Fourth Year Evaluation Report

Oakland Unified School District

Parent and Community

2002-2003

Components 3 & 4: Parent- Community Involvement & Tech. Access

Two major components of the Urban Dreams project are parent and community involvement and access to technology. The parent and community involvement component consists of ongoing parent technology trainings at each of the local high schools and middle schools, Take-Home Computer program and linkages to community partners.

	Parent Technology Training
	Take-Home Computer Training
	Results of Parent Computer Training
	Parent and Community Involvement - Community Partnerships
	Access to Technology

Parent Technology Trainings

Urban Dreams provided basic computer training for parents during the 2002-2003 school year (Objective 3.1). The Marcus Foster Institute provided the trainings through a subcontract with the school district. The technology trainings were mandatory for parents prior to their participation in the Take-Home Computer program. Almost 600 parents participated in the trainings during the 2002-2003 academic year. The trainings were designed to provide parents with basic computer concepts and skills through hands-on use of computers.

To review in the effectiveness of the workshops, trainers developed and administered a summative evaluation form that elicited participant feedback on the trainings themselves. The evaluations were collected at the end of each workshop. The parents were asked to rate four statements about the workshops from agree, kind of agree, kind of disagree, and disagree. There was also an open-ended question that asked: Do you have any other comments or ideas on how to improve the workshop? The assessment was made available in Spanish.

An analysis of individual respondents revealed that a minimum of 590 parents had taken the assessments and responded to all four statements. The results of statement one, I learned a lot from this workshop, indicate that 78.3% agree and 17.1% strongly agree. Only 4.6% of the parents kind of disagree or disagree that they learned a lot from the workshop. While a great majority learned a lot from the workshop, some parents commented that they already were familiar with basic computer skills.

Statement two articulated, “The workshop activities were valuable.” Almost 82% (81.7) agreed and 16.6% strongly agreed that the workshop activities were valuable. A mere 1.7% of 590 respondents kind of disagreed or disagreed. Eighty-nine point three percent indicated that they agreed “the instructor did a good job of presenting the information.” Again, only 1.7% of the parents either kind of disagreed or disagreed that the instructor did a good job at the workshops. The last statement, as a result of attending the workshop I feel that I can operate and maintain a computer, shows that 87.6 either agreed of kind of agreed. Only 2.4% kind of disagreed or disagreed with the statement.

The median response was “agree” indicating that the vast majority of participants thought that the trainings were of the highest quality. On average over 82% of the participants gave each quality indicator the highest rating. The following tables give a detailed account of each of the four statements sub-divided by the date of training, training site, and workshop instructor. A sampling of parent comments to the open-ended question follows the tables. A copy of the entire report is available in the attachments.

Table 10. Statement 1: I learned a lot from this workshop N=591

Date of training	Training Site	Workshop Instructor	Agree	Kind of Agree	Kind of Disagree	Disagree	Total
10/09/02	Oakland Tech HS		7	7	0	0	14
10/10/02	Oakland Tech HS		8	2	0	0	10
10/16/02	Oakland Tech HS		3	1	0	0	4
10/17/02	Oakland Tech HS		17	3	0	0	20
10/21/02	Life Academy		5	3	0	0	8
10/22/02	Oakland HS		9	2	1	0	12
10/22/02	Life Academy		8	0	2	1	11
10/26/02	McClymonds HS		8	4	0	0	12
10/26/02	Oakland Tech HS		27	4	1	0	32
10/29/02	Oakland HS		21	4	0	0	25
10/30/02	McClymonds HS		12	2	1	0	15
11/16/02	Castlemont HS		17	1	1	0	19
11/16/02	Ralph Bunche MS		10	1	0	1	12
11/21/02	Castlemont HS		20	2	0	0	22
12/03/02	Oakland HS		8	0	0	0	8
12/05/02	Castlemont HS		7	0	0	0	7
12/05/02	Oakland HS		3	0	0	0	3
02/26/03	Lowell MS		12	0	1	0	13
03/01/03	Lowell MS		8	0	0	0	8
03/08/03	Castlemont HS		12	1	0	0	13
03/08/03	Roosevelt MS		28	3	0	0	31
03/12/03	Oakland Tech HS		11	5	0	1	17
03/13/03	Skyline HS		15	4	1	1	21
03/13/03	Fremont HS		15	8	0	0	23
03/18/03	Oakland Tech HS		8	0	1	0	9
03/22/03	Oakland Tech HS		25	6	1	0	32
03/24/03	Bret Harte		14	7	0	0	21
03/25/03	Fremont HS		15	2	1	0	18
03/29/03	Oakland Tech HS		18	6	0	2	26
03/29/03	Calvin Simmons		10	6	0	0	16
04/03/03	Skyline HS		13	1	2	2	18
04/08/03	Skyline HS		1	1	0	0	2
04/12/03	McClymonds HS		8	1	0	0	9
04/23/03	Oakland Tech HS		4	3	1	0	8
05/06/03	Oakland Tech HS		13	2	0	2	17
05/17/03	Castlemont HS		22	0	3	0	25
06/05/03	Fremont HS		21	9	0	0	30
		Totals	463	101	17	10	591
		Percent	78.3	17.1	2.9	1.7	100

Table 11. Statement 2: The workshop activities were valuable N=590

Date of training	Training Site	Workshop Instructor	Agree	Kind of Agree	Kind of Disagree	Disagree	Total
10/09/02	Oakland Tech HS		10	4	0	0	14
10/10/02	Oakland Tech		10	0	0	0	10
10/16/02	Oakland Tech		4	0	0	0	4
10/17/02	Oakland Tech		18	2	0	0	20
10/21/02	Life Academy		5	3	0	0	8
10/22/02	Oakland High		4	7	1	0	12
10/22/02	Life Academy		8	2	0	1	11
10/26/02	McClymonds		10	2	0	0	12
10/26/02	Oakland Tech		27	4	1	0	32
10/29/02	Oakland High		20	5	0	0	25
10/30/02	McClymonds HS		13	2	0	0	15
11/16/02	Castlemont HS		15	4	0	0	19
11/16/02	Ralph Bunche MS		10	1	1	0	12
11/21/02	Castlemont HS		21	1	0	0	22
12/03/02	Oakland HS		6	2	0	0	8
12/05/02	Castlemont HS		6	0	0	0	6
12/05/02	Oakland HS		2	1	0	0	3
02/26/03	Lowell MS		12	1	0	0	13
03/01/03	Lowell MS		6	2	0	0	8
03/08/03	Castlemont HS		12	1	0	0	13
03/08/03	Roosevelt MS		31	0	0	0	31
03/12/03	Oakland Tech HS		11	5	0	1	17
03/13/03	Skyline HS		13	7	1	0	21
03/13/03	Fremont HS		17	6	0	0	23
03/18/03	Oakland Tech HS		7	2	0	0	9
03/22/03	Oakland Tech HS		25	6	1	0	32
03/24/03	Bret Harte		19	2	0	0	21
03/25/03	Fremont HS		17	0	1	0	18
03/29/03	Oakland Tech HS		22	4	0	0	26
03/29/03	Calvin Simmons		12	3	1	0	16
04/03/03	Skyline HS		14	4	0	0	18
04/08/03	Skyline HS		0	2	0	0	2
04/12/03	McClymonds HS		8	1	0	0	9
04/23/03	Oakland Tech HS		6	2	0	0	8
05/06/03	Oakland Tech HS		13	3	1	0	17
05/17/03	Castlemont HS		21	4	0	0	25
06/05/03	Fremont HS		27	3	0	0	30
		Totals	482	98	8	2	590
		Percent	81.7	16.6	1.4	0.3	100

Table 12. Statement 3: The instructor did a good job of presenting the information N=591

Date of training	Training Site	Workshop Instructor	Agree	Kind of Agree	Kind of Disagree	Disagree	Total
10/09/02	Oakland Tech		11	1	1	1	14
10/10/02	Oakland Tech		10	0	0	0	10
10/16/02	Oakland Tech		4	0	0	0	4
10/17/02	Oakland Tech		19	1	0	0	20
10/21/02	Life Academy		5	3	0	0	8
10/22/02	Oakland High		7	5	0	0	12
10/22/02	Life Academy		9	2	0	0	11
10/26/02	McClymonds		10	0	2	0	12
10/26/02	Oakland Tech		29	3	0	0	32
10/29/02	Oakland High		24	1	0	0	25
10/30/02	McClymonds HS		11	3	1	0	15
11/16/02	Castlemont HS		17	1	1	0	19
11/16/02	Ralph Bunche MS		11	1	0	0	12
11/21/02	Castlemont HS		21	1	0	0	22
12/03/02	Oakland HS		8	0	0	0	8
12/05/02	Castlemont HS		7	0	0	0	7
12/05/02	Oakland HS		3	0	0	0	3
02/26/03	Lowell MS		12	0	1	0	13
03/01/03	Lowell MS		8	0	0	0	8
03/08/03	Castlemont HS		12	1	0	0	13
03/08/03	Roosevelt MS		27	4	0	0	31
03/12/03	Oakland Tech HS		16	1	0	0	17
03/13/03	Skyline HS		19	2	0	0	21
03/13/03	Fremont HS		19	4	0	0	23
03/18/03	Oakland Tech HS		8	1	0	0	9
03/22/03	Oakland Tech HS		30	2	0	0	32
03/24/03	Bret Harte		21	0	0	0	21
03/25/03	Fremont HS		18	0	0	0	18
03/29/03	Oakland Tech HS		23	3	0	0	26
03/29/03	Calvin Simmons		15	1	0	0	16
04/03/03	Skyline HS		15	3	0	0	18
04/08/03	Skyline HS		2	0	0	0	2
04/12/03	McClymonds HS		9	0	0	0	9
04/23/03	Oakland Tech HS		8	0	0	0	8
05/06/03	Oakland Tech HS		14	3	0	0	17
05/17/03	Castlemont HS		20	3	2	0	25
06/05/03	Fremont HS		26	3	0	1	30
		Totals	528	53	8	2	591
		Percent	89.3	9.0	1.4	0.3	100

Table 13. Statement 4: As a result of attending the workshop, I feel that I can operate and maintain a computer N=591

Date of training	Training Site	Workshop Instructor	Agree	Kind of Agree	Kind of Disagree	Disagree	Totals
10/09/02	Oakland Tech		12	2	0	0	14
10/10/02	Oakland Tech		8	2	0	0	10
10/16/02	Oakland Tech		4	0	0	0	4
10/17/02	Oakland Tech		19	1	0	0	20
10/21/02	Life Academy		6	2	0	0	8
10/22/02	Oakland High		8	1	2	1	12
10/22/02	Life Academy		9	1	0	1	11
10/26/02	McClymonds		12	0	0	0	12
10/26/02	Oakland Tech		31	1	0	0	32
10/29/02	Oakland High		21	4	0	0	25
10/30/02	McClymonds HS		13	2	0	0	15
11/16/02	Castlemont HS		15	3	1	0	19
11/16/02	Ralph Bunche MS		9	3	0	0	12
11/21/02	Castlemont HS		20	2	0	0	22
12/03/02	Oakland HS		6	2	0	0	8
12/05/02	Castlemont HS		5	2	0	0	7
12/05/02	Oakland HS		3	0	0	0	3
02/26/03	Lowell MS		11	0	1	1	13
03/01/03	Lowell MS		8	0	0	0	8
03/08/03	Castlemont HS		11	2	0	0	13
03/08/03	Roosevelt MS		28	3	0	0	31
03/12/03	Oakland Tech HS		12	4	1	0	17
03/13/03	Skyline HS		15	4	2	0	21
03/13/03	Fremont HS		17	5	1	0	23
03/18/03	Oakland Tech HS		9	0	0	0	9
03/22/03	Oakland Tech HS		27	4	0	1	32
03/24/03	Bret Harte		21	0	0	0	21
03/25/03	Fremont HS		15	3	0	0	18
03/29/03	Oakland Tech HS		25	1	0	0	2
03/29/03	Calvin Simmons		13	3	0	0	16
04/03/03	Skyline HS		15	3	0	0	18
04/08/03	Skyline HS		2	0	0	0	2
04/12/03	McClymonds HS		6	2	1	0	9
04/23/03	Oakland Tech HS		7	1	0	0	8
05/06/03	Oakland Tech HS		17	0	0	0	17
05/17/03	Castlemont HS		18	6	1	0	25
06/05/03	Fremont HS		27	3	0	0	30
		Totals	505	72	10	4	591
		Percent	85.4	12.2	1.7	0.7	100

Parents were asked: Do you have any other comments or ideas on how to improve the workshop? Most of the comments were positive and praised the workshops and the program.

	I think it’s a great program that saved me money.
	This is a wonderful opportunity for those not fortunate enough to own a computer, thanks.
	I already know a lot about computers, but I did learn a couple of things.
	I think that Mr. N did a great job and telling us what he knows and to show us how computers work. Thank you
	My comment is that your guys did GREAT!
	The instructor was very helpful and answered all of my questions. And I learned a lot in the three hours I was here. Thank you
	The gentleman did a very great job and I (myself) learned a lot. We greatly appreciated and thankful. Thank you and God bless!
	I feel she did a wonderful job presenting the information and was very helpful in her assisting the students as well as her helpers. Thanks a lot!
	This is a good program and I think they should keep doing the same thing. No need to improve - everything is great!
	I like to thank the take home computer program and the instructor for this opportunity to have the computer I need for my child. Thank you very much for donating the computer. The children will benefit from it.
	The information given was simple and understandable. Thanks for the class and computer.
	I thought the workshop was really helpful. The helpers were very helpful also. Even though I know almost everything I thought I could know, I learned a lot more. This was a great experience.

Some parents offered constructive comments to help further enhance future workshops:

	I think this is a good workshop for those with limited computer knowledge. Could slow it down a bit. Maybe there could be a separate workshop for those who already have some computer knowledge.
	Many of the information presented in the workshop I already know. I thought it was a little boring to go over what you already know. I think we should be grouped together according to what we need to know. But overall, I did learn valuable information. Thanks
	Separate the Spanish speaking for another class. So one Spanish class and one English class in different rooms.

Take-Home Computer Program

The Urban Dreams Project is starting its fourth year of implementation serving the students, parents, and teachers of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). The Project, in collaboration with the Marcus A. Foster Institute, recently concluded the third year of the Take Home Computer program. During the fall and winter of 2002, the program provided refurbished computers to approximately 150 families of students attending secondary schools in the OUSD. Before receiving a computer, a parent or legal guardian of the student must first attend a computer training session. These training sessions provide basic instructions of computer usage along with an overview of the software that is included.

Click to go to Results of the Parent Computer Training Sessions

Parent and Community Involvement – Community Partnerships

A strength of the project has been the quality and quantity of linkages the staff has developed with educational partners in the community. These partners provide in-kind resources and their efforts are leading to the long-term sustainability of the project’s efforts. These partners provide valuable assistance related to professional development, technology and curriculum support. The following are brief descriptions of some of the larger partnerships:

The following is a brief description of the collaborating partners who participated in the monthly workshops:

The Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project (MLK Project), Stanford University: The King Papers Project is a major research effort to assemble and disseminate historical information concerning Martin Luther King, Jr. and the social movements in which he participated. Urban Dream teachers collaborated with the King Papers Project to develop curriculum for secondary teachers.

The curriculum “There Was a Certain Type of Fire That No Water Could Put Out” was created and refined through these efforts. Collaborations between OUSD teachers and Stanford students resulted in units developed in web page format. Examples are the “Music of the Civil Rights Movement” and Urban Economics.” Students at Stanford got real time exposure to urban classrooms and teachers got rich resource sets to use with their students.

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS): California Heritage and the Center for Latin American Studies assisted individual teachers with the development of curriculum related to Latin America. Cal Heritage staff visited classrooms to display their resources that are available to teachers and students. Both Cal Heritage and CLAS, in collaboration with project and district staff, developed web-based curriculum resources.

California Heritage, (Cal Heritage): The California Heritage Collection is an online archive of over 28,000 digital images and manuscripts documenting California's history and culture. This project is a collaborative effort between the Berkeley Library, University of California, Berkeley and the San Francisco and Oakland Unified School Districts. The goals of the California Heritage Collection are to: a) promote the integration of the Internet and primary sources into K-12 curriculum; and b) create web-based lesson plans. The web-based lesson plans that resulted from the individual school projects can be found at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/calheritage/k12, and include units on farm workers and the United Farm Workers movement. Teachers worked with librarians to learn to use the restricted collections and correct procedures surrounding copyright issues.

U.C. Berkeley “Connecting Students to the World” (CSTW): Connecting Students to the World is an educational program developed and produced by the Institute of International Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. The program uses the Internet and the World Wide Web to further collaboration between the university and K-12 educators. At the heart of the program is “Conversations with History”, which features interviews with distinguished men and women from all over the world who talk about their lives and their work. This project has an updated website and has added new interviews, model lessons, and planning guides for both teachers and students.

The Core Literature Study Group (Core Lit): The Core Literature Study Group is an organization of teachers that meet to develop curriculum and materials for the teaching of a specific title from the core literature list. The goal of the meetings is to publish curriculum projects on the Urban Dreams web site. Two Fremont High School teachers, Emily Filloy and Deborah Juarez, coordinated the group.

Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP): The Bay Area Writing Project is a collaborative program of the University of California at Berkeley and Bay Area schools, dedicated to improving writing and the teaching of writing at all grade levels and in all disciplines. The project includes an expanding network of exemplary classroom teachers, kindergarten through university, who, throughout the summer and school year, conducted professional development programs for teachers and administrators. The project component featured during the 2000-2001 academic year was “Expository Writing in the History and English Classrooms.”

World Affairs Council (WAC) Human Rights Series: The World Affairs Council Education Program provides teachers with international studies resources and information. Innovative methods for implementing related classroom curriculum are discussed at the workshops and programs which include seminar series, school district projects, scholarships for both teachers and students, institutes, a Resource Center, and the Colloquy newsletter. Work with this project began during the 2000 Summer Institute and continued in 2001.

“Negotiating Unresolved World History Problems” - A joint project of The Contemporary World History Project & The World Affairs Council. The Contemporary World History Project (CWHP) operates at two levels – a multiyear knowledge and skill development program for participating teachers plus a computer assisted, intergenerational negotiation simulation for students. The project’s overall purpose is the development of high school teachers’ knowledge and instructional skills relating to world history. Participating teachers are supported with curriculum resource materials, an e-mail communication network, and regular coaching in the application of the project content and instructional practice in their own classrooms. Work with this project began during the 2000 Summer Institute.

The Oakland Technology Exchange (OTX): The Oakland Technology Exchange (OTX) recycles computer technology for the Oakland Public Schools. Even more importantly, it provides high school students with incentives to stay in school and learn skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. OTX recycles computers for use by Tech students at home and on their way to college. Students and staff learn about and recycle computers that are 'obsolete' by current business standards and earn credits (“Tech Bucks”) that are redeemable for take-home computers. Computers that are recycled in the program are used in school labs and classrooms.

Marcus A. Foster Educational Institute (MAFEI): In 1973 Oakland Schools' Superintendent Marcus Foster founded an organization to raise discretionary funds to nurture creative initiatives in the public schools. The Marcus A. Foster Educational Institute is uniting educators, parents, business and civic leaders in the effort to reform public education. The Institute is working for and with a multicultural community to address the broad range of educational needs through various programs and supporting endeavors.

Access to Technology – Placement of Technology into Classrooms

A major reason for the development of the Urban Dreams project was the lack of technology access by students within the classroom. The vast majority of students in the target secondary schools attended classrooms that did not have computer technology or access to the Internet. Similarly, the teachers in those classrooms rarely used computer technology for instructional purposes.

Urban Dreams has made a significant impact on the access to technology by both students and parents. More students and their parents are accessing technology on a regular basis as a direct result of this project. The project is accomplishing this by: a) the placement of technology into secondary social studies and English classrooms; and b) the placement of refurbished computers into the homes of students who attend those same classrooms.

A major activity of the Urban Dreams project has been the building of infrastructure including wiring classrooms for the Internet, purchase of computers and software and the placement of the technology within each of the more than 50 classrooms used by Urban Dreams teachers. This undertaking was accomplished through a joint effort between district, school site, and project staff. The district has made extensive use of state and local funds to support this effort.

As a result of this undertaking, all of the classrooms of participating teachers currently have high speed Internet access, a laptop computer, 5 desktop computers, software, a VCR and a large presentation monitor. In addition, Urban Dreams provides each school site with two class sets of "Alpha Smarts" keyboards and two projectors for classroom presentations. Urban Dreams and district staff also provide ongoing technical assistance.

Participating teachers are overwhelmingly supportive of the new technology. They are increasingly using technology as a part of their instructional programs. Students also use the technology as part of their regular instructional program throughout the day. Several project teachers have reported that students from other classrooms lacking equipment often use project technology before and after school.