Oakland Kids First increases youth voice, leadership, and power to create engaging and equitable public schools where all students learn and lead.

Founded in 1995 by a multi-racial coalition of youth serving community-based organizations, Oakland Kids First (OKF) trains hundreds of high-school leaders each year who work to advance safe and caring school cultures, academic success, and educational equity campaigns that center the needs of underserved Oakland students.

We believe students are the experts of their own experience and therefore equipped to evaluate, innovate, and govern the institutions that are supposed to serve them. OKF has supported youth leadership development and student organizing for over 25 years and is proud to stand with youth organizers and adult allies invested in justice for students in Oakland, CA.