Three Strikes and You're IN
If You're the Victim of Violent Attacks
at Piedmont Avenue Elementary School

A 1st grade boy in Oakland spent the night at the hospital after being supposedly bullied and beaten by a 5th grader at his elementary school this past week. Turns out it's the 3rd time since the boy started school there that he's been bullied and physically beaten. What in the world?

Turns out Piedmont Ave Elementary - with 344 students, had 312 suspensions last year, 97 of which were for violent incidents (Oakland Tribune). YIKES! When I went to an OUSD public forum last week I heard it said that this school is one of the up-and-coming schools of the district, that goes unnoticed because it's under the radar. Well not anymore. Why is it that we tolerate such crap? We talk a lot about change in our city and nation. But how will it come if we don't stop tolerating what we want to transform in the behavior, worldviews and daily life of our children. We bemoan our schools falling behind China, India and Singapore in terms of science and math education....maybe part of the blame is with the tolerance of violence at school that induces such fear that I wouldn't want to go, and tolerance of parents/care-givers who do nothing to intervene.

Read more online:
[Oakland Tribune] "Bullying Incident Awakens Officials"
[SF Gate] "Oakland Police Probe alleged bullying incident"
[Review of School at great schools.net] Piedmont Avenue Elementary

Who knows what happened that day, and in the past. If I've learned anything the past few years in visiting school administrator friends at work, it's that they have an insanely difficult job, with too many hats, juggling diverse and myriad things all day long. I have experienced at my daughter's OUSD school - just this past week - in the office the school secretary not tolerating at all the fall out from a fight that had just happened between a 1st and 2nd grader on the playground. It seems like it's all about the context and climate we create, nurture and demand for our children. How do we want it to be a safe, collaborative and participatory learning environment?

If you're interested attend the public meeting to address this issus on May 14 @ 7:30 at Piedmont Gardens, 110 41st St. Oakland