Momentum Grows for 5/17 Take Back Our Schools Day in Oakland

1. Schedule of Events
2. Why Plan a Field Trip?!
3. Training for Teachers, 5/10, 4-5:30PM at
the OEA office
4. "Take Back Our Schools" Newspaper for pickup
1611 Telegraph, Suite 203
5. Oakland City Council Unanimously Endorses May 17th
6. Do You Have Good Info on the Oakland Schools
Today? Do You Have Good Brown v. Board Curriculum?
E-mail it to Adria Conley at adriaconley [at] sbcglobal.net.
7. IMPORTANT: If your site is planning a field trip
and/ or on-site activities please e-mail or call Mary
Prophet: 510.527.1222 or mlprophet [at] earthlink.net so we
can keep track!!
8. Donate to make May 17th happen and help print more papers!! Send checks of $25 or more (less is OK too) to: "Youth Together" with "Coalition to Defend and Improve Public Education" in the memo to Youth Together, 1611 Telegraph, Suite 203, Oakland, CA 94612.
9. Worshop Schedule for May 17th is in attached field trip form. If you are interested in helping to present a workshop, please contact Jessica Vasquez at 510.847.2523 or xicana21 [at] berkeley.edu.

******************************************
1. MAY 17th is TAKE BACK OUR SCHOOLS DAY

In honor of the historic Brown v. Board of Education verdict on May 17, 1954, which promised equal
public education for all, a growing tide of youth, educators, parents, union members, citizens and
community organizations are calling for an end to the destructive takeover of the Oakland schools.

Shedule of events for May 17th:
Rally: Noon-1PM at Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th and
Broadway (City Hall)
1-3:30PM Workshops at the First Unitarian Church, 14th
and MLK
4PM-6:30PM Rally at State Building, 15th and Clay
Streets.
**************************************
2. May 17th Flyer for teachers at
http://www.ednotinc.org/may1705flier.pdf

E-mail jzern1 [at] yahoo.com for a packet to request field trips and make sure your class is well taken care of on May 17th is attached. Despite State Administrator Randy Ward's attempts to shut down the event, we are even more invigorated to make it happen!! Please report immediately any actions your school
takes to reject field trips or in any other way tries
to infringe upon your academic freedom. We are
currently raising funds for bus tickets for students
(address to send $ is below). Workshops are being
prepared for all grade levels.

************************

3. Training for teachers will be next Tuesday from
4-5:30PM at the Oakland Education Association office,
272 East 12th Street. Non-Oakland teachers and
curious (but respectful) non-teachers are definitely
more than welcome to participate. For teachers not planning field trips, curriculum will also be available of on-site events.

***************************

4. Don't forget to pick up "Take Back Our Schools" 8 page bi-lingual newspapers from 1611 Telegraph, Suite 203. We have 10,000 copies and will print more!!!

**************************************************

5. Oakland City Council Unanimously endorsed the
following resolution last night. The resolution was
introduced by Councilmember Jane Brunner.
Contact: Councilmember Jane Brunner: 510.238.7001
Michael Siegel: 510.239.3318

Resolution to Save Public Education

WHEREAS, on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the
United States issued their historic opinion in the
case of Brown v. Board of Education that called for an
immediate end to segregated education; and

WHEREAS, on May 17, 2004, Mayor of Oakland Jerry Brown
issued a proclamation declaring May 17th “Equal
Education Day� in the City of Oakland; and

WHEREAS, the Oakland Unified School District has been
under the complete fiscal and legislative authority of
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack
O’Connell and his appointed Administrator Dr.
Randolph Ward since June 3, 2003; and

WHEREAS, vested with the authority of the State of
California, Dr. Ward in 2004 closed five Oakland
public schools and has, in his recently issued
“Multi-Year Fiscal Recovery Plan� and in public
statements, announced plans to close up to 9 more
Oakland public schools mainly in the flatlands, while
simultaneously opening up to 25 new, undefined
learning communities within the next two years; and

WHEREAS, Oakland schools have experienced an alarming
rate of student attrition with more than 6,900
students leaving the District since the state takeover
began and thousands more expected to leave in coming
years; and

WHEREAS, according to a March 24, 2005 Oakland Tribune
article, less than 50% of Oakland Unified School
District students graduate high school on time, with
closer to 30% of Latino and African-American students
likely to earn a high school diploma within four
years; and

WHEREAS, the closure of neighborhood schools and such
low graduation rates point to the prevalence of
unequal educational conditions for many Oakland
students and constitute an alarming crisis in the
Oakland public schools that demands immediate
attention; now

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of
the City of Oakland encourages school administrators,
educators, community organizations, and concerned
citizens to participate in educational programs
located on school sites during the school day or
elsewhere after school, on May 17th, 2005, including



1. Study and discussion on the historic
importance of Brown v. Board of Education and its
relevance to public education today.



2. Development and presentation of workshops
to students, parents, and community members on May 17,
2005 on a variety of issues related to equal access to
public education.



3. Ongoing public dialogue among all
sectors of the community on the state of the Oakland
Unified School District and next steps to improve the
quality of education provided to the children and
youth of Oakland.



4. Study of the Oakland Unified
School District’s proposed Multi-Year Fiscal
Recovery Plan, including the financial plan, a
timeline for the State of California to return
Oakland’s schools to local control, and how we can
support Proposition 98 and increasing resources for
our schools.