Oakland Unified Takes a Look Back at Educator Appreciation Month, and Once Again Says Thank You to All of our Amazing Staff who Support our Students

Here as we have wrapped up May, and approach our final graduation of spring 2026 tonight for Skyline High, we want to say again how much we value everyone who works in our schools and in all of our District departments. As Superintendent Dr. Denise Saddler mentioned in this message at the end of April, May is Educator Appreciation Month with lots of opportunities to celebrate staff across our District. In May, we celebrate teachers, principals, school nurses, nutrition services staff, interpreters, classified staff, and speech pathologists.

In May, there were numerous celebrations for staff at schools and other locations with support from our valued partners, and some staff also turned the month around and used it to celebrate students. Likewise, some current students who are future educators got to celebrate, as well. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights.

On May 6, the Golden State Community Foundation brought lunch to the entire staff at Highland Community School. Warriors legend and former center, Festus Ezeli dropped by to speak with the staff, and play a trivia game with them. The two winners received autographed jerseys, one from the Valkyries went to kindergarten teacher Nini Humphrey and a Warriors jersey went to 5th grade teacher Avon Manning. The school and Principal Samantha Keller also received a custom jersey.

On May 7, Salesforce welcomed and celebrated our middle school principals near the top of the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. For years now, Salesforce has helped fund numerous aspects of our middle school programming including computer science and what’s called Principal Innovation Funds which principals can use any way they see fit to enhance the education of their students. The principals were treated to the celebration with food along with their fellow principals from San Francisco.

At the end of April, Superintendent Saddler and her leadership team held their meeting at Castlemont High and while there, visited two teachers, one of whom is an OUSD Teacher of the Year. They stopped in the classroom of Iyla Ollinger (below left), who supports newcomer students with their English Language Development, helping them thrive in their new country. She won Teacher of the Year for 2026-27 this spring. The team presented her with a certificate and flowers, and spoke with her and her students.

The team also visited Lillian Jacobson (above right), an engineering teacher for whom students show great love, and who has helped countless students pursue engineering as a college course of study, and as a career. She's also gotten students involved in various projects around the area including a redesign of the Oakland Coliseum.

Both of those teachers were also celebrated along with many of their colleagues at the District’s annual Honoring Our Own staff ceremony on May 6. Every year, District leadership - with help from the Board of Education - honors the outstanding work of staff members from every part of the organization including classified staff, certificated staff, school leaders, district leaders, along with student and parent leaders. The District also honored all the retirees who are exiting OUSD at the end of June. You can see a full presentation of the award winners here, and photos of the celebration and the honorees here.

As for staff-to-be, on May 12, 88 youth apprentices from four OUSD high schools had a graduation at Berkeley City College as they finish up coursework needed to earn industry certification issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. This is what’s called OakTown Leaders, the District’s grow-your-own educator pathway for high school students. It’s designed to build early interest in careers in education and create a pipeline of future educators reflective of our community. The students earned School Readiness Certificates, Early Childhood Education Associate Teacher Permits, and/or Instructional Assistant Permits. The students came from Castlemont, CCPA, Madison Park, and Skyline high schools.

Superintendent Saddler (third from left), Board of Education Vice President Valarie Bachelor (center), and Board Director Clif Thompson (right) helped celebrate the graduates. 

Skyline student Evelyn M. was one of the speakers at the graduation. “Overall, OakTown Leaders has prepared me for my future, and opened doors for me that I may not have had an opportunity for. After high school, I plan to continue my education in college, and I’m also doing the early educator apprenticeship program with OUSD,” she said to a roar of applause. We celebrate Evelyn and all of her fellow future educators, who we hope will all come back to work in our schools. Here’s an article about the program and the graduation.

As mentioned above, some of our dedicated staff always use the month of May to give back in a huge way. The Custodial and Grounds team held their 14th Annual Equity for All Student Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 9. The team raised about $15,000 and handed out 15 scholarships ranging from $300 for our earliest learners to the big prize of the day, a $2,000 scholarship for Talia P., who just graduated from Oakland Tech and is heading to Michigan State University in the fall.

“I’m trying to change the mentality on the team, letting them know that yeah, you can be proud of what you do,” said Roland Broach, Executive Director of Custodial Services. “And another thing, you can take it to another level and you can actually give back as a custodian. So, you’re doing something that no other custodial department in the country, probably in the world, is even doing.” You can read more here about the scholarships that custodial handed out, and the winners.

Lastly, the District hosted a celebration last week for all of this year’s retirees. For several hours over a couple afternoons, retirees visited district headquarters at the Dr. Marcus Foster Leadership Center to meet with the talent team, have some food, and pick up a gift. Superintendent Saddler caught up with and thanked a number of retirees there including Mark Cavalli (left) and Marcus Board from the Buildings and Grounds team.

We hope it was a wonderful Educator Appreciation Month for all OUSD staff, and that no matter what school or department is your home away from home, you know your dedication and hard work on behalf of our students is deeply appreciated. Congratulations on another great year in Oakland Unified School District!

Happy Summer!