Thanks to all of you who helped us defeat Measure N! We consider it to be good news that it failed by 61% to 39% (it needed 66% to pass) because it demonstrates once again that the citizens of Oakland are ready and willing to support our teachers EVEN WHEN OUR TEACHERS SAY THERE’S SOMETHING ROTTEN IN THE BALLOT MEASURE! 

We’re gearing up to start planning for another parcel tax — one that is PROGRESSIVE, and not REGRESSIVE; one that covers ALL of our school district employees, and one that doesn’t reward schools that are publicly funded but privately run (charters…).

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Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, which in essence says, "First, I will do no harm." What about teachers? How much harm are we causing to our students when we allow ourselves to be complicit in incessant teaching to the test, constant assessments, no time for helping them to learn what they haven’t learned? What will it take for us to say, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? 

For starters,  every site needs to be sure to have a Site Representative and an elected Faculty Council. This is your site decision-making team, and it’s your protection against arbitrary and capricious mandates from your site administration. Many thanks to all of the school sites that are sending in their FC minutes! This is one sure way to make sure your issues are discussed and, hopefully, resolved. If not, the minutes shine a light on the more egregious lapses by site administrators. 

You no longer have to register as a member to gain access to all of the website.  Until we create a members only discussion forum, all of our information is public.