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Oakland's Futures Elementary School works to raise money during budget crisis

Published on Thursday, March 17, 2011
Last updated on 06:40AM, Sunday, March 20, 2011
Oakland's Futures Elementary School works to raise money during budget crisis

Open since 2008, Futures Elementary School is one of two schools that occupy what was once known as Lockwood Elementary. Since the switch, Futures has seen higher test scores and lower staff turnover.

The school has teamed with Pandora to provide music education for third graders. There is a garden on campus, a weekly Farmers Market and weekly mindfulness lessons. Where Lockwood had eight principals in eight years, Futures has had one in the last four years. This month all of the teachers at Futures Elementary school received "March 15 Notices."

"The fact that it's our entire teaching staff that's receiving these notices was pretty devastating news," said Katherine Thompson, a kindergarden teacher at Futures. "It basically means that all of the things that we've been working together for, working with our kids and working with their families for are basically out the window."

This year, 538 March 15 notices were sent out, compared to 53 notices last year. The number of actual layoffs is still uncertain. Real numbers won't be in until the state budget is finalized in June, however, the Oakland Unified School District is preparing for worst-case scenario. In the past, OUSD has cut central office staff, but now in order to cut 30 million from the unrestricted budget, the district is making cuts on campus.

"Unfortunately, unprecedented cuts to education funding mean we can no longer shield the classroom in the way we would like," OUSD Superintendent Tony Smith said in a letter to employees. "Like our neighboring districts we must also use the last resort of teacher layoffs to meet our financial obligations."

Why do they have to trim so much? Well, according to Jody London, VP of Board of Education, District 1, 80 percent of Oakland's unrestricted funds come from the state. And since 42 percent of state spending goes toward education, and the state is in crisis, education takes a hit. Certain schools are hit especially hard because many of their teachers - in the case of Futures all - started working after the key service dates.

While Thompson admits that no ones knows exactly what would happen if every teacher at her school was laid off, she notes that it would be less than ideal for the children involved.

"We do know that students form attachments to their teachers and that those relationships support their academic growth," Thompson said. "Cutting all of those relationships off is going to have a very negative impact, for not only their emotional well-being, but also academic growth."

Members of the school community have gotten together to raise awareness. Their efforts include starting Save Futures Elementary School. The site features a video that highlights the schools work to bring healthy food to the students and surrounding community. This is also one of  the places supporters can go to make financial contributions to the school. Thank you notes from teachers, student artwork, and illustrated recipe booklets are being offered as tokens of appreciation to those who decide to donate.

"This is really about our students and their rights to access quality public education," Thompson said.

About Niema Jordan
Cheuy_Leuy commented at Fri, 18 Mar at 9:33pm

"young staff was hired to change the school’s old reputation…"

I am sorry that many of these young teachers as well as the principal question “What did we do the redesign for?”

Basically between 2001 to 2008 many schools were reconstituted which caused many adults and students to be driven out and in favor of the new school design group’s strategy to create new schools which were nothing more than turn-a-round stratgies...while at the same time the propaganda against veteran teachers intensified at the same time their professionalism was attacked, then setting them up to fail by withholding of resources and instrumental support which was turned over to new young teachers, and then isolated veteran teachers by undermining their fair access to such redesign opportunities, all with the intent to favor one group of teachers over another all with the intent to publically humiliate and further falsely accuse older, veteran teachers of lack of work effort as well as insults of their personal integrity & professional efficacy, and further devaluing them with reference to age and experience. All of this is considered violation of the psychological contract and is the equivalent of domestic battering and assault according to most mental health professionals of at least a Ph.D or higher and trained at a reputable school of public health, psychiatry, and/or occupational psychology.

Because many are rising above such mindless propaganda and understand the nature of the politicization of education by not only the Bush NCLBers but also the Obama/Duncan Race to the Toppers, this arguement is getting old, and the comments of the Futures’ staff and principal are particularly offensive to say the least. YOU ALL WERE HIRED AS TURN-A-ROUND people to implement a design protocol as these veteran teachers and their students and families were all turned around as well, and now you will pass the torch back to those veterans, students, and families, who have weathered the storm, so to speak, and if all of this “Mix-It-Up” was worth it and these designs are strong enough to prove they are empirical and can be replicated anywhere, the veterans are on their way back to inherit back all that was taken from them in favor of you all, who granted, have had youthful spirit, idealism, and hard work ethics, among other things. Your work was appreciated. Too bad the current corporate HR protocol favors temporary workers and as a result of the Corporate Bank thievery of the American rank and file’s assets. That is NOT the fault of veteran teachers, or the unions, or anyone else’s fault. If you want to protest, don’t bash the veteran teachers who are coming back to take what is theirs and to prove that if provided the structures, protocols, resources, and designs you have all be given, that the same successes and momentum can and will continue. Just like a newborn baby benefits from gazing into many different faces and thus bonding with many (it takes a village), veterans can and will provide the same level and quality of love, care, and concern for the children and families that you have served the same way, and your legacy will continue. Goody Bye, Mr. Daubenspeck and the ladies you have supervised. Auf wiedersehen….

PS – Mr. D – If you do not know the answer to your own question, then please listen to the lyrics of this song….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU8aFNLA6MU