The most recent California academic test scores were released two days ago, and the Montclair elementary schools did just fine. Take a look at the Academic Performance Indicators (APIs), where we show all the Oakland elementary schools which ranked at least “7” or more statewide, on a 1-10 scale.
Top Ten Scores
Based on these APIs, Thornhill and Montclair ranked in the top ten percent statewide, while Joaquin Miller fell into the second decile or top twenty percent of schools.
That kind of strong showing doesn’t surprise us at all. After all, there are plenty of devoted parents who spend time working at the schools, organizing fundraisers for student activities, and helping their kids study and finish their homework.
Things get more interesting when you look at our schools versus “similar schools,” which is a politically correct ranking against statewide peers with matching racial and economic profiles. Now you see that Thornhill, Montclair and Joaquin Miller have a little catching up to do.
New Super Looks At Inequities
Meanwhile Oakland has just appointed a new school superintendent, Dr. Anthony Smith. He already lives in Oakland and has a kindergartner entering Crocker Highlands next year too. Smith seems focused on helping the whole school system, especially the underachieving schools.
Smith has strong opinions about providing a good education rather than teaching for tests. According to the Tribune, he is rather dismissive of No Child Left Behind which has been “soul-stripping for students and for teachers.” He does want to ensure there are the right resources available to motivate learning.
Funding Sources
The newcomer wants to examine the current fundraising model, which effectively contributes to have and have-not schools. In the hills, we work hard to raise funds all year long and deliver educational resources that aren’t available in the flats – like librarians and after-school activities. Many Oakland schools don’t have the luxury of fundraisers, of course.
With the budget crunch, we believe that Superintendent Smith will consider how to fairly redistribute wealth from all the available pools. Not to be greedy, but we wonder when it’s appropriate to “rob Peter to pay Paul.” Should one school’s efforts directly or indirectly benefit another?
More info: Take a quick look at the Oakland Tribune’s school blog, which covers all the latest district happenings from the beat reporter. Also check out the school scores released Thursday by California’s Department of Education. While this data took almost a year to collect and crunch, it still holds up to close scrutiny.
Today in Montclair, 94611 
While “robbing Peter to pay Paul” might or might not apply for the example you gave, for schools in between the Hills & the Flats (“slope” or “ridge” schools) the phrase applies even more. These schools have more low-income students than the Hills schools (based on the # of Free & Reduced Lunch students, or FRLs), but less than Flatland Schools.
However the OFCY funded programs at Slope schools support the same # of FRL kids as flatland kids (a few from the neighborhood, and most from options out-of-district). Yet in the current funding cycle, the OFCY public oversight committee has decided to score against these programs because of the middle class neighborhoods they’re located in.
Is OFCY planning on having the kids roam around without an after-school program? Or parents quit their jobs to come pick them up? Or have middle class neighborhoods pay for yet another program? (An indirect tax on the middle class).
Remember if a program costs $60-80,000 a year to run, and a middle class school only raises $30,000 in it’s biggest fundraiser, it will be hard for it to pay even more.
In Oakland’s battle of Rich vs. Poor (hills vs. flatlands), the Middle Class in between is getting left behind yet again. & this reputation keeps people from moving here (or moving from here)…
You can find additional ratings and information on Oakland schools at:
http://www.homefacts.com/schools/California/Alameda-County/Oakland.html