Due to structural and systemic barriers, public schools across Oakland experience inadequate funding, antiquated infrastructure, and low rates of teacher retention.
These realities affect schools’ capacity to provide the highest quality academic support for their students, significantly impacting student performance and engagement. For example, in 2017 the high school graduation rate in California rose to 83.2%, while in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) it only reached 64.9%, with a 23.9% dropout rate for high school students. Further, students in many of Oakland’s public schools face significant challenges such as community violence, lack of access to behavioral and physical health care, and high rates of poverty. Across OUSD, in the 2017-18 school year 74.4% of students qualified for free and reduced-price meals, compared to 60.1% statewide. These figures increase drastically within some Oakland communities. At Frick Middle School and Castlemont High School, two schools Elevate Oakland has partnered with in the past, 90% of students come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The inequity that students in Oakland face significantly impacts the educational opportunities they receive.
Elevate Oakland leverages music & the arts to provide life-changing tools desperately needed for our youth to accomplish their goals, enrich their lives, and inspire them to strive for greatness.
By working closely with Oakland public school educators and administrators, parents, and involved community members, Elevate Oakland strives to provide students access to mentoring, nurturing, instruction and training by dedicated professional artists and musicians, thereby filling the gaps in arts & music opportunities caused by spending cuts, and re-engaging the full potential of Oakland youth.
We are committed that all young people in Oakland Public Schools have equitable access to art & music education as a catalyst for supporting students in all aspects of social-emotional wellness, thereby increasing their academic and developmental success, self-expression, relationships and confidence as civic members and global citizens.
Elevate Oakland: New Beginnings for Oakland’s Youth
