McClymonds High School Serves as Backdrop for City of Oakland’s Swearing in Ceremony for new Police Chief, LeRonne Armstrong, McClymonds Alumnus Oakland, CA — A sunny Monday morning at McClymonds High School looked very different than it has for the past eleven months. A crowd had gathered for a special event in which the school … Read more
President-elect Biden Announces Additional Key Administration Posts WASHINGTON – On January 18th, President-elect Joe Biden announced a number of key administration posts: Elizabeth Klein, Deputy Secretary of the Interior; Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture; Andrea Palm, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services; Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary of Transportation; Cindy Marten, Deputy Secretary … Read more
Oakland, CA – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) released the following statement congratulating Dr. Shirley Weber on her historic appointment to serve as California’s Secretary of State: “Congratulations to Assemblywoman Shirley Weber on her appointment to serve as California’s Secretary of State. Dr. Weber has been a bold leader throughout her career, most recently on her … Read more
Oakland Unified School District New Board of Education Directors Dear Oakland Unified Community, As we have been talking over the past few weeks, Tuesday, November 3 was an enormous election for our city, the state of California, and the United States. Here in OUSD, as you know, we saw voters pass Measure Y, the bond … Read more
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – Biden / Harris – Win!! I spent Wednesday morning, November 4th, at the ampitheater in the plaza in front of Oakland’s City Hall, masked and distanced but heartened by the crowd who sang and prayed together for a Just America and demanded that we count every vote! We ate … Read more
OUSD Board of Education Votes to Adopt Climate Emergency Action Resolution Oakland – On Wednesday, October 28, the OUSD Board of Education took bold action in declaring a climate emergency and outlining what the District is doing, and will do, to develop a comprehensive plan to increase the District’s environmental sustainability. The Board passed a … Read more
Oakland Unified School District OUSD Highlights Numerous Major Facilities Projects and Thanks Voters for Approving Measure J Which Funded the Projects
Oakland – Over the past month, OUSD has been showing off facilities projects that came to fruition largely because of the support of Oakland voters. Measure J enabled the District to totally rebuild the Glenview Elementary School campus, create a new high school building at Madison Park Academy, rebuild much of the Fremont High School campus and add an academic building, and build a new Central Kitchen that will create tens of thousands of meals a day and provide educational opportunities for students across Oakland.
In each case, the District held a news conference to show the community the features of the new facilities. (One is set for later this week at the Central Kitchen.) Staff from KDOL, the District’s TV station, did a video about each project sharing messages from the speakers including architects and contractors, city leaders, teachers, principals, the OUSD Superintendent and the Board of Education. Numerous speakers at each school thanked the voters for passing Measure J and enabling the completion of the projects.
Below are three KDOL videos that, in order, highlight the rebuilt Glenview Elementary campus, the new Madison Park Academy high school building, and the Fremont High School project.
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
Post based on press release from OUSD to Zennie62Media.
On Tuesday, OUSD Unveils New High School Building at Madison Park Academy, School in East Oakland Neighborhood with Troubled Past
Oakland – East Oakland’s Sobrante Park neighborhood, a shining new feature will have a huge impact on the lives of countless young people. The Madison Park Academy (MPA) campus has a new building for its high school students. The building has 14 classrooms, two labs, six offices and other staff space.
Ten years ago, the idea of a new school building here may have seemed next to impossible. MPA is located in an area that, historically, many people avoided. “It used to be one of the largest dope traps in Oakland, because there’s one way in and one way out. So, they could protect their turf,” said OUSD Board of Education Director, James Harris in 2019. “As kids, we went to school on MacArthur, they’d say man, don’t go anywhere near Sobrante Park because it was so dangerous that you didn’t know what could happen. A lot of kids would come in and get robbed.”
A quick look at a classroom inside the new high school building at Madison Park Academy.
But now, the area has gone through a renaissance, and the resurgence of the school has been a major catalyst for change. None of it would have happened, were it not for the dedication of MPA’s Executive Principal, Lucinda Taylor, who pushed this project for more than eight years, and ensured her students had a say in the finished product. “We’ve talked to students, they’ve had a real say in how the garden areas are going to be constructed. They’ve seen the design, they’ve been instrumental in choosing textures and tiles in classrooms. It’s just been a community project,” she said last year.
The new high school building at Madison Park Academy.
“This means a lot for our engineering program,” said engineering teacher, Tawana Guillaume last year about her students who do robotics projects. “We need a lot of space, we have a lot of equipment, we’re kind of crammed in our classroom in our portable. So, the opportunity for our students to really spread out to work on large-scale projects, to have this space to be creative, it will be amazing.”
Beyond the new high school building, the project includes a renovated main parking lot, and a renovated kitchen, along with a new remote snack bar. It balances a welcoming atmosphere and accessibility with security and safety with its appropriate use of lighting, ADA-compliant walkways and spaces, and network of ornamental gates. It’s designed to provide a healthy, clean and durable environment that promotes effective teaching and learning. The building systems are designed to provide exceptional indoor air quality with a high degree of user control through the use of high-efficiency filtration. As noted above, it also includes an area set aside as a school garden for students to develop and maintain.
The new high school building at Madison Park Academy.
The $36 million project was funded through Measure B, Measure J and Fund 25. “We thank the voters of Oakland for seeing our students’ needs and supporting them with this beautiful new building,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell in 2019. “We know that Madison Park is already producing many business and community leaders of tomorrow. Very soon, the people of Oakland will see their investment in these students paying remarkable dividends.”
Although some staff has already been on-site, the new building will welcome all staff and students once the community has been allowed to move beyond the restrictions in place because of the COVID pandemic.
Media is welcome at this event. Adherence to social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines is mandatory.
WHAT: Madison Park Academy New High School Building Ribbon-Cutting & News Conference
WHEN: Noon, Tuesday, September 29
WHERE: Madison Park Academy, 400 Capistrano Drive
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
This post based on a press release from OUSD to Zennie62Media, Inc.
Oakland Schools News: OUSD And OEA Reach Tentative Distance Learning Oriented Labor Agreement ONN – Oakland Schools News: OUSD And OEA Reach Tentative Distance Learning Oriented Labor Agreement From OUSD: Oakland – After working for more than a month to reach a deal, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and the Oakland Education Association (OEA), the … Read more
AG Becerra Announces Lawsuit to Protect K-12 Public School Pandemic Relief Funds ONN – California AG Becerra Announces Lawsuit To Protect K-12 Public School Pandemic Relief Funds California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond — alongside special education teacher and Alameda County Board of Education Member-Elect Angela Normand — … Read more
OUSD Says So Long to More than 60 Employees Who Retired at End of June 2020, Plus Two District Leaders Who Moved on to New Opportunities Oakland – Now that we are in July, we have passed the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year. The end of the year is when we always see employees … Read more
PLAYERS COALITION CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF OAKLAND POLICE FROM K-12 SCHOOLS New York – Today, Players Coalition sent a letter to the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education urging the removal of police from K-12 schools. In response to the local, national and international demands for justice by ending Anti-Black racism and policing … Read more
I just received a press release from the Oakland Unified School District with the title: At Tonight’s Board of Education Meeting, Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell Will Discuss Changes to Police Services in this Time of Nationwide Protests Against Systemic Racism Perhaps this will be the time the Oakland Unified School District gets rid of its god … Read more
Oakland, CA – Oakland schools news. The 2019-20 school year is anything but normal, with schools still shut down more than seven weeks into the coronavirus closure. But what is normal is that Oakland Unified School District OUSD continues to celebrate the outstanding work of our staff. Through all the uncertainty, teachers have continued to … Read more
OUSD Joins School Districts Across the Nation in Calling for More Education Funding From the Federal Government Oakland, CA – On Tuesday, April 28, 2020, Oakland Unified School District joined 61 other urban school districts across the country in calling for Congress to allocate more money to education during this time of crisis because of … Read more
Oakland Schools News: OUSD Board of Education Makes Two Major Moves, Signing Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell to New Contract and Officially Hiring District’s New Chief Business Officer Oakland, CA – On Wednesday evening, April 22, the OUSD Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting in which the Directors made two significant decisions involving the leadership … Read more
Oakland Schools News. Oakland Unified School District Honors 2019-20 Classified Employees Of The Year Oakland, CA – Oakland Schools News. Despite the current shelter in place and the closure of all OUSD schools, the business of the District continues. One important thing that happens at this time every year is the formal recognition of outstanding … Read more
California Governor Jerry Brown has appointed Life Academy student and OUSD Board of Education Student Member, Gema Quetzal to the California State Board of Education (SBE) as the lone youth voice for the 2018-19 school year. This is remarkable news for Oakland Unified School District and the city of Oakland. The 16-year old Quetzal will … Read more
