Member Spotlight: Oakland Promise

The Oakland Literacy Coalition is excited to welcome Oakland Promise back to the OLC member network!

We interviewed the Oakland Promise team about how they support literacy.

Oakland Promise: Oakland Promise support PK and TK literacy through our Brilliant Baby program and as part of the East Oakland Promise Neighborhood work that we coordinate. For families who enroll in our Brilliant Baby program, we provide age-appropriate children’s books in the family’s primary language to the extent possible (English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese or Arabic). We also host online and in-person workshops led by Tandem, Partners in Early Learning to teach families with kids aged 0-5 how to support their children’s early literacy skills and to provide additional books to them. Often, we are also able to provide books to caregivers who visit our office and hope to increase our supply in the future. In addition, we connect families to OUSD navigators to facilitate enrollment into preschools. At East Oakland Pride Elementary, we coordinate with Bananas and Tandem to provide the “Give Me 5” math/literacy and read aloud program. We also bring in the JEGNA program with Kingmakers of Oakland to provide literacy tutuoring and classroom support.

OLC: What sets you apart from other organizations in your community? Or from other organizations with similar missions?

Oakland Promise: Oakland Promise is a cradle-to-career organization that supports students and families from birth through and beyond post-secondary education. It is the only local organization providing income-eligible Oakland kids under age five with $500 college savings accounts along with financial education classes provided in English, Spanish, Mam, Arabic, Cantonese and Mam. We also award scholarships to every public school student in the city starting in kindergarten. Our community partners help us to deliver services and drive impact.

OLC: What’s on the horizon? What community programming or events are coming up that your organization is most excited about and why?

Oakland Promise: During the summer, Oakland Promise provides workshops for our new scholars to support their transitions to 2 and 4-year colleges and vocational programs. We also continue enrolling families into the Brilliant Baby program and invite them to attend orientations and financial education classes. We also participate in summer events hosted by schools and other partners.

OLC: Is there anything that you wish more people knew about your organization or the issues you are trying to solve?

Oakland Promise: Although we began primarily as a direct service organization, we have expanded our role to create broader community impact. We now coordinate and convene Oakland organizations and help distribute grant funding that supports children and families. This work has grown through our role as the Implementation Partner for the College Access portion of the Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA).

OLC: What are you most looking forward to as a member of the Oakland Literacy Coalition?

Oakland Promise: We look forward to connecting with other member organizations who support Oakland students and families.

OLC: Could you share an anecdote/experience about working with students or teachers that really stood out for you?

Oakland Promise: One example that comes to mind is when we hosted an in-person early literacy workshop led by Tandem, Partners in Early Learning for Spanish-speaking parents. Tandem brought beautiful books for each family (written in Spanish) and show parents how to do interactive read alouds. In addition, bilingual family navigators from Oakland Unified School District’s Early Childhood Education department came to the event to help families learn about preschool options and how to enroll. The participants came away with concrete tools for supporting literacy at home and a sense of community support both with each other and our schools.

OLC: The literacy crisis is real and impacts us all at the local, state and national level. With that said, what does Literacy & Justice for All mean to you?

Oakland Promise:Literacy and Justice for All means doing what it takes to provide schools and families with the tools and resources they need to support children’s literacy. The books and teaching techniques should be culturally-responsive and evidence-based, with high expectations for all and a genuine belief that every child can learn to read. This is especially important for under-resourced communities.