books and cubbies in classroom
Books and students in a Glenview Elementary School classroom on the first day of in-person learning. Credit: Oakland Unified School District

The first day of school is August 9, or less than two weeks away, for kids attending Oakland Unified School District.

While most students spent nearly all of the 2020-2021 school year in distance learning, district officials have said that the upcoming year will be fully in-person, five days a week. The district is also offering a remote, independent study option for families who don’t yet feel comfortable returning to school buildings.

The school district and the teachers’ union, Oakland Education Association, began negotiating COVID-19 safety precautions last week.

On Thursday and Friday, OUSD is holding information sessions for families about the 2021-2022 school year on Zoom.

Thursday, July 29

5:30 to 6:45 p.m.

Zoom link: https://ousd.zoom.us/j/82285761572

Friday, July 30

5:30 to 6:45 p.m.

Zoom link: https://ousd.zoom.us/j/82079088456 

The district has hosted previous sessions on vaccines and school safety for different communities, including youth, Asian Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern families, students with disabilities, African-American families, and Latino families. You can find all of those session recordings here. 

Ashley McBride headshot

Ashley McBride reports on education equity for The Oaklandside. She covered the 2019 Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike as a breaking news reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. More recently, she was an education reporter for the San Antonio Express-News where she covered several local school districts, charter schools, and the community college system. McBride earned her master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University, has held positions at the Palm Beach Post and the Poynter Institute, and is a recent Hearst Journalism Fellow.