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Welcome, readers.  Before we dive in, we have an exciting announcement: we’re launching “The Dig Speakers Bureau.” Our editorial team is available to come to your community or PTA meeting and give a 20-minute nonpartisan presentation on what’s going on in OUSD. If you’re interested, please reply to this newsletter.

OK, on to Wednesday’s meeting. The agenda was light, and the budget wasn’t on it at all.  Directors Berry and Hutchinson both said it should have been, given the urgency of the district’s financial challenges. 

📱 Student Voices on Screens

Context: California law required the district to adopt a cell phone policy by the end of the 25/26 school year, and the district chose to implement a bell-to-bell cell phone ban. The district is using Yondr pouches, lockable fabric cases that (allegedly) can only be unlocked by a school employee with a special device.

At Wednesday’s meeting: Student Directors Tongun and Bloch reported on how the ban is going from students’ perspectives:

• Good: School culture seems to have improved. Students are socializing more during lunch, and upperclassmen are spending more time welcoming freshmen.  Students seem more attentive even if they don't put their phones away.
• Not as great: It’s hard to communicate with parents for things like choosing a pickup spot. There are lots of ways around the policy: not locking the pouch, or putting something other than your phone in the pouch. (They heard one report of a student putting a block of cheese in their pouch!)

The directors noted that the ACC (the district’s student government body) was “shocked” not to have been consulted on the policy, and wondered why the district chose Yondr pouches instead of other policies like an “if we see it, we take it” system.

A 1:1 device resolution was also on last night’s agenda. The resolution lists the risks of device use (anxiety, addictive behavior, reduced attention span) and directs the Superintendent to develop a research-based policy on student device use (including use of AI tools). President Brouhard delayed a vote on the policy so that Student Directors and the ACC will have a chance to provide input.

Our take: As moms, we’re familiar with the challenge of implementing device policies. Our own kids have a lot of feedback on how we regulate devices & screen time in our households. We share the district’s concerns about screen time, and we also know that device rules are useless if you can’t explain the rationale to kids or enforce them consistently. We’re glad to see the board making room for student feedback on how to make these policies workable in schools.

🏫 Superintendent Update

Context: The superintendent provides a report to the board at each meeting.  Hiring and managing the superintendent is one of the board’s primary responsibilities.  The superintendent’s report helps the board (and the public) know what the superintendent is doing.

At Wednesday’s meeting: Superintendent Saddler presented a report celebrating back to school highlights and OUSD’s participation in the Oakland Pride Parade. She also added a verbal report to the board in which she spoke to the challenges of heat remediation in older school buildings, briefly mentioned that some classes may need to be consolidated, and shared that she’s working on a 4-year strategic plan.

Several directors (as they often do) appreciated Saddlers work and thanked her for lifting up the positive things happening in the district. Director Hutchinson and Director Berry both commented that they would like to see updates on district finances in the Superintendent’s report. All of the above is fairly standard for recent board meetings. New and notable at this meeting: two school board candidates stepped up to the mic to make public comments on the report.

📺Comment from parent and D4 candidate Kathryn Camp: “At a moment when OUSD is facing serious academic enrollment, operational and fiscal challenges, the public needs more than highlights and celebrations. We need a report that clearly tells us: what are the district’s top priorities, what progress has been made, where are we off track, and what is being done to address it?”

📺 Comment from teacher and D6 candidate Alexandra Williams: She’s glad to hear the Superintendent is working on a 4-year plan, and she wants to hear how it will be anchored in student outcomes. She appreciated the qualitative data in the report, and wants to see some quantitative data in the next one.

Our take: We frequently find the Superintendent’s report to be light on numbers and heavy on fluff.  We agree with the public commenters and Director Berry, all of whom said we need a report that both celebrates wins and presents a clear, data-driven picture of the district’s challenges.

Also discussed this week

• Director Bachelor spoke proudly of the board’s work to address health concerns raised by “Cool the Schools.” (📺Our mini-take: We found it odd for Bachelor to celebrate heat mitigation wins, given the tone of discussion on this topic at the last Facilities Committee meeting. Parent commenters at that meeting described the district’s efforts as too little and too late, and expressed disappointment that Bachelor skipped the meeting to attend a campaign event.)
• 📺 Director of Student Safety Nelson Allegria described the work at Parker and Castlemont to help those communities heal from recent violent incidents, and interrupt future cycles of violence.
• 📺Once again we saw real friction among board members, and with district staff. This is stalling conversations. The disagreements may be legitimate, but the students deserve better. We hope they can set the fighting aside and build bridges for the sake of our students' futures.

📰 News

• Teacher / OUSD parent / friend-of-The-Dig Josh Cline launched a Substack explaining core budget concepts. We love it, and will be reading regularly and linking to it often.

Thanks for following along! And if you’re a regular reader who wants to share what’s going on in the district with your community, consider inviting The Dig Speakers’ Bureau to an upcoming event.

Best,

Anna, Bekah, and Jess