Press ignores shootings at much-hailed charter
A 23-year-old man was killed and a second man wounded in gunfire that erupted at a party Saturday night (Nov. 11) at an East Oakland charter school, according to an article in today's Oroville, Calif., Mercury Register.
The shooting is the second to occur on the Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy campus in "about" four months, the Mercury Register story said. In the previous shooting — also at a private party at the site outside school hours — two gang members were shot and wounded, the newspaper reported.
The fatal Saturday shooting occurred at an 18th-birthday party given for the granddaughter of an administrator at the school, the newspaper said. The 18-year-old is not a student at the school, the report added.
There are several eye-catching aspects to the tragic story.
Lionel Wilson charter is run by the widely hailed Aspire Public Schools charter chain, which was co-founded by Netflix founder Reed Hastings, former president of the California state Board of Education and leading charter school booster.
The school was the subject of a long, gushing October 2002 San Francisco Chronicle editorial headlined "Social Change: Charter Schools Take Root."
Oddly, the only real news coverage of Saturday's slaying was the article in the Oroville newspaper — a small-town paper based in Butte County, 150 miles from San Francisco — and a very brief item on Bay City News Service. The incident was mentioned in passing as a secondary item in news reports about another Oakland shooting, outside a Jack London Square nightclub, the same night.
I can't find any news coverage at the time of the previous shooting — only the mention in today's Oroville newspaper account.
The press is all over any such incident with any connection to a San Francisco public school, including those involving outsiders at or near the school, and those involving students far from the school. The near-cone of silence over these two shootings is mystifying. I can't help wondering if it is somehow connected to the positive — fawning — coverage that Aspire manages to attract.
— Caroline
The shooting is the second to occur on the Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy campus in "about" four months, the Mercury Register story said. In the previous shooting — also at a private party at the site outside school hours — two gang members were shot and wounded, the newspaper reported.
The fatal Saturday shooting occurred at an 18th-birthday party given for the granddaughter of an administrator at the school, the newspaper said. The 18-year-old is not a student at the school, the report added.
There are several eye-catching aspects to the tragic story.
Lionel Wilson charter is run by the widely hailed Aspire Public Schools charter chain, which was co-founded by Netflix founder Reed Hastings, former president of the California state Board of Education and leading charter school booster.
The school was the subject of a long, gushing October 2002 San Francisco Chronicle editorial headlined "Social Change: Charter Schools Take Root."
Walking through a brand-new school in an inner-city neighborhood is a rare and exhilarating experience. It's like having a new child. Optimism abounds. Expectations are sky high.
So it is at the Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy. ...
So far, at least, Lionel Wilson appears to be a model charter school, avoiding many of the pitfalls that have hamstrung, or sunk, other charter schools. .
Many charter schools have foundered because they were started by parents or others with no clue about how to start a new school. By contrast, Lionel Wilson was established by Aspire Public Schools, a nonprofit organization co- founded by is Don Shalvey, a former superintendent of the San Carlos Unified School District, and high-tech entrepreneur Reed Hastings. ...
Students say they get more personal attention here, and they feel safer than in the public schools they've attended.
Oddly, the only real news coverage of Saturday's slaying was the article in the Oroville newspaper — a small-town paper based in Butte County, 150 miles from San Francisco — and a very brief item on Bay City News Service. The incident was mentioned in passing as a secondary item in news reports about another Oakland shooting, outside a Jack London Square nightclub, the same night.
I can't find any news coverage at the time of the previous shooting — only the mention in today's Oroville newspaper account.
The press is all over any such incident with any connection to a San Francisco public school, including those involving outsiders at or near the school, and those involving students far from the school. The near-cone of silence over these two shootings is mystifying. I can't help wondering if it is somehow connected to the positive — fawning — coverage that Aspire manages to attract.
— Caroline
3 Comments:
A follow-up based on this morning's coverage:
The Chron did do a report on this, based on the Bay City News report, same format -- leading with a different shooting and mentioning the Lionel Wilson charter school shooting death at the end.
It turns out that the Oroville story is originally from the Alameda Times-Star -- both newspapers are part of the same chain, and for whatever reason, the Oroville version went out online first.
None of the coverage grasped the questions about holding obviously large, violent parties at school sites after hours. (It's illegal to serve or possess alcohol on a public-school site at any time, too.)
The Chron doesn't even bother to staff a crime reporter on weekends. I once emailed them to ask why it took 3 days for them to report the murder of a Federal witness. They said they just hadn't been around that weekend.
It looks like there were gunshots outside of Muir Elementary last night. The whole area has had an upswing in drug activity after the foot patrols disappeared in September. Same to you, Gavin.
OK, the press really isn't ignoring this anymore. (Report below is from KCBS radio, 11/13.) Still, the notion that a school employee could just borrow a school site to throw a big private party after hours is pretty startling. Do charter schools really not have to follow any rules at all? I wonder what the liability situation is?
Fatal Shooting at Oakland Charter School Prompts Review
Oakland, Calif. (KCBS) -- Officials at an Oakland charter school are reviewing protocols for loaning out space on campus after a fatal shooting this past weekend.
KCBS reporter Bob Melrose explains the shooting happened at Lionel Wilson College Prep School on 105th Avenue in Oakland.
A 26-year-old man was killed, another was wounded, during a birthday party on the campus.
Officials of the company that runs the school say the auditorium was not rented but rather given to a group for a birthday party.
Police spokesman Roland Holmgren said despite all the witnesses, few are willing to come forward. "It is strange. It's alarming. I know some are scared and in fear of retaliation from the people who committed these crimes but if you think about it, they are actually protecting the people who committed these crimes."
The auditorium was being used by a school administrator for his granddaughter's 18th birthday.
Post a Comment
<< Home