OSA Creates from Home

Opposite page and above: Mural conceptualized by OSA Visual Art alum Rachel Dharmapalan & OSA Fashion student Mooka Dharmapalan, and installed with help from Pablo Cristi, Chair of OSA Visual Art, and fellow OSA students.

Above: Images created by OSA students in response to Black Lives Matter actions which took place across the country in mid-2020.

UNIFYING LEADERSHIP

This year, Dr. Dianne Woods stepped into the Vice Chair role on OSA’s Board of Directors. And, while we have always had parent representation on our Board, we have now enshrined this value in our charter to include 3 voting seats for parents of current students and 1 non-voting seat for a student representative. OSA welcomed Lisa Sherman-Colt as Executive Director in March of 2020. As the Executive Director of Oakland School for the Arts, Mrs. Sherman-Colt’s responsibilities include leadership and accountability for the success and quality of all educational programs; management of personnel; oversight of financial planning; management of communications; maintenance of relationships with OUSD and oversight of OSA’s operations. Mike Oz, former Assistant Principal, is now all-school Principal. Katy Zaugg, former Dean of Students is now Assistant Principal, and Anna Deroos moved into our Dean of Students role. Arlyle Schultz moved into a Head Counselor role. OSA welcomed Sara Ordaz as OSA’s new Special Education Coordinator. Their all-school leadership will allow OSA to be more responsive to student needs and school-wide demands.

NEW ADVISORY PROGRAM

In 2019-2020, the school piloted a new Advisory program which included a special period each week designed to support students and connect the greater school community. Teachers and staff were each designated an Advisory class, and overall there were 53 Advisory groups. The OSA Advisory program promotes meaningful relationships between staff and students while providing a structure to integrate all students into our school community. Advisory is designed to help balance academic success with emotional and physical well-being for all students. Structured meetings include academic conferencing, community building, social/emotional learning and college and career readiness.

INTERSESSION

OSA’s second-ever Intersession in January 2020 was a great success. All students and staff spent the day fully immersed in new activities, experiencing different communities through exploration, team building, community service or personal growth opportunities. These activities help students learn more about their community, explore art and history, engage in new physical activities, and develop personal goals. Students chose from over 40 different projects and activities that were planned based on interest, grade level and local community resources. A few of the offerings included: a tour of Wired Magazine, a field trip to Oakland Museum of California, a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, an adventure on Angel Island, a Design Squad workshop, a self-care workshop, skateboarding with Principal Mike Oz, and so much more!

Intersession is indeed a large all-school and community effort. Special thanks to our community partners, our faculty and staff for sharing their experience and personal interests with OSA students, and OSA donors for helping make this day accessible for all students!

Above: Skateboarding at Town Park; opposite page: OSA’s student-run radio station www.KOSA.org headed up by Program Director Jonah Rotenberg, Music Director, Avalina Santos, and staff.