2019 MLA Kindergarten Portraits
I photographed the Melrose Leadership Academy kindergarten classes again. This year, I asked principal Moyra Contreras to join our portrait session. This is Moyra’s last year as the MLA principal. If not for Ms. Contreras, I would not have had access the last ten years to document the school’s growth. As a photographer, I am […]
MLA Pioneer Promotion
In 2009, the first two classes of Melrose Leadership Academy dual immersion kindergarten students started school. Last month, the first two classes of 8th grade MLA dual immersion students finished middle school. I photographed the June 7, 2018 promotion ceremony and a celebration dinner the day earlier. When we started at the school, we could […]
Melrose Leadership Academy Kindergarten
This is the first school year that one of my children have not attended Melrose Leadership Academy since the school began it’s dual immersion program in 2009. I have been taking pictures of the school before my kids started attending. During the first year of the dual immersion program, my daughter was a kindergarten student. […]
Chinese American Exclusion
Last month, Melrose Leadership Academy’s fifth graders traveled to San Francisco’s Chinese Historical Society of America. We walked to a nearby playground in Chinatown before we visited the new permanent exhibit “Chinese Americans: Exclusion/Inclusion.” We took a bus across the Bay Bridge from Oakland. I took some pictures. I included the photo gallery here. (The […]
The 2017 Melrose Leadership Kindergarten Portraits
This is the eighth year that I have photographed the Melrose Leadership Academy dual immersion kindergarten students. I have photographed every kindergarten class since MLA introduced the Spanish bilingual program. My daughter was in the first class; my son started two years later. I have also photographed other activities, often as the Historian. (See the […]
2017 Winter Performance Expo
I wanted to publish positive images today… reminders about the beauty of my children’s world. On Wednesday January 18, 2017, Melrose Leadership Academy in Oakland held their Winter Performance Expo. Here is my photo gallery slideshow of 121 images. On Wednesday night, Oakland Unified held another board meeting to discuss budget shortfalls. Today, our new President said in his Inaugural Address […]
Melrose Leadership Academy Peace March
“Imagine all the people living life in peace” John Lennon Yesterday, my son’s Spanish bilingual school, Melrose Leadership Academy, organized a march through our Maxwell Park neighborhood in Oakland, California. Here is the photo gallery of the peace and kindness march. The march had been planned before the recent tragedy in Oakland; however, our school community […]
Another First Week
Last week my children started school again. My son attends a Spanish dual immersion school in Oakland, California. (My daughter attended Melrose Leadership Academy the first six years of MLA’s bilingual program. Now she attends 7th grade in a neighboring district middle school.) MLA is not for everyone, but I believe in the school. When my daughter was in the […]
2016 Spring Performance Expo – Melrose Leadership Academy
I have been photographing performances at Melrose Leadership Academy longer than many people have been taking pictures. Earlier this month, I photographed my 14th “Performance Expo” at my son’s dual immersion Oakland public school. You can access the Spring 2016 photo gallery here. I am an educator as well as a parent, so I probably view […]
The 2016 Melrose Leadership Kindergarten Portraits
This is the seventh year that I have photographed the Melrose Leadership Academy kindergarten students. I started the project when my daughter was in kindergarten. My daughter is no longer a student at MLA, but some of her former kindergarten classmates still attend MLA and they helped me with this year’s shoot. Last year I wrote about how the […]
Melrose Leadership Performance Expo
The Melrose Leadership Academy after school program students presented the 2016 Winter Performance Expo on January 20, 2016. I believe that I have photographed each performance expo since my daughter started MLA in 2009. If I am correct, this is my 13th. A baker’s dozen The 2016 photo gallery can be accessed here. I have also included the Spring 2015 Performance Expo […]
The 2015 MLA Kindergarten Portraits
When my 11 year old daughter began kindergarten at Melrose Leadership Academy, I had a simple idea. I thought I could photograph each kindergarten class as long as my children attended the school. I live in the neighborhood. How difficult could it be? As I tell my photography students, simple and easy are not the […]
Mills Healing Plant Tour
On a standardized test, what does a leader look like? How do you build standardized assessments that reward collaboration and creativity? If you wanted to identify the next Julia Morgan, would you rely on the SAT? The two 5th grade pioneer classes from Melrose Leadership Academy visited Mills College in Oakland, California. Mills College is in our neighborhood, so […]
MLA Song and Dance
On Thursday March 5th, Melrose Leadership Academy held the first TK-5th Grade Choral Concert in Oakland, California. (You can view a photo gallery of The Choral Concert here.) Earlier this school year, MLA held its annual Dance-a-thon. (I have included dance-a-thon images at the bottom and a gallery here.) Since today is International Women’s Day and yesterday was the 50th anniversary […]
With Love From Me to OUSD
The last time I attended an Oakland Unified School Board meeting, I taught at an OUSD elementary school. I was an active Oakland Education Association (OEA) union member. People read newspapers. Nobody had a Facebook profile. Board meetings were held in the old district office, but everything else felt oddly familiar. If anyone is interested, […]
Melrose Leadership Academy 2014 Community
My two children attend Melrose Leadership Academy in Oakland, California. MLA is a Spanish dual immersion K-8 school. Our school is part of Oakland Unified School District. In previous years, I have posted more frequently about our school, but this year I have been busy teaching photography and yearbook at Pittsburg High School. Both school […]
Melrose Leadership Kindergarten and First Grade Photos
Registration just started for the 2013-2014 school year. Kindergarten families and first graders register today. (I remember registering our first child before the Spanish immersion program started. We were scared!) Many people worry when they send kids to school… any school, so I thought I would post the galleries from last year’s kindergarten and first […]
The Dual Immersion Curriculum Development Institute
When I first became a parent, I felt as if I had joined a secret club. Membership included our own version of a secret handshake too. (It is a sleepy head nod.) New parents could identify each other anywhere. We would also commiserate about our lack of sleep and share our humbling experience of becoming […]
Melrose Leadership Academy Spring Performance
Besides learning Spanish and English, Melrose Leadership Academy students also learn presentation skills. In the four years of the Spanish dual immersion bilingual program, my daughter has participated at least nine times during a “presentation expo.” There is always a Winter Expo and a Spring Expo. A few times the students perform twice each season. […]
Sausal Creek Trail Field Trip for Melrose Leadership Academy
I often tell my son, “Today is a good day. Do you know why?” He does. If he is having trouble, he reluctantly answers, “Because you get to spend it with me.” And it is true. Every day I spend with my boy (or my daughter) is a good day. Yesterday, was a great day, […]
The Writing Center at 826 Valencia
On Wednesday March 6, 2013, third graders from Oakland’s Melrose Leadership Academy traveled to 826 Valencia in San Francisco. MLA students attended 826 Valencia’s interactive Screenplay program, which is similar to the popular Storytelling and Bookmaking program the students attended last year. Photography Gallery of the Melrose Leadership Academy Field Trip to 826 Valencia Writing […]
Melrose Leadership Academy After School Assembly
When parents toured Melrose Leadership Academy during the current school year, many asked about our after school program. Parents, grandparents and guardians asked if our students learned about different cultures. We were asked if our children were engaged and challenged. Most people wondered if there were enough physical activity. Nobody asked if the parents were […]
Melrose Leadership Academy Oakland PUBLIC School
My two children attend an innovative public school in Oakland. The school, Melrose Leadership Academy, is part of Oakland Unified School District. Many people believe that MLA is a charter school, but is not. Our students learn how to lead… in a district public school. During the annual period known as the “Options Process,” families […]
Melrose Leadership Academy Fall 2012 Dance-a-thon
How do you measure success? It seems that education reformers want innovation, but use outdated test scores to measure achievement. How do you measure parent involvement? Do you measure fundraisers by the amount of money raised or by something qualitatively different? If you are a parent, do you want your children to learn by your […]