The Pink PantherHenry J. Kaiser, Jr. Elementary School

25 South Hill Court Oakland, CA 94618 510.549.4900

M E S S A G E F R O M P R I N C I P A L G U I K E M A

School & Community Newsletter

K A I S E R C A L E N D A ROctober 30, 2019

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Thursday, 10.31.191:15pm Costume Parade

The Pink Panther Newsletter

Friday, 11.01.19 Early Dismissal at 1:30pm

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE à

Friday, 11.01.196:30pm – 8:30pm Costume Dance

Monday, 11.04.19 Make-Up Picture Day

Friday, 11.08.19 Early Dismissal at 1:30pm

Monday, 11.11.19 NO SCHOOL*

Wednesday, 11.13.194:00pm SSC Meeting

Monday, 11.25-19 –Friday, 11.29.19

NO SCHOOL**

*Veteran’s Day Holiday: All OUSD**Thanksgiving Holiday Break: All OUSD

Dear Kaiser Elementary Community,

It was heartbreaking to hear reports from last week’s OUSDBoard of Education Meeting. I was deeply troubled by thevideos and images I later saw emerging from the boardmeeting. I am calling on OUSD to follow through on itspromise to review the video and take all the appropriateactions necessary to respond. Monday I was invited by Kaiserteachers to a vigil to stand with them and families. In the wordsof my friend and Oakland Education President, Keith Brown,what we saw at the board meeting last week “isn't the schooldistrict I want for my students.”

Grappling with these issues has been difficult for me as aperson and as a leader. I have struggled to reconcile whathappened at the board meeting along side the communitybuilding that has been happening amongst Kaiser and Sankofafamilies.

With the OUSD enrollment window opening next week (andremaining open until February 7), families are beginning tothink about what will be best for their children for the nextschool year. Knowing that Kaiser Elementary at our currentlocation will not be an option is incredibly difficult. To keepyou informed and to help ease the challenge of this change, I’llbe sharing information through the Pink Panther and onKonstella about all OUSD options, the Opportunity Ticket, andthe Kaiser-Sankofa design process.

It was inspiring to see Kaiser families meeting with Sankofa families last Wednesday at the Design TeamInfo Session. There was a feeling of optimism amongst participants, who used words like “opportunity”and “possibility”, while acknowledging that there is a lot of work to do and that the task ahead feelsdaunting. Some important questions were raised about the facilities plan, budget, enrollment projections,and supports for employees from both sites. The meeting ended with participants talking about the needto come together around a vision for the new school. A packet of information about the Design Team,including answers to some of these questions, was shared and can be found online attinyurl.com/DTlaunch. A ballot for our Design Team has been sent via Konstella and is included in thisPink Panther. The ballot may be turned into the office or completed online. On the heels of this meeting,nearly 100 folks gathered Saturday at Bushrod Park to continue to build community, break bread, and havefun. Thanks to the Kaiser families who organized the food and the fun!

Wednesday, 11.13.195:00pm

OUSD Board Meeting

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School NewsM E S S A G E F R O M P R I N C I P A L G U I K E M A ( C O N T I N U E D )

Alongside all of this, we have faced the challenge of power outages and smoky days. Thanks foreveryone’s patience through these difficult times. I will continue to share information as soon as itbecomes available via Konstella and robo-call. We will monitor air quality prior to each recess todetermine if it is safe for students to be outside.

~ Dennis Guikema, Principal

C O S T U M E P A R A D E : T H U R S D A Y , 1 0 / 3 1 1 : 1 5 P M

Please note the following:• Costumes should come to school in a bag, not worn at

the start of the day.• No items that resemble a weapon may be brought.• If you would prefer your child participate in a fun non-

Halloween activity, please let their teacher know.

Parent’s and families are invited to….

WHAT: Annual Kaiser Costume ParadeWHEN: Thursday, 10/31 at 1:15pmWHERE: Upper yard at Kaiser Elementary

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PTA NewsP T A P R E S I D E N T ’ S U P D A T E F R O M S A R A H I S A A C S

Hello Kaiser Community,

It has been a challenging couple of weeks. The ongoing wildfires, smoke and power outages remindus how fragile our health and safety can be and the importance of being prepared for whatever comesour way. There are many online resources that can help with emergency planning, such as theAmerican Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/make-a-plan.html

One thing many of us were not prepared for last week was theviolent turn that the OUSD school board meeting took whenparents, teachers and were knocked down and hit with batons byOUSD police officers, while children watched in fear. To get abetter understanding of why members of the Kaiser communitywere there, you can view clips from an October 25th pressconference at: https://oaklandnotforsale.com/videos/. This is partof a growing coalition opposing school closures across thedistrict, asking for transparency and accountability for OUSDfinances and protesting OUSD’s policing practices in schools,which disproportionally impact students of color.

In the midst of everything else that is going on, families are alsoin the process of making plans for next year. The enrollmentwindow is November 4, 2019 to February 7, 2020. Many schoolsnow have tour schedules posted so you can visit individualschool websites for dates. You can complete the OUSDapplication process here: https://www.ousd.org/domain/159

As Mr. Guikema noted, the formal Kaiser/Sankofa design processis now underway and updates will be provided via Konstella.There is also an informal group of Kaiser families who opposeschool closures and at the same time want to think collaboratively with the Kaiser community aboutplans for next year, should the efforts to reverse the school board’s vote be unsuccessful. The group isexploring a merged Kaiser/Sankofa school as one of their options and started a Slack workspace forpeople to connect, chat and stay up to date with any shared activities. You can find more informationabout that here: https://tinyurl.com/D1SlackChannel. Some of those folks also helped to organize thedelightful picnic with Kaiser and Sankofa families last Saturday. It was attended by 100-150 peoplethroughout the afternoon. While parents and extended family members chatted, kids enjoyed facepainting, and games like no-hand donut eating competition. Special thanks to: Becca Jay, KerryLinetzky, Ken Angelo, Kate Angelo, Lara Tennenbaum, Raegan Joern, Sarah Robinson, Chione Felgal,Marin Moran and Kathy Lee for helping to organize such a lovely event.

And finally, for an additional dose of fun, please join use for the Kaiser Costume Dance this Friday, from6:30-8:30 PM. Take care and stay safe!

~Sarah Isaacs, PTA President

Photos from Kaiser/Sankofa picnic

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PTA News

C O S T U M E D A N C E : F R I D A Y , 1 1 / 1 6 : 3 0 P M – 8 : 3 0 P M

It’s our first DANCE of the year!

Costumes are encouraged!

ü Kid Friendly Music!ü Fun Lights & Decorationsü Glow Sticksü Food & Snacks

All proceeds (entry fees, glow products, snacks) go to our Kaiser PTA!

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INSTRUCTIONS: Please vote for up to THREE Kaiser family representatives on the Design Team for the Kaiser- Sankofa merger.

❏ KEN ANGELO, parent/caregiver of Elodie Angelo (1st)I understand that the prompt was to write about what I hope to contribute to the Design Team, but I believe it

is important to start with an explanation of why I want to be a part of the Design Team. After the abuse of members of our community at the 10/23 Board meeting, and the assault of my daughter’s teacher, I approach this position with much apprehension.

Like many in the community, I distrust OUSD and its commitment to a successful merger. I believe it’s more likely that there will be interest in the success of Cohort 2 mergers until it is time to promote the success of Cohort 3 mergers, at which point we will be left on our own.

I’ve spent 8 months working with others in the community to fight OUSD’s Blueprint process. I believe it is neither necessary nor productive and will contribute to the further degradation of true public education in Oakland. Giving families fewer options will not increase the District’s enrollment numbers, especially when closed schools are routinely converted to charter schools.

I resent the way the Blueprint Plan has been rolled out. We have been given incomplete and contradictory answers to our questions and there was no attempt made to engage the community as part of the planning process. Creating a plan without any community input and then delivering it to the community with no opportunity for community input or feedback does not constitute “Community Engagement.”

I worry for the students who will be at the merged school next year. I have heard how the District has neglected the Sankofa community for years and I have witnessed its lack of regard for the Kaiser community. I have now seen District police beating teacher and parent protesters and heard the District’s mealy mouthed justifications. All of which has left me with little faith that the District will do right by the students at this new school.

Given my deep misgivings, why do I want to be a part of this process? Because I believe in the communities at both Sankofa and Kaiser. Because I believe that if there is to be any positive outcome at the merged school it will be because of the heavy lifting of people in these two communities. Because there will be teachers and students at the school site next year, and they will need a lot of support. The District has been failing students at Sankofa for years. It failed Kaiser students on 9/11. I can’t bear to see students failed again without doing something. I am choosing to work against this history of failure by getting involved in the design process.

While I believe it will be important to continue fighting against the District’s Blueprint process and to stop the closing of schools in Oakland, right now my heart is with our kids and their next school. Regardless of the enormity of my feelings about the District and this process, my love and hope for our kids is still bigger and stronger. They need people tostep up for them. Success is by no means guaranteed, but if people don’t get involved then failure certainly is.What do I bring to the process? I have seen a lot of schools over the last 20 years serving as a counselor in various capacitiesthroughout the Bay Area - from San Francisco and San Lorenzo, to East Oakland and Walnut Creek. I have seen varying levels of success and functionality. I would hope to leverage that experience when it comes to planning the new school. I bring my belief in the potential of all learners, both child and adult. I respect the feeling of vulnerability that comes with learning and am passionate about supporting and pushing all learners to achieve their full potential. As a teammate, I am a good listener who is committed to assuming best intent and working respectfully through the inevitable difficulties and challenges the merger will bring up. I am good at holding an inspiring vision and committed to keeping others working towards it. Above all, I value a process that is committed to honesty, transparency, and integrity, and one that honors both the complexity and dynamism of the opportunity we have before us.

❏ HOWARD GREEN, parent/caregiver of Alyse Green (4th)I plan to bring balanced and measured input, insights and perspective to this important work. My goal is to make this transition as seamless as possible for all stakeholders - students, parents and staff.

❏ LOREN OLSON, parent/caregiver of Aria and Sebastian Olson (K)I hope to help the physical transition of the schools, as well as any other function I may be of assistance.

❏ CHIONE FLEGAL, parent/caregiver of Adriana Valeri (3rd)I am very committed to working with the Kaiser and Sankofa communities to develop a plan that will allow us to build a strong community, that will build on the strengths of both schools, and that ultimately will create a wonderful learning environment for our children.

K A I S E R F A M I L I E S : D E S I G N T E A M B A L L O T

Please, only one ballot (electronic or paper) per parent/guardian of Kaiser students. Deadline to submit your vote is 11:59 PM Friday, November 1.