Day 2 of the Oakland teacher convention ended with anger and frustration. Today ended with standing ovations.
“What a turn,” said Mercedes Ugarte, a fourth-year teacher at Melrose Leadership Academy. “It’s turned into something that’s teacher-owned. We’ve never had this space before to share these things out.”
A last-minute change to the program, made in response to the sharp criticism, was well received. This morning, the 200 delegates divided into six groups. Each one papered the walls of their rooms with lists of what was working and not working in their classrooms, in their schools and in the district, and recommendations for resolving them. They came up with their top priorities and shared them with everyone, including Superintendent Tony Smith, at the end of the day.
