The values and overarching goals of the All Kids Campaign.

1. All Kids, All Schools, Our Decisions Campaign
Values
The “All Kids” Campaign is about empowering Oakland school communities, the people closest to students—
parents, students, teachers, school staff and principals—to make the educational decisions necessary for student
success, at the school site level. School communities have first-hand knowledge of the specific needs of the students
at their schools. Empowering neighborhood schools with authority over their school site’s educational program,
budget, staffing and schedule – is local decision making and it has been enormously successful in Oakland.
This campaign will focus on making improvements to Oakland schools in four main areas:
(1) Educational Program; (2) School Site Budgets; (3) Staffing; and (4) School Schedules.
We must improve student achievement and increase unacceptably low graduation rates. Oakland is one of the most
diverse cities in the country, and all our communities must be a part of successful schools. Parents, teachers, staff
and students must be engaged in a more meaningful, formal manner in decision-making beginning at the
neighborhood school site level, and within the District’s decision-making processes.
Through the empowerment of our families, students, teachers, staff and principals at every neighborhood school, we
can ensure all Oakland students have access to customized, quality education and the opportunity for success.
Approach
For each of the four main areas, the campaign has the goal of both increasing school-site local decision-
making and improving conditions within the district.
• Increased Local Decision-Making: Increased local decision making means that those closest to students are able to
make the best educational decisions for those students.
o Example: If school communities control their site budgets, then they will be able to make decisions about how to best
spend the money based on the needs of their children
• Improved Conditions: For each area there are conditions within the district that need to be changed in order for the local
decision making to be meaningful.
o Example: In order for the ability to control school site budgets to be meaningful, we must increase the amount of
money at each school site.
Policies
1. Educational Programs
Local decision-making authority to develop and implement curriculum and instruction tailored to
meet student needs.
• Local Decision Making: As a result of this campaign, school communities will be able to, with the support of the district,
design and create an educational program that is tailored to their students’ needs. That educational program could be, for
example, arts integration, project-based learning, science and technology, or language immersion. So long as 60 percent of the
full-time staff at that school agrees and the school can follow through on the vision, it will be up to the school community to
create and implement a program for their students.
February 13, 2012

2. • Conditions: When a school community decides to change its educational program, it will have to create a plan and then it
will have one year of district support to put the plan into place. School communities that choose to create their own educational
program will be held accountable for improving the student’s educational outcomes. If a school is not able to deliver a strong
educational program, it will receive intensive support from the district through the Office of School Transformation. OUSD’s
Quality School Review process will help identify the schools that need this type of support and to identify practices that should be
shared throughout the district.
2. School Site Budgets
Local decision-making authority to allocate site resources to best meet student needs.
• Local Decision Making: As a result of this campaign, school communities will control their site budgets so they can
make the decisions about how to best meet the needs of their students. When cuts need to be made or new money spent, school
communities, working as a team, will decide which positions or programs to cut or spend on (such as after school tutoring, arts,
athletics, noon supervision, etc.).
• Conditions: This campaign will also work at the state-level to push for reforms that will bring more money to our public
schools. Additionally, the district will prioritize increasing the amount of money that sites are able to control. The district will
require that members of the school community participate in the budget process – and principals and school communities will
receive more training and support for creating these budgets. The district will not make major changes to the way school sites are
funded unless it has proof beyond a doubt that the it will increase access to opportunity to all within the district, particularly
those with the greatest needs.
3. Staffing
Local decision-making authority to hire, support, and retain staff based on student needs.
• Local Decision Making: As a result of this campaign, school communities—including parents, teachers, principal, and
classified staff—will be able hire the staff who work at their schools so that they can build strong instructional teams who are
unified around the school community’s vision. The district will adopt a training policy in which school communities are able to
design and implement staff development that responds to their specific needs.
• Conditions: In order to make the development of strong instructional staff meaningful, school communities must be supported
throughout the hiring process. Additionally, the district will adopt a new professional growth model for all staff (principals,
classified, and teachers) that includes supportive evaluations (including, for example, feedback from peers, students, and
teachers) as well as professional development tailored to support professional growth. Under this system, evaluations will change
from being a way to punish staff to a way of recognizing expertise and promoting growth. Evaluators will be given training and
support on how to conduct consistent, helpful, and productive evaluations. Additionally, the district will do everything in its
power to protect the instructional teams from disruptions such as layoffs.
4. School Schedules
Local decision-making authority to create school schedules – which could include additional time
in the day and/or school year – to best respond to student needs.
• Local Decision Making: As a result of this campaign, school communities will be able to change their schedules to meet
the specific needs of their students. They will have the flexibility to extend their day, switch schedules, or adopt other creative
schedules that they think will help serve their students. So long as 60 percent of the full-time staff at that school agree, the school
community can make the changes it needs. For example, if they feel that a longer school day will help close the achievement gap,
then they can work to make that schedule a reality.
• Conditions: In order to make the ability to control school schedules meaningful, the district and its labor partners will adopt
a streamlined process for altering schedules that recognizes the authority, voice, and knowledge of the school community.
Additionally, the central office will provide support to school communities that adopt alternative schedules. All staff will be
compensated fairly for their time.
February 13, 2012