Oakland Declares Itself a “Reading Town”: Mayor Lee, OUSD Superintendent, and Oakland Literacy Coalition Launch Citywide Literacy Campaign

For Immediate Release
April 23, 2026

Oakland Declares Itself a “Reading Town”: Mayor Lee, OUSD Superintendent, and Oakland Literacy Coalition Launch Citywide Literacy Campaign

Campaign launch at OUSD LitFest calls on schools, families, libraries, and organizations to build a city where every child is a reader

OAKLAND, Calif. — On April 23, 2026, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Denise Saddler, and Oakland Literacy Coalition (OLC) Executive Director Sanam Jorjani announced “Oakland Is a Reading Town,” a citywide campaign rooted in the belief that every student in Oakland deserves to become a confident, joyful reader.

The campaign — launched by OUSD and OLC in partnership with the Oakland Public Library, the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, and a growing network of community organizations — calls on all Oaklanders to read with young people at least 20 minutes a day and to make reading visible, joyful, and social across every neighborhood. It is grounded in four core values: Power, Joy, Belonging, and Justice.

The campaign launched at the 3rd Annual OUSD LitFest — a district-wide celebration of reading where students performed poetry, showcased their written work, and shared their love of books.

At the heart of the campaign is an organizational pledge inviting nonprofits, businesses, and community groups to commit to building a reading culture for Oakland’s young people. Organizations can sign the pledge at www.oaklandreads.org/readingtown.

“Reading is the foundation of everything — opportunity, civic life, the ability to write your own story. Oakland is declaring, as a city, that every child deserves that foundation,” said Mayor Barbara Lee.

“Oakland has an amazing ecosystem of literacy providers, community organizations, and advocates, and everyone has a role to play in building a culture of reading that’s visible, joyful, and rooted in the strengths and identities that define Oakland,”
OLC Executive Director Sanam Jorjani said.

“I love to read, and I know our students do, too,” said Dr. Denise Saddler, Interim Superintendent for Oakland Unified School District.”Literacy is key to young people opening up their world and creating opportunity. This moment is about more than just a campaign. It is about declaring, as a city, that reading belongs to everyone in Oakland.”

The Oakland Literacy Coalition is driving the community effort behind “Oakland Is a Reading Town,” convening member organizations and community partners, supporting them in making and fulfilling their reading culture commitments, and working to ensure the campaign reaches every corner of the city.

Participating organizations are invited to adopt high-leverage practices grounded in the science of reading — choosing the approaches that fit naturally with their work.. These may include protecting dedicated daily reading time of at least 20 minutes, building a culture of book talk where kids and adults regularly share what they’re reading and why, or ensuring every young person always has a “book on deck” — a chosen, high-interest book ready to pick up at any moment. These practices build the consistent habits, motivation, and reader identity that research shows are essential to developing lifelong readers.

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