FAQ

In June 2020, the Oakland Unified School District renewed our commitment to a future in which all OUSD students, educators, and families feel seen, heard, and supported to reach their highest potential. Despite the historical barriers that have stood in the way of OUSD community members’ ability to thrive—particularly those who come from Black, Brown, Indigenous, and/or low-income communities—we are determined to find a way to a brighter future. From the unprecedented and disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Brown communities to uprisings against systemic racism throughout the country and world, the current state outside of OUSD is full of reminders that we aren’t living in the equitable world we envision. In this time of rapid change and accelerated learning, the field of education has felt the impacts deeply. We are determined to apply our new learning toward a truly equitable future for everyone in our District. 

Inspired by the legacy we stand in, OUSD has crafted a strategic plan around four initiatives that will ensure all students have equitable access to the tools they need to succeed within and beyond school walls. Collaborative partnership was the foundation of our journey to create these plans; we centered the concerns of families and listened to diverse voices in our community in order to deepen our understanding and widen the perspectives informing our work to create a vibrant and just OUSD.

The Oakland Unified School District’s Strategic Plan for 2021-2024 is the result of a partnership between the district and the community. We engaged the community by creating working groups to help draft goals for each initiative. These groups were made up of 80 district staff and community members, including from faith-based organizations, youth-focused nonprofits, social and racial justice organizations, secondary education and career pathway organizations. This is a living, breathing document that we will continue to build upon, strengthen and customize in close partnership with Oakland Unified students, families, staff, and the community.

Our vision for the 2021-2024 OUSD Strategic Plan is to focus on the identified four key initiatives and the action steps we have identified for each of them for the next three years. By doing so, we remain focused and are able to hold ourselves accountable for the success of the initiatives and the overall plan. As we all know, a majority of 2019 and all of 2020 were unprecedented, with the dual crises of a pandemic and ongoing police brutality, both of which disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities. This plan was Created against this grim backdrop, our strategic plan reflects our elevated sense of urgency and intention. This was and is an opportunity to reimagine our work and to craft an Oakland community and school system that represents our highest hopes and dreams for ourselves and generations to come.

The Strategic Plan identifies four core initiatives: 1) Ensuring Strong Readers by the Third Grade; 2) Supporting Empowered Graduates; 3) Creating Joyful Schools; and 4) Growing a Diverse and Stable Staff. Within each initiative, the Plan identifies four focus areas. Each focus area includes a list of Year 1 actions and deliverables for each action. Initiative #4 (Growing a Diverse and Stable Staff) also includes Stages of Development, highlighting how OUSD will work with educators on the four identified focus areas at different stages of their development. In addition, the Plan includes a Superintendent’s Dashboard that describes the key metrics OUSD will be monitoring, which align with the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals. LCAP goals include: 1) All students graduate college, career, and community ready; 2) Focal student groups demonstrate accelerated growth to close our equity gap; 3) Students and families are welcomed, safe, healthy, and engaged; 4) All staff are high quality, providing optimal service to our students.

Built into this Strategic Plan are concrete action plans, deliverables, and metrics by which to measure our success. The Plan also includes an ongoing dialogue with the community so we can continue to reflect on whether our work is meeting student and community needs, and refine or pivot when necessary.  From now until June 2024, OUSD will:

• Convene working groups to monitor year 1 actions and establish future actions and deliverables.
• Organize quarterly co-chair engagements with the Superintendent for updates and guidance.
• Provide additional opportunities for community engagement.
• Share the strategic plan with the broader community.

The Strategic Plan is a living, breathing document that we will continue to build upon, strengthen, and customize in close partnership with Oakland Unified students, families, staff, and the community. We welcome all community members to provide their input on this website's Get Involved Page. This plan calls on every member of the Oakland community to mobilize—for our youth and for the safety, healing, growth and vibrancy of the city we all call home.