Will There Even Be Schools In Oakland Ten Years From Now?

Every year it seems like another Oakland school ends up on the chopping block. At the end of ever school year there's at least three or four school that are mentioned to headed toward being on what I called the "Endangered School List". Two years ago my alma mater Life Academy High School of Health and Bioscience, engaged in a battle with the OUSD over relocation due to the original site not being disaster safe. Eventually the school was moved to where Calvin Simmons Middle School use to be (Calvin Simmons was closed a few years prior). Now there's news this week that an elementary school in my neighorhood could be closed, due to the school board not renewing their contract. It simply depressing that this seems to be a recurring issue for the city, in a time where education seemed to be the only thing we had. Now they want to take that away from children, it forces to me to ask the question. Will there even be schools in Oakland ten years from now?



Cox Academy is an charter school literally right across the street from where I live currently. Every morning I watch parents taking their children to school, and then watch those same parent bringing them home in the afternoon. Many of these kids are to young to understand what's going on, but if they could understand what I think it would truly their hearts. The school has 530 students and has only been in existence for five years. Before that it was Cox Elementary, my brother attended the school briefly before they changed was made, several other members of my family including my uncle and cousins attend the school back in the day.


In an Oakland Tribune article wrote by Katy Murphy, it said that the charter school had unachieved when it came to federal test scores. Despite a 78 point increase on the state's 1,000-point Academic Performance Index last year. I'm truly sick of everything have to do with the state test scores and their expectations. How do they expect these children to meet their ridiculous standards when the state itself doesn't nothing to give them the resources they need. With Govenator cutting and taking money from education, how does closing schools help the situation?




In a city that is overflowing with violence, and struggling with unemployment. What will these children have to look forward to in the future? OUSD should be trying to do more to help keep these children off the streets and doing something positive and productive. Instead they close schools thinking that they saving money, which might be true but we all know those millions of dollars saved won't go into anything important. How do you tell a child "Stay in School", when they don't have school to actually attend?