Oakland Unified School System is a public school district in Oakland, California, that serves 49,000 students through 86 elementary schools (K-5), middle schools (6-8), and high schools (9-12) as well as 32 district-authorized charter schools.
OUSD educates a varied community of students and is located in California's most diverse city. Nearly half of district and charter school children speak a language other than English at home. English-language learners made up 31% of OUSD students in the 2016–2017 school year. OUSD also has a sizable number of newcomer students. 73% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
OUSD was one of the country's first school districts to use restorative justice approaches to reduce or eliminate suspensions. 96.1 percent of students were not suspended during the 2015 school year.
OUSD's African American Male Achievement Initiative, which began in 2010, now has over 400 kids enrolled. Greater GPAs, higher graduation rates (up over 10%), and reduced suspension rates (down 13% for kids involved in the program) have all been reported by students in the program. The African American Girls and Young Women Achievement Program was established by OUSD in 2016 to provide students with equal support and innovative pathways to achievement.
In 2015 and 2016, the OUSD established collaborations with and received funds from a number of technology businesses, including Salesforce, Intel, Code.org, and Google, with the goal of making computer science a graduation requirement for the 2017 freshman class.
In the 1850s, Oakland's first school opened in a rented room in the back of a fandango at Second and Washington Streets. The city organized a parade to the first official school building on July 12, 1853. The schoolhouse was built on the junction of Fifth and Clay for $1,000. Hannah Jayne, the first teacher, had 16 students in her first schoolhouse. Until 1855, she was Oakland's only teacher. Soon after, Oakland's first principal, Franklin Warner, was hired. Oakland's first Superintendent was Frederick M. Campbell. Reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as American history, were emphasized. Because there was a scarcity of paper and books, a lot of learning was done aloud.
Around 400 pupils attended one-room schoolhouses taught by a single teacher in 1860, and older students were taught in a school facility at Fifth and Broadway. With 29 students, the first public high school started in 1869. There was a public high school and nine public grade schools by the end of the 1870s. Oakland's first kindergarten and night school both debuted in the 1880s.
By Basil D Soufi - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22023379
Oakland, California is blessed with some of the state’s most diverse and high-achieving schools. Here’s a list of some of our favorites:
Oakland School for the Arts
East Bay Innovation Academy
Bay Area Technology
Lodestar: A Lighthouse Community Charter Public
Coliseum College Prep Academy
Madison Park Academy 6-12
Aspire Golden State College Preparatory Academy
LIFE Academy
Aspire Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy
All of these wonderful schools are located just a short distance from our historic location at 4226 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland! Stop by for a visit anytime!