Founded: 2003

The Oakland Small Schools Foundation (OSSF) was founded in 2003 by a group of principals and business leaders from the local community. Originally conceived as a vehicle through which small schools could apply for funding for after-school programming, OSSF soon realized the new small schools’ need for increased capacity building and administrative services to support their dramatic growth and ambitious programs.

Today, the OSSF School Fund Service is open to all small schools within the Oakland Unified School District founded since 2001 and serving populations with at least 60 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

By the end of 2007, the OSSF service network will encompass 34 elementary, middle, and high schools across Oakland's diverse neighborhoods. At this scale, OSSF will impact more than 6,000 students, over 90 percent of whom are eligible for free or reduced price lunch and 65 percent of whom are English language learners. Many of our students have the potential to be the first children in their families to graduate from college.