The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Oakland and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Truancy, School Success, School District/City Cooperation

Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

Answer from Brian Rogers:

Truancy is an extremely important issue for the Oakland Unified School District. If students are not in school, they cannnot learn. Also, if students are not in school, the district suffers financially. Therefore, we must find ways to encourage students to stay in school. I believe that putting an emphasis on bringning Arts and Music back into schools is one way that we can do this. We must continue to offer electives that are going to keep students engaged in their own learning. We also need to support our teachers so that the curriculum and learning plans that they are teaching are relevant and fresh for the students. Finally, I believe that truancy is a community effort. We need to be sure that everyone - parents, family members, business owners, school security officers, Oakland police - is working together to ensure that kids are staying on campus and are attending class.

Answer from Tennessee Maria Reed:

The district can reduce truancy, conflicts, and fights in the schools by teaching children meditation through deep breathing, soothing music, yoga, qi gong, swimming, dancing and other movements. Students should be trained both at home and at school on how to eat a healthy diet. Diverse literature and history are key in helping the problem of truancy. Instead of just learning reading, writing and Math students need to learn Science, History, Geography,P.E., Arts and Music. Field trips are vital to a students' learning as well. The school district should make sure that every classroom has a telephone and that the teachers and administration have each parents' phone numbers at home and work to make sure that everyone is on the same level. Teachers should not teach to the test.

Answer from Jody S. London:

My two children attend Oakland's public schools and I understand very well the opportunities and challenges for the Oakland Unified School District. I have been very active at the school site and also with the District on a range of issues. In addition to direct experience as a parent and leader, I have worked at senior levels in government and the private sector, and in leadership positions with non-profit groups, including Chairperson of Save the Bay. I understand how large organizations operate, and how to effectively influence change. I know how to work with staff and with decision makers, and also how to engage the community. Oakland Unified needs leaders like me who understand public organizations, are committed to ongoing improvement, and can produce results

The problems of truancy and violence are very real and a great concern to voters. This has been brought home to me again and again as I campaign. We must work to make sure that every neighborhood has a school where families feel safe sending their children. We must ensure that schools are attractive to students. This must include making students feel comfortable in the schools, starting with elementary schools. I realize that this is a tall order, but it must be our vision for our schools and for Oakland.

To get to this goal, we must pull together all the stakeholders, starting with students and their parents or adult guardians. Schools can help working families by ensuring that after-school programs provide children with homework support and/or enrichment opportunities, such as art, carpentry, music, or sports classes. A particular area of focus should be after-school programs and classes/sports for middle and high school students.

I will look for opportunities to collaborate and innovate with local businesses, non-profits, foundations, the City, County, and State, civic organizations, and other groups and individuals. We should work with these groups to bring in additional resources and diversity of educational experiences. School will be more attractive when we engage students however it is they learn best, be that art, music, science, vocational education, sports, etc. We also must have a good plan to address truancy when it occurs, that involves parents or adult guardians. Further, school leaders should be trained, supported, and ready to make tough decisions when necessary.

Answer from Tennessee Maria Reed:

After doing a lot of research on the Expect Success Program I noticed that the students' performance records have dipped considerably in the last three years. That means to me that the third graders, ninth graders and twelfth graders are not getting the preparation that they need. After looking at an article in the tribune I noticed that freshmen at Cal State East Bay are not up to college level standards in English and Math. I think that the "one size fits all" notion needs to be eliminated. The standards are way too high. Not every student can be good at everything. Some students score high in Math but not in Reading and vice versa. We are also dealing with students who have learning and physical disabilities, students who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage, and students who have English at a Second Language. Students who have disabilities interpret questions differently than "normal" students. The tests do not cater to the needs and learning styles of every student. There are a lot of adjustments that need to be made to Expect Success.

Answer from Brian Rogers:

I believe that the Oakland Unified School District Expect Success effort is beginning to show some positive results. OUSD has had the largest amount of API growth in California over the past three years (59 Points). OUSD has also increased the rate of students graduating prepared to enroll in a CSU or UC from 20.1% to 37.1% in the last three years. In my work with the district, I have seen a more focused, accountible district emerge. I beleive that this is in large part to the School Success program. That all being said, I beleive that we still have a tremendous amount of work to do - Expect Success has just begun the positive momentum.

Answer from Jody S. London:

As a parent of Oakland Unified students, I have not heard much about the Expect Success Program. My understanding of Expect Success is that it is setting District-wide goals for student performance, for example, each student will read at grade level in third grade, each student will be proficient in Algebra at the end of ninth grade. The program also, I believe, is designed to streamline central office functions. A review of program budgets shows that about $43 million has been put into this project since 2004.

While these are laudable goals, they have not been adequately explained to the public. As a parent, the most I know about Expect Success is its slogan. This is an example to me of the need for much better collaboration and communication on the part of the District with the community it serves + students, teachers, parents, and community members. The District must improve the dialogue with families. There should be better collaboration between schools, neighborhood groups, and other stakeholders on joint priorities. I will provide leadership to help ensure that every neighborhood has a school where families feel comfortable sending their children. I will work to facilitate better sharing of knowledge among schools, particularly in the area of PTA programs and best practices.

Answer from Jody S. London:

OUSD must improve its coordination with the City of Oakland and continue to build on its relationships with the County Office of Education to identify ongoing opportunities to create safe learning environments and extra-curricular opportunities. I also want Oakland Unified to work more effectively with non-profit groups and local businesses. As a School Board member, I intend to bring together all the organizations that are providing programs in the District, from youth sports leagues to on-site after-school providers to urban planning groups that are reworking playgrounds to businesses like Children's Hospital that offer internships for high school students. We need a better understanding of the breadth of programs being offered, the resources that these groups can offer (some of them bring in outside foundation support, independent of OUSD, and apply those funds for OUSD projects), and how to leverage the great work that is already occurring.

For several years I have been working pro bono with OUSD to develop an energy policy, which was adopted in April 2007, along with a green building policy. Part of this process involved bringing PG&E to the table as a partner. OUSD and the Peralta Colleges should work with the City of Oakland, PG&E, and other energy companies to develop and fund courses and vocational training or certificate programs in energy management and renewable energy technology, a growing field with great economic development potential for Oakland. There is a great deal of funding available for this type of effort currently through the utilities, as California implements its greenhouse gas reduction policies. As former Chairperson of Save the Bay, I know first-hand that there are many great environmental education programs available in Oakland. Using Save the Bay's Canoes in Sloughs program as an example, the program provides in-classroom lessons geared to state standards. It then brings students to the Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline Park, Jr. where they can work at a restoration site and in the native plant nursery. Finally, students grades 6 and up can go out in canoes in Arrowhead Marsh. Many OUSD students live within a few miles of this jewel and have never been there; this must change.

Answer from Brian Rogers:

I would like to see a partnership between the City and the School District that helps to create wrap around services for all students. The City and the District should be finding ways to create programs after school that integrate with what is going on in school. For example, the City of Oakland has a great deal of funding being given out to youth development groups through the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth. I would like to see much more coordination between the OFCY grantees and the Oakland Unified School District so that we can be sure that an all day, whole child approach to education and development can be created for every single Oakland student.

Answer from Tennessee Maria Reed:

The School District and the city can benefit from coming together to resolve this issue. The school district needs to work with the city on reducing crime, bringing back affordable housing, and making sure that students have the opportunity to bring their students to schools outside of their neighborhoods to name a few things that need to be done.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.