Topics School Choice

January 17, 2020

Closing a middle school and converting others to K-8 stirs opposition

The school board and others in West Contra Costa Unified did not approve a plan to convert six elementary schools into K-8 schools next year.

November 26, 2019

Protesters file excessive force claim against Oakland Unified

Nine district parents and teachers say police injured them during an Oct. 23 board meeting where they were protesting school closures.

November 14, 2019

Oakland school board moves meeting to closed room after protester disruptions

The Oakland Unified school board closed its meeting to the public a second time after protesters turned out in force.

November 8, 2019

Oakland school board closes meeting to public, citing protests

No protesters showed up, prompting some critics to allege the board violated open meeting laws in its attempt to prevent disruptions.

November 4, 2019

Oakland Unified moves forward with school closures despite protests

District officials offer to meet with protesters as Oakland and state teachers' unions echo demands for school closure moratorium until 2022.

October 21, 2019

LA Unified should release data on student academic growth to parents

Political arguments are getting in the way of sensible solutions.

October 11, 2019

Oakland offers students of closed schools alternatives to merged campuses

A dispute over district plans to merge two schools continues amid a district announcement that it will allow affected students to go to other schools.

July 12, 2019

New charter schools to open this fall despite efforts to curb growth

Four charter schools will open after each was initially denied by its local school board, forcing the schools to turn to county boards.

May 14, 2019

Putting a focus on Bay Area district: superintendent and union president team up

West Contra Costa Unified’s superintendent and teachers’ union president work together on videos to attract families to district schools.

May 1, 2019

After years of avoidance, time to take on challenges posed by California charter schools

Early backer of charter law says no easy answers to issues raised by charter school expansion in the state.

February 21, 2019

California charter schools facing new oversight under fast track legislation

Senate Bill 126, which was passed in the Senate Feb. 21, would require that California charter school boards comply with the same open meeting, conflict-of-interest and disclosure laws as district school boards, including holding public board meetings, opening records to the public upon request and ensuring board members don’t have a financial interest in contracts on which they vote.

Diana Lambert

January 29, 2019

Bay Area district and charter schools strut their stuff side by side in effort to attract students

West Contra Costa Unified schools and charter schools participate together in first-ever education fair to help educate parents about their options.

Theresa Harrington

September 7, 2018

California State Board of Education denies Rocketship charter school expansion bid

Some California State Board of Education members questioned Rocketship's capacity to expand, citing concerns about finances and educational programs.

Theresa Harrington

August 1, 2018

Many charter schools fail to disclose spending on low-income students, report says

Out of 70 LCAPs selected, Public Advocates couldn’t find 27 online and most of the 43 reviewed lacked key spending data and evidence of parent involvement.

John Fensterwald

April 26, 2018

Bay Area district offers K-8 options to help keep students from leaving the district

West Contra Costa Unified, which already has two K-8 schools, plans to expand three more elementary schools to K-8 starting in the fall.