Oakland Unified School District

Oakland’s young poets are taking the stage tomorrow night! 🎤

Join the Oakland Public Library on Friday, June 5, for the 2026 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Performances & Announcement at Oakstop Broadway.

The event will feature performances from this year’s finalists, honorary finalists, and special guests before the announcement of Oakland’s 15th Youth Poet Laureate.

We’re proud to see several OUSD students and schools represented this year, including:

🌟 Diego Aguilar-Rivera, Madison Park Academy - 6-12
🌟 Lina Norris-Raman, Edna Brewer Middle School
🌟 Mia Meza, Oakland Technical High School
🌟 Luan Nguyen, Oakland High School Wildcats

The Youth Poet Laureate serves for one year as a city ambassador for literacy, arts, and youth expression, and receives a $5,000 college scholarship.

📍 Oakstop Broadway, 1721 Broadway
🗓 Friday, June 5
⏰ 7:00–8:30 p.m.

Come out and celebrate Oakland’s young writers and the power of student voice. Learn more through the Oakland Public Library link below.

Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Performances and 2026 Announcement Join us for this exciting event to celebrate our 15th Oakland Youth Poet Laureate! We will announce the 2026 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate and Vice Oakland Youth Poet Laureate. Emceed by the incomparable artist and educator, EJ Walls. Featuring performances by our 2026 Finalists: Diego Aguilar-RiveraI...

🎓 Middle school, here they come! Congratulations to La Escuelita Elementary’s 5th-grade class! ❤️🎓

Our La Escuelita students are officially moving up and getting ready for their next chapter in middle school.

Promotion ceremonies are such a special reminder of how much our students grow, not only academically, but in confidence, leadership, friendship, and community. We are so proud of each student who crossed the stage and celebrated this milestone surrounded by the people who helped them get here.

Congratulations to all of our La Escuelita 5th graders, and thank you to the families, educators, and staff who helped make this day so joyful.

🥉 Inclusion Week Winner Spotlight: West Oakland Middle School

As we wrap up Educator Appreciation Month, today we’re celebrating the community and Robyn Brody-Kaplan, one of our 3rd Place Inclusion Week winners.

At WOMS, Inclusion Week connected disability rights history, activism, and student learning. Through advisory lessons, videos, discussions about the Capitol Crawl, student-created posters, and inclusion-themed books, students were invited to think about belonging not just as a value, but as something shaped by advocacy and community responsibility.

As Robyn shared:

“Students had to work through the slide deck, watch the videos, and have a discussion around the Capitol Crawl and talk about the importance of activism.”

She also explained that students reflected on the Capitol Crawl as more than just history, but as an example of what it means to organize, speak up, and create change.

Her own reflection as an educator was just as powerful. Drawing from her own experience as a student, she shared a belief that shaped her path into special education:

“There is more than one way to test a skill.”

Congratulations to Ms. Brody-Kaplan and the WOMS community. Read the full profile on our website.

🥉 Inclusion Week Winner Spotlight: La Escuelita Elementary School

As we help wrap up Educator Appreciation Month, today we’re celebrating La Escuelita Elementary School and Valerina Hilton, one of our 3rd Place Inclusion Week winners.

At La Escuelita, Inclusion Week created space for students to think about empathy, difference, and community in age-appropriate and meaningful ways. Students engaged with books from the Disability Access Library, took part in classroom conversations, listened to a read-aloud of We Move Together, heard schoolwide announcements, and worked together on an Inclusive Town project designed for everyone.

Ms. Hilton shared early on:

“I’m loving your resources and daily activities! There’s so much to do and share with my students. My class is having wonderful conversations filled with empathy…”

Looking back, she said:

“My class really loved learning about inclusion, and we had great conversations about how we are all different and can support each other in our community.”

And she closed with one of the most moving reflections from all of the winner profiles:

“It’s really not about the prize, but it’s the awareness, empathy, and understanding that have been gifted to our future leaders.”

Congratulations to Ms. Hilton and the La Escuelita community. Read the full profile on our website.

🥈 Inclusion Week Winner Spotlight: Academy

Today, we’re celebrating Bridges Academy and Noah Christensen, our 2nd Place Inclusion Week winner.

At Bridges, Inclusion Week was grounded in student voice and everyday connection. Noah spent the week talking with 3rd–5th-grade students during lunch about what it means to be inclusive, how students can support one another, and how their school could become even more welcoming. Students also signed the Special Olympics Respect Banner, created signs through Best Buddies, and took part in a schoolwide Inclusion Parade.

As Noah shared:

“Every day, I talked to 3rd-5th-grade students at their lunch time about being inclusive…”

He described the week ending with an Inclusion Parade where students held the Special Olympics banner, carried posters they made, and chanted:

“Choose to include” and “Be a buddy, not a bully.”

One of the most powerful parts of the week was what students themselves brought to the conversation. As Noah reflected:

“The most surprising reaction was hearing students’ opinions on how to make our school more inclusive.”

He shared that students offered thoughtful ideas about inviting peers from self-contained classrooms into games and wanted to learn how to communicate with classmates who use AAC devices.

Congratulations to Noah and the Bridges community. Read the full profile on our website.

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🥇 Inclusion Week Winner Spotlight: Horace Mann Elementary

As we continue closing out Educator Appreciation Month, today we’re proud to celebrate Horace Mann Elementary and Principal Tammie Adams, our 1st Place Inclusion Week winner.

Horace Mann Elementary OUSD celebrated Inclusion Week schoolwide. Students came together for a morning circle to learn about disability awareness and recite the Inclusion Pledge, which Principal Adams said they still recite even after Inclusion Week has ended. Throughout the week, that learning continued through daily morning messages, shared lunches between kindergarten students and the preschool Mild/Mod class, story time between students, art experiences across classrooms, and opportunities for older students to support younger peers in the K-2 ESN classroom.

As Principal Adams shared:

“We did a school-wide morning circle to introduce Inclusion Week. All students learned what it means to have a disability… The entire school then recited the Inclusion Pledge.”

She also described one of the most meaningful moments she saw during the week:

“The preschool students from the Mild/Mod class engaged with the TK students in art class. They were so excited to participate, and the TK students welcomed them in as if they were always part of their classroom.”

Principal Adams also spoke about why this work matters so much to her, sharing that she wants to make sure all students have the opportunity to be included in everything their school community does throughout the year.

Congratulations to Principal Adams and the entire Horace Mann community. Read the full profile on our website, and stay tuned for a bonus spotlight on Principal Adams receiving Horace Mann’s first-place Inclusion Week award.