Our Results and Impact
Just published! Please see our four-page Results and Impact PDF here, complete with photos and graphics.
(A graphics-free version of the same content is available below -- simply scroll down to read.)
The Oakland Schools Foundation (OSF) is dedicated to promoting excellence in Oakland's public schools so that all of our students have the opportunity to achieve. OSF partners with under-resourced schools to provide services in the areas of grants funding, community outreach, professional learning communities, and finance support. Read on to learn about the impact we are having in our schools. (The links below "jump" down the page to more information on each topic.)
• GRANTS FUNDING
• COMMUNITY OUTREACH
• PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
• FINANCE SUPPORT
• OSF PARTNER SCHOOLS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
GRANTS FUNDING
OSF helped 27 schools raise more than $1.2 million in grants during 2010-11, and has supported 40-plus schools in raising more than $20 million since 2003, allowing schools to pay for programs and staff positions that help them best serve their students. Below are some examples of grants-funded programs, with the corresponding dollar amounts OSF helped raise last year.
• Family Engagement - $340,000
(Learn more about our 11-school FamELI learning community here.)
• Academic Interventions and Extended Learning - $271,000
(More on our 13-school Extended Learning Collaborative.)
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) - $231,000
• Visual Art, Music, and Performing Arts - $56,000
• Experiential Learning - $48,000
• Literacy - $36,000
• Various (Gardens, After-School Programs, Internships, and More) - $220,000
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
OSF partners with schools to carry out community outreach efforts via newsletters, e-mails, brochures, websites, event support, and more.
Through this outreach, 35 OSF partner schools earned nearly $200,000 in individual giving during 2010-11. Principals and teachers used these funds for field trips, art materials, libraries, music supplies, and more — all at risk in this time of unprecedented budget cuts.
Beyond fundraising, community outreach also helped schools:
• Connect with foundations for potential grants funding
• Form partnerships with other non-profits and community organizations
• Boost enrollment
• Attract volunteers to their campuses
• Share more positive stories about what's happening in Oakland schools
"When I was principal at ACORN Woodland Elementary and showed people our newsletter, they would say, 'I had no idea these things were happening on your campus!' OSF's newsletter writing captures the heart and spirit of its partner schools." - Kimi Kean, Regional Executive Officer and former ACORN Woodland Principal
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Over the past five years, OSF has built a model for successful Professional Learning Communities in Oakland schools. These collaborative programs were designed to bring together school leaders to share and develop best practices and leverage resources for essential school programs:
• The Family Engagement and Leadership Initiative (FamELI) is an 11-school collaborative that impacts more than 3,000 students and their families. With the $340,000 OSf raised for FamELI in 2010-11, each school hired family outreach staff and strengthened its school-family partnership program. Schools in the program also showed notable academic gains: Between 2008 and 2011, the average Academic Performance Index (API) score for FamELI-member schools jumped 76 points.
• The Extended Learning Collaborative convenes 12 schools to share ideas and best practices for targeted academic support. With $271,000 in grants funding last year, OSF helped each school hire academic interventionists and tutors. Academic achievement at participating schools has increased steadily, with the average API score for ELC-member schools rising 67 points between 2008 and 2011.
“The FamELI program has helped EnCompass Academy strengthen our family engagement and parent leadership by giving us the time and space to work with other schools, share ideas and challenges, and learn from each other. We are grateful to OSF for bringing these campuses together in a positive and productive way through this Professional Learning Community. It has helped us become a stronger community school." – Amelia Rico, EnCompass Academy K-5 Family Involvement Coordinator
FINANCE SUPPORT
Through our Finance & Administration department's School Fund Service, OSF acts as 501(c)(3) for 40-plus schools, helping them process tax-deductible donations, apply for grants, and more. The department also maintains a database of contacts for each OSF partner school and sends out thank-you letters for all donations schools receive.
"OSF gives us a flexible way to take in donations from individuals and foundations. At some schools PTAs plays this role, but many Oakland schools don't have that resource. Through this service, OSF is helping schools like ours level the playing field." - Think College Now K-5 Principal Jose Ruben Olivares
OSF PARTNER SCHOOLS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
OSF is proud to partner with schools in a district that has achieved consistent growth: OUSD is California’s most improved urban school district over the last seven years. This trend holds true among OSF’s partner schools, where California Standards Test (CST) scores have risen steadily since 2008 (see graph below) and Academic Performance Index (API) scores increased by an average of 13 points in 2011, outpacing statewide growth. (Four OSF partner schools -- ACORN Woodland Elementary, Greenleaf Elementary, Manzanita SEED, and Think College Now -- have surpassed the state's API goal of 800.)
