\u201cThis morning, I\u2019ve had about 12 conversations so far with kids who think it\u2019s unfair, but as an educator, I know how important it is for kids not to be distracted,\u201d said Relonda McGhee, a social worker who has worked at McClymonds for more than three decades. \u201cI think they\u2019ll be able to open their minds to real learning and not the microwave learning that the phone gives.\u201d<\/p>\n
During a tour across the district Monday morning, The Oaklandside tagged along as Superintendent Denise Saddler visited the West Oakland high school along with a handful of other schools throughout the first day of classes of the 2026-2027 school year. McClymonds doubled as a construction site Monday, as major renovations on the legacy school are underway<\/a>. McClymonds, which counts athlete Bill Russell, actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen, and rapper M.C. Hammer among its alumni, has been at its current location since 1937.<\/p>\n Thanks to $108 million in Measure Y bond funding<\/a>, the school is set to get a complete makeover<\/a> featuring upgraded classrooms, new heating and air conditioning systems, renovated plumbing and a new athletic field. The renovations are expected to be complete in 2029.\u00a0<\/p>\n Garfield Elementary<\/a> hasn\u2019t broken ground yet, but it\u2019s another school getting a major overhaul with Measure Y funds. The renovated campus will support a revamped early childhood wing with room for a preschool program, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classes, and a new family resource center. It\u2019s a $104 million investment, including a $19 million contribution from the Oakland Children\u2019s Initiative, a parcel tax approved in 2018. Alongside upgrades at Roosevelt Middle School<\/a> down the street that include a brand new science building and revitalized outdoor areas, OUSD\u2019s capital investments in the San Antonio neighborhood will total more than $200 million.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is we\u2019re going to transform this entire neighborhood,\u201d said Pranita Ranbhise, the executive director of facilities planning in OUSD, motioning to a field where the new early learning buildings will be.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n At Urban Promise Academy, the cell phone prohibition isn\u2019t new, Principal Tierre Mesa said. Before this year, students had to keep their phones turned off and in their backpacks all day. The Yondr pouches at her school are just a new consequence, Mesa said \u2014 if students violate the rules, they used to have\u00a0 to turn their phones into the main office; now they\u2019ll be locked in a Yondr pouch.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of students have forgotten how to have that direct conversation because they\u2019re staring at a screen all the time,\u201d Mesa said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always valued not having screens in school.\u201d<\/p>\n Mesa said the Fruitvale school is celebrating its highest enrollment ever this year, with 405 students enrolled on the first day. She attributed that to families in the neighborhood spreading the word about the school and to Urban Promise Academy\u2019s robust newcomer program, for newly arrived immigrant students learning English.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/First-Day-of-School-2026.jpg\")
Sele Nadel-Hayes, OUSD\u2019s executive director of construction, left; Denise Saddler, OUSD superintendent; and VanCedric Williams, board director representing District 3, talk about the construction taking place at McClymonds. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786476393_897_First-Day-of-School-2026.jpg\")
A teacher leads students in an activity on the first day of school at Garfield Elementary School in Oakland on Aug. 10, 2026. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786476395_105_First-Day-of-School-2026.jpg\")
Middle school students at Urban Promise Academy talk during their English language development class on the first day of school in Oakland. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n
![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786476397_961_First-Day-of-School-2026.jpg\")
Transitional kindergarten students in Meccah Coleman\u2019s class sit and listen. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n