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Oxford Day Academy
Oxford Day Academy (ODA), a charter high school, was granted permission to continue using 1001 Beech Street in East Palo Alto for its school. Bayshore Christian Ministries owns the site and uses it to operate after school programs.
ODA is a Public Charter High School whose charter was authorized by the San Mateo County Office of Education. In the fall of 2017, the city awarded it a two-year conditional use permit to use the Bayshore Christian Ministries site pending the school getting a permanent more appropriate site.
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ODA has failed to secure a permanent site and officially applied for an extension of their use permit.
On May 11, the Planning Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit extension for ODA to operate at 1001 Beech Street for an additional three years.
Meet Amy Chen - East Palo Alto’s New Director of Community and Economic Development
Amy Chen is the new Director of Community and Economic Development. She replaces Patrick Heisinger who left the position to become the city’s Assistant City Manager. Like her predecessor, she joins the City of East Palo Alto from San Jose after serving in different positions, most recently as a Senior Development Officer in the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program. Before coming to East Palo Alto, Patrick Heisinger was the City of San Jose’s Housing Department’s Production and Preservation Division Manager which included the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program. Amy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Santa Clara University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Syracuse University. A first generation American she was born and raised in Portland Oregon, of an immigrant Chinese family. In this city of pageantry, famously known as the City of Roses, she liked being in pageants. In fact, in fourth grade, she was the Junior Rose Festival Queen for Portland Oregon and was interviewed on television, an experience she believes led to her desire to be a news anchor.
She attended La Salle High School where she was involved in track serving as captain of her school’s track team and running the 4 X 100 relay.
“I enjoyed sports, but my parents were more supportive of my academics and, with a family-owned restaurant, I was required to help every weekend. My dad always reminded me that the reason why they placed so much importance on school was because he did not want me to follow in his footsteps and own a restaurant; they wanted me to go to college and continue learning.”
She went to Santa Clara University, largely due to the influence of her
favorite teacher, Ms. Delgado, a high school religious studies teacher who encouraged her to engage in community service and to attend Santa Clara University.
“As a result of working in the family business, the meaning of economic
Why I chose to work in East Palo alto? The first time I set foot in East Palo Alto was back in college at Santa Clara. I had the privilege of making an environmental justice field trip to Cooley Landing and Bay Road and see the brownfields. When I saw the job posting, I was very excited because in addition to seeing how East Palo Alto has emerged in the recent decade, I have gained a great deal of experience working in San Jose among several different departments that I feel could help add value.
development is really important to me.”
Amy Chen is married and has a fourmonth old child.
Len Materman leaves San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority Len Materman the Executive Director of the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) since 2008, has left the organization. SFCJPA is a regional government agency created after the creek overflowed its banks in the 1998 floods. He has assumed the leadership of the San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District as its first Chief Executive Officer. The District was launched on January 1, tasked to develop coordinated plans to address coastal erosion, sea level rise and flooding, and to improve regional stormwater infrastructure.
