Give Oakland schools LOCAL decision-making authority!

Although inequity continues, Oakland’s flatland schools have made historic improvements in student achievement. In 1999, only five Oakland schools had API scores above 800. Today OUSD is the most improved urban school district in California – and has been for the past 7 years. We both acknowledge this achievement and understand the work that must be done to bring these gains to all Oakland’s schools.

• Today 28 Oakland schools have API scores above 800 – a 460% increase – many of them in the flatlands.
• On average, low-achieving Oakland schools have increased their API scores by 255 points – gains that are 60% higher than in neighboring school districts.

These schools have experienced gains in student achievement because the people closest to our kids are empowered to make the academic decisions necessary for success, at the school site level. Parents, students, teachers, school staff and principals have first-hand knowledge of what constitutes effective learning at their schools, and we need to maximize the resources allocated to school sites to put their vision into action. Empowering our neighborhood schools to make decisions governing their children’s education – with authority over their school site’s educational instruction, budget, staffing and schedule – is a local control and governance model that has proven enormously successful in Oakland.

But this work is unfinished. Many of Oakland’s schools, families, and neighborhoods still do not have access to this site based decision-making model and have not been able to participate in its educational success. In particular, we must improve African-American student achievement and reduce unacceptably high drop-out rates. Oakland is one of the most diverse cities in the country, and all our communities must be a part of successful schools. The painful, divisive debate over school closures only demonstrates that parents, teachers, staff and students must be engaged in a more meaningful, formal manner in decision-making beginning at the neighborhood school site level, and within the District’s decision-making processes.

We call on the Board of Education to take bold action on behalf of kids. We ask that they adopt policies to create conditions that provide equity and opportunity for our kids and give school site communities clearly defined, local decision-making authority in the following four areas:

• Educational Programs: Local decision-making authority to develop and implement curriculum and instruction tailored to student needs.
• School Site Budgets: Local decision-making authority to allocate site resources to best meet student needs.
• Staffing: Local decision-making authority around hiring, support and retention of staff based on student needs.
• School Schedules: Local decision-making authority to create school schedules - which could include additional time in the day and/or school year – to best respond to student needs.

Through the empowerment of our families, students, teachers, staff and principals at every neighborhood school, we can ensure all Oakland students have access to customized, quality education and the opportunity for success. Make our voices count!