OAKLAND — The word “truant” might bring to mind a teenager with a spray can. But younger children miss school each year,
too, with alarming regularity. If a bill clears the state Legislature this month, parents could face jail time and a hefty fine. In the Oakland school district, more than 5,000 children in kindergarten through eighth grade — or 18 percent — missed at least five full days of school without excused absences this past school year, according to district records. About 2,000 missed 10 days or more. Some of their parents, after repeated warnings, were sent to truancy court in Alameda County and charged with an infraction.
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The Bill Factory: Lots of paper, few results.
The article highlights the need for Joint Power Authorities such as the Youth Ventures JPA and argues that we need a fundamental shift in how social services serve young people. Alvarado Mena argues that we must treat children as integrated wholes, accounting for their intellectual and emotional health, time in school, but also their lives within families and neighborhoods.
Pioneering Oakland Program Builds ‘Safe Passages’ for Urban Youth
The article highlights the work of the partnership, Safe Passages, which brings together more than 65 local agencies in Alameda County among them two school districts, the county and the City of Oakland to share responsibility for providing services to vulnerable populations of children and youth.
Building Safe Passages for Alameda County Students and Families
Safe Passages efforts have led to a 72 percent drop in suspensions in participating Oakland middle schools between 1998 and 2005 and a 45 percent drop in recidivism rates among youth who participated in the organization’s program for a year.
Safe Passages/Our Kids Middle School Strategy at San Lorenzo Unified School District
At the direction and leadership of Supervisor Nate Miley and Alice Lai Bitker, the Safe Passages/Our Kids Middle School Strategy was implemented in the San Lorenzo Unified School District beginning the fall of 2006. The two middle schools selected to participate based on high need demographics are Edendale Middle School and Bohannon Middle Schools. Over 2,000 students are currently being served at the two school sites.
Oakland middle schools get $15 million – Funds will allow major expansion of services to students
Seven middle schools in Oakland’s neediest areas will receive $15 million for an initiative to give students the extra help they need to graduate from high school and lead healthy lives, the Atlantic Philanthropies, an international foundation, announced Monday.
$15 Million Grant for Oakland Middle Schools
A program to keep Oakland middle schoolers in school and on the path to graduation has received a $15 million grant, announced Mayor Ron Dellums on Monday.
Oakland Middle School Students Promote Peace & Unity During National Youth Violence Prevention Week
In partnership with Safe Passages and the Oakland Police Department, Oakland Unified Middle Schools will make clear their commitment to non-violence on Friday, April 6, the last day of National Youth Violence Prevention Week. During the day, students will learn about peaceful conflict resolution and positive alternatives to violence in a number of different forums.