Oakland Starting Smart and Strong
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About
​Oakland Starting Smart and Strong

Two young children sit on low benches outside, one of them looks up while the other is drinking from a cup
Oakland Starting Smart and Strong is a broad, active and diverse collaboration with core leadership of parent advocacy groups, early care and education providers, city and county systems leaders and representatives of elected officials, community based organizations, philanthropy, and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).

Our collective vision of success is that:
  • Every young child in Oakland has access to high quality early learning experiences
  • Every adult in that child’s life has the resources, tools and information necessary to support them
  • Schools and communities are designed and operated to support the healthy development of every child, regardless of race or family income level

We focus our resources and systems-building efforts towards children and families most impacted by social, racial, and economic inequity.

Over our history, we have moved from a focus on kindergarten readiness to a broader framework that: 1) prioritizes equity gaps in early learning, healthy development and family support and leadership resources and; 2) seeks to address root causes for those disparities (eg. trauma and racism).

Read an overview of our work here. 

2022-25 Strategic Plan Summary Update

Young girl smiles with her head turned while standing at a fence by a garden

OSSS Theory of Change


OUR PURPOSE

A young child plays with colorful toys while sitting on the grass outside

OUR TEAM

An educator kneels down to be eye level with a young child while they play with bubbles together
Many of the photos on this site appear courtesy of Hasain Rasheed Photography
  • ABOUT
    • OUR PURPOSE
    • OUR IMPACT
    • OUR TEAM >
      • STAFF AND CONSULTANTS
      • LEAD PLANNING TEAM
      • SUPPORTERS
      • FEATURED LEADERS
    • GET INVOLVED
  • OUR WORK
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT >
      • BOYS OF COLOR
      • TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE LEARNING >
        • ROCK TOOLKIT
      • EARLY LEARNING SYMPOSIUM
      • LET'S TALK EARLY LEARNING
    • DATA, POLICY AND ADVOCACY >
      • POLICY AND ADVOCACY
      • FAMILY CHILD CARE POLICY PROGRAM
      • DATA PORTAL
    • COLLECTIVE IMPACT >
      • OSSS COLLABORATIVE
      • THEORY OF CHANGE
      • PARTNER MAPPING
  • RESOURCES
    • REPORTS
    • PRESENTATIONS
    • PUBLIC MEETINGS
  • EVENTS
  • NEWS
    • Blog
    • NEWSLETTER
  • DONATE