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Richmond teachers struggle to afford housing on “poverty level” salaries

Diane Maddox sold gold jewelry as a side hustle, just to get by during her 33 years of teaching in Richmond. The single mother raised her two daughters in an apartment above a garage. It took the 56-year-old Maddox more than two decades until she could finally afford to purchase a home. She currently teaches transitional kindergarten for English learners at Downer Elementary School. “I’m a single parent in the Bay Area, so then trying to make it on one…

Report shows half of Richmond’s charter schools have substandard financial accountability and lack parent engagement

Seven charter schools in Richmond were among 43 charter schools in the state found to have faulty records for funds generated by high needs students, says a report by nonprofit law firm Public Advocates. The report published this year by the advocacy organization known for working with low income communities to bring strategic policy reform found that the charter schools were not abiding by state guidelines. The Local Control Accountability Plan and Local Control Funding Formula are state guidelines adopted…

Richmond small business owner kickstarts neighborhood party to boost childhood literacy

Reading is a struggle for many of Richmond’s youth. Almost half of students in West Contra Costa County Unified School District are unable to read at grade level.   To boost reading in Richmond, the owners of R&R Coffee hosted a party on Monday for local families at the Bridge Storage and Artspace, where food and books were given away. It was “like an adventure” for her children, said Richmond mom Sherab Osugi. She said the party made her children,…

Point Molate advisory committee vanishes, ignites controversy at City Hall

No one knows what to do with Point Molate, a 290-acre bayside property acquired by Richmond in 1995. The point, called a “jewel” by some, is on land previously owned by the US Navy and footsteps away from the Chevron refinery. The Point Molate Citizens Advisory Committee was supposed to help the city and Richmond residents manage the area and figure out how to develop it in the future, but earlier this year it was disbanded suddenly by the mayor.

West Contra Costa schools to receive $1 million federal grant for English learners, immigrant students

The West Contra Costa Unified School District is expecting to receive more than $1 million to assist English-as-a-second-language instruction for this current school year. The state grant is part of a federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which allows each state to decide how to utilize federal funding to improve the quality of instruction and advance education equity. California’s draft plan was signed and submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) by Gov. Jerry Brown last…