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Agenda Item
C.-6 19-2227 8:30 PM - Public Hearing by the Board of Education of Oakland School for the Arts - Petition and Proposed Charter - Grades 6-12 - July 1, 2020-June 30, 2025 (Renewal).
Oakland School for the Arts is an incredible asset for the City of Oakland that allows "hidden geniuses" from all neighborhoods to cultivate their abilities in the arts. We live in an era when artists and cultural groups are in danger of displacement due to our disruptive economy. OSA counters this trend by nurturing artists while also delivering college-prep academics. Please approve the charter for this innovative school that help our city shine!
OSA is such a gift to our community. It has changed the life of so many kids. They provide an opportunity for children to grow and excel as artists. Many would never have this opportunity without OSA. The step it up program has been very successful. Our very dedicated teachers give up their own time to mentor and recruit underserved communities in Oakland. This will be my seventh year at OSA. It’s been incredible to watch so many young people grow into exceptional artists. It would be devastating to lose this school that so many have worked so hard to make a true success.
I don’t what I would do without OSA for my children. My daughter was disciplined several times in elementary school for over directing her friends in plays she wrote herself. She got up hours before dawn to write and act out her characters at just 9 years old. OSA isn’t for every child, but there is no other school for children like this. The academic curriculum is dynamic and the arts, well we hope you come to our shows and see for yourselves! These children have names you will know for generations like Zendaya, Kehlani and Ari’el Statchel and many others. All who still reflect on their training at OSA and are proud Oaklanders. OSA is a diverse school that reflects the population of Oakland and as community, we are excited to implement the changes in our enrollment practices and are overwhelmingly committed to continuing our equitable learning and training environment. Please support us in continuing to provide a first rate arts eduaction.
I am writing in support of the charter renewal for the Oakland School of the Arts. Our son entered 7th grade at the school this year because he wanted to be in the Literary Arts program. We appreciate the fact that there is a school that offers an arts-centered program in Oakland and know that the city is richer for it. Please vote to renew the charter for this distinctive school.
Please consider renewing the OSA charter. As a parent of a new freshman student in the Production Design emphasis, I have seen my daughter thrive and blossom at OSA. I believe that OSA provides a unique opportunity for children to actively pursue a passion and develop talents through hands-on intensive practice of their craft. The quality of instruction in both artistic and academic pursuits is top-notch and inspiring.
My son entered 6th grade in visual arts this year.
He had a great grade school experience and we wanted to find a small school for him, and our neighborhood schools scores so low we knew it wouldn’t be a fit because he is academically advanced.
He loves OSA, the art class especially, has made so many friends already from very diverse backgrounds which is great.
I know no school is perfect and OSA has things to work on, but the school is a great fit for our son who is sensitive, academically mature, and needs to be challenged as well.
The truth is, the OUSD middle schools are so low performing and the ones that do okay are highly impacted and impossible to enter, we are fortunate to have alternatives like OSA which actually is bend the plain field and isn’t only catered to an affluent district.
I have two kids currently enrolled in OSA (6th and 7th grade) and I wholeheartedly support OSA’s charter renewal. My kids have thrived there and I’m amazed of how far they’ve already come both in their arts and academically. The staff at OSA is so caring and nurturing. We signed up for OSA’s Step it Up program which was wonderful for making my kids feel confident ahead of the audition process. What OSA offers to the community is special and unique, and I urge you to renew their charter.
My daughter has been an OSA student since the beginning of the school year and is currently in OSA's vocal music emphasis. I have submitted a signed letter to OUSD board detailing our experience and support to renew charter. I wanted to reiterate the following:
OSA has been a place where she feels a sense of belonging and understanding. As a latinx family with a kid with special needs we have felt supported by teachers, parents, students and leadership. My daughter feels happiness and excitement as she gets ready to go to school.
OSA has provided an outlet for an artistic child to express herself while improving her academic achievement in a short period of time.
As a parent, I have found a community where parents support each other regardless of origin, sex orientation, or color of their skin. I am proud of our leadership and their efforts to bring high academic achievement while letting our children express their artistic talents.
I support the renewal of OSA’s charter. My daughter, currently a 10th grade dance student at OSA, has attended since the 6th grade. The environment, teachers and curriculum at OSA have allowed her to blossom into a confident, self-actualized artist who now feels ready to pursue art in college at the highest level. She has been truly mentored by her immensely talented and dedicated art teachers, Mr Savage and Ms Hurley, has grown tremendously as an artist and a person, and loves coming to school each day. She is thriving at OSA both artistically and academically in a way that would not be possible at any other school in the Bay Area. Please renew OSA’s charter.
As a parent of a thriving 10th grade theatre student at OSA, I urge the Board to support OSA's charter renewal. OSA is a safe place for students who are often ostracized in other school settings, particularly LGBTQ students in the arts. OSA has worked hard to revise the charter to address issues of equity and inclusion for all students, particulary kids from Oakland who want to attend a school with an arts emphasis. This school is a success for so many of our kids, and will now have even greater access for the kids of Oakland. Please vote for the OSA charter renewal.
Dear OUSD board of directors,
I am a parent with a son in 10th grade whose emphasis is in production design. This is the first time I have seen him feel truly confident in his academic and life skills. His enthusiasm and confidence is due in large part to the diversity, inclusiveness and high standards that OSA demands of its community. Just as importantly, my son is learning independence, responsibility and skills that will serve him in all walks of life. In production design, he has learned to build tiny houses that may one day be used as a model to house more of the city's burgeoning homeless. He has worked behind the scenes at shows at the Fox Theater in lighting, sound and set preparation. It is a joy to see him look forward to school each morning. I respectfully ask you to renew OSA's charter and keep this wonderful school as a jewel of Oakland.
I support the request for Charter Renewal covering the Oakland School for the Arts, where my children have attended for the past 6 years. Please review my email for more details. I support without reservations the request for renewal of the OSA Charter because there is no other outstanding arts/immersed program in Oakland that provides the high quality education for such a wide range of students with special talents and interest. My email provides my personal story but it should be known that OSA is the jewel in the crown of OUSD and the City of Oakland and there is no better administrative and faculty team capable of providing the type of immersed, high quality curriculum that is offered to all children in Oakland and beyond. My children thrived at OSA for 6 years and my son who has 504 Plan Accommodations with special physical and learning abilities requiring special access on an inclusive basis is thriving as an honor student AND a high achieving vocal artist. Renew the charter.
I am grateful that my daughter has the opportunity to attend OSA which nurtures her pursuit of music. I am all support of the renewal of OSA as a charter school.
My daughter is in the 9th grade in the Instrumental Music program at OSA, and has been there a little over a year. I'm amazed at how much she's grown as a musician in the brief time she's been at the school. She had two hours a day of music instruction in 8th grade, and now, in high school, she has three hours a day. There's nowhere else in the greater Bay Area that could nurture her musical skill in a comparable way. Not only are the teachers incredibly skilled at their arts, they are providing invaluable mentoring. Beyond the arts education, the school has been a real gem in terms of inspiring academic classes and a supportive, vibrant culture. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found it, and I strongly support the charter renewal.
My son is currently a 7th grade Digital Media student at OSA. I have been extremely impressed with the school administration, my son's teachers, and the progress my son has made since starting at OSA last year. He has had some challenges in the past focusing in the school setting, and OSA has been an excellent environment for him - providing him with the academic stimulation he needs in an environment that's friendly and welcoming to a kid whose perspective on things is often outside the mainstream. He looks forward to school in a way that's brand new for him, and quite the opposite of what I remember from my own middle school years. As a parent who knows that middle school can be a make-or-break time for students, I'm grateful that OSA is there for my son and all of the students who have found a home there. There's nothing my son wants more than to graduate from high school at OSA with his friends at his side and a couple of CTE certificates under his belt. Please renew OSA's charter.
I would like to communicate my support for renewal of OSA's charter. My daughter has received an amazing and unique arts education through the talented Visual Arts faculty, as well as high quality academic instruction. Having started in the 6th grade, she has happily continued into the high school program. Over and above the arts and academic instruction, I’ve been very impressed by OSA’s focus on helping students prepare for a career in the future. OSA is a treasure and I certainly hope it will be renewed by OUSD.
I am the parent of a 10th grade music student and I strongly support the OSA charter renewal. OSA has been such a nurturing, inspiring and enriching environment for our daughter, both academically and artistically. Our daughter is fully engaged at OSA and it's wonderful to see her learning to think critically, creatively and independently in a safe, supportive environment. I'm so grateful that OSA is helping her develop a love of learning. The arts and academic faculty are first rate and provide a unique experience that will stick with the kids forever. I've seen so many kids blossom into confident young adults during at OSA - the artistic programs at OSA give the kids a unique opportunity to develop themselves as individuals and provide great leadership and teamwork experience. My wife and I feel so lucky that we have a school like OSA. Please support this fantastic institution that is doing such a great service for our kids/community.
My son, now a 10th grader, has been at OSA studying theatre since the 6th grade. We are so grateful that Oakland has a school that can nurture a kid like mine, who is not only an actor but who plays the violin, piano, drums, is an accomplished singer, and makes short films in his, all while taking rigorous courses and maintaining a 4.0 GPA.. He loves this school and is thriving. OSA is one of this city's greatest treasures, fostering creativity, critical thought, and social activism. As a woman of color and an immigrant, I am so grateful that my son has educational opportunities that I never had, and that these opportunities are afforded to him through our city, through this amazing school. Please, please renew our charter so that more children can have the opportunity to have such a powerful educational experience--one that fosters a love of learning, encourages critical and civic engagement, and is a space where they can see and grow their brilliance, and feel valued and loved.
I support Oakland School for the Arts charter renewal. OSA gives students in the arts a place to be taken seriously.
OSA has provided both of my sons with a rigorous high school arts education. The instrumental music program keeps my 11th grade musician motivated not only at school, but beyond school hours as well. He dashes from OSA to rehearsals, recording sessions and performances every day. This is the best I could ever imagine for my teenage boy— he is confident, engaged, and pursuing his passion with a diverse group of peers.
My older son graduated from OSA and is now thriving at UCSC.
Like any school, OSA has had its share of difficult discussions and “issues.” I am consistently impressed at the transparency, intelligence, compassion and vision that the school leaders bring to these situations. This is a well-functioning school with committed people running it. Please allow it to continue to do what it is already doing so well.
Oakland School of the Arts is an amazing school that provides INCREDIBLE arts training in so many different specialties while still offering a strong academic curriculum with devoted talented incredible teachers. My two children have been so blessed to attend their in different specialties. We love OSA. Oakland is so lucky to have such an amazing institution
Please renew the charter!!!
Sincerely
Nimi Tarango
Oakland School for the Arts is an incredible asset for the City of Oakland that allows "hidden geniuses" from all neighborhoods to cultivate their abilities in the arts. We live in an era when artists and cultural groups are in danger of displacement due to our disruptive economy. OSA counters this trend by nurturing artists while also delivering college-prep academics. Please approve the charter for this innovative school that help our city shine!
OSA is such a gift to our community. It has changed the life of so many kids. They provide an opportunity for children to grow and excel as artists. Many would never have this opportunity without OSA. The step it up program has been very successful. Our very dedicated teachers give up their own time to mentor and recruit underserved communities in Oakland. This will be my seventh year at OSA. It’s been incredible to watch so many young people grow into exceptional artists. It would be devastating to lose this school that so many have worked so hard to make a true success.
I don’t what I would do without OSA for my children. My daughter was disciplined several times in elementary school for over directing her friends in plays she wrote herself. She got up hours before dawn to write and act out her characters at just 9 years old. OSA isn’t for every child, but there is no other school for children like this. The academic curriculum is dynamic and the arts, well we hope you come to our shows and see for yourselves! These children have names you will know for generations like Zendaya, Kehlani and Ari’el Statchel and many others. All who still reflect on their training at OSA and are proud Oaklanders. OSA is a diverse school that reflects the population of Oakland and as community, we are excited to implement the changes in our enrollment practices and are overwhelmingly committed to continuing our equitable learning and training environment. Please support us in continuing to provide a first rate arts eduaction.
I am writing in support of the charter renewal for the Oakland School of the Arts. Our son entered 7th grade at the school this year because he wanted to be in the Literary Arts program. We appreciate the fact that there is a school that offers an arts-centered program in Oakland and know that the city is richer for it. Please vote to renew the charter for this distinctive school.
Please consider renewing the OSA charter. As a parent of a new freshman student in the Production Design emphasis, I have seen my daughter thrive and blossom at OSA. I believe that OSA provides a unique opportunity for children to actively pursue a passion and develop talents through hands-on intensive practice of their craft. The quality of instruction in both artistic and academic pursuits is top-notch and inspiring.
My son entered 6th grade in visual arts this year.
He had a great grade school experience and we wanted to find a small school for him, and our neighborhood schools scores so low we knew it wouldn’t be a fit because he is academically advanced.
He loves OSA, the art class especially, has made so many friends already from very diverse backgrounds which is great.
I know no school is perfect and OSA has things to work on, but the school is a great fit for our son who is sensitive, academically mature, and needs to be challenged as well.
The truth is, the OUSD middle schools are so low performing and the ones that do okay are highly impacted and impossible to enter, we are fortunate to have alternatives like OSA which actually is bend the plain field and isn’t only catered to an affluent district.
I hope the school continues to thrive and evolve.
Dear board members,
I have two kids currently enrolled in OSA (6th and 7th grade) and I wholeheartedly support OSA’s charter renewal. My kids have thrived there and I’m amazed of how far they’ve already come both in their arts and academically. The staff at OSA is so caring and nurturing. We signed up for OSA’s Step it Up program which was wonderful for making my kids feel confident ahead of the audition process. What OSA offers to the community is special and unique, and I urge you to renew their charter.
My daughter has been an OSA student since the beginning of the school year and is currently in OSA's vocal music emphasis. I have submitted a signed letter to OUSD board detailing our experience and support to renew charter. I wanted to reiterate the following:
OSA has been a place where she feels a sense of belonging and understanding. As a latinx family with a kid with special needs we have felt supported by teachers, parents, students and leadership. My daughter feels happiness and excitement as she gets ready to go to school.
OSA has provided an outlet for an artistic child to express herself while improving her academic achievement in a short period of time.
As a parent, I have found a community where parents support each other regardless of origin, sex orientation, or color of their skin. I am proud of our leadership and their efforts to bring high academic achievement while letting our children express their artistic talents.
I support the renewal of OSA’s charter. My daughter, currently a 10th grade dance student at OSA, has attended since the 6th grade. The environment, teachers and curriculum at OSA have allowed her to blossom into a confident, self-actualized artist who now feels ready to pursue art in college at the highest level. She has been truly mentored by her immensely talented and dedicated art teachers, Mr Savage and Ms Hurley, has grown tremendously as an artist and a person, and loves coming to school each day. She is thriving at OSA both artistically and academically in a way that would not be possible at any other school in the Bay Area. Please renew OSA’s charter.
As a parent of a thriving 10th grade theatre student at OSA, I urge the Board to support OSA's charter renewal. OSA is a safe place for students who are often ostracized in other school settings, particularly LGBTQ students in the arts. OSA has worked hard to revise the charter to address issues of equity and inclusion for all students, particulary kids from Oakland who want to attend a school with an arts emphasis. This school is a success for so many of our kids, and will now have even greater access for the kids of Oakland. Please vote for the OSA charter renewal.
Dear OUSD board of directors,
I am a parent with a son in 10th grade whose emphasis is in production design. This is the first time I have seen him feel truly confident in his academic and life skills. His enthusiasm and confidence is due in large part to the diversity, inclusiveness and high standards that OSA demands of its community. Just as importantly, my son is learning independence, responsibility and skills that will serve him in all walks of life. In production design, he has learned to build tiny houses that may one day be used as a model to house more of the city's burgeoning homeless. He has worked behind the scenes at shows at the Fox Theater in lighting, sound and set preparation. It is a joy to see him look forward to school each morning. I respectfully ask you to renew OSA's charter and keep this wonderful school as a jewel of Oakland.
I support the request for Charter Renewal covering the Oakland School for the Arts, where my children have attended for the past 6 years. Please review my email for more details. I support without reservations the request for renewal of the OSA Charter because there is no other outstanding arts/immersed program in Oakland that provides the high quality education for such a wide range of students with special talents and interest. My email provides my personal story but it should be known that OSA is the jewel in the crown of OUSD and the City of Oakland and there is no better administrative and faculty team capable of providing the type of immersed, high quality curriculum that is offered to all children in Oakland and beyond. My children thrived at OSA for 6 years and my son who has 504 Plan Accommodations with special physical and learning abilities requiring special access on an inclusive basis is thriving as an honor student AND a high achieving vocal artist. Renew the charter.
I am grateful that my daughter has the opportunity to attend OSA which nurtures her pursuit of music. I am all support of the renewal of OSA as a charter school.
My daughter is in the 9th grade in the Instrumental Music program at OSA, and has been there a little over a year. I'm amazed at how much she's grown as a musician in the brief time she's been at the school. She had two hours a day of music instruction in 8th grade, and now, in high school, she has three hours a day. There's nowhere else in the greater Bay Area that could nurture her musical skill in a comparable way. Not only are the teachers incredibly skilled at their arts, they are providing invaluable mentoring. Beyond the arts education, the school has been a real gem in terms of inspiring academic classes and a supportive, vibrant culture. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found it, and I strongly support the charter renewal.
My son is currently a 7th grade Digital Media student at OSA. I have been extremely impressed with the school administration, my son's teachers, and the progress my son has made since starting at OSA last year. He has had some challenges in the past focusing in the school setting, and OSA has been an excellent environment for him - providing him with the academic stimulation he needs in an environment that's friendly and welcoming to a kid whose perspective on things is often outside the mainstream. He looks forward to school in a way that's brand new for him, and quite the opposite of what I remember from my own middle school years. As a parent who knows that middle school can be a make-or-break time for students, I'm grateful that OSA is there for my son and all of the students who have found a home there. There's nothing my son wants more than to graduate from high school at OSA with his friends at his side and a couple of CTE certificates under his belt. Please renew OSA's charter.
I would like to communicate my support for renewal of OSA's charter. My daughter has received an amazing and unique arts education through the talented Visual Arts faculty, as well as high quality academic instruction. Having started in the 6th grade, she has happily continued into the high school program. Over and above the arts and academic instruction, I’ve been very impressed by OSA’s focus on helping students prepare for a career in the future. OSA is a treasure and I certainly hope it will be renewed by OUSD.
I am the parent of a 10th grade music student and I strongly support the OSA charter renewal. OSA has been such a nurturing, inspiring and enriching environment for our daughter, both academically and artistically. Our daughter is fully engaged at OSA and it's wonderful to see her learning to think critically, creatively and independently in a safe, supportive environment. I'm so grateful that OSA is helping her develop a love of learning. The arts and academic faculty are first rate and provide a unique experience that will stick with the kids forever. I've seen so many kids blossom into confident young adults during at OSA - the artistic programs at OSA give the kids a unique opportunity to develop themselves as individuals and provide great leadership and teamwork experience. My wife and I feel so lucky that we have a school like OSA. Please support this fantastic institution that is doing such a great service for our kids/community.
My son, now a 10th grader, has been at OSA studying theatre since the 6th grade. We are so grateful that Oakland has a school that can nurture a kid like mine, who is not only an actor but who plays the violin, piano, drums, is an accomplished singer, and makes short films in his, all while taking rigorous courses and maintaining a 4.0 GPA.. He loves this school and is thriving. OSA is one of this city's greatest treasures, fostering creativity, critical thought, and social activism. As a woman of color and an immigrant, I am so grateful that my son has educational opportunities that I never had, and that these opportunities are afforded to him through our city, through this amazing school. Please, please renew our charter so that more children can have the opportunity to have such a powerful educational experience--one that fosters a love of learning, encourages critical and civic engagement, and is a space where they can see and grow their brilliance, and feel valued and loved.
Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell and OUSD Board:
I support Oakland School for the Arts charter renewal. OSA gives students in the arts a place to be taken seriously.
OSA has provided both of my sons with a rigorous high school arts education. The instrumental music program keeps my 11th grade musician motivated not only at school, but beyond school hours as well. He dashes from OSA to rehearsals, recording sessions and performances every day. This is the best I could ever imagine for my teenage boy— he is confident, engaged, and pursuing his passion with a diverse group of peers.
My older son graduated from OSA and is now thriving at UCSC.
Like any school, OSA has had its share of difficult discussions and “issues.” I am consistently impressed at the transparency, intelligence, compassion and vision that the school leaders bring to these situations. This is a well-functioning school with committed people running it. Please allow it to continue to do what it is already doing so well.
Oakland School of the Arts is an amazing school that provides INCREDIBLE arts training in so many different specialties while still offering a strong academic curriculum with devoted talented incredible teachers. My two children have been so blessed to attend their in different specialties. We love OSA. Oakland is so lucky to have such an amazing institution
Please renew the charter!!!
Sincerely
Nimi Tarango