A sense of belonging. High expectations for student academic work. Self-assessment and teacher accountability. Decrease in violence. Increased parental involvement.
Research clearly links equity and achievement with smaller schools.
The Oakland Small Schools Initiative is designed to bring these research findings to reality in Oakland. The vision of New Small Autonomous Schools in Oakland grows out of more than two years of dialogue and activism by hundreds of concerned people who care deeply about education in Oakland. After a group of parents, educators, and District administrators visited the New York schools, parents and teachers in the Fruitvale District began to develop plans for Oakland s first NSAS school. The New Small Autonomous Schools Working Group met for the first time in December of 1998 to see what it would take to open new small schools in Oakland. Hundreds of small school supporters from throughout Oakland found a home.