More than 34,000 students attend K-12 schools in Oakland Unified School District. For kids and their families, these schools play a critical role in everyday life: they provide safe spaces for children, reliable meals, opportunities for healthy physical activity, and access to trusted adults. They’re where young people develop friendships, learn critical thinking skills, and form an understanding of their place in society.

As the only newsroom with a full-time Oakland schools reporter, we’ve covered the district’s challenges as well as its progress: From its rollout of a universal TK program, to remedying the lead crisis in schools, to stemming enrollment decline, we’ve sought to provide balanced coverage of OUSD that celebrates wins.

But it remains true that Oakland’s public schools face real hardships that make it difficult for them to reach their full potential. OUSD regained control of its finances last spring after 22 years under state receivership, but its dwindling budget — even after a series of painful school closures and consolidations in recent years — continues to put pressure on staffing. The problems extend to academics: In 2024, only a third of OUSD students met or exceeded state standards for English proficiency and only a quarter did so for math, both well below California averages. The achievement gaps are even more pronounced in Oakland schools serving primarily lower-income students of color.

Now, The Oaklandside is enlisting the help of local students to deepen our coverage by defining what they see as the key challenges facing their schools — and identifying possibilities for change. Over the next month, we’re inviting public high school students in Oakland to apply for an Oaklandside reporting fellowship that will give 12 students the opportunity to learn from and work directly with our journalists. Together, we’ll identify, research and report stories that interrogate challenges facing Oakland public schools and highlight potential solutions. Fellows will share their lived experiences and insights as subject matter experts and become part of the editorial process on stories, from pitch to publication.

Fellows who complete the program will receive a $1,500 stipend and gain real work experience to support their higher education and career goals.

The body of work we create with the student fellows will also be shared at a community event, where we’ll gather local education stakeholders — district officials, school site leaders, teachers, students and families — for a lively discussion about our solutions-focused schools reporting, sparked by and grounded in the experiences of OUSD high school students. 

More information about the fellowship requirements, timeline, and eligibility is available in the digital application form below. Applications must be submitted by Nov. 30 to be considered. If  you’re a family member or a student and have questions that aren’t answered in the form, you can email Cityside’s community journalism director, Jacob Simas, at jacob@citysidejournalism.org.

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