Da Town Researchers

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Da Town Researchers

• Findings and Recommendations
• June 2007

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Table of Contents

• Purpose
• Research Question and Why
• Methodology
• Findings
• Supporting Data
• Recommendations
• What We Learned and Next Steps
• Student Bios

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Purpose

• Nine student leaders representing most of the big
  high schools in the OUSD got together and tried
  to make a change in the leadership classes in the
  OUSD.

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Research Question Why

• How do we improve and ensure equality in student
  leadership in the OUSD?
• We came up with this question because as students
  we felt that we needed more opportunities for
  students to lead and make change and that those
  opportunities should be equally available at
  every high school.

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Methodology

• Used activities to identify core issues impacting
  OUSD high school students and develop our overall
  research question.
• Examined the 2005-2006 Use Your Voice survey
  data.
• Analyzed the Use Your Voice survey data, to come
  up with questions for student focus groups.
• Conducted four student-led focus groups with high
  school students from across the district.
• Analyzed data for findings.
• Made recommendations and final reports.

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Meaningful Youth Participation/ Student
LeadershipFindings

• 1. More student-led activities would increase
  youth participation.
• 2. Students would be more willing to participate
  if they had more school adult support.
• 3. More effective communication and motivation
  from student groups would improve youth
  participation.

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Meaningful Youth Participation/ Student
Leadership Supporting Data Use Your Voice
Survey 05-06

• Only 53 of students strongly agree or agree that
  there are opportunities for them to participate
  at school. This shows a lack of opportunities
  and/or an inequality in availability across
  schools.

Student response to the item, Students have
opportunities to participate at school.
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Meaningful Youth Participation/ Student
Leadership Supporting Data Focus Groups

• I would be more active in school if we have more
  student groups and activities.
• Teachers and principals can work together to
  support leadership by having more communication
  and be open to approving students ideas. Also
  teachers and principals can give money and
  resources to support leadership and leadership
  groups.
• I think for students to help themselves to
  improve student leadership in Oakland high
  schools, we would need to plan more peer
  education and extra curricular activities and to
  inform each other about whats going on. Many
  students dont know whats going on so we could
  teach each other.

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Meaningful Youth Participation/ Student
LeadershipRecommendations

• 1. Every high school should have a collaborative
  decision-making body made up of representatives
  from all student clubs and groups (i.e., La Raza
  Club, Black Student Union, Asian Students
  Alliance).
• 2. Teachers could organize more activities and
  give encouragement to increase student
  participation and motivation.
• 3. Student government and other student
  organizations should be more representative of
  all students.
• 4. Student leaders should receive training to
  learn to be more effective collaborators and
  communicators.

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Clean and Safe Learning EnvironmentFindings

• 1. Many students feel unsafe at school.
• 2. A safer environment will allow students to
  focus more on learning.
• 3. A clean environment is important to students
  education and ability to learn.

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Clean and Safe Learning Environment Supporting
Data - Use Your Voice Survey 05-06
Student response to, Everyone works together to
keep bathroom clean.

• Only 21 of students agree or strongly agree that
  the bathrooms are clean.
• Only 38 of students report feeling physically
  safe at school.

Student response to, Students feel physically
safe at school.
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Clean and Safe Learning Environment Supporting
Data Focus Groups

• We need Conflict Management that reaches out
  more and is effective. Right now we still have
  fights and many people dont know about conflict
  management.
• My school environment is very important to my
  education because the way something looks affects
  how I think.
• Cleanliness affects me because if I cant use
  the bathroom, then thats all I focus on.

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Clean and Safe Learning Environment
Recommendations

• Conflict Mediators can reduce violence and
  conflict by improving their services.
• Teachers can intervene and create a safer
  learning environment for all students.
• Security Guards could enforce rules more
  consistently with all students.
• A cleaner environment would communicate respect
  to students and allow students to focus more on
  learning.

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Caring and Supportive EnvironmentFindings

• Students feel that they need more caring
  teachers.
• Students could be more supportive and
  understanding of each other.

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Caring and Supportive EnvironmentSupporting
Data- Use Your Voice Survey 05-06

• Only 39 of students strongly agree or agree that
  the students, faculty, and staff work together to
  maintain a caring and supportive environment.

Student response to, Faculty, staff, and
students work together to create a caring and
supportive environment.
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Caring and Supportive EnvironmentSupporting
Data-Focus Groups

• Its the teachers, too, because sometimes you
  have this teacher that makes you feel so stupid.
  Some teachers make you feel like you dont know
  anything. Like one of my teachersbecause I dont
  talk in her class she makes comments that make me
  feel stupid. Because I dont answer questions or
  participate in class discussions, she just tries
  to put me on blast. Then I feel stupid and it
  pushes me away and makes me not want to go to
  class.
• Teachers need to listen more. They can share
  their points of view but also they could let us
  share our point of view.
• I want my friends to see that they have
  opportunities to create a better future.
• In the past year the senior class and student
  leadership have stepped up and been a role model.

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Caring and Supportive EnvironmentRecommendations

• 1. Teachers could more fully implement their
  open-door policies by developing supportive
  spaces and relationships with all students,
  regardless of past history with students.
• 2. There could be 100 placement of
  highly-qualified teachers (both credentialed and
  effective teachers) in place before school
  starts.
• 3. Students need more opportunities to build
  relationships with students who are different
  from them in order to feel safer and more
  supported.

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What We Learned

• If the project had started earlier in the school
  year, it would have given us more time to
  accomplish more.
• The information from the focus groups was
  interesting to learn more about how issues at
  school personally affect a person. We could
  continue to learn more about students
  perspectives in the future.
• Many students feel that their teachers and other
  adult staff dont necessarily show caring and
  support in the ways that students want them to.
• A lot of high school students in the OUSD
  actually care about their education and safety at
  school.

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Bios

• I am Alicia Childress. I was born on April 15,
  1990. I am in the 11th grade currently attending
  Architecture Academy at Fremont. My favorite
  color is green. In my spare time I enjoy braiding
  hair and watching my niece.
• My name is LaShay Fountain I go to Leadership
  Preparatory High School at Castlemont High and I
  am in my freshman year. My favorite color is
  green for some reason. I like to swim, cheerlead,
  play basketball and football, write poetry. (I
  like BIOLOGY everybody.) The reason why I joined
  this program is because I thought it would be
  funand it was. Also, I wanted to improve the
  OUSD in a way.

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Bios

• Hi, Im Sara Gonzalez. I was born in East Oakland
  April 19, 1992. Yes, Im young, but I work my
  butt off. Im in the 9th grade going to 10th.
  Yay, Im so excited. I love to read and
  write--its fun. I go to Castlemont High School,
  so the Castle rules! I joined the project for
  three things 1) I thought it would be fun 2) I
  did it to help the high schools of the OUSD 3) I
  did it for college because itll look great on my
  college application.
• Student Director Christina Jiang is a senior at
  Skyline High School. After moving to Oakland in
  the beginning of her junior year, she got
  involved with organizations in the school, school
  district and city to ensure equal education
  opportunities, to reduce violence and drug use,
  and to convince young people not to give up their
  dreams when things are tough or do not make sense
  She believes each individual has the potential to
  be a functioning member of the society.

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Bios

• My name is Janelle Johnson and I am in my senior
  year at Oakland Technical High School. In the
  fall of 2007, I will be attending SF State,
  majoring in Psychology with a minor in Spanish.
  My career objective in life is to be a
  child/adolescent psychiatrist. My ultimate goal
  in life is to be successful in whatever career I
  choose. I enjoy writing poetry, reading books,
  spending time with family and friends, and also
  challenging myself to make me better.
• TaDarrell Randolph is a senior at Skyline High
  School.

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Bios

• I am Tony Robinson. I currently attend Fremont
  High. I am 16 years old and enjoy playing sports,
  writing poetry, and giving my opinion. I am in
  the 11th grade. Family is important to me and was
  a strong part of the reason why I participated in
  this project and wanted to make a change.
• My name is Cindy Ruan and I am currently a junior
  attending Oak High, class of 08. I joined this
  project because I love to take on challenges and
  overcome them. The ability to learn about how to
  do research and analysis interested me and made
  me strive to do better. Also knowing that I am
  contributing to making my peers and my education
  become better and more equitable fills me up with
  pride.

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Bios

• I am Sedrrick Strothers. I am in the 12th grade
  at Oakland Tech. My birthday is April 3, 1989 and
  I am an Aries. My favorite saying is Sedrrick n
  da buildin. The most important thing to me is
  F.O.A. Fam Ova Anythang. Im in this project so
  I can gain more leadership skills.