'Ebonics' Vote Puts Oakland In Maelstrom

Students in Oakland, Calif., returned to classes last week after winter break. But things were far from normal for school leaders, who had spent weeks under fire for the district's nationally debated resolution on "ebonics."

School officials continued a furious campaign of what supporters called clarification and critics called damage control over the school board's Dec. 18 adoption of the resolution.

District leaders faced questions from educators, researchers, commentators, and politicians across the country. And Oakland teachers faced questions from their students about the resolution, which deems many of the district's African-American students to be speakers of a...