The Ed Fund is lucky to have so many people who have supported Oakland students in countless different ways. We have some fantastic parent volunteers, volunteer tutors, special event volunteers, and many more who are constantly joining our efforts.
I am excited to have the opportunity to say thank you for the amazing work you all are doing to help all students in Oakland learn, grow, and thrive. Your gift of time makes such a difference to teachers and students because they can see how much you care about them and this is incredibly motivating and leads to greater student achievement.
One of our programs we are especially proud of is our A to Z Fund minigrants. For Spring 2020, we just awarded $83,000 of minigrants to some very deserving Oakland educators. They proposed innovative projects ranging from a multicultural student-run newcomer zine to overnight field trips to Lake Tahoe to inspiring school murals created by students. The hardest part was picking the winners because all were so inspiring.
We love it when these events come together and when we can be the matchmaker between providing funds to a teacher and a school that needs some extra help. This is what we do, we bring people together to help Oakland have the incredible public schools its children deserve.
Another project we are proud to endorse is the Schools and Communities First initiative. This could raise up to $40 million for the city of Oakland plus an additional $45-50 million for OUSD that the district would allocate where it is needed the most.
Unfortunately, our state ranks 39th in the nation for per-student funding and we have some of the most overcrowded classrooms in the entire country. With the Schools & Communities First initiative, this November we have a once-in-a generation opportunity to reclaim $12 billion every year for public schools and communities in California.
You can read our official endorsement statement and we hope you’ll support it too.
Lastly, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVOID-19), the Ed Fund office is closed and staff will work remotely at least through Friday, April 3rd. All regular Ed Fund services will continue uninterrupted during this time.