COVID-19 in Oakland: First coronavirus-related death in Alameda County, AC Transit fare-free, Oakland schools closed, Kaiser treats cruise ship passengers or crew.
“We’re all different, but we all have that love for Sequoia.” -Zachary Hile At the risk of missing the start of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, several generations of Sequoia students, families, and staff[Read more]
By Debora Gordon Lam ended a recent letter with “Write me when you find the time. I certainly have all the time in the world to wait.” This prompted me to ask him what it[Read more]
Former Oakland Education Association President and current Sequoia Elementary School teacher Betty Olson-Jones poses in her 5th grade classroom Photo: Oakland Voices/Debora Gordon January 2013 By Debora Gordon Betty Olson-Jones is back in the classroom[Read more]
By Debora Gordon Lam was, and perhaps still is, a young man with a lot of potential. He could have gone on to lead a life of commonplace trials and triumphs; having a family, a job[Read more]
By Debora Gordon After early teaching stints in far flung locales from Ecuador and China to New York and Sunnyvale, 4th year middle school teacher Alison Ball, 29, came to Urban Promise Academy (UPA),[Read more]
By Debora Gordon Many, perhaps most, parts of this story have been hard to tell. I often imagine someone who might be personally affected by a particular part of the story looking over my shoulder.[Read more]
By Debora Gordon Thi Bui, an art and digital media teacher at Oakland International High School, described herself as “a little reckless. I break a lot of rules. I’m very comfortable letting go of the[Read more]
By Debora Gordon Every time a student does poorly in school, or drops out, there is likely a great increase in the chances he will wind up in prison. I recall in my discussion with[Read more]
By Debora Gordon On Sunday, December 9th, I headed back to prison. When I arrived, I learned the previous day’s lock down had been lifted. Many of the same visitors were there again. The woman[Read more]
