Oakland Early College

Fall 2009: General Update and Curricular Update

 Update and overview
Overview of our program: who we are,
what we do, who we serve (see
Quickstart Guide and handbook)
Second year of instruction and
operations for Oakland Early College
Last year, approximately 96 students;
count has gone up to nearly 150
(capped), with incredibly strong interest
from all over the county
 Who are our students?
Come from all over the county
Wide range of academic backgrounds
and personal needs and interests
Many, perhaps most, were not able to
find their “niche” in a traditional school
Application process looks for “fit”
Strong aggregate family support
 Who are our students?
Primarily second, third, and fourth year
students, with one first year student and
three graduating fifth year students
All students enrolled in some college
coursework, with most taking fairly
heavy loads; many students are at or
near full-time college status
Provided remarkable array of support
services, including academic support
 Who are our students?
College courses range from Acting I and
Academic Success Skills to Calculus III
and Linear Algebra, from Astronomy and
Cosmology to Yoga, from Composition I
to Forestry
Students have taken well over 100
different course offerings
Over 130 degree pathways available
 College curriculum
Result has been terrific success,
especially in college courses
Hugely outperformed traditional college
students on campus
Pass rate in college trends towards 65%
range; OEC students has been 93-95%
pass rate, with a cumulative college GPA
in the B to B- range.
 Some successes of note
Students deeply involved in campus
community: anime club,
acceptance/awareness, games club,
forensics, theater, more
Numerous students have qualified for
and joined Phi Theta Kappa honors
program (and in fact the college’s PTK
president is an OEC student)
 School culture
Sense of acceptance and non-
judgmental approach
Sense of student ownership and
investment
Student government; dances; clubs; jam
sessions; more
Powerful relationships with many of our
teachers
 Connection to curriculum
Our school is different, our kids are
different, our goals are different than a
traditional school
A lot of support, and school culture,
stem from one of the most important
pilot curricula: our Focus class (see
handout)
 Focus (and Town
Meeting)
Three main goals:
Building relationships
Focus as “home base”
Connection with group AND with teacher
Developing life skills
Academic skills
Academic Portfolio and personal vitae;
careers; time management; current topics;
service learning and community service;
more
 Focus (and Town
Meeting)
Three main goals, continued:
Creating a sense of community
 Student activities
 Student government
 Service projects

This year’s themes: Building your mind,

building your community, building your self,
building your future.
 13th seminar
A new pilot, as we have only three 13th
grade students this year. Being piloted
by Becca Chan.
Overarching goal: to ask students, in a
guided, thoughtful manner, to think
deeply about something important to
themselves and their futures; to do
research on this issue; and to have them
present to others.
 13th seminar
13th seminar is a required program for all OEC
students. Generally taken during Grade 13, 13th
seminar is a supervised, reflective capstone
activity focusing on an area of study about which
the student is extraordinarily passionate.
Capstone activities may include successful
completion of a seminar course; an approved
internship, externship or co-op experience; an
approved study abroad or travel-based program;
an approved service learning or research project;
or other approved academic and/or professional
activities.
 Science & Popular Culture
Students in Science and Popular Culture explore
foundational scientific and mathematic concepts
through the lens of popular culture. Special
attention is given to debunking pseudo-scientific
theories implicit in comic books, literature, film,
and television. Emphasis is given to specific
academic domains, including, but not limited to,
physics and mathematics.

The goal is to de-mystify scientific concepts, and

to bridge gap between academic and popular
culture
 SOAR
SOAR, which stands for Student Organization,
Academics, and Research, is a course designed to
help students attain crucial academic skills in
various content areas. Special attention is given
to organizational, study, and research skills
necessary for collegiate success. COMPASS
Odyssey is used as a central component of this
course.

In essence, SOAR is COMPASS, with extra focus on

time management and a research project.Not
presently being offered, but had some success.
Should reexamine and repilot.