Two Real Hard program participants smiling

At Oakland Kids First

We Develop
Youth Leaders

Through positive youth development, political education, and civic engagement opportunities, we prepare student
leaders to improve their schools and communities.

At Oakland Kids First

We Serve
the People

We provide students with the community services and supports they need to thrive and prepare for college,
career and community after high school.

At Oakland Kids First

We Build
Youth Power

We amplify youth voice and build student power by training student organizers who lead
citywide organizing campaigns.

At Oakland Kids First

We Organize for
Educational Equity

Youth leaders research, plan, lead and organize campaigns that improve public education
across the City of Oakland and for all public school students.

oakland kids first

Oakland Kids First (OKF) is a community-based nonprofit organization in Oakland, CA that empowers young people to reimagine broken systems and organize for equitable public schools. Our mission is to increase youth voice, leadership and power to create engaging and equitable public schools where all students learn and lead.

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What We Stand For

Oakland Kids First believes that all youth deserve a quality public education and that their leadership, expertise, and power are central to making that a reality. That is why we provide Oakland youth with the safe spaces, skills, and political education needed to cultivate their leadership and organize campaigns that positively transform the school system.

Youth also need support navigating existing learning conditions, so we provide programs, individualized support, and work-based learning opportunities to help students complete high school and access postsecondary success.

OKF membership consists of youth who attend OUSD high schools along with their families, community stakeholders, educators and coalition partners who stand with student organizers to take bold stands and lead powerful campaigns.

Youth Leadership

Youth Organizing

Community School Initiatives

Educational Equity Campaigns

The First Ever Youth Vote in Oakland!

Hear directly from Oakland youth as they share what it means to cast their first ballots in the historic 2024 school board elections. Students express their excitement about voting and shaping the schools they attend. Learn how young people are raising their voices to demand “Decisions about us, not without us,” and why this moment matters for Oakland, for education, and for democracy.

What our youth have
to say

“We are impacted by systems and deserve a say in how they’re run. ‘We are the future’ is something we hear very often, yet we aren’t given the attention or resources to set in motion the changes we want to see. We are not just the future, we are the present.”

Ixchel Arista

Youth Organizer

“I am proud of the transformative institutional changes we have implemented together, such as Free Supper for Hungry Minds and Oakland Youth Vote. Through organizing, I developed analytical communication and leadership skills that supported me and will continue to support me throughout my personal life and school career.”