The Oakland Public Education Fund

OAKLAND PROMISE'S MISSION IS TO ENSURE THAT EVERY CHILD IN OAKLAND GRADUATES HIGH SCHOOL WITH THE EXPECTATIONS, RESOURCES, AND SKILLS TO COMPLETE COLLEGE AND BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE CAREER OF THEIR CHOICE. THE PROPOSED VISTA PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND EDUCATION FOCUS AREAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON THE SYSTEMS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE BY OUR CURRENT VISTA MEMBERS. OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS AND GOING INTO OUR THIRD YEAR THIS YEAR, OUR VISTA?S WORK FOCUS FOR THE OAKLAND PROMISE FOR THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS BRILLIANT BABY, KINDERGARTEN TO COLLEGE (K2C), FUTURE CENTERS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT HAS BEEN IN THE FOLLOWING BUCKETS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT THESE BUCKETS: 1) RECRUIT COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OAKLAND PROMISE PROGRAMS; 2) DEVELOP SYSTEMS FOR ROBUST COMMUNITY AND PARENT ENGAGEMENT; 3) PLAN OUTREACH EVENTS TO ENGAGE PARENTS, STUDENTS, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PROGRAMS OF THE OAKLAND PROMISE; 4) IDENTIFY POTENTIAL COLLABORATORS/PARTNERS AND PLAN INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS; 5) HELP IMPROVE COMMUNICATION ABOUT COMMUNITY PROJECTS AMONG PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS; 6) DEVELOP OR MODIFY MATERIALS/COLLATERAL TO STRENGTHEN PROGRAMMING AND PROVIDE RELEVANT AND UPDATED INFORMATION; 7) IMPROVE OUR OUTREACH PLANS FOR TARGET BENEFICIARIES AND PARTICIPANTS; 8) HELP ENSURE PROGRAM IS RELEVANT TO POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS; 9) DEVELOP/IMPROVE PRESENTATIONS, COMMUNICATION TOOLS AND METHODS OF CONDUCTING OUTREACH TO POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS; 10) HELP STAFF USE FINDINGS FROM PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT EFFORTS TO INFORM IMPROVEMENTS OF EXISTING AND NEW PROGRAM OFFERINGS; 11) RECRUIT/MANAGE COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS; AND 12) DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS FOR RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS. THROUGH OUR WORK, WE EXPECT TO BENEFIT AN INCREASING NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS WELL AS THEIR FAMILIES. THE OAKLAND PROMISE HAS DEMONSTRATED GROWTH OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AS MORE SCHOOLS, STUDENTS AND STAFF ARE ENROLLED IN OUR KINDERGARTEN TO COLLEGE PROGRAM. WE?VE DOUBLED THE NUMBER OF BABIES WHO HAVE RECEIVED $500 COLLEGE SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. WE HAVE A STRONGER BASE OF AMBASSADORS AND VOLUNTEERS TO HELP US WITH INCREASING NUMBER OF OAKLAND PROMISE COMMUNITY EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. LASTLY, MORE STUDENTS HAVE COMPLETED THEIR FINANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS, THE FAFSA/DREAM ACT APPLICATIONS. AS WE GO INTO OUR FOURTH YEAR OF THE OAKLAND PROMISE, OUR GOAL IS TO CONTINUE TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE AND SCALABLE SYSTEMS TO IMPROVE ON OUR SERVICES TO SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, AND STUDENTS AND FINE TUNE OUR PRACTICE. ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WILL BE TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS WITH DRAMATIC GROWTH IN THE SCHOOLS, STUDENTS AND FAMILIES WE SERVE. THUS, WE ARE REQUESTING APPROVAL FOR 7 VISTA MEMBERS FOR 2019-2020. SEVEN (7) VISTA MEMBERS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT BY PERFORMING ACTIVITIES SUCH AS SUPPORTING WITH THE CREATION OF SYSTEMS FOR FAMILIES TO SAVE AND PLAN FOR COLLEGE, RESEARCHING AND SHARING RESOURCES ON FINANCIAL EDUCATION WITH SCHOOLS, STUDENTS, AND FAMILIES, DEVELOPING PROCESSES TO INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS APPLYING TO COLLEGES, FINANCIAL AID, AND SCHOLARSHIPS, AND RECRUITING AND TRAINING COMMUNITY LEADERS TO ENSURE THIS PROGRAM IS ROOTED IN OAKLAND OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. THE NEED FOR VISTA SUPPORT IS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL RIGHT NOW AS THE OAKLAND PROMISE SCALES TO SERVE ALL STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN OAKLAND.