Happy Birthday to Us!

On August 19, we celebrate Oakland Serves’ 10th birthday! We officially became a nonprofit a decade ago with a clear mission: to help increase the high school graduation rate in Oakland. The idea had been taking shape well before then, thanks to founders Kay Lawson and Sharon Rose, who spent more than a year listening, researching, and building the foundation before Oakland Serves was born.

For ten years, Oakland Serves has grown from a promising idea into a steady community of volunteers supporting educators and helping more Oakland students stay connected to school and graduation. We have definitely learned on the way and are learning still.

Sharon Rose recalls that in 2014, then-Mayor Jean Quan asked, “How can the City wrap our arms around our children and help more of them succeed?” Because Kay and Sharon were educators, they turned their attention to increasing the high school graduation rate. The founders and a group of dedicated volunteers began researching mentoring programs in Oakland schools. Of the many active programs, none focused specifically on high school students most at risk of dropping out. That insight shaped Oakland Serves’ focus: connecting community volunteers with high school students in the classroom to support student success and graduation.

Our first logo, retired in 2023

The first mentors were matched with individual students at McClymonds High School in Spring 2018. The program grew gradually until Spring 2020, when Covid-19 changed school as everyone knew it. Like OUSD and families across Oakland, our mentors adapted quickly, moving to Zoom and WebEx so they could continue connecting with students learning from home. Oakland Serves emerged from Covid with new perspective and a renewed sense of where our work could have the greatest impact.

In Fall 2022, we began shaping a modified mentoring model that supports an entire classroom rather than only one student at a time. This approach helps reach students earlier, before they fall too far off track. That same year, OUSD’s new Central Academic Recovery team, focused on Covid learning-loss recovery, reached out to Oakland Serves for support. That partnership continues today and remains a key part of our program.

Today, we are proud of how our expanding community of volunteers supports students, classrooms, and teachers. Last year, we attended more than 700 class sessions at six schools, helping students pass classes and see school in a more positive light. Teachers also value the additional support, which gives them more time to teach the whole class.

As we celebrate our 10th birthday, we are also looking ahead. Oakland Serves continues to expand into more classrooms and reach more schools, while remaining an almost entirely volunteer-led organization. In the next few years, our challenge will be to continue with same commitment to student success that shaped our first decade while ensuring Oakland Serves is sustainable for the future.

Like any pre-teen, we are still growing, still learning, and excited for what comes next! We hope you will join us.