Great Oakland Public Schools

We're hiring: Jobs at GO Public Schools Leadership Center

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:08:59 -0800

We are hoping you can help us find talented people to join the staff of our sister organization, GO Public Schools Leadership Center.

Today we announced three new full-time positions on our team - if you, or someone you know, is a good fit for one of the roles, we hope you'll let us know.

The three roles are described briefly below and you can click through to see the full job descriptions and application instructions. You can also visit http://www.goleadershipcenter.org/about/jobs/ for more information.These positions are available immediately.

Director of Community Engagement - this person will be a high-level leader on our team and will manage a team of GO staff to lead efforts to strengthen the movement of parents, educators, and civic leaders working for quality public schools for each and every Oakland student.

Director of Special Projects - this person will also be a high-level leader on our team. They will provide leadership and project management to key strategic initiatives, including our Oakland Achieves project, in support of quality public schools for each and every Oakland student.

Manager of Finance & Administration - this person will ensure that our organization is operating with best practices within our financial systems, human resources systems, and administrative management.

Please be in touch if you have anyone in your network that might be a good fit to join our work to support a coalition of Oakland families, educators, community, and civic leaders united around a positive, student-oriented vision for public education in our city. We envision an Oakland where all children receive the schooling and support they need to live successful, fulfilling lives, and we need fantastic team members to help us reach this vision.

Who will represent District 4?

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:10:44 -0800

We need your help to identify a leader with both a strong commitment to children and public schools--and the skills to be an effective member of the school board.

As you may know, due to Gary Yee's appointment as Acting Superintendent, there is a vacancy for District 4 on the Oakland Unified School Board. Rather than hold a special election--with an estimated cost exceeding $250,000--the school board voted to accept applications, interview, and then appoint a new Director to represent District 4 for the year and a half that remains of the current term (until January 2015).

This is an excellent opportunity for our GO community to help identify and encourage District 4 leaders to apply for the position. As you know, school board members have a tremendous impact on students by helping set policy priorities to better serve students and ensure that OUSD makes progress toward its goals. The board also approves, renews, and denies contracts and charters, and sets priorities for a $600 million dollar budget. In addition, the new school board member from District 4 will have an important role in selecting the next permanent Superintendent for OUSD.

Applicants must be District 4 residents. Click here to determine if you are a resident of District 4. Note that City Council Districts are the same as School Board Districts.

The process will move quickly over the next several weeks with applications due by Friday, May 17th and the final appointment scheduled to occur on June 12th.

The full process adopted by the Board is as follows:

Friday, May 3 - Application form posted
Friday, May 17, 5:00 P.M. - Deadline for receipt of the Candidate Applications (note, cannot be faxed or e-mailed)
Wednesday, May 29, 6:00 P.M. - Board of Education screens applications and selects candidates to be interviewed
Wednesday, June 5 - The Board of Education interviews identified candidates
Wednesday, June 12 - The Board of Education makes a Provisional Appointment

Click here to view the Notice of Vacancy.
Click here view the official application.

We hope the GO community can help our school board find a great leader to serve Oakland's students on the Board. If you have any questions or comments, please be in touch.

Best,

Jonathan Klein

Executive Director

Great Oakland Public Schools

P.S. - I have been deeply flattered by the number of people who have encouraged me to apply for the position. However, I have decided, for a number of reasons, that this is not the right time for me to seek a school board seat. Thank you, as always, for your support.

Superintendent Resignation, Oakland Achieves Report, & More

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:36:18 -0800

It has been a busy first part of 2013 for our sister organization, Great Oakland Public Schools Leadership Center, and we wanted to give you an update on those activities.

Be sure not to miss important and timely updates from GO Leadership Center. Click here to sign up for our sister organization's email list.

Also, as you may know, Superintendent Tony Smith announced his resignation in early April so that he could move to be closer to family in Chicago. Over the last four years, Tony's leadership brought our community together around a shared vision of high quality, full service community schools in every neighborhood. We extend our deepest appreciation to Tony, and wish he and his family all the best.

Click here to read more of our thoughts on Tony's resignation.

The OUSD board last night named Dr. Gary Yee as the Acting Superintendent while they do a comprehensive search for our next Superintendent. We look forward to working with Dr. Yee, who has dedicated so much of his life to Oakland children and public schools, in service of the vision of quality community schools for all students. We applaud the board's decision -- both for ensuring important work continues in the short-term and for setting up Oakland to benefit from a comprehensive search.

Here's an update on on some of our projects:

Oakland Achieves: A Public Education Progress Report

On February 27, GO Leadership Center, along with three partner organizations - Oakland Schools Foundation, Urban Strategies Council, and the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce - released Oakland Achieves: A Public Education Progress Report, an annual report focused on key student outcomes. The report was featured in The San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, Oakland Local and KTVU Channel 2 News.

Click here to download the report (Spanish version here). In addition, you can view a recording of our Oakland Achieves webinar here.

National Council on Teacher Quality Study on OUSD

We know that Oakland's children will do best when we work in deep partnership with their teachers to support their work in the classroom. On March 20, the National Council on Teacher Quality released a study that examines teacher quality policies and practices in OUSD. The study was commissioned by the Oakland Effective Teaching Coalition: Oakland Community Organizations (OCO), SEIU Local 1021, Youth Together, Youth Uprising, GO Public Schools Leadership Center, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Education Trust-West. Click here to read the values of our coalition and read the Executive Summary (in English and Spanish).

Click here to download the study.

Oakland Running Festival's Largest Team

We also fielded our first team in the Oakland Running Festival in late March. We not only had the largest team in the festival, one of our team members came in first!

Click here to view Facebook photos from our team at the Oakland Running Festival.

We hope you'll stay engaged with these and other opportunities to support our students. Below are some ways to engage today:

Sign up to get emails from GO Public Schools Leadership Center.
Sign up for Board Agenda Watch to stay in the know about the school board's decisions.
Like our page on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.

We're excited that the work ahead will be shaped by parent, youth and teacher voices, and we all need to advocate for high-quality supports for our students and teachers.

OUSD Scorecard Updates: How is school quality measured in OUSD?

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:24:21 -0800

In December 2012, the OUSD board voted unanimously to accept framework for the Balanced Scorecard, which sets measurable goals for "student achievement" and "operational excellence."

Great Oakland Public Schools is following along with "OUSD Scorecard Updates" - a series of blog posts sharing updates on the scorecard as it is implemented over the coming months.

Click here to read the first post in the series, which breaks down how the Balanced Scorecard works.

Click here to download the Balanced Scorecard.

Click here to download the board's 2013 Work Plan and Strategic Priorities Calendar.

In this post, we take a look at School Quality, one of the district's goals for "operational excellence." The district's goal for School Quality is: "Every school is a high-quality full-service community school."

The key component for reaching that goal is the School Quality Review, which is based on a set of standards adopted over a year-long engagement process with the Oakland community, and an evaluation that applies those standards.

In order to reach this goal, the district set a growth target that "75 percent of schools that have gone through School Quality Review (SQR) will improve by the target we set in their subsequent review" which has been set at two rating bands, on a five-band system, or attain one of the top two bands. A school will be reviewed approximately every three years.

Last year, OUSD implemented a pilot review for 15 schools, focusing on elementary and middle schools. This year, the district reviewed an additional 21 schools, focusing on high schools.

At the April 10 board meeting, the OUSD board heard from a panel of school and district representatives who have been through the piloted process last year.The panel included OUSD's Executive Director for Quality Schools Development, David Montes de Oca, and Valorie Hutson, the Executive Director of Eagle Village Community Center at Westlake Middle School, Misha Karigaca, the principal at Westlake and Jonathan Mayer, principal of Chabot Elementary.

Watch a video of the panel discussing the Quality School Review process:

The purpose of the School Quality Review, Montes de Oca said, is "to provide a window for our stakeholders into our schools" which includes students, parents, community members and the central office, as well as "provide a mirror to staff, partners and the central office" to "see what is working and what is not working." The process also will help create a database of effective practices for schools to share information and specific examples about quality and what's working.

These are the standards examined during a School Quality Review:

These are the standards the district focused on for schools participating in the pilot program:

The total process takes about a year. After a school is reviewed, an evaluation report on the school is developed, so that an accurate picture of the school is presented. Engagements with the principal's supervisor, site staff, parents and community members follows.

From last year's 15 reviewed schools, the district captured data to show which standards schools received predominately the highest ratings (a "4" or "5", along with the lowest (a "1" or "2.")

Areas where the pilot schools are performing the best:

Areas where the pilot schools are struggling:

This data "helps inform the central office in aligning its services," Montes de Oca told the board. For instance, schools are doing well identifying students at risk, and intervening. At the same time, schools are struggling to prepare students for college. Knowing this helps the central office establish expectations, and partnerships for work necessary.

Misha Karigaca, the principal at Westlake, said the process helped his school community build a common understanding around the school's strengths and weaknesses. He noted that he appreciated the review team "lived" at his school for three days, and was pleased with the wide range of people at the school - from parents to custodial staff - who were able to weigh in. "That really gives this report some credibility," he told the board.

Thoughts on Tony Smith's resignation

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:06:12 -0800

We were surprised to learn this morning that our superintendent, Tony Smith, has resigned because of a family health emergency and that he is moving to Chicago. His last day will be June 30.

We are sad about Tony leaving and wish he and his family the best. He has served Oakland's children and public schools admirably over the past four years, and has seen our schools through some very challenging times.

Tony's leadership has stabilized the district, and brought our community together around a shared vision of quality schools for each and every Oakland student. He created spaces for courageous conversations on race, class and poverty. The Thriving Students plan of full service community schools in every neighborhood has broad community ownership.

We have confidence in our school board to select a next leader who will continue driving toward equity and excellence.

Click here to read a letter from the OUSD Board of Education to the Oakland community.

Click here to read a letter from Superintendent Smith to the OUSD school board explaining his reasons for resigning.

Read news coverage of the resignation in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Tribune.

Our commitment, as we begin this new chapter, is to continue to keep the Oakland community informed and engaged. This work is bigger than one person, and we will move forward together.

Join us for this year's GO Public Schools Garden Party!

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:11:23 -0800

Please mark your calendar and plan to join us on Saturday, August 17th for our 4th annual afternoon of great company, and food, wine, and beer from some of Oakland's best restaurants, wineries, and breweries. This event is always a great opportunity for Oakland leaders and educators to reconnect and build new relationships.

More information about how to get your ticket will come as we get closer to the date.

For now, let us know you'd like to attend by clicking "Join" on the 4th Annual Garden Party Facebook event.

Click here to add this event to your Outlook, iCal, or Google calendar.

We're excited for the Oakland community to come together at this event, so we hope you'll save that date and plan to join us.

OUSD Scorecard Updates: What is OUSD's Balanced Scorecard Policy?

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:45:11 -0800

"We're not looking just looking for the 9th inning score."

That's what OUSD School Board President David Kakishiba said at a February 6 meeting about the district's Balanced Scorecard, which sets measurable goals for "student achievement" and "operational excellence."

In December 2012, the OUSD board voted unanimously to accept framework for the Balanced Scorecard, and Great Oakland Public Schools is following along with "OUSD Scorecard Updates" - a series of blog posts sharing updates the scorecard as it is implemented over the coming months.

We believe parents, teachers, and other community stakeholders should have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about their child's education, and we all need to advocate for effective policies and programs that will help Oakland transform its schools into places where all children can succeed.

In this post, we break down the overall Balanced Scorecard and explain how it works.

Click here to download the Balanced Scorecard.

Click here to download the board's 2013 Work Plan and Strategic Priorities Calendar.

How the policy works

Implementing the Balanced Scorecard is the OUSD board's top strategic priority of 2013. The Balanced Scorecard has six goals, three for student achievement and three for operational excellence.

Goals for Student Achievement:

1. Every 9th grader graduates high school prepared to succeed in college and career.

2. Students attend school every day.

3. Racial disparities in student discipline are not evident.

Goals for Operational Excellence:

1. There is high quality instruction in every classroom.

2. Every school is a high-quality full-service community school.

3. Oakland Unified School District is solvent and its financial resources are maximized to improving teaching and learning.

Each of these goals has corresponding, more specific indicators (the policy has a total of 18 indicators). For example, in order to meet the goal that "students attend school every day" the policy has set indicators for:

"Chronic Absence" (# and % of students who are absent from school 10% or more days in a year),
"Attendance" (# and % of students who are present in school 95% or more days in a year) and
"Student Retention" (# and % of 5th graders who attend an OUSD middle school for their 6th grade).

Each indicator then has a corresponding "annual growth target" or "2012-2013 target." The annual growth target for "Chronic Absence" is "decrease by 1% per year the number of students who miss 10% or more of school days in a year for any reason (chronically absent). The chronic absence rate will move from 11% to 10%. The focus for reduction will be targeted on African-American, Latino and Kindergarten/1st grade students."

Upcoming calendar

Throughout the year, OUSD is hosting study sessions for each of the six Balanced Scorecard goals. Here are some upcoming meetings:

April 10: Graduation
April 24: Effective Teaching
May 8: School Quality

In August, the directors will be begin evaluating 2012-2013 outcomes for each of the goals:

August 14: Attendance, Discipline
August 28: Effective Teaching, School Quality
September 11: Fiscal Solvency
September 25: Graduation

Board Agenda Watch

Do you know people who should be receiving updates about the OUSD school board? Have them sign up for the Board Agenda Watch email list of our sister site, Great Oakland Public Schools Leadership Center: http://www.goleadershipcenter.org/forms/BoardWatchUpdates, and stay in the know about the board's decisions.

Study Released on Effective Teaching in Oakland

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:46:43 -0800

GO's sister organization, GO Public Schools Leadership Center, is part of the Oakland Effective Teaching Coalition, which includes community, labor, social justice, and education organizations in Oakland committed to helping Oakland's students succeed and its teachers be supported in the classroom. The Effective Teaching Coalition includes:Oakland Community Organizations (OCO), SEIU Local 1021, Youth Together, Youth Uprising, GO Public Schools Leadership Center, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Education Trust-West.

Over a year ago, the Effective Teaching Coalition commissioned a study on policies and practices in Oakland impacting effective teaching, and today that study is being released.

The study, completed by the National Council for Teacher Quality, can be downloaded from the GO Leadership Center website here.

The Oakland Effective Teaching Coalition hopes that any actions arising from the NCTQ study include the following values:

The teachers in Oakland deserve the communities' support. The changes we desire, as a coalition, should focus on giving our teachers the support they need to best serve our children.
Efforts to address concerns and problems with effective teaching should work in concert with teachers unions, not undermine their ability to collective bargain.
Oakland's teachers should be culturally competent and represent the diversity of the community.
School communities, along with administrators, should have a meaningful voice in deciding who teaches in their schools.
Effective teaching should take student achievement into consideration in ways that consider a diverse set of indicators beyond test scores.

GO Leadership Center, with partners, releases Oakland Achieves Report

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:05:05 -0800

Our sister organization, Great Oakland Public Schools Leadership Center (501(c)3), today released Oakland Achieves: A Public Education Progress Report, with three partner organizations (Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Schools Foundation, and the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce). To read the report, click here to visit GO Leadership Center's website.

Winter Update and Seasons Greetings

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 10:52:05 -0800

This has been a transformative year for our GO family and Oakland public schools. Check out our holiday newsletters linked below!

As we look back, several highlights stand out:

We helped elect three strong leaders to the school board. With input from nearly one hundred members of our network, we endorsed three candidates. Then, our community helped ensure these leaders were elected. Almost 400 individuals made financial contributions. More than 300 volunteers made over 64,000 phone calls and knocked on over 11,500 doors. On Election Day, each of the candidates won in landslide elections.
We helped pass Measure J with over 84 percent of the vote, which will provide $475 million to ensure our kids have safe, modern school facilities and access to healthy meals.
GO joined the All Kids coalition that successfully called on our school board to give all school communities more local decision-making power. This new policy, passed unanimously by the school board in April, will empower parents and educators to help develop high quality, full-service community schools in every neighborhood.
In addition, GO Leadership Center (1) launched a Teacher Policy Fellowship, (2) began convening partners to publish an annual progress report on student outcomes, and (3) commissioned a study on the policies and practices in OUSD that impact teaching effectiveness. These three projects will be a big part of the GO Leadership Center's work in 2013.

Click here to read more in GO Leadership Center's 2012 Holiday Newsletter.

Click here to see photos from the 2012 campaign, and a list of those who donated.

We have momentum. In 2013, we need to take collective responsibility, accelerate the pace of improvement, and focus on results for children.

Your financial support enables us to engage with Oaklanders, advocate for what matters most to students, and build an organization that creates positive change for Oakland's children.

Our mission is our name. We're working to earn it every day. Please consider making a monthly contribution of $5 or more toward our shared vision and efforts this holiday season.

Wishing you and yours happy holidays and a peaceful new year.

Don't miss GO's Holiday Party this Thursday

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:55:51 -0800

The end of the year is approaching quickly! As I look at the calendar, I see that today is the last school board meeting of the year and tomorrow is the GO Public Schools Holiday Party!

We'd love for you to join us - the party is from 6-8 pm at the GO office (472 Water Street in Jack London Square), and light holiday snacks and drinks will be provided. We're going to be toasting a great year, while we talk about the elections and all that is to come in the new year.

We'll also be collecting new and used children's books to donate to the East Bay Children's Book Project.

Please let us know if you'll be able to attend by RSVPing on our website or on Facebook.

Meet new school board members at GO Holiday Party

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:58:07 -0800

We've confirmed that at least three of the recently-elected school board members will be joining us at our in one week to celebrate the hard work that resulted in election victories on November 6th.

The party is next Thursday, December 13, at the GO office (472 Water Street), from 6 - 8 PM. We'll be providing holiday drinks and snacks.

Jumoke Hinton-Hodge, who was re-elected in District 3, as well as James Harris, the new District 7 board member, and Rosie Torres, the new District 5 board member, will all be there.

We'd love to see you there as well! Please let us know if you'll be able to attend by RSVPing on our website or on Facebook.

Celebrate the season with GO!

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:10:54 -0800

Seasons greetings! To celebrate the recent election victories and the holidays and share with you what we're planning for 2013, we're having a party! We'd love for you to join us.

The party is scheduled for Thursday, December 13 at the GO office in Jack London Square (472 Water Street). We'll provide food and drinks, and much of the holiday cheer (we're depending on you to bring some cheer too!).

Please let us know if you'll be able to attend by RSVPing either on our website or on Facebook.

The story of a huge Election Day win for students

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:22:02 -0800

Great Oakland Public Schools (GO Public Schools) and Volunteers, Supporters and Allies Win Big In the November Elections, Signaling New Era of Increased Accountability in Oakland

Candidates, Measures and Propositions Backed by GO Public Schools Received City-Wide Support on Election Day Thanks to a Concerted Volunteer Engagement Effort

Click here to see photos from the 2012 campaign, and a list of those who donated.

Oakland, CA - With the election now over and the dust settling, Oakland residents have made their support of Great Oakland Public Schools (GO Public Schools) and its vision for education evident through backing candidates, measures and propositions supported by the education organization.

GO Public Schools and its community partners and allies backed three Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) school board candidates - Jumoke Hinton-Hodge, James Harris, and Rosie Torres - and all three won seats on the board. Additionally, the organization backed Measure J, a local education bond to improve Oakland school facilities, and Propositions 30 and 38, which would bring much needed dollars to schools throughout the state. Measure J also passed, as did Proposition 30.

"We are thrilled by these election results because we believe these individuals will be proactive, student-focused leaders who will work collaboratively and focus on generating resources, fiscal responsibility, and expanding opportunity across the city," said Jonathan Klein, Executive Director of GO Public Schools. "This shows the strength of a community powered effort. When parents and educators from across the city come together and focus on what's good for children, we can get things done."

GO Public Schools is a community advocacy organization based in Oakland that works to empower parent, teacher, business, labor, and community leaders so that, together, they can ensure that every student can attend a great school and every teacher feels supported in the classroom.

"I volunteered my time, recruited neighbors and even walked districts with my kids not only because I believed James Harris would be a great representative for my district, but also because I believe GO is helping improve schools across the city and in the education issues we backed on the ballot," said Mary Prime Lawrence, a mother of three who lives in Oakland's District 7. "I am so proud of all the volunteers who were part of this victory. We're making a difference for students."

During the lead-up to the election, GO Public Schools had nearly 300 volunteers knocking on more than 11,500 doors and making more than 64,000 calls. Additionally, over 300 individuals donated financially to the election effort.

"I came out to phone bank every week for over two months, set up an automatic donation each month, contributed a bit from my paycheck to the effort and even recruited others to volunteers," said Marva McInnis, an Oakland elementary school teacher who has taught for 18 years. "I know that the election results are great news for Oakland's schools. We not only elected effective leaders; we also passed Proposition 30 to avoid budget cuts to schools for one more year."

GO Public Schools began actively engaging parents and educators about the 2012 election in part because they wanted strong leadership on the school board and were concerned that eight of the last 12 school board elections were uncontested. They hosted community meetings, interviewed candidates and sought public input from parents and teachers on OUSD school board candidates and education issues on the ballot. As a result of GO Public Schools' work, all OUSD school board elections were contested and voters had timely, detailed and easy-to-understand information about candidates, propositions and measures.

David Kakishiba, a current OUSD Board Member who has worked with GO Public Schools in the past, stated, "It was good to see so many people interested and engaged about education issues, especially in support of Measure J. I look forward to working with Jumoke, James and Rosie as we implement the OUSD strategic plan and work to improve public schools throughout the city."

Over the coming months, GO Public Schools' plans to launch and continue a number of efforts that will help the community have more information about education issues in the city. GO will also continue supporting parents and teachers to be education leaders and advocates in their community.

Mr. Klein stated, "GO Public Schools knows that the hard work begins now. We want to continue empowering parents and teachers locally and statewide so they are involved in the decision-making process in our schools. With their support, we will advance policies and programs that give every child in Oakland an opportunity to attend a great school and help every teacher access the support they need in their classroom."

GO Public Schools stated that it will leverage the community support that it has developed through years of community outreach to connect with new local and statewide organizations. They will also be a support and hold leaders accountable as they implement Measure J and the OUSD strategic plan - a plan which they have been supportive of since its adoption.

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We did it.

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:32:36 -0800

Dear friends,

The election results are in, and it's a clean sweep.

Thanks to your hard work and support, Oakland voters are sending Jumoke Hinton Hodge, Rosie Torres, and James Harris to represent students on the school board.

This is a transformative victory for Oakland students and it would not have been possible without you.

Our GO network -- nearly 300 individual volunteers -- knocked on more than 11,500 doors and made over 60,000 calls to Oakland voters in support of our candidates. And your generous donations paid for mail that helped ensure voters knew our candidates and what was at stake. Thank you!

We're celebrating tonight, and toasting the commitment and extraordinary effort of so many parents and educators who made this happen.

Tomorrow, we move forward with a new chapter for public education in Oakland.

Our GO network is committed to ensuring our students have education champions in elected leadership with the skills and values to manifest our vision of an Oakland where all children receive the schooling and support they need to live successful, fulfilling lives.

Thank you for your continued support. This is a very big win for Oakland.

With our deepest thanks,
Jonathan and the GO team

I needed to say this.

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:03:46 -0800

Thank you.

We have been working to elect great leaders to the Oakland school board for more than a year. The number and generosity of people involved has been truly inspiring and unprecedented.

All told, nearly 300 volunteers have knocked on over 11,500 doors and made over 64,000 calls to Oakland voters. In the last month, over 100 different people have volunteered each week.

It has been an amazing, community-powered effort. Take a moment and admire your work: click here for a photo gallery of people phone banking click here for a photo gallery of people phone banking and walking neighborhoods, and click here for a video about why folks have been volunteering their time.

Win or lose -- and we're working to win! -- school board elections in Oakland will never be the same. Once sleepy races -- 8 of the last 14 were uncontested -- are now the talk of the town. In recent weeks, our unprecedented effort has been featured in The Oakland Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and on KQED radio. Last week, all three of our candidates were endorsed by both The Oakland Tribune and the East Bay Express.

Please join us tonight for our Election Night Party at Miss Pearl's Jam House in Jack London Square. We'll be keeping our eye on the local races while we watch the national races unfold on TV.

We'd love for you to join us.

Thank you for believing in and investing in our vision of an Oakland where all children receive the schooling and support they need to live successful, fulfilling lives.

Without your support, this would be just another Oakland school board election. Instead, it has the potential to be transformational.

With my deepest thanks,

Jonathan

Tribune Endorsement: "Role Models for Oakland's Children"

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:24:42 -0800

Yesterday, both the Oakland Tribune and East Bay Express endorsed James Harris, Rosie Torres, Jumoke Hinton Hodge, and Jody London for school board.

The Tribune editorial board said "we sought candidates who would set aside individual agendas to work for the common good" and that we need "leaders who will serve as role models for Oakland's children."

Click here for the Tribune endorsements and here for the East Bay Express story.

Click here to help us ensure voters understand what is at stake. Just 6 days to go.

Give a Shift for Oakland Students

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 06:23:09 -0800

This is it.

Election Day is just one week away, and each candidate we endorsed for the Oakland school board is in a tight race. I recorded a video update with an update last night.

A few hours of your time during this final week can mean the difference between winning and losing on November 6.

Can you commit to one shift between now and next Tuesday?

We need volunteers both to walk neighborhoods and talk to voters about our endorsed candidates - Jumoke Hinton Hodge (District 3), Rosie Torres (District 5) and James Harris (District 7) - as well as to phone bank from the GO office.

We're walking this week on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, and Saturday morning.

Click here to sign up to walk.

We're phone banking every weeknight in the GO office until Election Day, and also this coming Sunday afternoon.

Click here to sign up to phone bank.

Thank you for your time and commitment to Oakland's children this election. Over these past few months, I've seen many of you come down to the GO office to phone bank after a long day of work, or give up part of your valuable weekend time to walk a neighborhood.

If our work resonates with you, if you think it's important to elect strong leaders to the Oakland school board, and hold them accountable, then please sign up for one more shift before Election Day. It could be the difference.

Teachers and Parents for Jumoke Hinton-Hodge

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:22:43 -0800

For more than twenty years, Oakland Unified School District Director Jumoke Hinton Hodge has worked in partnership with Oakland residents, parents, leaders, teachers, and organizations to improve education, health and civic engagement in West Oakland, downtown, and throughout the city. For Jumoke, this has meant helping lead the creation of community programs, building successful coalitions with education and health organizations, and serving in leadership positions while investing in the success of local students and neighbors.

Our community of parents, teachers, and community members interviewed candidates for the District 3 school board seat, and the feedback was clear - we need Jumoke Hinton-Hodge on the board for 4 more years. If you are ready to help us get her elected, sign up here to join for a neighborhood walk or phone bank.

Survey Results - Oakland Public Education Listening Campaign

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:05:43 -0800

Over the spring and summer of 2012, GO Public Schools volunteers went door-to-door and did phone banking to talk with Oaklanders about their opinions on public education in our city. We spoke with nearly 800 residents and asked open-ended questions like, "What makes a good school?", "What is the biggest issue facing Oakland today?", and "What makes an effective school board member?".

Most of the survey respondents did not have children or grandchildren in Oakland public schools (nearly two-thirds). Even so, education followed crime as the top issues cited as citywide concerns. For respondents who were caretakers of current students, a majority indicated convenient location as the primary determining factor in their school choice, a nod to proponents of the importance of high-quality local neighborhood campuses. Quality of curriculum was a distant second in terms of how parents and guardians make decisions about where to send their children to school.

When asked what makes a successful school, good teachers reign supreme. More than 3 in 5 respondents cited this factor, with no other single response garnering a double-digit percentage. Also in a landslide, budget shortages were called out by more than half as the top issue currently confronting Oakland Unified.

Residents were asked to describe the impact that the quality of local schools on their neighborhood. Their responses almost uniformly (in different words) cited the importance of quality schools in shaping local youth and maintaining a healthy community.

"Strong schools teach our students respect and work ethic along with helping them build the skill sets to succeed in the workplace and become productive citizens. This encourages pride in the area and positive leadership in the community," said one respondent.

We used the information gathered in this survey in addition to feedback from GO families and educators to make endorsements in the November 2012 elections. We looked for candidates and measures that would work towards more resources for our students, safe schools, effective teaching for every child, and creating a school system that ensures a bright future for every child.

See here for a one-pager that we created with these results and our recommendations to Oakland voters.