Latest news with #JohnSasaki
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Parents Outraged to Discover a Shocking Racial Slur Printed in Their Kids' Elementary School Yearbook: ‘Deeply Hurtful'
Parents and students at an elementary school in California discovered a racial slur printed in the school's yearbook Montclair Elementary School's PTA president said the slur was mistakenly included in a historical article used in the yearbook The slur also included a reference to an offensive and racist game played at the school in past decadesRelatives of students at an elementary school in California were outraged to discover a racial slur in the school's yearbook. The incident occurred at Montclair Elementary School in Oakland, Calif. According to ABC 7, the yearbook is curated by parent volunteers, and this year's book contained a section commemorating the school's 100th anniversary. The section in question contained a number of historical articles about the school — one of which was a piece from 1940 about a school carnival that contained the N-word. "Boy and Girl Scouts will have charge of booths and many attractions such as n----- babies,' the article read, per ABC 7. The outlet was able to locate an original photo of one such booth from the era, which entailed White contestants throwing objects at the head of a Black boy for prizes. In a statement to PEOPLE, John Sasaki, the Director of Communications for the Oakland Unified School District, said, "The entire Montclair School community and Oakland Unified School District are shocked and disgusted by what made it into the yearbook." He continued, "The end of the school year is a joyful time when all school communities should be celebrating accomplishments and new beginnings, not facing a horrific example of our collective history." According to Sasaki, Montclair Elementary School and the PTA have "offered full refunds for the yearbook, offered a sticker that families can use to cover the article and suggested families can remove the page entirely, if they so choose." To prevent the issue from happening again in the future, the director told PEOPLE that "the entire PTA yearbook committee has resigned, and the PTA Historian, who was the yearbook proofreader, is also leaving their role on the PTA. They explained that they included the article without fully reading it, which is how the problem was missed." Saskai added that the district "is currently working to put in place district-wide protocols for yearbooks and other school / PTA / volunteer publications to ensure there are enough (and the correct) eyes on them before they get printed and distributed, to prevent this kind of thing from happening at any school in the future." "The PTA has also ordered a reprint of all the yearbooks," per Saskai. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I was mad. I was very upset," Natalie Golden, an aunt of one of the school's students, told ABC 7 of the ordeal. 'I was like, 'What the hell is this?' ' Brenda Mitchell, a grandmother of a student, added. 'This is 2025, [not the] 1900s … Why would you bring that out? Why would you even put that in there? It was very inappropriate. Very inappropriate." The school's principal, David Kloker, sent an email out to school community members in which he apologized for the incident, calling it "deeply hurtful and entirely unacceptable,' per ABC 7. Sloane Young, the school's PTA president, told ABC that the school would be leading a 'restorative justice circle' in which members of the community can voice how 'this event made them feel.' While speaking to KTVU, Young explained how the error was made, stating that the volunteers who assembled the yearbook did not read the article in its entirety. "Unfortunately, they skimmed the first paragraph of that article, and scanned it into the software we use for the yearbook," she said "I have a very bold, outspoken 8-year-old, and when she saw it, she said, 'Mom, why did you allow this to go in the yearbook when you're Black?' ' she added. "Our community is hurting, our community is angry." Young, who has accepted full responsibility for the mistake occurring under her leadership, also told KTVU that educational resources have been offered to parents in order to help them navigate conversations about the incident with their children. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bullet from nearby shooting floods East Oakland school cafeteria
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The Brief Shooting causes bullet to pierce pipes at East Oakland school cafeteria, causing flooding Oakland firefighters noticed the torrent of water and averted further damage No one was injured in the shooting OAKLAND, Calif. - Water cascaded down the side of the cafeteria at Lockwood Steam Academy in East Oakland early Wednesday after a bullet from a nearby shooting ended up in a pipe, officials said. "One of those bullets entered our building, the cafeteria here, and it pierced a pipe and caused a flood," said John Sasaki, spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District. The cafeteria had recently been remodeled, but Sasaki said the damage was limited, thanks to firefighters who noticed the flowing water. "That really - no question - saved us from further damage, so we want to thank the Oakland Fire Department for being really Johnny-on-the-spot for us there and making sure that this is taken care of," Sasaki said. Bullet from shooting block away What we know It all happened at about 4:45 a.m. as Oakland police responded to ShotSpotter reports of gunfire near 70th Avenue and Herbert Guice Way. Officers scoured the scene for evidence, and numerous yellow markers littered the intersection. KTVU cameras spotted a Toyota Prius that had been hit by gunfire outside Bethel Baptist Church at 69th Avenue and Herbert Guice, which sits directly across the street from the elementary school's cafeteria. Officers also inspected the car for evidence. Police said no one was hit by the gunfire. Alternate plans for students' food What they're saying As the sun rose, school officials confirmed the pipe that was hit was in the attached kitchen. That meant district officials had to scramble to make sure students had fresh food for the day. "We had to be very quick, very nimble and changing our plans," Sasaki said. The district's nutrition services staff made sure students had bag lunches delivered to the campus. Those picking up children at the end of the day had a range of emotions. "As long as they were safe and nothing actually happened, I mean I would have liked to hear about it, but it's a lot of kids, and they can't call to every parent," said Lashawnda Carter. Sabrina Stokes said, "I feel good, but just hopefully that they find out what was really going down, why the bullets came this way over to the school." Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and The Source Interviews
San Francisco Chronicle
29-04-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Oakland teachers to strike Thursday, jacking up tension in the troubled district
The Oakland teachers union announced a one-day strike set for Thursday, saying the district has 'refused to provide basic financial transparency' and keep cuts away from schools. Labor leaders notified the district of the impending strike just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, but said they were 'committed to finding a resolution at the bargaining table to avert this strike.' If teachers strike, it would be the fourth strike in six years. On Monday, district officials said they had already responded to 30 information requests submitted by the Oakland Education Association, which represents about 3,000 educators and had met with union officials recently to answer any remaining questions. 'OEA acknowledged that the District has fully responded to all but two complex, budget related (requests) that were recently submitted,' district officials said in a letter to Oakland families on Friday. 'We strongly believe these pending items are not a reason to disrupt student learning or the routines of our families — especially given our joint agreement to exhaust all other steps before considering a strike,' according to the letter sent by spokesman John Sasaki. 'The threat of a work stoppage at this critical time of year is deeply concerning.' Sasaki said the strike 'risks interrupting students' education and their participation in important end-of-year learning, celebrations, and milestone events.' School will remain open and families can expect another update Tuesday, Sasaki added District officials did not immediately respond to the union's official notice of a strike. Of the 1,441 educators who voted, 939 voted yes to the strike, according to union leaders. Parents were just learning of the called strike Tuesday morning as they dropped their children off at school. 'The last strike in 2023 kept students out of school for 8 days, led to skyrocketing rates of chronic absenteeism, disrupted student learning, forced special education students to go without IEP services, all to get our teachers the same deal that was on the table before the strike even started,' said Megan Bacigalupi, who has two children in the district. 'With only 35% of OEA members even voting for this strike, it is sad to me our students will once again bear this burden.' The impending strike comes at a pivotal time for the district, with the union-backed board majority recently voting to remove Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell from her post at the end of this school year. Johnson-Trammell, born and raised in Oakland, has spent her eight-year tenure working to stabilize the district, specifically the board's pattern of overspending and using one-time funds to backfill deficits. She has also advocated for school mergers and closures to address the loss of thousands of students in recent years to ensure resources are not spread so thin across the city. The teachers union has largely opposed those efforts and backed three winning candidates in the November election, creating a new majority led by board President Jennifer Brouhard. The four, with the teachers union's blessing, voted to remove Johnson-Trammell from her role at the end of this school year, giving her a payout to leave before the end of her contract in the summer of 2027. Brouhard was not immediately available for comment regarding the union's strike announcement Tuesday. The teachers union has frequently claimed that the district's budget deficit was a 'manufactured crisis' and that there is no need to make cuts or close schools, although they have failed to provide evidence of that. Kampala Taiz-Rancifer, president of the union, recently claimed the district added $90 million in central office overhead to the budget mid-year while claiming a deficit of $95 million. When pressed by the Chronicle for details, she said she would provide them when she returned to the office Monday, but failed to do so. District officials, however, say the $95 million deficit projected next year is now closer to $12 million after central office cuts and other reductions, including layoffs and the elimination of vacant positions. The most recent strike occurred in May 2023 and lasted nearly two-weeks. That walkout was over pay and other issues and followed a one-day strike in March. The end of the longer strike came with 11% to 22.3% pay raises and a retroactive 10% raise for all teachers plus a $5,000 bonus. That contract remains in place. The strike announced for Thursday would be based not on failed contract negotiations, but rather a labor complaint based on the union's allegations that the district hasn't been transparent about the budget. Adding to the tension, the union failed to pay the district over two years for the salary and benefits of district teachers on leave for union work, ultimately owing the city's schools more than $400,000 in 2023.
