Save the home of Life Academy High School!
Recently, the Oakland Unified School District stated that Life Academy's building "probably" does not meet Field Act requirements for earthquake safety, and therefore plans to evict and relocate us to a currently-undisclosed site. To our knowledge, OUSD has not performed any tests or evaluations to determine if their claim of non-compliance is correct. (The building meets Uniform Building Code safety standards required by the City of Oakland.) Additionally, Life Academy is a finalist for a grant of up to $6 million to expand and enhance our site with state-of-the-art science labs: if we are evicted, we loose claim to this grant.
We, the undersigned, support Life Academy and demand that:
· OUSD must perform a complete and exhaustive evaluation of our building to determine if it meets the earthquake safety requirements of the Field Act, and must delay plans to evict us while the tests are performed. The evaluations must be completed by several third-party entities to avoid any allegations/possibilities of bias or conflicts-of-interest.
· If these tests show that our site needs renovations or retro-fitting to make our building compliant, OUSD must work with Life Academy to make renovations a priority over eviction. This building has been our home for the last 7 years: Oakland taxpayers, our community, parents, students, staff and teachers have put their time and finances into making our site a high-quality, welcoming, and safe environment. We deserve the right to be preserved, not evicted.
To learn more about Life Academy and the amazing work they do, go to http://www.lifeacademyhighschool.org/
Recently, the Oakland Unified School District stated that Life Academy's building "probably" does not meet Field Act requirements for earthquake safety, and therefore plans to evict and relocate us to a currently-undisclosed site. To our knowledge, OUSD has not performed any tests or evaluations to determine if their claim of non-compliance is correct. (The building meets Uniform Building Code safety standards required by the City of Oakland.) Additionally, Life Academy is a finalist for a grant of up to $6 million to expand and enhance our site with state-of-the-art science labs: if we are evicted, we loose claim to this grant.
We, the undersigned, support Life Academy and demand that:
· OUSD must perform a complete and exhaustive evaluation of our building to determine if it meets the earthquake safety requirements of the Field Act, and must delay plans to evict us while the tests are performed. The evaluations must be completed by several third-party entities to avoid any allegations/possibilities of bias or conflicts-of-interest.
· If these tests show that our site needs renovations or retro-fitting to make our building compliant, OUSD must work with Life Academy to make renovations a priority over eviction. This building has been our home for the last 7 years: Oakland taxpayers, our community, parents, students, staff and teachers have put their time and finances into making our site a high-quality, welcoming, and safe environment. We deserve the right to be preserved, not evicted.
To learn more about Life Academy and the amazing work they do, go to http://www.lifeacademyhighschool.org/
Recently, the Oakland Unified School District stated that Life Academy's building "probably" does not meet Field Act requirements for earthquake safety, and therefore plans to evict and relocate us to a currently-undisclosed site. To our knowledge, OUSD has not performed any tests or evaluations to determine if their claim of non-compliance is correct. (The building meets Uniform Building Code safety standards required by the City of Oakland.) Additionally, Life Academy is a finalist for a grant of up to $6 million to expand and enhance our site with state-of-the-art science labs: if we are evicted, we loose claim to this grant.
We, the undersigned, support Life Academy and demand that:
· OUSD must perform a complete and exhaustive evaluation of our building to determine if it meets the earthquake safety requirements of the Field Act, and must delay plans to evict us while the tests are performed. The evaluations must be completed by several third-party entities to avoid any allegations/possibilities of bias or conflicts-of-interest.
· If these tests show that our site needs renovations or retro-fitting to make our building compliant, OUSD must work with Life Academy to make renovations a priority over eviction. This building has been our home for the last 7 years: Oakland taxpayers, our community, parents, students, staff and teachers have put their time and finances into making our site a high-quality, welcoming, and safe environment. We deserve the right to be preserved, not evicted.
OUSD did not discuss the move with us before they announced that it would be required. No information has been provided as to where they plan on moving Life Academy, but it has been said that they will be forced to leave the community that has supported us for the last seven years. Don't let OUSD decide on eviction over preservation!
Go to http://www.lifeacademyhighschool.org/ for more information about Life Academy and the amazing work they do.
Thank you for your help.
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Why mess with something that works in OUSD?!
I will come to Life Academy high school next year and i want to be with my sister.
Life Academy is my home
I graduated from Life Academy in 2003. Although, Life Academy was fairly new, it helped me tremendously when it came to applying for college. In June of 2008, I will be a UC Davis alumni! I am sure that throughout the years, Life Academy has helped students any many other ways and in a much better form. The fact that it is a small school makes students feel comfortable because it feels as if they are a part of one big family (at least it did for me). Closing it down will break apart such family.
SAVE LIFE!!!
Keep Life Academy at its current location! Life Academy has been established for 7 years and there hasn't been a problem. The building has been sitting there for years, and where is it? It's still sitting there. The building is not up to code? A "probably" reason is not sufficient to move it. If relocated, where will be the new site? Can you guarantee that Life Academy is not placed in an area where crime or violence is at a minimal? Life Academy has been open for 7 years, what's the problem now? I understand the Chevron next to the school is shutdown. Could the potential for it's reopening have linkage to the decision to relocate Life Academy? Is the gasoline company offering a bank full for the relocation of Life Academy? The reason I went to Life Academy was because of the location. It's is within more than reasonable walking distance to my home and that may be true for many of the alumni, current students, and prospective students. Of all Oakland schools, Life Academy is one of the safest High Schools we have. It may even be the only safest Oakland High School we have. We didn't march out butts out to demand a crosswalk on the corner of our school just to have the District move us now. Students have been walking in and out of that building for years and there is no reason why they cannot continue to do so.
Please do not close Life Academy because it has provided many students with the opportunity and motivation needed to attain higher education. I my self owe my success to the teacher's motivation and support given to me to pursue higher education. Closing down this school will essentially mean the end of a legacy of turning teens lifes towards a positive direction.
Oakland Life Academy deserves better than this. Do the right thing and preserve their precious site rather than moving them!
Life Academy made a difference in my life and to this day still does. I am a first year at UC Davis and made it here with the help of the teachers and staff of Life Academy. The school should be able to stay in this location. It is very convenient for many students to get there as well to find resources available. Life Academy is more than just a school for me; it continues to be my family and my support. Dont take this away from us.
Life Academy is an incredible school with outstanding teachers. Every effort should be made to leave them at their site so they can continue to grow and succeed.
I graduated from Life Academy High School in 2004 and I am one month away from graduating from Pomona College as an Economics major. After graduation I will be working in the public finance industry. One of the main drivers in my decision to pursue a career in this industry was the opportunity to serve organizations whose sole purpose is to serve communities. The Oakland Unified School District for example exists to educate the youth of Oakland. For the last 7 years Life Academy High School has served the youth of Oakland and now faces eviction from 2111 International Blvd. My intention is not to argue that Life Academy must stay at its current location. Instead I urge the Oakland Unified School District to carefully consider all options for this school and make the decision that benefits students most. In making this decision the presence and input of teachers, administrators and parents, who have invested immense amounts of time and energy into Life Academy, is essential to the growth and development of this school. Anything less would be a disservice to the community.
Please give full consideration to Life Academy maintaining and improving its current site. It would be a terrible loss if they could not take advantage of the potential improvement grant. Please allow them to become the institution they have begun to build.
As a teacher, there has been a tremendous impact this school has made in our student's lives. I see everyday, how hard the students work to learn and to support each other. This district needs the keep the school here!
help the school keep its spot...let the kids have their education and get on too college to prepair for their life as young adults we love life academy!!!!!!!1
Having worked with Life Academy staff and students for the last seven years, I have witnessed firsthand how deeply Life Academy has touched the lives of its students and families, by combining educational rigor with a deep sense of community. Life Academy deserves to stay in the community it has nurtured and been nurtured by; it would be impossible to "move" Life Academy without deeply disrupting its students' education. All avenues should be exhausted, and further study should be done, before any final decision is made; "probably" is not good enough when put in the balance against Oakland students who are achieving academically, feeling connected to their school, and going to college in record numbers.
Life Academy has made a difference in the lives of so many students. It is crazy to try to destroy the place that has provided such hope and inspired the transformation for the Oakland School District.
Life Academy is home to an amazing educational community of teachers, students, staff, parents, children and professionals. It is a disgrace to move such an amazing asset away from a community that needs it so much. Long live Life Academy on Int'l Blvd! It is sad to see that we need to fight so hard, and continously for what is our right, education.
Life Academy DO make a difference. They provide a supporting system that encourages students to further their education by getting them ready for the real world out there. Keep this school and its future doctors, laywers, mayors, and president alive.
