Posted on April 30, 2013

Extra Resources Sent to Troubled Oakland School After Fight

CBS SF Bay Area, April 26, 2013

The Oakland Unified School District is sending in extra resources to Alliance Academy after video surfaced of a fight between a substitute teacher and student. But some teachers told KPIX 5 the action may be too late.

{snip} The video shows punching and kicking between the student and teacher, followed by the teacher picking up a desk, thrusting it at the child. The student involved in the video no longer attends the school.

The middle school is one of the toughest in East Oakland, with 360 students ages 10-13. Police have visited the campus 13 times during the school year so far, and five students have been expelled.

Out of a total of 13 teachers at Alliance this year, 10 are new. The turnover rate at the school is much higher than the district average of 14 percent.

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In fact, two of the three teachers interviewed by KPIX 5 will leave Oakland after the school year. The third teacher is on the fence.

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Students said that is why some kids act out and disrespect their teachers. “Because they’re new,” said Jose Barajas, an eighth grader.

{snip} Meanwhile, the school is not denying a more recent event. A student told KPIX 5 that his classmates started what he called a “riot” in a classroom.

“They destroyed the whole classroom. They broke the desk. They threw the computers on the floor,” Barajas recalled. He said he hid under a desk, when other students tossed desks and other items across the room.

After media attention this week, the district sent in extra administrators to work with troubled students. But some teachers said the help has come too late.

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Alliance also had three different principals in four years. {snip}

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[Editor’s Note: Alliance Academy in Oakland is 68 percent Hispanic, 27 percent black, and 0 percent white.]