"Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) is a Charter school in downtown Oakland, next to the Fox Theater on Telegraph. Because of its location, there is no outdoor space designated specifically for the school." --Rafi Ponet, 7th grade
his has been problematic, because it forces students to eat lunch in either the cafeteria or Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park (Uptown Park, as it’s known to the students), which is often occupied by strangers. The lack of space also means that during P.E., students must either work out in the cafeteria or walk half a mile to a local park. But the walk there and back can sometimes take up more than half of the P.E. period. Luckily for OSA, across the street from the school and on the other side of Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park, is a vacant lot.
Mike Oz, the Executive Director and former Principal of OSA has been trying to get OSA some outdoor spaces for a long time. When Oz heard about the lot, he knew this was OSA’s opportunity. “For years I've been trying to look into and trying to understand if [having outdoor space] would be something available for [OSA]. So I met with the city and I asked them and eventually they agreed to it. They know we have safety concerns and how we have extra security now. I've been telling them that this should be the bare minimum,” he stated.
Another reason why OSA needs space so badly is safety concerns. As Oz mentioned, OSA has extra security that comes with the students when they walk places for P.E., eat lunch in the park, and are just generally around the school. This is because of the increased violence and other dangerous incidents in not only the Bay Area, but in Downtown Oakland in particular.
Coach Foster, the 6th grade P.E. teacher thinks that if OSA obtains the lot it would do wonders for P.E. and the school in general. “When you do P.E. you should never have to worry about worrying about sharing space with the general public. You shouldn’t be worried about walking half a mile to get to a location. It would be so much safer and organized and we would be able to do sports in our own space. It would be a night and day difference,” Foster said.
OSA’s plan is to build two full basketball courts, a soccer field, a skatepark, and an area for students to hang out. Obviously OSA needs funding for these things but Oz is prepared. “The Oakland Roots and Skate Like a Girl will both help anchor [the funding].”
Students are excited for the lot, as 7th grade Literary Arts student Isaiah Kahn put it.
“It will be cool to have another place for P.E. and to hang out with friends.”
Foster thinks the space will have a positive effect on students. “It's not only a P.E. space but a performance space. It would give more space and not have to deal with broken glass, needles, and dog poo. And hopefully it would keep P.E. in high school.”
Right now P.E. is only in the middle school and the highschoolers do not have it. On top of that, OSA does not have sports teams, but Foster hopes that the school could create sports teams soon after the lot is available for student use.“We do hope to have soccer teams, basketball teams, a skateboarding club, maybe volleyball, football…. Anything and everything we can do with that space if we can get it,” he said.
The lot will help the safety and well being of students, teachers, security, and other faculty that work at the school.
Update: On April 12th, OSA reported via its Instagram that “Yesterday was a very important day for our school community!” It continued that, “Students, parents, educators and OSA neighbors came together at Oakland City Hall yesterday to advocate for rent reduction and a lease for OSA to have designated outdoor space. We received unanimous support from Oakland’s Community and Economic Development Committee to recommend both initiatives for vote at next week’s city council meeting.
“We are incredibly grateful for the team of people that have worked tirelessly on behalf of our school to create these opportunities for our students. Special thanks to Council Member Fife and Council Member Gallo for your kind words and ongoing support of OSA. We are so proud of our students for continuing to show up as advocates for their educational opportunities.
We look forward to continued partnership in activating downtown Oakland with art and youth presence!”
Mike Oz, the Executive Director and former Principal of OSA has been trying to get OSA some outdoor spaces for a long time. When Oz heard about the lot, he knew this was OSA’s opportunity. “For years I've been trying to look into and trying to understand if [having outdoor space] would be something available for [OSA]. So I met with the city and I asked them and eventually they agreed to it. They know we have safety concerns and how we have extra security now. I've been telling them that this should be the bare minimum,” he stated.
Another reason why OSA needs space so badly is safety concerns. As Oz mentioned, OSA has extra security that comes with the students when they walk places for P.E., eat lunch in the park, and are just generally around the school. This is because of the increased violence and other dangerous incidents in not only the Bay Area, but in Downtown Oakland in particular.
Coach Foster, the 6th grade P.E. teacher thinks that if OSA obtains the lot it would do wonders for P.E. and the school in general. “When you do P.E. you should never have to worry about worrying about sharing space with the general public. You shouldn’t be worried about walking half a mile to get to a location. It would be so much safer and organized and we would be able to do sports in our own space. It would be a night and day difference,” Foster said.
OSA’s plan is to build two full basketball courts, a soccer field, a skatepark, and an area for students to hang out. Obviously OSA needs funding for these things but Oz is prepared. “The Oakland Roots and Skate Like a Girl will both help anchor [the funding].”
Students are excited for the lot, as 7th grade Literary Arts student Isaiah Kahn put it.
“It will be cool to have another place for P.E. and to hang out with friends.”
Foster thinks the space will have a positive effect on students. “It's not only a P.E. space but a performance space. It would give more space and not have to deal with broken glass, needles, and dog poo. And hopefully it would keep P.E. in high school.”
Right now P.E. is only in the middle school and the highschoolers do not have it. On top of that, OSA does not have sports teams, but Foster hopes that the school could create sports teams soon after the lot is available for student use.“We do hope to have soccer teams, basketball teams, a skateboarding club, maybe volleyball, football…. Anything and everything we can do with that space if we can get it,” he said.
The lot will help the safety and well being of students, teachers, security, and other faculty that work at the school.
Update: On April 12th, OSA reported via its Instagram that “Yesterday was a very important day for our school community!” It continued that, “Students, parents, educators and OSA neighbors came together at Oakland City Hall yesterday to advocate for rent reduction and a lease for OSA to have designated outdoor space. We received unanimous support from Oakland’s Community and Economic Development Committee to recommend both initiatives for vote at next week’s city council meeting.
“We are incredibly grateful for the team of people that have worked tirelessly on behalf of our school to create these opportunities for our students. Special thanks to Council Member Fife and Council Member Gallo for your kind words and ongoing support of OSA. We are so proud of our students for continuing to show up as advocates for their educational opportunities.
We look forward to continued partnership in activating downtown Oakland with art and youth presence!”
