June 2022 Newsletter: The Oakland REACH is bringing parent-led solutions to DC!
For five years now, The Oakland REACH has proven ourselves and our solutions time and time again. At every challenge thrown our way — including a global pandemic — we’ve innovated and moved nimbly while staying focused on our northstar: getting our kids good reading and good math skills so they can have good jobs and good lives.
We’re able to build innovative academic models because we understand that parents have to be part of the solution. One of the most powerful components of the Hub has been our Literacy Liberation Center (LLC) model, which trains parents and community members to be advocates, literacy tutors, and family liaisons in settings ranging from traditional classrooms to online learning, from family pods to micro-schools. This, in turn, creates a new education workforce from the ground up, leveraging the strengths of the community.
And our results speak for themselves: we’re lifting literacy scores, preparing to launch our first-ever Math & Technology Fellowship aimed at upskilling parents and caregivers to be the math change agents our students need now, passing policies that change lives, and generating a movement that shows what it looks like to go beyond parent engagement to true parent power.
I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in just five short years in Oakland, and we must make sure these parent-led solutions reach folks well beyond our community. That’s why I’m thrilled to share that the National Parents Union has nominated me to serve on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Parents and Families Engagement Council. It’s time to share these solutions nationally, to reach more children and get them learning — and to lift up more families in the process.
REACH will be at the table with the largest national parent organizations from across the country, and we’ll make sure Secretary Cardona hears what’s top of mind for parents, how to build new pipelines of talent in our communities, and the solutions that allow our children to thrive in school. Every family should have quality options for their children, and that means it’s time to listen to parents who know what works.
Read more about the announcement:
Ed Week: The Ed. Dept.'s New Parent Council: What Will It Do?
US News: New Education Department Effort Aims to Elevate the Role of Parents in Schools
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Lakisha Young
Founder & CEO