Ashley McBride

2 weeks ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

Following a three-hour special meeting, the Oakland Unified school board voted this week to reverse a recent decision that eliminated swaths of funding for after-school programs that serve thousands of Oakland youth. On Wednesday, five board directors met in the committee room at MetWest High School, upstairs from the auditorium where regular board meetings are usually held.

3 weeks ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

For 8-year-old Jonah Cassady-Opper, classic science fair projects like building a baking soda volcano or turning a lemon into a battery are a little tame. The Redwood Heights second grader used this year’s science fair to combine his love for science and his obsession with music icon Michael Jackson. Over a few weeks in April, Jonah and his mom built Jackson’s ‘anti-gravity’ shoes — the ones that allowed the superstar to achieve his signature 45-degree lean during performances and in music videos.

3 weeks ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

It was a familiar sight: Hundreds of people crammed into the meeting room at La Escuelita Elementary, banners and posters in hand, lining up at the podium to urge the Oakland school board to reverse a decision and protect a popular program. This time, the target was the after-school programs that serve over 18,000 students — more than half of Oakland Unified’s 33,000.

3 weeks ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

Twenty-two years ago, with Oakland Unified School District teetering on the brink of insolvency, the state offered a deal: a $100 million loan, the largest in California history, in exchange for control over the district’s day-to-day operations. OUSD had little choice but to agree, and so began the district’s long stint in what’s known as receivership, first under the state and later under the county.

4 weeks ago | oaklandside.org | Ashley McBride

During the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969, hundreds of Native American activists reclaimed the land from the federal government. They penned the Alcatraz Proclamation that outlined their goals — among them, creating a center for Native American studies and an Indian training school to give Native people a grounding in their own history, culture, and traditions. To that end, they established the “Big Rock School,” where mothers, aunts, and elders taught the children on the island.