The Council continues to view effective public education as an important long-term strategy for reducing persistent poverty and breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Our work is focused on improving academic and social outcomes of public education through increased parent and community involvement in decision making (school site decision making) and using the school as an anchor institution for neighborhood services delivery and as a “village center” for community organizing, planning and improvement efforts. 

Contact

Liz Johnson
Program Associate

(510) 893-1377

lizj at urbanstrategies.org

Educational News and Resources

Current Projects

• Community Education and Engagement Project: in partnership with the East Bay Community Foundation, an effort to increase community understanding and engagement in Expect Success!, the OUSD re-design.
• Return to Local Control Project The Council’s effort to provide information and support the community in planning for and regaining local control of the school district and continuing the work to improve academic and social outcomes for students in the OUSD
• Education and Economic Development ProjectThe Council is exploring the relationships between economic development and education, especially the links between loss of student enrollment and the lack of affordable and family size housing in the city.
  
• Oakland Community After School Alliance (OCASA): a collaboration of community-based organizations whose aim is to increase after-school programming and the requisite funding
  
• Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform: works on school site autonomy (site-based management and new, small autonomous schools) and parent and community involvement in improving academic achievement
  
• Alameda County Interagency Children's Policy Council: works to improve outcomes for Alameda County 's low-income and vulnerable children and families through cross-system collaboration in county-sponsored service
  

Program Goals

1. Increase student achievement so that students attending OUSD schools meet or exceed state standards for academic performance
2. Increase youth development supports so youth in Oakland achieve critical youth development milestones

Program Strategies

1. Improve academic achievement of students through site level decision making and small autonomous schools
2. Use schools as “village centers” for sites for community building, youth development and delivery of services for children and families