Highlights from Children’s Fairyland:
Kimberly Miller, the CEO, and Vicky Chen, the Senior Director of Education, from Children’s Fairyland inspired participants by talking about their early childhood programs.​

​At the meeting, First 5 Alameda County also shared that they are investing in partnerships with local cultural institutions to help ensure that cultural learning, exploration, and play are available to families across our county. These efforts include:

• Magic Key memberships and additional admission tickets to Children’s Fairyland
• Family access packs to the Oakland Zoo
• Science Supporter memberships to the Chabot Space and Science Center for families
• Community events and mobile museum events with Habitot Children’s Museum

Find the slides from the 2026 Spring Task Force here.

This year, 28 early learning teachers, instructional aides, site principals, and a family health navigator signed up to join the community of practice. 

​The 10 Promising Practices community of practice was developed by the OSSS Boys of Color Workgroup and is designed to move beyond theory into action. 

The community of practice meets once a month to talk about culturally sustaining practices, family engagement, self-reflection, and systems change. 

The first session, focused on trusting relationships, was held in person to facilitate building trust among participants. 

Another educator says she appreciates the practical nature of the workshop content. “For me, it was very helpful to be able to put these tips into practice with the children. Knowing a child’s background, culture, and family helps us greatly in understanding what activities to do with them, as well as the importance of using appropriate words so as not to misguide them.”

After the in-person launch workshop, the next three workshops are held virtually. In May, participants will meet in person again for an end-of-program celebration. 

Facilitating the community of practice are Dr. LaWanda Wesley, a former OUSD early learning administrator, and Dr. Tasha Henneman, whose research centers on disparate early child care expulsions.

So far, 76 educators and community health practitioners have completed the program. 

In the first cohort, educators from OUSD and Head Start were invited to join. In year two, community child care providers were included and priority was given to those who were based in East Oakland. Last year, Roots Community Health joined the effort as a partner and health navigators joined educators in the group. This year’s cohort is comprised primarily of school site teams, with seven schools sending at least two educators. Highland Child Development Center (CDC) has the largest team participating, with seven educators. Next is Sankofa with four. 

With support from our generous sponsors and community partners, we created a space where ECE providers, teachers, and community members could learn, connect, and grow together. 

We were very excited to welcome Mayor Barbara Lee to the Symposium, where she delivered a heartfelt tribute to early learning professionals. "Our children's future is secure because of you," she said. "Creating spaces for learning, connection, and celebration — it's no small feat. Thank you for doing it with caring and with heart." Her closing words reaffirmed the mission driving everything we do: making sure "every child, regardless of their zip code, cannot only survive but thrive."

The symposium was emceed by Rha Bowen, Room to Bloom Site Director at Lotus Bloom, who kept the energy up and grounded in the goals for the day:

• Introducing the concepts of early literacy to a wide spectrum of ECE providers in Oakland
• Providing ECE providers with concrete tools to use in their classrooms or child care settings to implement early literacy concepts 
• Provide ways for ECE professionals to network and collaborate with each other 
• Offer ECE providers a joyful environment to learn and grow together

​Participants heard from experts across Oakland’s early childhood system:

• Sanam Jorjani from the Oakland Literacy Coalition introduced the foundations of reading development and the science of reading. 
• Shanna Birkholz-Vasquez from the California Department of Education walked everyone through the California P/TK Learning Foundations.
• Dr. Edirle Menezes from First 5 Alameda County gave us important updates on Measure C and Measure AA, the funding that keeps early education strong in Oakland.

​Symposium participants also heard from peer experts during two panels featuring classroom teachers, child care providers, librarians, and program directors who shared real-world insights about early literacy: 

• The first panel of the day was facilitated by Melissa Luc. She interviewed Duane Poteat and Katherine Gibson from Oakland Unified School District, and Jill Burns, a family child care provider with the City of Oakland Head Start Tiny Steps program, organized by BANANAS, Inc., about what early literacy looks like in their classrooms.
• Maria Sujo, Alameda County Office of Education, facilitated the second panel discussion with Pat Toney, Oakland Public Library, Emily Grunt, of Fluent SEEDs and Collaborative Classroom, and Sarah Sliva, BANANAS Inc.  They highlighted their programs and gave the participants an idea of what early literacy looks like in our communities.

Additionally, participants were led in hands-on activities at their tables from Tandem, Partners in Early Learning, and the Oakland Literacy Coalition.

Over twelve organizations tabled and provided resources to participants, ranging from button-making and free books from the Oakland Public Library, how to enroll in Oakland Promise programming, and information about professional development opportunities from BANANAS, Inc., and Hively. Every participant also received two children's books provided by Tandem, Partners in Early Learning.

119 participants responded to our post-event survey; over 98% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the event. Find the agenda and presentations and photos from the day here. 

Let’s Talk Early Learning sessions throughout the Spring will build on the symposium by focusing on gaining a better understanding of emergent literacy in young children and how it impacts later literacy development. These monthly sessions provide Oakland early learning professionals with a space to support, share, and learn. Learn more about Let’s Talk ​here. ​

Things are uncertain and will remain that way for some time. We've learned that the key to navigating these turbulent times lies in unity: staying informed together, sharing what works, and ensuring that policymakers keep the needs of families with young children and early care and education (ECE) providers at the center of their decisions.

The OSSS community has been busy turning uncertainty into action. Here's a sample of how we’ve responded so far this year: 

• Empowering ECE Providers: With special funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and led by the Alameda County Office of Education, OSSS partnered to support Immigration Know Your Rights events specifically designed for ECE providers.
• Building Preparedness: After immigration enforcement efforts were recently threatened to be stepped up, we developed a comprehensive resource list to help ECE providers prepare for immigration activities in our community.
• Addressing Food Insecurity: In partnership with our fiscal sponsor the Oakland Public Education Fund, we're working to raise funds and connect food resources for OUSD 3 and 4-year-olds and their families.

Keeping up with policy changes that impact the families we serve can feel overwhelming. Especially with so much going on at the city, county, state, and federal levels. That's why we invite you to join the OSSS Policy and Advocacy Committee, which meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 1 pm online. Our dedicated Co-Chairs, Diana Garcia and Jamaica Sowell, lead engaging, interactive meetings where we share updates and dive deep into policy developments affecting young children. In addition to tracking state and federal impacts, we focus on Oakland and provide updates on county, city, and OUSD budget and policy news.  It's a space for learning, discussion, and collective action. Interested in joining us? Email Page Tomblin at page@oaklandsmartandstrong.org to get connected.

In Oakland, that’s beginning to change, thanks to a growing movement of providers who are organizing, advocating, and shaping the future of early care and education. OSSS developed the Oakland FCC Policy Program along with partners BANANAS and First 5 Alameda County in 2021, to cultivate and amplify FCC leadership and advocacy efforts. In this program, FCC providers set their own priorities, while OSSS offers critical backbone support, including education, information and logistical assistance. 
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Engage R+D, an evaluation and learning firm, has documented the overall impacts of the program through interviews, document review, and reflection sessions. Below is a summary of their findings, including key lessons learned to inform this work and similar efforts with FCC providers.

Since its launch, the Oakland FCC Policy Program has served as a space for FCC providers to learn about policy, connect with decision-makers, and advocate for the needs of home-based educators and their small businesses. The program meets monthly and offers participants stipends for their time.

Over the past few years, members have created an advocacy film, met with city and state officials, hosted community conversations, and helped shape key policy decisions, including the five-year implementation plan for Alameda County’s Measure C Child Care Initiative and the establishment of a $10 million annual Emergency Revolving Fund for at-risk child care programs.

As California’s early learning landscape evolves with the expansion of Transitional Kindergarten (TK), FCC providers are thinking deeply about how home-based care fits into the larger system. Through interviews, participants identified three priorities for the next phase of the work:

Telling the FCC story.
Providers want to expand public understanding of what FCCs offer, emphasizing their role as small business owners and early educators.

Bringing in parent voice.
Members are eager to build stronger partnerships with families and parent advocacy groups to ensure shared understanding and joint advocacy.

Growing new leaders.
The group aims to welcome new providers and develop sustainable leadership so the space continues to reflect the diversity of Oakland’s child care community.

The FCC Policy Program offers practical insights for anyone seeking to strengthen provider organizing and advocacy:

• Be flexible. This work requires patience and responsiveness as provider needs and external conditions change.
• Establish clear roles and boundaries. Define who convenes, who participates, and how decisions are made.
• Design intentionally. Include a mix of emerging and established leaders to keep perspectives fresh.
• Prioritize hospitality and care. Stipends, food, and space for connection matter — they communicate respect.
• Engage power boldly. Real systems change requires being in conversation with those who shape policy and funding.

The Oakland FCC Policy Program shows what’s possible when those closest to the work lead the way. By combining learning, advocacy, and connection, the program has helped transform isolation into collective power, ensuring that family child care providers are recognized not only as caregivers, but as the educators, entrepreneurs, and policy champions that they are.

Read the full memo: From Family Child Care Providers to Policy Champions: Lessons from Oakland’s FCC Policy Program