GRANT PARTNER IMPACT STORY
Oakland Unified School District REDESIGNING A SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR SUCCESS CIRCLE: EDUCATION
THE ISSUE By virtually any measure—attendance, test scores, graduation rates—many of Oakland's public schools faced significant challenges in the early 2000s. The combination of declining enrollment and a massive budget shortfall pushed the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) into insolvency in 2003. The School Board ceded its authority to the State of California in exchange for a $100 million line of credit. OUSD became a district in crisis both academically and fiscally. Galvanized by the crisis, the stateappointed leadership embarked on a set of initiatives to completely redesign the district.
THE MISSION Named Expect Success!, the program aimed to transform the various schools into communities of learning to provide more opportunity, empowerment and expectations of success. Expect Success! replaced larger failing schools with smaller schools and aggressively decentralized budgetary power to them. The program also equalized school funding based on student attendance and reduced the size of the central office by reorganizing it into service organizations. Because the challenges of urban education were not unique to Oakland, these reforms were of national significance and some aspects had no precedent in the United States.
THE PROJECT Full Circle Fund's involvement with OUSD and Expect Success! spanned a period of three years, focusing on three critical areas: fundraising, communications and outreach to key stakeholders.
SNAPSHOT GRANT TERM: ATTRACTED
2004-07
$26 MILLION IN NEW
FUNDING SUPPORT IN ONE YEAR
GATHERED
30,000+ RESPONSES
TO THE DISTRICT'S FIRST EVER SURVEY OF STUDENTS, PARENTS, TEACHERS AND STAFF
PROVIDED
100+ PRINCIPALS WITH
CUSTOM DATA ANALYSIS TO IMPROVE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT SINCE THIS PROJECT, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN
OAKLAND
IMPROVED FASTER THAN ANY OTHER LARGE URBAN DISTRICT IN
CA,
“Full Circle Fund played a crucial role in the dramatic improvements in Oakland Unified after the state takeover.” “The members are smart and talented, they have outstanding connections, and when they make a commitment, they follow through.” - Tony Smith Superintendent Oakland Unified School District
MEASURED BY ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDEX SCORES
THE WORK At the onset, fundraising was a critical unmet need. OUSD lacked a development team for cultivating local support. Full Circle Fund served this function, driving early fundraising results. In year two, members helped OUSD make effective use of a first-ever survey of students, parents, teachers, and staff. The results enabled the district to create actionable changes within its schools. Year three focused on redesigning the district's communication strategy to make Expect Success! a relevant, unifying theme for students, teachers, and the community. In addition to continuing fundraising efforts, the team completed an evaluation of the district’s information technology needs, a critical component to retooling the district.
Full Circle Fund is an engaged philanthropy organization cultivating the next generation of community leaders and driving lasting social change in the Bay Area. We recruit top leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and empower them to leverage their experience, connections, and financial resources to benefit innovative social entrepreneurs and organizations. www.fullcirclefund.org