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Yahoo
3 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
CBS News
30-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
OUSD names former union president as interim superintendent
The Oakland Unified School District Board of Education has picked veteran educator Dr. Denise Saddler to serve as interim superintendent for the 2025/2026 school year. In their announcement the district said Dr. Saddler was previously the principal at Chabot Elementary School and the Network Executive Officer for the district. She also spent six years as the president of the Oakland Education Association the union representing thousands of educators in the city. In addition to her time in Oakland she served as the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services for the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose and has spent the last four years as a lecturer for the U.C. Berkeley Doctoral Program. The school board is still finalizing the terms of Dr. Saddler's contract the details of the agreement will have to be finalized at an upcoming board meeting. Dr. Saddler is expected to start on July 1. She is taking over for Kyla Johnson-Trammell who had her contract terminated earlier this year. She had served as superintendent since 2017 and is reportedly among the longest-serving Oakland Unified superintendents in district history. Her termination came after she had her contract extended by three years back in August. When Dr. Saddler takes over as interim superintendent she will be inheriting an estimated $95.7 million deficit. Earlier this year board members voted to freeze $29 million something board director Mike Hutchinson said would decimate 50% to 80% of their after-school programs.
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
