Every Student, Every Classroom, Every Day

Oakland Unified School District is home to 65 elementary schools, 20 middle schools, 24 high schools, and 32 public charter schools. These 141 schools served 46,447 students in the 2007-2008 school year.

OUSD, the Oakland Board of Education, and the Oakland community are committed to creating a school system where:

• All students engage as caring, competent and critical thinkers, fully informed and contributing citizens, prepared to succeed in college and career
• All students meet or exceed rigorous standards in all academic disciplines
• Students take responsibility for themselves and for the common good
• There exists a diverse group of high-quality schools for students and families both within neighborhoods and district-wide
• We have established and maintained a learning environment that is safe, respectful and conducive to student learning
• We maintain a rigorous program of instruction that offers challenging and relevant opportunities for all students to achieve at high levels

Over the past three years, OUSD is the most improved large school district in the State of California. This improvement can be contributed in large part to the hard work and dedication of more than 2,100 teachers and 4,900 total district employees who Expect Success for every student, in every classroom, every day because they know success in school can lay the groundwork for success in life.

At OUSD, we measure success by the 3, 9 & 12 standard:

3 = how many students can read at or above grade level by the end of Grade 3
9 = how many students succeed in Algebra by the end of Grade 9
12 = how many of our students complete high school prepared to succeed in college and the workplace

and by how many students leave our halls prepared to meet the demands of citizenship in a democratic society.

Because we know

> Third grade is a critical point when students begin to transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” in other subjects.
> Success in Algebra by the end of ninth grade is essential to access a rigorous, college-prep high school curriculum.
> For today’s 22-year old, a college degree means a million dollar bonus
over the course of a career.

As we begin the 2008-09 school year, we are determined to remain focused on student achievement. We are a community of tremendous capacity and we know we can do better for our young people. Every day, each member of the Oakland community has the opportunity to support student success. Together, we must seize that opportunity for every student, in every classroom, every day.