Improving Oakland Schools

Green Party candidate for School Board Vicente Cruz wants to focus specifically on improving schools in order to avoid the frequent criminalization of students in the Oakland Unified School District. A majority of students are living in an urban environment coupled with the common setbacks of welfare, homelessness, the prevalence of drugs, and general lack of resources, resulting in the consistent jailing and incarceration of Oakland youth. The current setup of the OUSD education system does nothing to avoid this, and in fact, is supporting the prison industrial complex by cycling Oakland youth continuously through the prison system. The loss of potential here to Oakland’s economy, community, and values is gargantuan. One of the direct changes that must be made is the removal of armed and uniformed police officers on Oakland school campuses. The officers intimidate students and foster the belief that the adults in their lives feel that they will inevitably commit a criminal activity. Another task that will be completed is the definite removal of military recruiters on OUSD campuses, as they purposefully target poor and underprivileged children in a type of “poverty draft.” There is a fundamental problem in having these recruiters convince poor students that the armed forces is their only alternative to jail. These young adults are not receiving the support needed to persuade them to further their education in junior college or university. The Oakland education system is in dire need of an overall renovation in order to protect our youth for the future.

OUSD Board Candidate People's District 3

Vicente Cruz II

Written by Amani Liggett

Edited by Vicente Cruz II

OUSD Employee Changes

Green Party candidate for OUSD Board people's district 3 Vicente Cruz is demanding swift and drastic change within the Oakland Unified School District and the treatment of its employees. Those employed by the OUSD are doing noble work for their community and deserve benefits packages that include their immediate family members. These benefits should not cost the employees any type of fees out of their own pocket. Green Party Candidate Vicente Cruz will aggressively pursue the best possible rates to cover all OUSD employees in their benefits. In addition, there is an essential need for renegotiations to take place within each OUSD school, in order to release those teachers who are reported as consistently having a negative impact on students. Furthermore, we must promote those teachers willing to create more advanced and specific curriculum designed to better fit the diversity found in Oakland. The city of Oakland houses peoples of multiple backgrounds, ethnicities, languages, and beliefs. The OUSD must be reworked in order to properly reflect this. Representing the few rather than the many is not how Oakland wants to be presented to the world.

OUSD Candidate Peoples District 3 Vicente Cruz II

Written by Amani Liggett

Edited by Vicente Cruz II

Equal Education Solutions

The lack of equal and quality education is a fundamental problem in the Oakland Unified School Districts education system. OUSD Board Candidate People's District 3 Vicente Cruz desires that all OUSD students, regardless of poor socioeconomic status, be provided with the same opportunities as any other child. The current education funding needs to be radically redistributed in order to better benefit Oakland students. We need multilingual education programs that will not only make our students stronger in a global world but also provide the essential need for ESL students. The mental and physical health of students is also a great and immediate concern. OUSD students deserve to go to school and be offered fresh and healthy food in their cafeterias every day. Green Party Candidate People's District 3 Vicente Cruz also aims so instate physical education programs that setup district funded youth sports leagues. Healthy eating and frequent exercise often starts in school, and the citizens of Oakland owe it to their children to foster this type of environment. Furthermore, Oakland schools are severely lacking in classes for art and music, making it even harder for those students who graduate to compete in an ever-growing world of creativity and innovation. Oakland high school seniors also need to be offered more post-grad support, especially in guiding them to trade schools relevant to their interests. The adults of Oakland seeking further education also deserve to have Adult Education classes reinstated. With the election of the Oakland Green Party Candidate Vicente Cruz to the Oakland School Board, these changes can be expedited; the main goal is to use the funding provided to make better education choices for Oakland.

Vicente Cruz II OUSD Candidate People's District 3

Written by Amani Liggett

Edited by Vicente Cruz II