ACCFB Recognizes Health4Kids

The Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB) is featuring Faith Network's Health4Kids food-bagging program! Our faithful Health4Kids volunteers have packed over 100,000 weekend bags of food that go to children that receive reduced-price school lunches in Oakland's public schools. These children might not receive adequate nutrition during weekends because their families are relying on the schools for sustenance on the weekdays.
Also featured in the video is FedEx--the delivery service that transports the bags of food from ACCFB to local schools for students and their families to take home.
Faith Network is honored a proud to be a part of this team!
Watch the video here.

School Zoning and Population

Oakland is in the midst of its countdown to announcing public schools that will be closing. On October 26th, the board will make its decisions about which schools to close.
Decisions are based not just on API scores and average daily attendance but also on the percentage of students attending the school that also live in its respective neighborhood. This last factor can prove controversial as a high-performing school (like Kaiser elementary) can close because most of its students are outside of its zoning parameter.

Because Faith Network has been following this story for the last month, I did some research into where students are going and coming from for school. I was surprised to find that many students--often a majority--do not go to school in their neighborhoods. Schools such as Emerson, Fruitvale and Burckhalter Elementary, three schools that have had long-standing relationships with Faith Network, have an average of about 60% of their student populations from outside their neighborhoods. Emerson, which has the highest percentage at 70%, is on the list for potential closure.

To view all the maps for Oakland public schools as well as charter schools, click here.

Schools Named for Potential Closure

Oakland Unified is coming closer to deciding which schools to close. After following through with their proposed plan of action and acting upon their set criteria, board member have been presented the following schools for "possible closure consideration"
Burckhalter*
Kaiser
Lakeview*
Lazear*
Marshall*
Maxwell Park*
Santa Fe*
Sobrante Park
*Schools that Faith Network serves


Two middle schools (Claremont and Frick) were also put on the list, but it is unlikely that either will close.


Please read Katy Murphy's article for the Tribune to get a better understanding of the various voices, concerns, and opinions that have been circulating around these looming proposals.

Oakland to Announce School Closures

On October 26th, Oakland will publicize a list of recommended school closures and consolidations. According to OUSD's presentation on August 24th, the consolidation will serve these purposes:

• Reinforce neighborhood schools by focusing decision-making on where children live, attend school, and where facilities are designed to sustain quality programs long-term.

• Increase access to quality alternatives by prioritizing placement of displaced students, expanding capacity in existing quality schools, and further investing in existing quality school programs.

• Reduce displacement of students and families by considering innovative program designs and the possible relocation of some school programs in tact.

• Consider a variety of factors in decision‐making by taking into account multiple district priorities.

• Integrate school closure among multiple strategies to achieve goals by also expanding school grade configurations, transforming low performing schools in high density areas, increasing quality options, and consolidating multiple schools into high quality single‐school options in some cases.

Currently, Oakland has 101 public schools to serve its 38,440 students. This is a high ratio considering that Clovis has 36 schools serving 38,000 students. In its 6-step process, it looks as though OUSD is going to consolidate low-ranking schools that are in proximity with other low-ranking schools (based on performance, school choice and fiscal health). Perhaps with joint resources, these schools can better serve their students.

For more information, please read Katy Murphy's blog entry in The Education Report.

A New School Year!

School year 2011-2012 is just around the corner!
Students of Oakland Unified will say goodbye to summer vacation this weekend as public schools welcome them back into the classroom on Monday.
This is an exciting time for Faith Network because we get to see our kids again and come alongside them in their growth process.

With increased staffing at Faith Network this year, we are hoping to develop new relationships with schools, deepen involvement with our current schools, and train new volunteers. Volunteers are, of course, the heartbeat of Faith Network. It is one of our many joys to see volunteers personally connecting with individual students.

For more information on volunteer opportunities, please visit our website. You can also take a look at our current volunteer wishlist here.

Statistics = individual lives

A new system for tracking students has helped California accrue its most accurate data about graduation rates. The statistics reveal that 37% of students enrolled in Oakland's public high schools have dropped out. The percentage soars to over 50% for black and Latino students.
In response to these dismal statistics, OUSD is focusing on chronically truant students and building more cultural awareness. A somewhat counter-intuitive strategy is adopting more stringent requirements for graduation. These requirements--that will be effective this fall--will hopefully challenge high school students so that they will want to stay in school rather than drop out because of a general lack of expectation.
For more information, read these two articles: one from the San Jose Mercury and one from the San Francisco Chronicle.

If you would like to make a difference, please read through our volunteer opportunities and contact the office to learn more about what you can do. The numbers may be daunting, but each of us has within the ability to come alongside an individual and bring hope. Policies and systems can be shaped by statistics, but it is up to caring individuals to affect lives through compassionate action. At Faith Network, we would like to see Oakland's graduation rates go up, but our first priority is being a constructive part of our children's growing up.

Walk, Run, Give

Faith Network is having our first ever walkathon!
Our hopes for this event are:

• raising funding and awareness to address growing needs in our public schools
• spreading the news about volunteer opportunities
• providing an event for businesses, congregations and individuals to meet and move towards a community cause
• having fun and appreciating Oakland's Lake Merritt!

Please visit this site in order to register as a team leader, sponsor, volunteer or individual walker/runner.
Anyone who registers will get an event T-shirt and there will be plenty of prizes, giveaways and a raffle!