The Education Report

  1. Child care cuts and kindergarten readiness
    photo by Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group Readers, how I’ve neglected you this week… I blame the impossibly complex nature of California’s child care system, which faces a 20 percent cut for the upcoming fiscal...
  2. A sudden school closure in Oakland
    photo by Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group All year long, people have been complaining about the Oakland school board’s decision to close five elementary schools — and how they did it. Almost everyone who goes through a...
  3. California’s budget, “day of reckoning”
    Want to see the governor’s latest proposal for balancing the state’s budget, despite ballooning deficit projections? You’ll find the May Revise summary here. The education proposal begins on page 33. If you’d...
  4. Competing for attention: Moldy portables, broken heaters and a 90-yard football field
    Improving Oakland’s school facilities will be a major focus for the district in the coming months. The long-awaited Facilities Master Plan is up for a vote on May 23. Then, on June 13, the board reviews the proposed language for a...
  5. Twin sisters from Oakland heading to Yale — together
    I recently had the chance to sit down with Kim and Jack Mejia-Cuellar, twin sisters from Media Academy (Fremont campus) in East Oakland who have both been awarded full scholarships to Yale University. It was inspiring to hear their...