Member Spotlight: Oakland Starting Smart and Strong

The Oakland Literacy Coalition is so excited to welcome Oakland Starting Smart and Strong (OSSS) to the OLC member network! We have an almost decade-long history with Oakland Starting Smart and Strong, where we have been a part of their Lead Planning Team (LPT) going back to 2017, when they launched a collective effort comprised of community groups, early childhood educators, school district, city and county leaders, committed to fostering a strong educational foundation for Oakland’s youngest children.

Since then, Oakland Starting Smart and Strong has built a robust, intersectional, and collaborative network spanning across all of Oakland, advocating for policies that build and improve the systems that support Oakland’s youth and families most impacted by racial and economic inequity.

We interviewed Page Tomblin and Priya Jagannathan, Oakland Starting Smart and Strong’s Co-Directors, about how OSSS supports literacy.

Oakland Starting Smart and Strong: Oakland Starting Smart and Strong (OSSS) has prioritized literacy and language development for years. We recently developed a theory of change with a ten-year vision: ensuring Oakland’s children, especially our Black and brown children, have a strong developmental foundation to reach their full potential. Early literacy is central to this work. Our approach is grounded in what is developmentally appropriate for young children and reflects a holistic view of how literacy develops. We recognize that young children build language and literacy through meaningful interactions with adults, peers, and their communities. Our key strategies ensure that children, families, and early care and education providers have access to books and programming that promote early literacy in meaningful, engaging, and culturally appropriate ways. We partner closely with Oakland Unified School District’s Early Learning Department, which serves over 2,000 three- and four-year-olds in preschool and transitional kindergarten classrooms citywide. As OUSD intensifies its focus on early literacy through professional development and targeted programming, we’re there to support their efforts. Beyond OUSD, we facilitate professional development opportunities on early literacy for the broader ECE community.

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

Oakland Starting Smart and Strong: We are singularly focused on young children (0-5) and their families, specifically in Oakland. Rather than operating as a direct service provider, OSSS functions as a collective impact collaborative—convening partners, coordinating strategies, influencing policy, and building the infrastructure that allows the entire early childhood ecosystem to function more effectively and equitably. While the early childhood system is fragmented, OSSS serves as the connective tissue that coordinates efforts across sectors. Our core values are deeply rooted in the belief that systems change requires a justice-centered collective impact approach. How this plays out in our work is that we build the power among families and early care and education (ECE) providers. For example, the OSSS Family Child Care (FCC) Policy Program has met with 15 elected officials, organized candidate forums, influenced state legislation, and secured seats on decision-making bodies like the Measure C Community Advisory Council. In addition, over the last six years, our Early Learning Symposium has engaged nearly 1,000 participants and created platforms like “Let’s Talk Early Learning” sessions for ongoing dialogue. We also focus on making data and evaluation easily attainable and understandable. For example, we created the Oakland Early Childhood Ecosystem Data Portal, which helps stakeholders better understand our early childhood landscape.

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

Oakland Starting Smart and Strong: We are very excited for our next Oakland Early Learning Symposium on January 31, 2026, at Merritt College. The symposium is targeted toward Oakland early learning professionals. Our topic this year is “Demystifying Early Literacy for Children Ages 0-5.” We have amazing speakers lined up, including OLC Executive Director Sanam Jorjani. The day is going to be very interactive, and OLC is also leading a small group activity, which will highlight the Oakland Reads website. All participants will receive free books for children from Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, in addition to other fun raffle prizes and access to community resources. Please spread the word to early learning professionals in Oakland about this amazing event! https://www.oaklandsmartandstrong.org/events.html

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

Oakland Starting Smart and Strong: We wish more people knew about the positive momentum building in Oakland’s early learning community. After years of inadequate funding and persistently low teacher wages, we’re finally seeing meaningful investment through Measure AA and Measure C. This year, these resources are being channeled directly to ECE providers through Measure C Emergency Funds administered by First 5 Alameda County. This is a substantial investment in our families and providers. For example, a small family child care provider can receive a $40,000 grant. We recognize that challenges remain nationally, but there’s genuine reason for optimism about what’s happening locally. Ultimately, access to quality early care and education is key to ensuring children are ready for kindergarten, and that can have a real impact on early literacy outcomes across Oakland.

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

Oakland Starting Smart and Strong: We’re excited to join many of our collaborative partners who are already active OLC members. Together, we aim to strengthen the focus on emergent literacy for young children within the coalition’s broader work and conversations. Several of our key partners—including OUSD preschools and transitional kindergarten programs that serve over 2,000 children annually—are expanding their early literacy initiatives. We’re excited to see that many of the OLC 2025–26 Reading Everywhere Action Grants are supporting early childhood programming. These investments reflect a growing recognition that literacy begins well before kindergarten, and we’re eager to collaborate with others who share this understanding. Joining the OLC will enable us to deepen our own literacy commitment over the coming years while contributing to this collective effort.

OLC: Could you share an anecdote/experience about working with a student or teacher that really stood out for you?

Oakland Starting Smart and Strong: Over the past few years, we’ve partnered with OLC to organize site visits during the Literacy & Justice for All conference. These visits have become a highlight—we bring attendees from across the country to experience Oakland’s early learning environments firsthand, including the Unity Council’s De Colores Head Start Center in Fruitvale, Lotus Bloom’s Room to Bloom Family Resource Center in East Oakland and several OUSD preschool sites citywide. The feedback is consistently enthusiastic, and there’s real joy in showcasing the exceptional work happening in Oakland’s early childhood spaces. Simply put, we love to show off the good things happening in Oakland!

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 Starting Smart and Strong: Literacy & Justice for All means recognizing that early literacy development doesn’t begin in Kindergarten. To truly address the literacy crisis, we must support children’s reading foundations from their earliest years. This means ensuring that early learning professionals understand the science of reading and have practical emergent literacy strategies they can use with young children in preschool and transitional kindergarten settings. When educators have the knowledge and tools to nurture literacy and language development from the start, we move closer to making Literacy & Justice for All not just an aspiration, but a reality for every child.

Website: https://www.oaklandsmartandstrong.org/