What Will You do Today for Public Schools?
At last month’s Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) school board meeting, board members passed resolution 1617–0089, which restates the Board of Education’s position that all students have the right to attend school regardless of their own immigration status or that of their family members. The resolution also indicates that school personnel will will not seek information about student immigration status and will work to protect personally identifiable information from being used for immigration enforcement.
In response to the school board’s announcement of the resolution, former Oakland Mayor Jean Quan encouraged community members to show their support for safe and inclusive public schools by spending time in a local public school on January 19th. The idea of community members entering public schools en masse on the eve of the presidential inauguration is part of the National Day of Action spearheaded by the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS).
The school “walk in” is an intentional alternative to a separate movement to have students leave class on the 19th in protest of the Trump administration’s policies regarding undocumented people.
Regardless of whether you can physically spend time in a school on January 19th, consider symbolically “walking in” to a school by making a commitment on inauguration-eve to support public education in Oakland.
There are many ways to do this:
- Become a volunteer in an OUSD classroom (Both one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities are available).
- Become a volunteer in an OUSD library
- Check out the Oakland Natives Give Back website or blog for updates about what is happening in the Oakland Unified School district.
- Learn about the work of local public education advocacy groups, like the Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network and Go Public Schools Oakland.
- Read about the Oakland Equity Pledge, a citywide partnership that works to disrupt inequity in education. Interested community members can attend Equity Pledge meetings and become part of affiliated committees and working groups.
For more information about Oakland Natives Give Back, please visit: www.oaklandnatives.org
