Jumoke Hinton Hodge is a community and youth development consultant that has worked in the Bay Area for the last two decades. She has worked with students identified as severely emotionally disturbed, low-income youth and provided gender specific services. Jumoke has dedicated her work in the last seven years to working in the West Oakland community. She has supported the development of arts based programming, community – school collaborations, participated on design teams developing small schools within Oakland Unified School District as well as facilitating parent and family community organizing trainings.
Jumoke is the co-founder and currently serves as the Director for the Parent Leadership and Engagement Academy Initiative (PLEA), a community-building project dedicated to the education and support of West Oakland parents and families. The last year has been dedicated to growing the work beyond a 12-week training program - to creating a meaningful and powerful collaboration of parents across all West Oakland Schools.
Jumoke has worked in collaboration with California Tomorrow over the last five years in developing curriculum for parents and community to increase their ability to navigate public school system and increase their competencies as parents. She has co-facilitated diversity and youth development workshops with California Tomorrow for the Community Network of Youth Development and other Statewide initiatives. She will launch a new community and capacity building non- profit in 2008 called Khepera Inc.
Jumoke served as the President of the Board for the 7th Street McClymonds Neighborhood Improvement Initiative from 2001-2003. Jumoke served on the West Oakland Project Area Committee and co-chaired the Equitable Development Sub Committee 2002-2004. Jumoke represented District Three on the Oakland Children and Youth Planning and Oversight Committee, providing policy and grant allocation for youth services throughout the city of Oakland (2003-2005).
Jumoke is currently developing a network across 12 West Oakland Schools, the West Oakland Education Task Force. Her work includes partnering with the school district, individual school sites, community based organizations and small businesses. She supports 12 parent leaders to develop parent led groups within their children’s schools.
Through her consulting work she has deepen her interest in strengthening organizations from the inside out; developing sound infrastructures that ensure the longevity and success of community based organizations. Her work has also taken on a focus of encouraging healthy adult - youth partnerships within community based organizations.
Jumoke holds a Bachelor degree in Black Studies and English from Oberlin College. Jumoke is a wife and mother to four children, ranging in ages from 14 to 23 years old, two boys and two girls.
Please comment what does a curriculum for a child of the 21st Century need to entail?
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Jumoke said,
May 5, 2008 @ 11:52 pmPeace!
I had a surprise tonite! Greg thought I was suppose to be at a meeting of the Old Town Oakland Neighborhood Association meeting. I had no idea, my daughter and I were walking the other side of Myrtle near McClymonds Educational Complex, when we got the text! We finished walking, posted a Hinton Hodge sign at the corner store and went to the forum!
The forum had a great turn out but it was truly all about the City Council members running for District Three. So I didn’t need to go but I was glad I was there! They allowed the School Board candidates to speak!
So the comments coming from the other guy, running for the School Board seat, are consistent. But I am concerned about some of the sentiment.
Tell me what you think about these points:
1.)Not every child is going to college or made out for college,
‘Let’s face it’!
2.) The past leadership didn’t do enough to insist that teachers and principals kept students off the streets and prevent truancy.
3.) We can prevent truancy, if we bring back vocational education.
(We are back to number 1, ‘not every child is going to college’)
I shudder a little every time I hear this. Something is missing from the comments… a thoughtful assessment and even a plan, maybe.
I begin to wonder if every child is not ready for college, how does one expect a child to be ready for a career? In the 21st Century the curriculum for Career and College are the same. Algebra is the gateway course to be college or career ready. Computer literacy is a must. Finally, I would like to know who gets to judge who is going to college and who isn’t?
I’ve heard horror stories from my father’s generation (and actually a friend my age, 44, had the same experience in OUSD) about students being told by counselors and teachers that shop classes/vocational ed was really the best curriculum for them. Ultimately excluding them from AP classes or higher level math classes. And trust me friends - the attitude still exist.
Why? Because we haven’t set a high standard for every child to learn and have access to a great eduction i.e., the lowest performing, the poorest,students with learning disabilities and black and brown children.
On Truancy…
I wonder are these comments suggesting that teachers aren’t doing enough and that is why there are high levels of truancy?! We need to strengthen teachers and the school district not necessarily expecting them to move beyond their craft of educating, to be social workers or substance abuse counselors. Not fair. We need teachers to be aware of the conditions that impact our students, but we need greater partnerships with other sectors to demand comprehensive support for students and families. I am just not sure it would be my role as board member to show up at school’s blaming principals and teachers for truancy problems and demanding they do more. Perhaps a partnership and a real look at resources needed might be helpful.
Do we know why our young people are truant? - Let’s not blame it all on the children, just not being academically inclined or because we don’t have enough shop classes in OUSD. Safe and healthy communities are everyone’s responsibility - not just teachers. Providing a rigorous and relevant education is the task of the educators. We must hold them accountable for that. Let’s support teachers to practice their craft.
I look forward to serving and moving our district to support every child - with out judgment on whether they are going to college or not, but simply address their preparation for the 21st century. They will be provided under my leadership a curriculum that is relevant and rigorous whether they choose college right out of high school or later in their life. At the end of the day, we are developing a school district that will provide the skills needed for every child along their journey through life.
It is about opportunity!
I look forward to the opportunity to serve my district!
peace.