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 Victor Cary,
Director of Community Partnership Academy, BayCES
In Oakland, we are enacting a bold vision: the creation of a system
of equitable small schools is well under way. This citywide effort
is being driven by the community, implemented by Oakland Unified
School District, and supported by the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable
Schools. The small schools movement begun here has required a commitment
to establishing the kind of sustained relationships among school
people, parents, and the community that lead first to mutual understanding
and respect and then to collaboration in educating each child fully.
As of September 2001, six new small autonomous schools have opened
in Oakland. Each school
represents a solid teacher-parent-child partnership from its inception.
Meanwhile, educators, parents, and community activists are designing
plans for more new schools to be developed throughout the city in
collaboration with community-based organizations, educational support
providers, and city officials. This strategy has potential for activating
authentic and deep community-school
partnerships. When community organizing groups like Oakland Community
Organizations (a faith-based community organization affiliated with
35,000 families) are deeply involved in starting new schools, powerful
alliances to support change become possible. Building relationships
among teachers and families across race, class, language, and culture
can also bring dramatic results.
Ultimately, achieving system-wide change will require not only
creating new schools, but also converting our large high schools
into equitable, small schools. This work has begun. Two of Oakland's
six comprehensive high schools have started the conversion process
into smaller learning communities. I believe our ultimate success
or failure in this complex endeavor is directly linked to continuing
the community leadership and involvement in the visioning, designing,
and creating of small equitable schools.
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 Jill Davidson,
Horace Editor
Sometimes, when I'm in a school for just a few moments, the thought
flashes through my mind, "I wish my kid could go to this school!"
I try to push it aside, eager to keep my mind open and ask questions,
not wanting to jump to conclusions. But each time, experience bears
out intuition-by the end of the day, I'll have a list of specific,
palpable examples of how the school in which I've had the honor
to be a guest engages kids' minds and hearts, lifting them up as
they grow and learn.
High expectations, security, hope, respect, and pride imbue these
schools. Thousands of social interactions that happen in school
buildings every day demonstrate the quality of the relationships
between adults and children, and within a few moments, visitors
intuit that flash of vitality and feel a powerful desire to stay
for as long as possible.
Such was my experience in Oakland's new small schools, born out of a community's
fierce love for its children, immeasurably hard work, and sustained
cooperation among families, political activists, the school district
and advocates for personalized, rigorous education. I am so happy
to thank the staff of Oakland Community Organizations, the Bay Area
Coalition for Equitable Schools, and the Oakland Unified School
District. I am deeply grateful to all of the students, teachers,
school leaders, parents, community organizers, district officials,
school coaches, and funders who so thoughtfully told me about their
schools and who are striving to ensure that every family in Oakland
can know-with pride, relief, and excitement-that their kids can
go to these schools.
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