Oakland Unified’s internship programs are getting a boost thanks to a new initiative from the California Department of Education.
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced the Bay Area STEAM Career Accelerator, a $750,000 investment in science, technology, engineering, art, and math internships (STEAM) for Oakland students. The grant, which includes three $250,000 contributions from PG&E, General Motors, and the biotechnology firm Genentech, will support Oakland youth aged 13 to 24 seeking STEAM internships starting next summer.
“I have never met more ambitious and more entrepreneurial young people than the young people that I’ve met in the city of Oakland. And they deserve to have opportunities as technology continues to unfold,” Thurmond said. “They deserve to have those opportunities and the chance to earn and learn and get on the pathway that will prepare them for the future.”
OUSD’s Exploring College, Career, and Community Options (ECCCO) program already serves hundreds of students each year by supporting them with internship stipends, providing career guidance like building a resume and filling out a timecard, and being financially responsible. A parcel tax also raises millions of dollars each year to support college and career classes in Oakland schools. The tax was renewed by voters in 2022 for another 10 years. This year, 550 students have participated in paid internships across 100 internship sites, said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell.
Airieanna Murrell, a junior at Oakland High School, spoke about how internships have helped shape her career interests, given her confidence in public speaking and other professional skills.
“I’ve known students who did not always attend school, were sometimes tardy, and were not doing well. But after an ECCCO internship and seeing that people believed in them, having advisors believe in them and see the good in them, they learned that “maybe I can do the school thing,” Murrell said. “Not every student has a stable family or a stable home. So this really does help students and please, please keep funding these programs.”
Morrell is on the law and social justice pathway at her school, and last summer she completed an internship as a teacher’s aide at OUSD’s Hintil Kuu Ca Child Development Center. She also previously participated in Community Reading Buddies, a program that matches high schoolers with young readers to strengthen their literacy skills.
“It also helps with giving the kids the skills of understanding what they need to do for these jobs that are being created by the millisecond,”Johnson-Trammell said. “We see the impact of artificial intelligence. We see the jobs that are going to be created. We see the jobs that are being eliminated. And we see the communities that are going to be impacted.”
Thurmond and Johnson-Trammell were joined by Mayor Sheng Thao and councilmembers Janani Ramachandran and Noel Gallo to announce the new initiative on Monday at the Kapor Center in downtown Oakland. City leaders are hopeful that providing more opportunities for youth will have a positive impact on public safety.
“This truly is an investment in ourselves and our community. This is going to have a ripple effect that will go beyond just the one student,” said Thao, who spoke from experience as she began her career as an intern with Oakland councilmember Rebecca Kaplan’s office.
Superintendent Johnson-Trammell said a major focus for the funds would be building out the infrastructure to support students pursuing internships, particularly in West and deep East Oakland. This could include hiring staff to assist students in finding internships, help them narrow down their career options or give advice on navigating their chosen career. Johnson-Trammell’s goal is to ensure that every OUSD high school student completes an internship.
The funds will particularly target chronically absent students. The program is still in its early stages and the state is beginning to recruit partners to host interns, Thurmond said. While this initiative is for Oakland students, Thurmond added that similar programs could be launched in Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Sacramento.
“Why not start in Oakland? The town has a lot to be proud of,” Thurmond said. “It has an incredible citizenry, it has great young people who are resilient and who demonstrate that they are the future and they deserve to have a future. They’re counting on us to be the bridge to get them to the future.”
