2021 has been a year marked with challenges, breakthroughs and new beginnings for Elevate Oakland and the communities we serve. Although we continue to reckon with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve met adversity with strength and resilience. School shutdowns caused a critical loss of momentum for music and arts programs in Oakland public schools. From a rocky transition to virtual learning to the reopening of classrooms this fall, our network of students, educators and artists was confronted with a myriad of challenges. In spite of it all, we persevered, finding power in the community and learning to adapt to new circumstances.
Throughout 2021, Elevate Oakland continued to provide consistent music programming and critical resources to students and educators. We are now entering the new year with new learnings, new ideas and new determination. We invite you to join us in celebrating our great milestones of 2021 and seek your support as we lift off into 2022.
2021 BY THE NUMBERS
Winter/Spring 2021 - Elevate Oakland Virtual
As virtual instruction continued for Oakland public schools in early 2021, we continued to bring virtual learning opportunities in music and the arts to Oakland public school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. We successfully adapted our Artists in Residence program to a virtual learning environment where students received guest lectures and percussion instruction using take-home instruments.
Spring/Summer 2021 - “Unlock Creativity” MasterClass Grant Program
In the spring, we partnered with MasterClass to introduce #UnlockCreativity, a grant program emphasizing the importance and impact of creative education for developing youth offering free MasterClass memberships to students, families, educators and artists. Together, we empowered the educational experience of our youth and their support networks during a difficult time of shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By giving more 2000 educators, families and students free access to hundreds of courses featuring thousands of hours of in-depth instruction across a range of topics such as music, arts and personal development, we inspired and empowered our youth and their support networks through creative discovery during a time when access to in-person learning was so limited.
Fall/Winter 2021 - Artist In Residence Program
As students returned to the classroom this fall for in-person learning, Elevate Oakland resumed our Artist in Residence (AiR) program embedding renowned artists from within the Bay Area community into Oakland public school classrooms, providing mentorship and learning opportunities for students and teachers alike. This fall and winter, we established AiR programs at Parker Elementary School and Elmhurst United Middle School and employed 8 local teaching artists. Past school partners have also included McClymonds High School, Edna Brewer Middle School, Castlemont High School, Fremont High School and more. We are hoping to expand our AiR program to at least two new Oakland public schools starting in 2022.
Fall/Winter 2021 - Oakland Eastside All-Star Ensemble
This school year, Elevate Oakland has partnered with Oakland Eastside All-Star Ensemble (OEASE), a big band featuring Oakland’s new wave of community leaders and young musician-scholars. In addition to acting as a fiscal sponsor providing the necessary funding to keep the program going, Elevate Oakland is providing performance opportunities, coaching and mentorship, instruments and equipment as well as marketing and other support for this talented group of Oakland youth musicians.
We are excited to be sponsoring a number of performance opportunities for OEASE in 2022, including a winter debut at Yoshi’s Jazz Club on February 7th, 2021. Click here to purchase tickets and visit the official OEASE website to learn more about the ensemble.
Winter 2021 - Elevate Elmhurst
This winter, Elevate Oakland is partnering with the Guitar Center Music Foundation to rebuild the music program at Elmhurst United Middle School, a high-needs public school in East Oakland serving students from predominantly low-income communities. By donating more than $25,000 worth of new music equipment, making facility improvements and partnering with music educators and local artists to establish a robust teaching curriculum, this program aims to build lasting and impactful infrastructure that will lend to the enduring success of the music program at Elmhurst United.
As we look ahead to a new year, we recognize a critical moment for us to further invest in our students, strengthen community partnerships and grow the impact of our music and arts programs serving Oakland public school youth. We are on our way to reaching our $25,000 fundraising goal before year's end in order to establish Resident Artist programs in two new schools in 2022 and to continue to strengthen existing programs with our current school partners.
We invite you to join us on the road to recovery and consider making an end of year contribution in support of our programs as we work to rebuild equitable access to music and the arts for Oakland youth. Together we can ensure a bright future for our students and their families in 2022.
Sincerely,
Elevate Oakland Co-Founders Sheila E., Yoshie Akiba, Lynn Mabry, Jason Hofmann
& the Elevate Oakland Team
