Agenda Highlights
On Wednesday, January 16, over 30 participants representing a wide variety of organizations throughout Oakland convened at Chapter 510 & the Department of Make-Believe for an exciting morning of learning and networking.
This meeting focused around After School programs and literacy education. You can access the complete meeting packet here and the complete slideshow here.
After School and Literacy Education
We started off learning about the priorities, successes, and challenges of after school programs in Oakland with presentations from Martha Peña of OUSD, Claire Elowitt of Super Stars Literacy, Ty-Licia Hooker of Boost! West Oakland, and Becky Sotello of Girls Inc. of Alameda County. Each spoke from their perspective about their organization’s experience navigating the after school landscape in order to serve students most effectively.
After the presentations there was an opportunity for participants to connect with the presenters and each other in small groups for a deep-dive discussion, which was a really exciting part of the meeting. “Loved the format – short presentations and then breakout sessions,” said one participant.
Advocacy Opportunity
Aleah Rosario of CALSAC, presented information about after school funding on the state level – where most of Oakland’s after school funding comes from. Aleah shared that lawmakers are currently reviewing the budget over these next few months, which makes this an ideal time to make your voice heard and convince the state to allocate more funding towards after school programs. Aleah shared opportunities for statewide advocacy leading up to the CA Afterschool and Summer Challenge event in March. Check out some of the resources Aleah shared and reach out to us if you want more information on anything here:
- Revised and finalized fact sheet about the After School Education and Safety (ASES) program budget request
- The Save Afterschool campaign website contains lots of additional information about the ASES budget.
- This link to the Budget Process image (and more resources)
- Google link for more info – Sanam as contact
On Monday, January 28, from 1-1:30pm the OLC will be hosting an Advocacy Call for anyone interested in getting involved. Please RSVP to this link if you would like to join us!
Read Aloud Workshop
Immediately following the general meeting, the OLC’s Program Manager, Rebecca Schmidt, lead a workshop on Read Aloud Basics. This workshop was aimed toward Family Reading Celebration Mini Grant recipients, but open to anyone interested. You can access the workshop handout here: Read Aloud Workshop one-pager. Be sure to check out our Reading Celebration Planning & Resource Page on our website for additional resources and updates.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Chapter 510 and Janet Heller for hosting us in their one-of-a-kind writing space. For more information about their programs or renting their space for an event, check out their website.
Thank you to Beauty’s Bagel Shop and Whole Foods for their donation of delicious coffee and bagels!