Skip to main content

Oakland's Burckhalter Elementary School and Sankofa Academy Remain Open - Tribune

Two Oakland schools escape closure
District postpones decision to close Burckhalter, Sankofa for another year

By Katy Murphy, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 12/20/2007 06:19:56 AM PST

OAKLAND — Burckhalter Elementary School and Sankofa Academy will remain open through the 2008-09 school year. School district staff, who had originally recommended that they be closed, decided it would be best to postpone the decision for at least one year.
After hearing some of the community input and the remarks from the board, they sat down and decided to re-evaluate, said Troy Flint, the school district's spokesman.
Last week, during an emotional meeting at the district office, many speakers urged the district to keep the schools open. Many argued that the closures in recent years have disproportionately affected African-American families.
Sixty-one percent of Burckhalter's students and 92 percent of Sankofa's students are African-American.
A staff report on recent school closures supports the community's concern. Schools, which have been closed since 2003, were indeed located in predominately African-American neighborhoods, explained Kirsten Vital, community accountability officer for the Oakland school district.
Until the district re-examines its enrollment policies and the number of schools the district can afford to run, it would be too soon to make such decisions, staff said.
Sankofa and Burckhalter were targeted for closure because of low enrollment and declining test scores. If their test scores don't improve, they will be considered for closure in the future, said state administrator Vincent Matthews.
Sankofa, a small school in North Oakland, opened in 2005 following the closure of Washington Elementary School. Many of its problems during the first two years were attributed to the decision to open the school with a middle school. This year, the district decided to reorganize Sankofa and remove the upper grades.
Staff say the school has improved dramatically and that it has a marketing plan ready to go — as soon as they learn about its fate.
Board member Greg Hodge said it was about time that staff "addressed the issue of race and equity in the same breath."
"I think, as a board, we need to have some serious discussions about, with the resources that we have, how can we serve the kids who need us the most," Hodge said.
Laura Campbell, the after-school coordinator at Sankofa Academy, said she was shocked and "very, very, very happy" by the decision to keep her school open and the fact that the race and equity issue was cited as a reason for the reversal.
Campbell, who is white, said she was troubled by the pattern of closures in Oakland. "You'll never see a school shut down where students look like me — never, ever, ever."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Alex Castro, Electronic Arts VP, Is Oakland’s “Fake Joe Tuman”, “Crocker Mom”

Alex Castro, is currently Vice President Of Product Management At Electronic Arts, and a fairly-well-known and legendary tech executive, regularly quoted in a number of industry publications. But Alex Castro’s also an Oakland resident who has the terrible habit of going online, making traceble email accounts from his Electronic Arts office, and posing as someone […] from WordPress http://ift.tt/1fVkWP9 via IFTTT

Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023

Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023 Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023. Imani Greer gets a highlight in The Oakland Post: Chef Imani Greer, a culinary entrepreneur, has created quite a stir — and menu — for the Bay Area’s vegan-loving community with the opening of his new Roasted and Raw (R&R) restaurant near Oakland’s Jack London Square. I am proud to welcome him to Zennie62Media for Oakland Restaurant Week 2023. Stay tuned. via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvMqVWLAH4

Event: Jog For Jill San Francisco Run September 12th Golden Gate Park

Cal Women's Rowing Team member Jill Costello passed away from complications due to lung cancer on June 24th 2010 and at the age of 21. A San Francisco event and run called Jog For Jill has been established and will be held this Sunday, September 12th at 5 PM. Two members of the Cal Women's Crew team were at the Cal vs. Davis football game wearing Jog For Jill shirts, and were kind enough to provide the video interview above. Below are the other details from the event website, where you're encouraged to pre-register here CLICK FOR SITE : Pre-Registration: Online/$25 Day of Registration: 4:00 p.m./$30 Shotgun Start: 5:00 p.m. After run/walk celebration: 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Event Location: Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Bandshell S Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, California 94118 Participants are encouraged to pre-register. Only pre-registered participants will be guaranteed a walk/run T-shirt. T-shirts will be limited to the first 2500 day of regis