Author: kzt123

OUSD Parents United’s Response to OUSD’s post on our facebook page

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OUSD posted on our Facebook page a “polite invitation” to our members to check out their salary offer to OEA teachers: “Good afternoon, OUSD Parents United. We politely invite your members to read more about OUSD’s current 13.5% salary increase offer to teachers — the largest salary increase offer to teachers in a decade. It’s also the largest increase being proposed anywhere else in Alameda County.” 
This is our response:
OUSD Parents United‎ to Oakland Unified School District
March 24 at 9:45pm ·

Oakland Unified School District it seems inappropriate for you to be posting about this proposed raise on a third party site while you are having confidential and purportedly good faith negotiations with OEA. Further, the information you posted is misleading and clearly intended not to inform but to turn support away from your teachers and toward your proposal. Isaac Kos-Read, public information officer for OUSD, explained some of the nearly $1 million in increased spending in the top tier of the Central Office this year alone by telling me that some of the positions were given an increased work load and therefore the increased salary was not a raise but merely compensating for the increased workload. In turn, Mr Kos-Read, you must agree that if a “raise” is for an increase in hours required under the contract, then it is not a raise but compensation for additional work and should not be counted as part of the “raise” you cite. In addition, the remaining 1.5% “raise” being touted here would result in a decrease in the overall benefits package, which you have repeatedly held up as being one of the best in the county (although GO Publlic Schools recently pointed out that it is below average when compared to Districts across the State with similar enrollment and complexity). So when you remove the compensation for additional work and net out the decrease in overall benefits from the “13.5%” contingent raise, it is still a 10.5% contingent raise being offered. In addition Oakland Unified School District, the reason that the raise is both the largest proposed in a decade and the largest (you say) being offered in Alameda County is because our teachers are and have been underpaid for many years, and in order to try to close the gap, you need to consistently outraise surrounding districts for some time to come. According to GO Public Schools, OUSD is between 7.6% and 15% below Alameda County average at this point in time (and 10 to 22% below similar districts across the state) which means that you need to offer that just to get even with other Districts and then keep pace with their offers year after year to stay even. I would appreciate if in future you wish to post on OUSD Parents United that you do so in a way that is truthful and not intended to mislead.

Oakland Tech teachers stage “Grade In” on Friday, March 27 at 3:45, come show your support

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Join Oakland Tech Teachers on the front lawn of beautiful Oakland Tech high school as they stage a “grade in” to highlight some of the many tasks that they perform outside of contractually required hours. Bring a sign or grab one there and show support for the teachers while raising awareness that they need a fair contract. While you are there, take a moment to sign a postcard to Mr Wilson or the Board letting them know that you support the teachers. The post cards will be delivered at the end of the March for Schools Oakland Students Deserve on March 31st! Meet at San Antonio park at 3 pm for family friendly fun before marching to the District offices.

Thirty Schools signed on to March for Schools Oakland Students Deserve on March 31!

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Thirty schools and counting are planning to March for Schools Oakland Students Deserve on March 31st! Meet at San Antonio Park at 3pm for a family friendly rally before the 4:30 march to the OUSD Offices at 1000 Broadway (then take the 14 or the 40 AC Transit buses back to the park with other families and teachers).

RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/859143810811886/permalink/864919633567637/

Antwan Wilson: Why are you ignoring parents of the kids whose futures you are charged with shaping?

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Mr Wilson, these parents are important to the future of OUSD, you should be reaching out to them and NOT ignoring them!! Thank you Cleveland Elementary parents for supporting our kids and our teachers!

'3/17/2015 Cleveland parents, wearing OEA green, greeted Superintendent Wilson. He neither greeted them or acknowledged their presence. "Although Mr. Wilson would not acknowledge us,we did get waves and even a "thumbs up" from his entourage. The fact he did not look, let us know that he was aware of our presence. We were a strong army of 5 when he passed by twice."'

3/17/2015 Cleveland parents, wearing OEA green, greeted Superintendent Wilson. He neither greeted them or acknowledged their presence. “Although Mr. Wilson would not acknowledge us,we did get waves and even a “thumbs up” from his entourage. The fact he did not look, let us know that he was aware of our presence. We were a strong army of 5 when he passed by twice.”

Charter Schools decline to participate in Mr Wilson’s Intensive Support Schools Initiative to turnaround 4 of 5 targeted schools

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The following appeared in the East Bay Express on March 13, 2015

FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015

Charters Will Not Take Over Struggling Oakland Public Schools

By Sam Levin of the East Bay Express

After months of debate surrounding the Oakland Unified School District’s controversial effort to redesign several of its low-performing schools, officials announced this afternoon that no charter schools will be taking over the district sites. As part of its so-called “Intensive Support Schools Initiative,” which teachers first learned about in December, the district requested proposals to turn around five struggling schools. Through this process, existing leaders at the five schools could submit proposals — as could outside charter school organizations. Teachers and education activists immediately criticized the plan as a thinly veiled effort to encourage outside charter school operators to take over district-run public schools.

But today, OUSD announced that no charter schools plan to submit applications, which means the schools in question will remain district-run sites.

For four of the five schools in the turnaround initiative — Castlemont High School, Fremont High School, McClymonds High School, and Frick Middle School — applicants were required to submit letters of intent yesterday. The district has not yet announced a timeline for the fifth school, Brookfield Elementary School, which means its future remains uncertain. But for the other four schools, the district just published the letters of intent it received — see “proposal writing teams” at the district’s Intensive Support Schools website — and only district-run proposals are included. Troy Flint, OUSD spokesperson, confirmed to me that no charters submitted applications for those schools. The three high schools attracted only one applicant each — teams made up of existing teachers and school leaders at those sites. Three different teams, however, have indicated that they plan to submit proposals at Frick Middle School. The district says that in cases in which multiple letters of intent have been submitted for a single campus, the district “will be bringing the respective proposal writing teams together to encourage potential collaboration on a single proposal, wherever appropriate.” The letters of intent are short documents that outline proposal team members and broad goals for the proposals. The final applications are due May 21.

You can review the Castlemont High letter here, the Fremont High letter here, the McClymonds High letter here, and the Frick letters here,here, and here.  Flint said that the district will have an announcement about the status of Brookfield at a later date.

On Monday, the district also plans to announce the members of site-based committees for each school, which will be responsible for reviewing the proposals and making recommendations to the district’s academic review board and superintendent. Students, parents, and other community members were allowed to apply for positions on those committees.

FAQs and more on Article 12

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Some answers to your questions about Article 12

ClassroomStruggle's avatarCLASSROOM STRUGGLE

Here is part of the packet distributed at OEA’s Article 12 Forum on 1/13/2015, including (1) FAQs on Article 12, (2) a summary of what the District wants to change in Article 12, and (3)  a description of advisory matching.

One more point about the district’s claim vs. its intention: The district’s explicit claim is that Article 12 leads to “bad fits” between teachers and schools, but the implicit message is that Art. 12 prevents the district from getting rid of “bad teachers.”  Article 12 has nothing to do with dismissing teachers;  it’s about transfer and consolidation procedures and rights. The district already has the power to dismiss teachers for unsatisfactory performance or unprofessional conduct.  But getting rid of Article 12 protections would provide far greater latitude to humiliate and force out teachers who voice criticisms, or advocate for students, colleagues, or students, pissed them off, or are “too expensive.” Eliminating Article 12 protections would…

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