St. HOPE: Home
Independent Bookstore Day & Bookstore Crawl
Underground Books
Underground Books is pleased to participate in the 2021 Gold Country Book Crawl which is part of the the National Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 24 from 10am-6pm.
Visit some or all of seven participating Sacramento-area bookstores to browse, buy books and exclusive merchandise, and collect prizes. It’s a great way to explore the Gold Country neighborhoods and support your indie bookstores!
2nd Annual AntiRacist Book Festival
Underground Books
Underground Books is pleased to participate in the 2nd Annual AntiRacist Book Festival event as a featured book seller for the panel event at 11am PT with authors Mira Jacob and Tiffany Jewell.
April 24, 2021 (Virtual Event)
The National Antiracist Book Festival is the first and only book festival that brings together, showcases, and celebrates the nation’s leading antiracist writers and helps to prepare the writers of tomorrow. It is hosted every April in Washington, D.C., by the BU Center for Antiracist Research (but this year’s will be virtual due to COVID-19).
St. HOPE Academy Founded by Kevin Johnson
July 1989
St. HOPE began in 1989 as an afterschool program in a portable classroom at Sacramento High School
After 13 years, St. HOPE realized that an after school program simply wasn’t enough to dramatically improve the academic outcomes of children, that it would be necessary to establish and run our own schools.
In 2003, St. HOPE Public Schools was founded as a preK-12 independent charter school district that provides high-quality education to nearly 2,000 students.
St. HOPE Facility Grand Opening
January 1992
7,000 square foot facility opening at 4101 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
40 acres Art & Cultural Center Grand Opening
May 2003
St. HOPE’s largest economic development project opened with Underground Books, Uncle Jed’s Cut Hut, Starbucks and the Guild Theater.
40 Acres is the jewel of the SHDC efforts in the Oak Park community. The building was the historic Woodruff Hotel which was build in 1922 and was renovated by St. HOPE Development company in 2003.
The 23,000 sq. ft. mixed use facility includes:
- Guild Theater
- Underground Books
- Old Soul Coffee House
- Coopers Wine Bar
- Upper Room Apartments
CCSA Names Sac High as the Highest Performing High School for Black Students in CA
California Charter School Association (CCSA) pulled together a series called “Serving Black Students with Excellence” in honor of Black History Month. Sacramento Charter High School was featured in the series as the highest performing high school for Black students in California! You can check out their blog here for the full story!
Ms. Williams-James featured on National Parents Union
National Parents Union hosted Christina Williams-James, Dean of Culture and Instruction at St. HOPE Public Schools, on their “Managing Day to Day” podcast along with leaders from two other California charter schools. Christina talked about our mission of sending scholars to and through college, our five pillars, and how we support scholars of color. Check it out on Facebook Live HERE!
Happy Holidays from St. HOPE!
St. HOPE would like to thank you for your help throughout this tough year. There have been so many people who have stepped up during these trying times. Thank you to our healthcare workers, first responders, teachers, and everyone in the community taking steps to look after one another. We hope you enjoy the holidays safely alongside your families and we look forward to reconnecting in the new year!
Underground Books Gets New Look
The Sacramento Observer
(OAK PARK) – Every closed door isn’t locked. A local Black bookstore used its time closed during the pandemic wisely, completing a remodel and rebranding campaign.
How COVID-19 is reshaping education
Digital Daily
HOW COVID-19 IS RESHAPING EDUCATION
Reported and written by Word In Black
Word in Black is a news collaborative representing 10 of the leading Black publishers in the U.S. This story represents a cross-section of their work on the impact of COVID 19 on K-12 education.
Underground Books Grand Re-Opening
A local bookstore has done some remodeling and they are ready to open to the public.
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Remodeled And Expanded: Oak Park Book Store Reopens Amid Pandemic
Underground Books
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A book store in Oak Park has taken the time during the pandemic to remodel and expand – and now it’s back open.
Underground Books is operated by St. Hope, a family of neighborhood nonprofits dedicated to revitalizing Oak Park
The book store’s manager and operator has been with the store since its opening in 2003.
“We’re trying to bring art and culture to the community. There’s no library in this community, so we bring literacy and make it available for everyone,” said Georgia “Mother Rose” West.
Visible change coming to Oak Park with roof sign
By Ben van der Meer
One of the most prominent commercial buildings in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood could be getting a bit more noticeable yet.
A proposal with the city calls for adding a neon “FORTY ACRES” sign to the roof of the building with the same name, facing the intersection of Broadway and 35th Street.
Bonney Donates Headsets to PS7 Elementary Scholars
Imagine this: You are trying to listen to the instructions from your teacher on your laptop, the volume is all the way up, but you still can’t hear. You look around the room and all your brothers, sisters, even parents are trying to do the same. Add the fact that you are still trying to figure out how distance learning works. Sounds frustrating, doesn’t it?
10 Black-Owned Bookstores To Tap For Your Fall Reading List
The Zoe Report
Nothing quite says fall like hunkering down with a good book and comforting mug full of your preferred hot beverage. But no matter what it is you choose to read this season, consider picking it up from one of many Black-owned bookstores. Not only can spending your money mindfully help support Black businesses — and in turn encourage more of them — but because many of these shops specialize in books about race and culture specifically, shopping here might just inspire you to fill your fall reading list with resources that educate and inform you.
Learning In The Age of COVID: From Chaos Comes Opportunity to Build Community
By Stephen Magagnini
(WORDINBLACK.COM) – On Sunday, Sept. 12, the NY Times Magazine called 2020 “The Lost Year” for students across America and their families dealing with remote learning and the social, psychological and cognitive challenges it presents.
A Place to Be
BOOKSTORE IS LITERARY HUB OF OAK PARK
Within days of the tragic murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Underground Books in Oak Park launched a long-planned website for the sale of literary works online.
Not only did the Sacramento community respond, people across the nation took note. In the first two months, Underground Books received nearly 2,500 orders.
Oak Park Brewing’s newest is much more than a beer. It’s a Black history lesson
The Sacramento Bee 8.28.20
You know the story.
A pint hits the tap at Sacramento’s Oak Park Brewing. The liquid pours straw yellow; the head floating puffy, like a cloud. The first sip tastes like every beer that made Milwaukee famous, especially those from the 1970s heyday of Schlitz, Old Style and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Oak Park’s People’s Beer, which was canned this week and is being released Friday, is the next liquid chapter that flows from the confluence of the Black Civil Rights movement and the beer-brewing heart of the country.
Sac High Names Head to Mars
On Thursday July 30, 2020, NASA launched its most advanced rover to Mars. Back in 2019, as the Mars 2020 Rover, now renamed Perseverance, was in its testing phase of development, NASA called on the world to see who would want their names placed on the rover and travel 7 months to the red planet. Those participants would receive a boarding pass and accumulate Frequent Flyer Miles.
Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria Grand Opening in Oak Park
While Sacramento’s dining scene has been struggling with the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, there is a bright spot with this week’s opening of a new fast casual and gourmet pizza joint in Oak Park. Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria is a Nashville-based chain run by three childhood friends who dreamed up the concept inside an old garage in 2015. They spent two years testing pizza recipes in that garage and then launched their restaurant with great success. Their Oak Park grand opening marks their 5th location and is the latest Black-owned business to join the Oak Park resurgence.
CBS Highlights St. HOPE’s Distance Learning
Good Day Sacramento visited Ms. Meyers at PS7 Middle School to learn more about our distance learning model! Check out the clip to hear about how our scholars, parents, and teachers are navigating this new school year!
Nashville-based Slim & Husky’s hits Oak Park
Aug 24, 2020
UPDATE: Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria will open Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 3413 Broadway in Oak Park, operators announced on Facebook. In accordance with restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19, the restaurant will offer outdoor dining, takeout and delivery. The local site is expected to employ about 50 people. Here’s our previous story from April.
Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria, a fast-growing Nashville pizza restaurant, is taking its talents to Oak Park.
St. HOPE Launches New School Year with Robust Distance Learning Approach
More live teacher instruction, commitment to student to engagement, focus on real academic progress