Since 2017, through the Resilient Oakland Communities and Kids (ROCK) initiative, Oakland Starting Smart and Strong (OSSS) has been building knowledge about resilience, trauma and its impact on children, and self-care for educators. Examples of ROCK supports for early childhood educators include: in person and virtual trainings, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), educator coaching, yoga, and self care resources. A survey of OUSD early childhood educators conducted by OSSS in 2022 has revealed the positive impact of these ROCK supports, with survey respondents reporting widespread use of many trauma-responsive classroom strategies. The survey was conducted in English, Spanish and Cantonese, and 43 educators representing 68% of OUSD’s early childhood sites participated. Notably, educators who participated in PLC sessions held substantially more positive beliefs about their students, jobs and themselves compared to those who did not attend a PLC. ROCK PLCs offer educators an opportunity to delve deeper into trauma-informed resilience and self-care strategies, through intensive collaboration and exchange of knowledge and best practices. Additional key takeaways from the survey include:
Please read Nurturing Positive Beliefs About Students, Jobs and Selves, our survey results summary, and email us your thoughts and questions at info@oaklandsmartandstrong.org. OSSS will be releasing a report this summer describing the evolution of ROCK over the years, including practical resources for educators and school leaders to both launch and continue the program at desired sites - stay tuned!
OSSS and our partners collected our third round of Early Development Instrument (EDI) data in February. The EDI is a neighborhood-level snapshot of how systems are supporting Kindergarten children’s health, development, and school readiness. The results can inform neighborhood-based planning to hold systems accountable for the well-being of young children.
OSSS and OUSD previously collected and analyzed EDI data in 2017 and 2020 with the support of UCLA. For each round of the EDI, every OUSD kindergarten teacher is asked to complete surveys about each of their students, assessing how systems support children in these developmental domains:
The 2023 EDI data will be analyzed and ready for use by late summer 2023. To dig into the 2017 and 2020 data, take a look at the Oakland EDI Data Dashboard. OSSS, OUSD, and our community partners have used the EDI in many ways, including applying for and receiving the Emerging Bilingual Collaborative grant to support Dual Language Learners, increasing Social and Emotional Supports in OUSD Early Learning, supporting the San Antonio Family Resource Center’s (FRC) Parent Action Team’s advocacy for San Antonio Park, and informing the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth’s strategic plan. Read more here about our many uses of the data. In preparation for EDI 2023, OSSS and OUSD made some exciting new changes:
To learn more about the Oakland EDI, take a look at: |