total. In addition, a full 30.6 percent of Oakland’s school population needs
instruction in English as a second language.
If 30 percent of Oakland’s students come to school without sufficient
English skills, and another approximate 30 percent speak AAVE as a home
language, the school district will require extra resources to provide the
necessary instruction. Even with so many additional challenges, Oakland
is underfunded in comparison to neighboring Pleasanton, where only 5.7
percent of the students come to school as native speakers of a language
other than English.
The Triggering Event
A few things about the Oakland school district in 1996 which are generally
agreed upon:
The children in the district, most especially the African
American children, were not doing well academically, and had
not been doing well for a very long time.
This failure to thrive was due at least in part to the fact that
African American children came to school speaking a variety of
English that (1) differs significantly from the academic/school
English they were expected to use; and (2) was highly
stigmatized.
Teachers had not yet found a methodology that addressed these
complex issues.
The teachers and staff were looking for a way to make schooling
relevant and reward-ing for these children.
The School Board recognized that it would take a great deal of
funding to find appropriate ways to proceed and turn this
situation around.
There was no money for such a project; there was barely enough
money to keep the classrooms staffed and provide textbooks.In summary, if AAVE speakers were to succeed in school, two things had
to happen: funding needed to become available, and they had to find a way
to engage the children in the possibility of success. At the same time, the
staff and school board were very much aware that there was money