Why this petition? May 3. 2012 | Comments (1)
An issue has arisen this year with admittance to Crocker Highlands Elementary. This year 112 local families applied for 75 kindergarten seats. 91 of the 112 families were given a spot (OUSD assumes an attrition model where some families won't use their spot) leaving 21 families (18 within the old district of the neighborhood) without a seat at Crocker. This was primarily a result of the expansion of Crocker school boundary lines to incorporate families from Lakeview elementary set to close this coming school year.
A solution has been found for this year’s class. There will be a 4th Kindergarten classroom opening for one and only one time this Fall and based on the numbers that were shared, it seems that neighborhood families wanting admittance to Crocker this Fall should be able to get in.
The bad news, I believe, is that this is a one-time option to add an additional classroom and there are not current plans to readdress the boundaries for Crocker for the coming years. The representative of Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), David Montes, has expressed a need for a city wide review of boundaries for schools and recognized that Crocker within the old boundaries has already been a school at capacity. To add to this, there is an OUSD policy that siblings of current students are accepted before children within the neighborhood, so adding the additional classroom for 2012-2013 increases the chances of additional siblings who would be accepted to the school prior to neighborhood children when there will only be 3 classrooms.
What you can do:
1. Sign the petition. Visit http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-the-crocker-neighborhood/
2. Contact elected officials and push for change to school boundaries. Contact info for School Board Member, David Montes and OUSD representative, David Kakishiba is below.
3. Contact Principal Beth Rhine to request a meeting about this issue and let her know you are interested in participating. She seems really dedicated and caring about this as an issue within our community. When a meeting is announced, attend and participate.
4. Pass along the word to others in the community.
Who to contact:
School Board: email: David.Kakishiba@ousd.k12.ca.us OUSD Phone: 510 879-8199 dial 3 for board members and then 2 for David
Representative of Superintendent of Schools: email: david.montes@ousd.k12.ca.us 510-879-8349
Principal of Crocker: Elizabeth Rhine bethrhine@me.com
I have lived in this neighborhood longer than most of you and have seen the borders change many times. The OUSD website actually shows that sections of Balfour, Trestle Glen and Lakeshore were in the Lakeview Distirict. So some of you signing this petition may lose your spot if the boundaries revert back. When my kids went to Crocker, there was space for several out of district kids and those were some of our most active families. I think this is much ado about nothing. I have no fear that property values will decrease or Crocker will become a less desirable school. Overcrowding may become an issue, but it sounds like the Principal and Superintendent (our nieghborson Balfour) are aware of this and will be working to find a solution. Let's all calm down and make the new kids feel welcome.
Ann Katz