieth century history, Oakland was one of the first school districts to use the I.Q. test developed by Stanford Professor, Lewis Terman, to track its students. Terman stated his view that Northern European whites were smarter than others. He placed his graduate student, Virgil Dickson, as research director of the Oakland schools, and the resulting tracking system placed most African-American and Mexican students in the lowest track classes
The resulting racial stratification continued through the 1960's until more African-American and Latinos began being elected to the school board and questioning the tracking processes.
Crocker Highlands Elementary School' is an elementary school
located in Oakland, California
, USA
that is managed by the Oakland Unified School District
. The school serves around 365 students from kindergarten through 5th grade. The principal is Beth Rhine.
As of the 2007-2008 school year, the school had an enrollment of 365 students and 17.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE
basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 20.7.
When the school first opened on August 24, 1925, it contained five classrooms. The total enrollment was 407 students and 12 faculty members. The school operated out of eight portable building
s. Then, during 1929, the school was extended with permanent buildings. It consisted of eleven classrooms and an auditorium. Today there are ten classrooms, two special education rooms, a library, a music room, and a computer lab.
From 1999 to 2005, under the administration of Principal Gernert Lorenzen, hundreds of photographs he took were displayed on the school's walls. Academic Performance Index test scores rose from 730 to 869, and the school went from having enrollment so low that teachers may have been reassigned to other locations to becoming so popular that it had to turn away applicants. By 2005 half of the student body was from outside the neighborhood, a situation which helped create a more diverse student body.
A published book Oakland: The City of Dreams, covering Oakland's history, culture and architecture, was researched, written, edited and designed by a class of eight-and nine-year-old students.
Crocker Highlands school was selected by the Oakland Unified School District to trial a new staff selection process. This was used in appointing Chelda Ruff as principal in January 2007.
The school was the center of a parental initiative, in January 2003, to encourage parents to send their children to the local public schools, rather than resorting to private education.
A November 2010 parcel tax was one of the solutions provided to ease OUSD's budget crisis, by providing additional outside revenue for Oakland teachers.
In the November ballot, Measure L was defeated, gaining support from only 65.24% of voters. This was short of the 67% margin that was needed for a 2/3 majority. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inoakland/category?cat=2865
. The move was criticized partially on the misconception that schools would be "teaching" Ebonics
rather than standard English. The board had intended to use a particular set of strategies to bridge students from their home-language to the standardized forms required by school systems. One media consultant, at the time, referred to the press response as a "media race riot." The validity of the school board's position was argued by numerous linguists and educators.
and Clint Eastwood
, and NBA
basketball all-stars Gary Payton
and Bill Russell
. Hanks, having started acting at Skyline High School
, thanked his acting teacher Rawley T. Farnsworth in his speech at the Oscars
for winning the Best Actor
award. Hanks later donated $125,000 to the Skyline performing arts department. As well as this long-time Congressman and later Mayor of Oakland, Ronald V. Dellums, was a graduate of Oakland Technical High School.
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
school district
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
which operates elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s (K-5), middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s (6-8), and high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s (9-12) in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
History
The Oakland Unified School District was founded in the 19th century as part of the city's birth as a bedroom community for families working in San Francisco. Today the district includes around 120 schools including several dozen sites that have been founded or redesigned as part a nationwide small schools movementSmall schools movement
The small schools movement, also known as the Small Schools Initiative, in the United States of America holds that many high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than 400 students, and optimally under 200. Many private schools of under 200...
.
In 2003, the state Legislature passed an emergency $100 million loan for the insolvent school district leading to state control of the 48,000-student school system. Randolph E. Ward, Ed.D., was appointed in2003 to serve as state administrator for the school district.http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr03/yr03rel29.asp
During its early twentieth century history, Oakland was one of the first school districts to use the I.Q. test developed by Stanford Professor, Lewis Terman, to track its students. Terman stated his view that Northern European whites were smarter than others. He placed his graduate student, Virgil Dickson, as research director of the Oakland schools, and the resulting tracking system placed most African-American and Mexican students in the lowest track classes
The resulting racial stratification continued through the 1960's until more African-American and Latinos began being elected to the school board and questioning the tracking processes.
Schools
The Oakland Unified School District (2006–2007) includes 59 elementary schools, 23 middle schools, 19 high schools, with 9 alternative education schools and programs, 4 adult education schools and early childhood education centers at most of the elementary schools There are 46,000 K-12 students, 32,000 adult students, and 6,000 plus employees.Elementary schools
See list of Oakland, California elementary schoolsCrocker Highlands Elementary School
Crocker Highlands Elementary School' is an elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
located in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that is managed by the Oakland Unified School District
Oakland Unified School District
Oakland Unified School District is a public education school district which operates elementary schools , middle schools , and high schools in Oakland, California.-History:...
. The school serves around 365 students from kindergarten through 5th grade. The principal is Beth Rhine.
As of the 2007-2008 school year, the school had an enrollment of 365 students and 17.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 20.7.
When the school first opened on August 24, 1925, it contained five classrooms. The total enrollment was 407 students and 12 faculty members. The school operated out of eight portable building
Portable building
A portable building, or demountable building , is a building designed and built to be movable rather than permanently located. A common modern design is sometimes called a modular building, but portable buildings can be different in that they are more often used temporarily and taken away later....
s. Then, during 1929, the school was extended with permanent buildings. It consisted of eleven classrooms and an auditorium. Today there are ten classrooms, two special education rooms, a library, a music room, and a computer lab.
From 1999 to 2005, under the administration of Principal Gernert Lorenzen, hundreds of photographs he took were displayed on the school's walls. Academic Performance Index test scores rose from 730 to 869, and the school went from having enrollment so low that teachers may have been reassigned to other locations to becoming so popular that it had to turn away applicants. By 2005 half of the student body was from outside the neighborhood, a situation which helped create a more diverse student body.
A published book Oakland: The City of Dreams, covering Oakland's history, culture and architecture, was researched, written, edited and designed by a class of eight-and nine-year-old students.
Crocker Highlands school was selected by the Oakland Unified School District to trial a new staff selection process. This was used in appointing Chelda Ruff as principal in January 2007.
The school was the center of a parental initiative, in January 2003, to encourage parents to send their children to the local public schools, rather than resorting to private education.
Middle schools
See list of Oakland, California middle schoolsHigh schools
See list of Oakland, California high schoolsBudget Issues
Oakland Unified is one of many school districts in California that is dealing with a large budget crisis. In 2010, OUSD's budget deficit totaled $29 million, despite implementing a 10% budget cut ($70 million) from 2008-2009 to 2009-2010. http://publicportal.ousd.k12.ca.us/199410102104342143/site/default.asp The district has listed a number of possible actions to mitigate the budget crisis, including "closing schools, increasing class sizes, cutting or reducing services to schools, employee furloughs, pay and/or benefit cuts, teacher and/or staff layoffs, or some combination of the above." http://publicportal.ousd.k12.ca.us/199410102104342143/site/default.aspA November 2010 parcel tax was one of the solutions provided to ease OUSD's budget crisis, by providing additional outside revenue for Oakland teachers.
2010 November Parcel Tax
The enactment of a parcel tax to increase teacher salaries was an option on the 2010 November ballot that would have taxed Oakland citizens $195 annually for ten years. http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2010/08/04/parcel-tax-for-oakland-teachers-take-2/ It would have generated $20m annually and would have been appropriated in the following manner: 80% toward OUSD teacher compensation; 15% toward Oakland Charter teacher compensation; 5% toward professional development for new teachers. http://gopublicschools.wordpress.com/category/teacher-parcel-tax/ A parcel tax would have transferred some of the burden of teacher salaries from the district to the taxpayers, providing a temporary boost in salary to Oakland teachers, who are some of the lowest paid in the county. Ed-data, which collaborates with the CA Department of Education to compile data on California school districts, shows that Oakland teacher average pay of $54,157/year is only 80% of the state average, $66,642. In the cities surrounding Oakland, Piedmont pays an average $71,832; Hayward pays an average $73,260; San Leandro pays an average $70,877; and Albany pays and average $60,116. http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Navigation/fsTwoPanel.asp?bottom=%2Fprofile.asp%3Flevel%3D06%26reportNumber%3D16In the November ballot, Measure L was defeated, gaining support from only 65.24% of voters. This was short of the 67% margin that was needed for a 2/3 majority. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inoakland/category?cat=2865
Ebonics controversy
In December 1996, the Oakland school board passed a resolution resulting in the Oakland ebonics controversyOakland Ebonics controversy
On December 18, 1996, the Oakland, California school board passed a controversial resolution recognizing the legitimacy of "Ebonics"—what mainstream linguists more often term African American Vernacular English—as a language...
. The move was criticized partially on the misconception that schools would be "teaching" Ebonics
Ebonics
Ebonics is a term that was originally intended to refer to the language of all people descended from enslaved Africans, particularly in West Africa, the Caribbean, and North America...
rather than standard English. The board had intended to use a particular set of strategies to bridge students from their home-language to the standardized forms required by school systems. One media consultant, at the time, referred to the press response as a "media race riot." The validity of the school board's position was argued by numerous linguists and educators.
Notable alumni
Notable or famous Oakland public school graduates include Hollywood actors Tom HanksTom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, and NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
basketball all-stars Gary Payton
Gary Payton
Gary Dwayne Payton is a former American professional basketball point guard. He is best known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics, and holds Seattle franchise records in points, assists, and steals...
and Bill Russell
Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...
. Hanks, having started acting at Skyline High School
Skyline High School (Oakland, California)
Skyline High School is a public high school in Oakland, California. It is noted for its strong academics and athletic programs, and consistently ranks as the top performing school in the area in terms of standardized testing, SAT scores, college acceptance rates, and matriculation...
, thanked his acting teacher Rawley T. Farnsworth in his speech at the Oscars
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for winning the Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
award. Hanks later donated $125,000 to the Skyline performing arts department. As well as this long-time Congressman and later Mayor of Oakland, Ronald V. Dellums, was a graduate of Oakland Technical High School.