OUSD News • about 23 hours ago • Monday, Aug 2 at 1:55 PM • Oakland Unified School District, Media Contacts
Monday, August 2, 2021
Contact: John SasakiCommunications [email protected]
OUSD Celebrates New Facilities Across Oakland That Will Welcome Students on First Day of School, Monday, August 9
Oakland – As OUSD gears up to start the 2021-22 school year next Monday, August 9, we’re excited that many students, educators and families will get to experience major upgrades to some of our facilities around the district. All of them were completed over the past year, so most students have yet to experience them. Here are the highlights:
New Academic Facilities
During the pandemic – and thanks to Oakland voters, who passed Measure J – we completed facilities upgrades at schools serving students from kindergarten through high school. Most of the following projects represent the powerful investment by taxpayers and the District in Oakland’s young people, and OUSD is making a statement that our students, staff and families deserve the best. One of the projects was the product of grants from community partners.
- The Glenview Elementary campus was completely rebuilt, with beautiful classrooms, cafeteria, play yard, courtyard, and gym, the culmination of a years-long effort by the school community – and surrounding community – to create a facility that will serve students well for decades.
- Madison Park Academy reopens with a brand new, green-certified high school building and community garden where students can grow their own food. It has a state of the art engineering classroom, and digital design space with computers designed to support the school’s two Career Technical Education-aligned pathways. Engineering and digital design classes are both taught by teachers from the industry.
- When students set foot on the new Fremont High campus on August 9, they’ll get to experience a new academic building with state-of-the-art science labs and CTE labs for multimedia, broadcasting, architecture, and construction. We also are excited to welcome students into our brand new gymnasium complex with a new wellness center that includes medical and dental facilities, along with a new athletic field and grandstand.
- Brookfield Elementary opens a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math) lab. The classroom has been equipped with computers, microscopes, new furniture, a newly enhanced outdoor gardening area, and more. This was made possible through a $100,000 grant from NBA Cares.
Click here to learn more about each of the first three projects, and here to learn more about Brookfield’s new lab.
New Athletic and Recreation Facilities
Sports and physical education are critical to a well-rounded educational program, and there are a number of new facilities for student-athletes and all students across the district. One of the four projects listed was the result of Measure J.
- New softball field at Emerson Elementary: A new softball field opens at Emerson. This includes fencing, a scoreboard, batting cage, and bullpens. There is also new asphalt, basketball courts, and play structures outside the field. It will serve as the new home field for the girls’ softball teams at Oakland Technical High School.
- New play yard at Franklin Elementary: Students at Franklin will get to play in a bright new play yard, with murals, a new play structure, basketball court, and garden, thanks to partners that include Stephen and Ayesha Curry, their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, CarMax, UnderArmour and Kaboom!.
- Refurbished gym at McClymonds High: The “School of Champions” has a sparkling, new gym floor and wall art thanks to the Golden State Warriors and partner Rakuten. The gym floor, which is the gym’s original wood that has been fully restored, features the Golden State Warriors former script across centercourt. Everyone is excited to have student-athletes experience a pro-like playing surface.
- The co-located International Community School & Think College Now have a new green schoolyard with trees, a new all natural play structure, grass field, small amphitheater, garden area and revamped handball court. This project, which was courtesy of The Trust for Public Land and its amazing collection of supporters, is designed to get students in an urban environment more in touch with the natural world around them. Click here to see a video made by the State of California showing the ICS/TCN green schoolyard. It appears about three minutes into the video.
New Central Kitchen
Another major facilities project that came to fruition largely because of Measure J funding is our new Central Kitchen, which will be serving up 35,000 meals per day to students across the district. This isn’t just a kitchen capable of feeding all OUSD students who receive student meals, it is also a one-acre urban farm and school facility where this year, students will begin learning about farming, nutrition and the culinary arts.
“OUSD is proud to welcome our communities to these spectacular new facilities, and we know they will provide years of wonderful educational opportunities for our students,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “Whether it’s by playing sports on a new softball field or football field, engaging in the educational activities at the Central Kitchen, or learning in new academic buildings, we know our students will be served well by all these facilities. OUSD thanks our wonderful partners, and the caring, supportive voters of Oakland for passing Measure J, who made all of this possible.”
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About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 80 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.