H.-1 20-2116 Decision Public Hearing: Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 2021-0142 - Denying Petition of Alternatives In Action High School and Written Findings of Support Thereof (Petition and Proposed Charter - Grades 9-12 - July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2026 (5 Year Renewal)).
I urge you to allow AIA to remain operating. As a nonprofit leader of a youth education program serving low income, English language learners I have a deep knowledge of the struggles of these young people. Many have difficulty being successful in a public school model. Many times these students slip through the cracks, falling further and further behind until they feel it impossible to catch up. While the mainstream educational system may work for some, it does not wok for all, and as educators we need to acknowledge that children are individuals who deserve to learn within a structure that serves their needs. However, if these students have at least one transformative experience, they begin to believe in themselves once again. AIA provides these transformative experiences. Students at AIA receive the attention and support needed to be successful, not just is school, but in work and life. I urge you to place these young people at the forefront when making your decision.
I oppose the decision to deny AIA their charter renewal. Students in Oakland need a school where they are encouraged to lead and be successful in a small school environment. AIA provides individual attention and holistic support for students who otherwise would fall behind in comprehensive high schools or alternative schools that do not provide adequate safety.
AIA High School is an important resource for many youth who have not been successful in or have been pushed out of other schools. It is a gracious and loving community and a safe educational environment for some of our highest need youth.
I am a parent of an AIA I strongly believe they should not close the school specially during this pandemic as it is hard for students with the new challenges that this has brought been in Distance Learning. I can't not inmagine trying to go back to reality and on top of that without a school. My daughter likes her school and feels safe and welcome with the teachers and staff.
AIA should stay open because it is a great resources to students who have been pushed out from other schools. I have had friends and family attend AIA after other schools gave up on them. It would be a tragedy for Oakland to lose another great school
AIAHS serves a dramatically underserved student population, and with its record of success with those students, particularly compared with nearby schools, the school is providing a valuable services not only educationally, but in preparing a workforce.
I strongly recommend that you keep Alternatives in Action High School open. This school has been serving students in Oakland and Alameda for many years. I had the pleasure of working at the school for 5 years between 2009-2014 as a teacher and co-director. I saw first hand how many lives were changed by the school. I know countless students that would tell a story of a school that empowered them to be successful. I have seen that success in students that are now teachers, business owners, mechanics, plumbers, preschool teachers, workers in the tech industry, etc.... This school supports students social and emotional needs better than any school I know while keeping their eye on academic rigor. There are teachers at AIA that were students there. Please do not rob our community of a school that has shown its success over many years. Please feel free to contact me by phone or email if there is anything else I can do to support your decision to keep AIAHs open. 510-289-3745
This school is making a great difference to our neighborhood by helping keeping it clean and order. They are also helping the community and the students in every way they possibly can. They have made all possible to keep their building up to standards to provide a good teaching environment. They have spent resources to beautify our neighborhood.
At Alternatives in Action High School, I feel very supported, I have improved academically attending this school. I don't think its a good idea to close down the school during a pandemic, knowing that us as students would have to look for a new school that we don't know how it is going to be like. I came to AIA my freshman year not knowing anyone, but I already felt welcomed by my second day there. The community makes me feel safe and I value the relationships I have with my coaches. I am very comfortable at this school and I don't see myself in another school
OUSD Board - Please oppose the OUSD Office of Charter School recommendation and support the AIA HS. This is a much needed model that serves our community, and outperforms area DASS schools. This is not the time to be closing schools - we are in the pandemic, AIA serves students and families whose needs were not met previously at other schools, and has strong leadership. Additionally, OUSD Office of Charter School report unfairly and wrongly represented data as part of AIA's process.
I am on the board of AIA and I have been so impressed by the commitment and leadership of the staff and the outcomes of the student who have not been served by traditional OUSD options. This is school needs to stay open because there is nothing else like it in neighborhood and it serves its community. Please support!
I chose to enter AIASH during my sophomore year because it’s closer to my home then the other high schools I attended before AIA.
My experience at AIAHS has supported me by making me feel welcomed and safe.
AIAHS is important to me because everyone there supports each other and staff/coaches always make sure to keep the school as a community. Without AIAHS I would have been moving from school to school, problems with peers, getting to school late, and grades wouldn’t be as good as now. Something I appreciate about AIAHS will be having such supportive, respectful, and hard working staff/coaches.
AIA is a special place because I never felt so relieved being at school before. I get along with my peers and coaches. Grades are going well. Family being proud of my hard work.
Thank you for everything AIAHS,
I hope I’ll be able to graduate with you next school year. -Jacqueline Ramirez (11th grade)
Please approve the AIAHS charter renewal.
AIAHS continues to outperform both OUSD and CA DASS (Dashboard Alternative School Status) schools across most academic measures including A-G and college acceptance rates and WASC has deemed AIAHS worthy accreditation, recently. AIAHS is important for parent choice in education. This school needs time to work under the support of its authorizer ( as is the duty of the authorizer) to improve the areas of concern. I know that OUSD is committed to the success of all students, and denial of this renewal would be contrary to that value.
AIAHS has been a safe haven for many justice involved youth over the last decade. They have initiated SSTs and assessments to support our most marginalized justice involved youth and opened their doors for school placement when space allowed it. They have been one of the warmest Charter Schools in our city in support of success for Black and Brown students.
I oppose closing Alternatives in Action because our school has been a place of academic growth, student goal setting and community convergence over the last 20 years. At AIA, students find personalized academic counseling, mentoring and peer support to help visualize their potential through youth leadership opportunities. During our school's culminating senior class rite of passage, Firewalks, each student presents a structured post high school success plan and speaks on how they intend to create constructive change in their lives and communities. Our school is located in a small parochial eight-room building in East Oakland and despite the compact size we respond to student and family needs with staff organized programs that include food box distribution, clothing distribution, a vegetable garden and referrals to services through partnerships across East Oakland that have been cultivated over years of shared work. AIA staff guide students toward academic success and lifelong learning.
Through my assistance with AIA as a community member I have come to know the benefit they bring to Oakland youth and the larger community. This is an important resource for students to thrive in a supportive environment focused on helping them become educated and outstanding members of society. Closing this school would be a big mistake for the community based on what I have seen. They are providing a unique environment for kids most underserved and at risk. Please do not close this important school down!
I have sent my children to school with AIA and taught Algebra for them for three years. I have never been to a school that is more aligned with my idea of a healthy learning environment. Students who arrived completely disengaged were skillfully brought into the fold in such a way as to grow up into the leaders they were meant to be. They would apply themselves to their work and help mentor other young people struggling to engage. The teachers at AIA are committed, always learning, deeply caring, and hold kids to rigorous standards. The staff at AIA are absolutely the best I’ve ever seen in the five schools I’ve taught at, and the principal is amazing. Please please please oppose the denial of renewal. They deserve to be open and serving youth who often go unserved, or underserved.
Many thanks!
Nimka
I urge you to allow AIA to remain operating. As a nonprofit leader of a youth education program serving low income, English language learners I have a deep knowledge of the struggles of these young people. Many have difficulty being successful in a public school model. Many times these students slip through the cracks, falling further and further behind until they feel it impossible to catch up. While the mainstream educational system may work for some, it does not wok for all, and as educators we need to acknowledge that children are individuals who deserve to learn within a structure that serves their needs. However, if these students have at least one transformative experience, they begin to believe in themselves once again. AIA provides these transformative experiences. Students at AIA receive the attention and support needed to be successful, not just is school, but in work and life. I urge you to place these young people at the forefront when making your decision.
I oppose the closure of AIA. I have worked with the students and seen the power of their programming in action.
I oppose the decision to deny AIA their charter renewal. Students in Oakland need a school where they are encouraged to lead and be successful in a small school environment. AIA provides individual attention and holistic support for students who otherwise would fall behind in comprehensive high schools or alternative schools that do not provide adequate safety.
Please keep Alternatives in Action open! Their legacy and achievement cannot be rebuilt once they are gone.
Please allow this school to continue serving its students and wider community.
AIA High School is an important resource for many youth who have not been successful in or have been pushed out of other schools. It is a gracious and loving community and a safe educational environment for some of our highest need youth.
I am a parent of an AIA I strongly believe they should not close the school specially during this pandemic as it is hard for students with the new challenges that this has brought been in Distance Learning. I can't not inmagine trying to go back to reality and on top of that without a school. My daughter likes her school and feels safe and welcome with the teachers and staff.
AIA should stay open because it is a great resources to students who have been pushed out from other schools. I have had friends and family attend AIA after other schools gave up on them. It would be a tragedy for Oakland to lose another great school
AIAHS serves a dramatically underserved student population, and with its record of success with those students, particularly compared with nearby schools, the school is providing a valuable services not only educationally, but in preparing a workforce.
I strongly recommend that you keep Alternatives in Action High School open. This school has been serving students in Oakland and Alameda for many years. I had the pleasure of working at the school for 5 years between 2009-2014 as a teacher and co-director. I saw first hand how many lives were changed by the school. I know countless students that would tell a story of a school that empowered them to be successful. I have seen that success in students that are now teachers, business owners, mechanics, plumbers, preschool teachers, workers in the tech industry, etc.... This school supports students social and emotional needs better than any school I know while keeping their eye on academic rigor. There are teachers at AIA that were students there. Please do not rob our community of a school that has shown its success over many years. Please feel free to contact me by phone or email if there is anything else I can do to support your decision to keep AIAHs open. 510-289-3745
This school is making a great difference to our neighborhood by helping keeping it clean and order. They are also helping the community and the students in every way they possibly can. They have made all possible to keep their building up to standards to provide a good teaching environment. They have spent resources to beautify our neighborhood.
At Alternatives in Action High School, I feel very supported, I have improved academically attending this school. I don't think its a good idea to close down the school during a pandemic, knowing that us as students would have to look for a new school that we don't know how it is going to be like. I came to AIA my freshman year not knowing anyone, but I already felt welcomed by my second day there. The community makes me feel safe and I value the relationships I have with my coaches. I am very comfortable at this school and I don't see myself in another school
OUSD Board - Please oppose the OUSD Office of Charter School recommendation and support the AIA HS. This is a much needed model that serves our community, and outperforms area DASS schools. This is not the time to be closing schools - we are in the pandemic, AIA serves students and families whose needs were not met previously at other schools, and has strong leadership. Additionally, OUSD Office of Charter School report unfairly and wrongly represented data as part of AIA's process.
I am on the board of AIA and I have been so impressed by the commitment and leadership of the staff and the outcomes of the student who have not been served by traditional OUSD options. This is school needs to stay open because there is nothing else like it in neighborhood and it serves its community. Please support!
I chose to enter AIASH during my sophomore year because it’s closer to my home then the other high schools I attended before AIA.
My experience at AIAHS has supported me by making me feel welcomed and safe.
AIAHS is important to me because everyone there supports each other and staff/coaches always make sure to keep the school as a community. Without AIAHS I would have been moving from school to school, problems with peers, getting to school late, and grades wouldn’t be as good as now. Something I appreciate about AIAHS will be having such supportive, respectful, and hard working staff/coaches.
AIA is a special place because I never felt so relieved being at school before. I get along with my peers and coaches. Grades are going well. Family being proud of my hard work.
Thank you for everything AIAHS,
I hope I’ll be able to graduate with you next school year. -Jacqueline Ramirez (11th grade)
Please approve the AIAHS charter renewal.
AIAHS continues to outperform both OUSD and CA DASS (Dashboard Alternative School Status) schools across most academic measures including A-G and college acceptance rates and WASC has deemed AIAHS worthy accreditation, recently. AIAHS is important for parent choice in education. This school needs time to work under the support of its authorizer ( as is the duty of the authorizer) to improve the areas of concern. I know that OUSD is committed to the success of all students, and denial of this renewal would be contrary to that value.
AIAHS has been a safe haven for many justice involved youth over the last decade. They have initiated SSTs and assessments to support our most marginalized justice involved youth and opened their doors for school placement when space allowed it. They have been one of the warmest Charter Schools in our city in support of success for Black and Brown students.
I oppose closing Alternatives in Action because our school has been a place of academic growth, student goal setting and community convergence over the last 20 years. At AIA, students find personalized academic counseling, mentoring and peer support to help visualize their potential through youth leadership opportunities. During our school's culminating senior class rite of passage, Firewalks, each student presents a structured post high school success plan and speaks on how they intend to create constructive change in their lives and communities. Our school is located in a small parochial eight-room building in East Oakland and despite the compact size we respond to student and family needs with staff organized programs that include food box distribution, clothing distribution, a vegetable garden and referrals to services through partnerships across East Oakland that have been cultivated over years of shared work. AIA staff guide students toward academic success and lifelong learning.
Through my assistance with AIA as a community member I have come to know the benefit they bring to Oakland youth and the larger community. This is an important resource for students to thrive in a supportive environment focused on helping them become educated and outstanding members of society. Closing this school would be a big mistake for the community based on what I have seen. They are providing a unique environment for kids most underserved and at risk. Please do not close this important school down!
I have sent my children to school with AIA and taught Algebra for them for three years. I have never been to a school that is more aligned with my idea of a healthy learning environment. Students who arrived completely disengaged were skillfully brought into the fold in such a way as to grow up into the leaders they were meant to be. They would apply themselves to their work and help mentor other young people struggling to engage. The teachers at AIA are committed, always learning, deeply caring, and hold kids to rigorous standards. The staff at AIA are absolutely the best I’ve ever seen in the five schools I’ve taught at, and the principal is amazing. Please please please oppose the denial of renewal. They deserve to be open and serving youth who often go unserved, or underserved.
Many thanks!
Nimka