History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
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Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
An Oakland school cut its last AP course, but teachers are teaching it anyway
- 02-11-2011
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By Katy Murphy/Oakland Tribune
Twice a week, 20 East Oakland teenagers get to school early, some of them arriving by bus before 7 a.m. They sacrifice sleep for something other high school students might take for granted: the chance to take advanced placement English. "For colleges to take me more seriously, I need to take these AP classes," said Ricardo Cruz, 17. "It's a must for me to take this class." Last year, as a record 1.8 million students from 17,000 schools around the world took advanced placement exams, the East Oakland School of the Arts cut its last AP class. But two English teachers -- Kateri Simpson and Marguerite Sheffer -- decided to offer it anyway, before school and on their own time. The sacrifice made by these teachers and students for an opportunity that's a given in other schools illustrates their commitment to education. It also highlights the system's inequities and the shortcomings of the Oakland school district's attempts at high school reform. (more...)
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