Shemika Skipworth never planned to be a parent again. With her biological son grown, her life in Oakland was settled. Then she got a call. Her niece’s children were going to be removed from their home. She was asked if she could take them for a couple of weeks.
That was almost five years ago. Shemika became the guardian of four children, who were “really, really behind academically,” she said, especially her nephew, Dion, on the cusp of middle school.
“Dion was reading at a kindergarten level and was barely talking,” Shemika recalled. “He hated school.” When Dion’s previous school, Parker Elementary, was closing, Shemika knew she had to find a new school that wouldn’t let her children slip through the cracks. She found AIMS College Prep K-12.
Dion’s journey at AIMS is evidence of what can happen when a school refuses to lower the bar. Shemika was concerned that would happen to Dion, that if he just didn’t cause too much trouble and showed up every day, he would keep getting passed to the next grade, regardless of where he was academically. Sort of like receiving a participation trophy.
She was clear with school leadership: “Don’t handicap him, don’t accommodate him to the point that he’s not getting what he needs,” she said. And AIMS responded. The school provided intensive speech therapy, a robust IEP, and a culture of high expectations. The results have been transformative.
Dion is thriving at AIMS Middle School. He’s in 8th grade, talking about where he wants to go to college and scholarship options.
“Currently, he is reading on grade level. This kid is a straight-A student,” Shemika said. “He got in front of our church and read Scripture. He’s gotten in front of our church and prayed. This kid used to be so shy. His elementary teacher said he didn’t even know what [Dion’s] voice sounded like.”
In a city where the Black student population for the Oakland Unified School District has been displaced and declined from roughly 15,000 a decade ago to approximately 10,000 today, the academic success of Black students is critical. For Shemika, the formula is clear. “The school and the family have to both be involved,” she said. The school must set high standards, and the family must reinforce them.
While the challenges are significant, a few Oakland public schools are demonstrating a powerful alternative. EnCompass Academy, Redwood Heights Elementary, and AIMS Middle School, are among the schools proving that when the bar is raised, Black students rise to the challenge and succeed.
Elementary students at EnCompass!
EnCompass Academy
Principal Minh-Tram Nguyen has seen the shifting changes in Oakland’s demographics during her time leading EnCompass Academy, which was part of the small schools movement. As the founding principal, she was part of a design team that spent three years intentionally building the school’s foundation. The vision they crafted for the school is that “education starts with self, is guided by family, engaged in community, and rooted in the ancestors.”
With over 20 years at the school’s helm, her leadership is rooted in a fundamental question: “How do we develop educational experiences that are affirming, liberatory, and transformational to develop academic and whole-child excellence for all children under any learning conditions?”
The holistic model is also data-informed, and it’s driving success. EnCompass Academy was recognized with a FIA Raise the Bar Award for a 10%+ improvement in math proficiency for Black students and overall achievement exceeding 30%.
For Principal Nguyen, redefining power for children is essential to their education. “It’s very important to teach children about power in elementary school,” she said. Offering a critique of the American public education system, she added: “We don’t teach children about life-affirming power. If we actually break open what it means to have true power, that’s what’s timeless.”
This philosophy shapes the school day. Each morning, students engage in “Crew,” a dedicated time for social-emotional learning and community building. This year, Crew has been meticulously structured with daily themes, such as Mirror Monday, True Power Tuesday, and Wonder Wednesday, which are intentionally aligned with language development standards.
This work is supported by rigorous data analysis. “The (numerical data) is very important because our society requires that. It’s a gatekeeper,” Principal Nguyen said. But she balances this with what she calls “street data,” which is the human stories behind the numbers.
She shares the story of a current student, the son of a former alum. The mother, who had a traumatic childhood, told her, “You guys took care of me,” she shared. “When I had my son, I knew if EnCompass was still around, I knew that you guys would take care of him.” For Nguyen, this is the ultimate data point. “That’s the power of data, when alums tell us how our school impacted their life.”
Redwood Heights students
Redwood Heights Elementary
At Redwood Heights Elementary, Principal Cynthia Bagby believes the school’s success stems from a powerful combination: a diverse and joyful community, along with an unrelenting focus on data and expectations.
Redwood Heights Elementary was honored with a FIA Raise the Bar Award for its Black students meeting California’s academic standards in English Language Arts.
“Our school is a microcosm of America,” said Principal Bagby, an Oakland native and fifth-generation Oaklander now in her 11th year leading the school. “I just think that’s such a benefit. That’s how kids can learn to be in the world.” But a welcoming environment alone isn’t enough. The key is “being intentional.”
For Bagby, that intentionality revolves around “progress monitoring.” She championed the effective use of the i-Ready program, telling her teachers, “I don’t ever want to complain about the curriculum unless we know it well.”
A true partnership between leadership and instructional staff is key to this data-driven approach. “We would constantly, every week, be changing the groupings, looking at the data, and making adjustments based on each kid’s needs,” Bagby said. “And I think that is one of the reasons why we grow.”
The success of Redwood Heights is grounded in an unwavering belief in every child’s potential and a belief that if the school raises the bar, students will rise to meet it. Principal Bagby has worked diligently with her staff to check their biases and hold high expectations for all. “I want every kid to be taught,” she said. “If we’re all looking at the data together, and we really are intentional and on it, relentless, all kids get served.”
This mindset is directly connected to the success of Black students at Redwood Heights. “You make sure you realize that that kid is capable, and you’re going to act a little differently,” she said. “You expect more of that kid.”
Middle school engagement happening at AIMS!
AIMS Middle School
At AIMS College Prep Middle School, the educators who contributed to Dion’s transformation believe that raising the bar for all students makes such success possible.
It begins with a fundamental belief. “AIMS feels that every child can succeed,” said Kimberly Torregano (Ms. Kim), a 6th-grade ELA and History teacher. “Background is not even what we discuss. Every child can succeed, and we make sure that they can. We expect engagement. We expect accountability.”
This belief translates into a culture of support and accountability. “Kids are going to rise to the people that they’re around,” said AIMS Head of Schools, Julia Li. “They see that it’s okay to ask a teacher for help, or it’s okay to stay after school for tutoring.’”
Jonathan Winn, the new K-8 Head of School, said he is focused on strengthening this foundation. “One of the things that AIMS is known for is the high test scores,” said Mr. Winn. “But we also think it’s important to spend time on character building.” AIMS Middle School dedicates 30 minutes daily to social-emotional learning, focusing on empathy, patience, and social justice.
Black student empowerment is part of the school’s culture. “They need to know that you are there for them,” said Ms. Kim, “look them in the eye and tell them you have high expectations for them, because they can do anything and be anyone.”
So when a new student, like Dion, enters the school, they are greeted with high expectations.
“When you teach an African American student, you must have high expectations like you’d have of students in Cupertino Unified,” Ms. Kim said. “It’s very important that you don’t play down to them and that they know they are among the best in any educational environment.”
