Congratulations to our Spring 2024 Grantees!
We’re thrilled to announce the Spring 2024 A to Z Fund grantees! Each of these projects will support Oakland students to dream bigger and explore possibilities they might not have imagined otherwise.
- Out of 211 applications submitted this Spring, 87 grants (or 41%) were awarded.
- 38% of grants awarded support Pre-K - 5th grade classrooms.
- 16% of grants awarded support middle school or 6 - 8th grade classrooms.
- 40% of grants awarded support high school classrooms.
- 6% of grants awarded support programs that serve all grades, including adult education.
- Professional development grants represent 20% of all grants awarded representing 31% of funding awarded.
Art in Action
Lighthouse Community Charter School – Bringing art into action, students put on musical production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Taking on all aspects of the show, students built sets and backdrops, painted costumes, worked backstage, and performed during the show. Also, 2nd grade students expanded their Pollinator Garden, creating a Monarch Butterfly Mural. By working together to plant seeds, decorate planter boxes and teach others about the importance of pollinators, they learned they can have a long-lasting, positive impact on their community.
Google Cloud Next
Oakland High School – Teachers attended Google Cloud Next, which focused on integrating Google AI tools into innovation and education. The conference centered around using AI as a way to scale access to changing technologies in a responsible way. Sessions at the conference “forced us to think about ways to use AI as a producer rather than as consumers,” said educator Aya Allen. “We think that the key is for students to learn to use the technology to enhance their own voices rather than to think that technology can do all the work for them.”
Camping
Oakland Academy of Knowledge – After studying about eco-justice issues, 5th graders went to Slide Ranch for a sustainability program and overnight camping trip. While there, students were able to connect what they had been learning in class about biodiversity, ecosystems, environmental justice and biomes to the real world. Students were also able to care for the livestock, explore tidepools, learn about sustainable living, and enjoy a campfire. More importantly, educator Laurence Tan said, “The trip serves as their ‘rite of passage’ as they will embody a greater sense of their responsibility as they move to middle school.”
Next Level Bike Hub
Rudsdale Continuation School – Through the Bike Hub elective, students learn to maintain and repair bikes, gaining skills through experiential learning. Not only do students learn to complete repairs, but they also get to keep the bicycles once they are fixed, allowing them further freedom of mobility to explore their city. “The Bike Hub is a space where students develop their resourcefulness and self-reliance, as well as support each other in their shared goals,” explained educator Sean Gleason.” Using A to Z funds to purchase repair trays, floor pumps and more, the Bike Hub created more convenient work stations, allowing each student a more hands-on and engaging approach to working with their bikes.
