• Education
  • Partnerships for School Improvement

For 17 years, Oakland Kids First has offered youth leadership college-readiness programs—after-school and in school—to help build a college-going culture in five Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) high schools. In 2013, the John W. Gardner Center at Stanford University evaluated the organization’s program and found that it cultivated youth leadership, increased access to essential college knowledge, and promoted positive relationships. Over 2014 and 2015, Oakland Kids First plans to collaborate with OUSD to integrate its programs into a comprehensive youth engagement approach and to evaluate its capacity to replicate its program nationally.