Grounded in our commitment to peace, unity and justice, the mission of Youth Together is to address the root causes of educational inequities by developing multiracial youth leaders and engaging school community allies to promote positive school change.
POLITICAL EDUCATION
We do research, as well as create and provide political education to our students across sites. We believe that youth are integral to creating lasting change in our communities, and make sure that we equip our students with the tools they need to think critically.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Our students learn the value of community first hand through the outreach work that we do. We strive to give our students the opportunity to lead their community, but first make sure that they are grounded in the skills.
EDUCATIONAL CHANGE
While we teach our students that the community is the first place to organize, we also make sure to arm our students with the advocacy skills they need to make broad and institutionalized changes to better the experiences of their peers.
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Happy Hump Day, community!
This morning, we want to encourage everyone to read the fact-finding report put out by the Oakland Education Association, detailing the circumstances of OUSD teachers and students. Some things that we thought were interesting that we read were:
- We've closed 18 schools since 2004. That means we've closed, on average, one school per year at least;
- Last year, 530 teachers left OUSD, which is roughly 22% of the teacher population;
- The average salary for a teacher in OUSD is 63K; the average for a teacher in Alameda, which is ranked right above OUSD, is 73K.
- The 6th Grade and up student-to-academic counselor ratio is 600:1. The student-to-nurse ratio is 1350:1.
Learn more about their fact findings in the article!
Remedying Educational Malpractice: OEA Fact Finding Presentation
oaklandea.org
Download as PDF Download as PPTXAs one of the organizations that was integral to passing the Restorative Justice resolution in OUSD, we strongly believe that the district MUST prioritize spending on programs and initiatives like RJ, which not only engage and encourage our students, but help them to address traumas and issues that keep them out of the classroom.
For our students to thrive, we must continue to teach them that we are one community that must love, support, and protect each other. That is how we cast off the chains of colonization and create a new world.
Acclaimed restorative justice program on the chopping block in Oakland Unified
edsource.org
Students and advocates are loudly protesting a plan to significantly cut staff from the popular initiative, which emphasizes alternatives to punitive discipline approaches like suspension and expulsion.With the possibility of the OEA strike looming, Youth Together, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment - ACCE South Sacramento, and the Alameda County Community Food Bank have come together to plan for supporting our students and families during that time by distributing food!
Read more about what we're planning on our website!
youthtogether.net
Everybody Needs To Eat: Supporting Our Families and Teachers through Food Distribution Youth Together, as an organization founded in peace, unity, and justice, believes that our physical wellbeing is not only political, but an integral part of the movement for equity, sustainability, and justice. St...Powerful testimony here tonight at the OUSD School Board Meeting!
A young Latina woman came forward to share her experience with Restorative Justice, sharing, "I used to say the N word to my classmates, but learned through RJ [why that was wrong.]"
Another young PI woman from Skyline shared, "We've [PIs] never had this much educational support," in regards to the APISA program.
Also, shoutout to the Castlemont students who called attention to the lack of translation for PI students!
Board of Education on 2019-02-11 5:00 PM - Special Meeting - Feb 11th, 2019
ousd.granicus.com
Live and Recorded Public meetings of Board of Education on 2019-02-11 5:00 PM - Special Meeting for Oakland Unified School DistrictTonight, the OUSD Board of Education is making decisions on whether or not to cut proposed positions. Positions include:
- Restorative Justice is proposed to be almost completely eliminated - 20 positions (including 4 program managers, and 16 RJ school site facilitators)
- Office of Equity - 3 positions (including the Deputy Chief, and 1 Program manager from one of the targeted strategies - Asian Pacific Islander Achievement, African American Male Achievement, Latino Student Achievement).
- Teacher Quality (1 position on Retention & Recruitment)
- Mental Health, Nutrition and Wellness (4 Social Emotional Learning positions, 14 Behavioral health)
- College & Career (6 counselor positions, 3 college access positions, 1 summer internships position)
If you, like us, think that this is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS, then COME TO TONIGHT'S MEETING AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! Hold your board members accountable to giving our students a QUALITY education- before it's gone!