Our Purpose
Young children’s brains and bodies develop rapidly in the first five years. When we provide high quality early learning and health opportunities during this critical time, we create better chances for health and happiness throughout a child’s life.
Oakland Starting Smart and Strong (OSSS) has built a strong, cross-sector collaborative table to advocate for policies that build and improve the systems that support Oakland's young children and families most impacted by racial and economic inequity. Our collaborative strives to center the leadership and experience of Oakland families and early childhood practitioners.
In 2014, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, recognizing the disparities and challenges in Oakland's early childhood ecosystem and the potential for significant impact by local advocates and stakeholders, provided a 10-year grant to establish OSSS. OSSS employs a collective impact framework that brings together a broad and diverse range of organizations and individuals from Oakland to create a strong early learning network, to develop and amplify solutions, and to lead bold policy to create lasting change.
Oakland Starting Smart and Strong (OSSS) has built a strong, cross-sector collaborative table to advocate for policies that build and improve the systems that support Oakland's young children and families most impacted by racial and economic inequity. Our collaborative strives to center the leadership and experience of Oakland families and early childhood practitioners.
In 2014, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, recognizing the disparities and challenges in Oakland's early childhood ecosystem and the potential for significant impact by local advocates and stakeholders, provided a 10-year grant to establish OSSS. OSSS employs a collective impact framework that brings together a broad and diverse range of organizations and individuals from Oakland to create a strong early learning network, to develop and amplify solutions, and to lead bold policy to create lasting change.
Our Values
Our core values are deeply rooted in the belief that systems change requires a justice-centered collective impact approach. We continually seek to grow, refine and redefine our work and support of young children, families and the early learning community, while upholding the following values:
- Justice: racial, economic, wage, gender, disability and every form of necessary inclusion;
- Transparent open communication;
- Accountability;
- Collaboration and partnership; and
- Community knowledge, experience, and strength.
Racial Justice
The Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, has laid bare our nation’s systemic inequities. White supremacy and systemic racism permeate our institutions, and require intentional efforts to dismantle them.
We define healing as cultivating resilience, and work towards unraveling systemic racism by centering early educators and family leadership in our change work. Instead of top-down solutions that at best ignore community leadership, or at worst, deepen inequities, we build bridges between systems and community members. In contrast to gatekeeping practices that reinforce inequity through token inclusion of community voice and lack of transparency in decision making, bridge building is healing work that can transform racist, exclusionary power dynamics. With these bridges, our goal is to elevate community-driven policy and funding priorities for resourcing early childhood systems.
Reparative, healing, and racially just work can take place when systems are truly responsive to and aligned with the priorities of the most impacted early educators and families.
We define healing as cultivating resilience, and work towards unraveling systemic racism by centering early educators and family leadership in our change work. Instead of top-down solutions that at best ignore community leadership, or at worst, deepen inequities, we build bridges between systems and community members. In contrast to gatekeeping practices that reinforce inequity through token inclusion of community voice and lack of transparency in decision making, bridge building is healing work that can transform racist, exclusionary power dynamics. With these bridges, our goal is to elevate community-driven policy and funding priorities for resourcing early childhood systems.
Reparative, healing, and racially just work can take place when systems are truly responsive to and aligned with the priorities of the most impacted early educators and families.
Read our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, including our mission, values, and newly updated pillars.
