Lessons from Oakland: Community Voice and Leadership

Earlier this year, Oakland Starting Smart and Strong announced our Scaling Our Impact: Lessons from Oakland series and released our first report in the series, “Implementing the Early Development Instrument (EDI)”. Our next report, “Community Voice and Leadership”, focuses on how we’ve learned to use data as a source for community care, what comes from advancing provider-driven policies, and how fostering peer-led support and professional development can impact systems. 

Centering Family Priorities in Research and Advocacy
Recognizing our community as experts and partners and adopting a research justice framework shifts the power dynamic between institutions and underserved communities. Over the past ten years, OSSS has been able to engage with community members on several research projects, following the leadership of the parents and families most impacted throughout the entire process - from design to implementation to decision-making around community needs. All of which leads to community-based solutions that truly meet the needs of families with young children in Oakland. 

Family Child Care Policy Program
Family child care (FCC) providers are a vital part of the early childhood ecosystem in Oakland. The FCC Policy Program, supported by OSSS in partnership with BANANAS and First 5, brings together these professionals to advocate  with local and state officials for increased funding and supports. It creates a space for authentic conversations that build trust and opens the opportunity for members to troubleshoot, share resources, and build their active learning community. 

Oakland Early Learning Symposium
The Oakland Early Learning Symposium offers collaborative learning, ​innovative strategies, and community connections across Oakland. It brings together a diverse community of early childhood education professionals throughout Oakland.​ Over 1,000 professionals have attended the Early Learning Symposium over the past six years. This space has expanded into Let’s Talk Early Learning, a monthly informal peer space facilitated by early childhood educators. This space provided a place for educators and providers to raise questions during Measure C development that were then shared with the broader community at Measure C listening sessions.

Moving Forward
With the implementation of Measure C and Universal Pre-Kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten, it is vital that we work with our community - families, early childhood educators, and community-based providers - to build power to create an early childhood ecosystem that effectively serves young children in Oakland. 

The "Scaling Our Impact: Lessons from Oakland” report series offers insights into what we've learned over the last ten years, recommendations for implementation, and what comes next.