Families in Action for Quality Education

Meet María, a proud parent from Lazear and a graduate of FIA’s Literacy for Literacy (L4L) program! Through this transformative experience, María has gained new skills that have completely changed the way she reads with her child. 📚✨ What once was a simple activity has now become a richer, more engaging experience for both of them. María shares how the program empowered her to bring books to life in new ways—sparking curiosity, creativity, and deeper connections with her child. By strengthening her own literacy skills, María is not only building her child's love for reading, but also nurturing a lifelong bond through shared learning.

Even Steph Curry was rooting on #TEAMFIA as we wrapped up the celebrations and learnings and impact we have had in Q2. I'm so grateful for our team - we led Lit for Literacy at 7 schools, A-G Student Agency Workshops with 600 students at O High and Tech and charter renewal campaigns. BAM! No stopping us! Forward! -Kimi Kean Javier Barraza Viveca Ycoy Tania Gutierrez Corey Timpson James R. Harris Priscilla Zamora

I was so moved running into Olivia and Rocio, two OG FIA parent leaders from the Fruitvale. They were both part of the earliest days of FIA, graduating from our first parent leader institutes. Today we have graduated over 1,000 parents who have become education champions, leading campaigns like Lit for Literacy. We wouldn't be here without leaders like Olivia and Rocio. Feeling grateful! -Kimi Kean Education for Change Public Schools

We are so proud of how Oakland’s Black and Brown families are showing up and out in local elections. There’s no one who has the most to gain or lose and FIA puts parents and youth in the center of building civic power and fostering elections awareness. We love the post-election season when we can reflect and take stock of our impact, capturing learning for future campaigns. Kimi Kean Patrice Alexandra Berry Viveca Ycoy Javier Barraza Benjamin Salop Dwayne Aikens Jr. Clifford Thompson

It's Giving Tuesday. INVEST in a nonprofit today. Nonprofits need funding, and any dollar amount helps. You can also invest time. You can volunteer. You can take 5 minutes to promote a nonprofit to your networks. Everything helps. ---------------------------------------------- If you're looking for organizations to support, I'm THRILLED to recommend our grantees, organized by issue: Orgs promoting anti-racist & culturally affirming practices within schools: - Lead Liberated (Daneen Keaton) - The Teaching Well* - 3Ls The Academy Advocates for literacy and quality early childhood education: - FULCRUM (Kareem Weaver)* - Oakland Literacy Coalition - Oakland Starting Smart and Strong - American Public Media Group Orgs supporting families with their child's literacy: - Families in Action for Quality Education - Tandem, Partners in Early Learning - Family Engagement Lab - Lotus Bloom - East Bay Agency for Children Orgs helping schools improve literacy outcomes: - Center for the Collaborative Classroom* - Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation - Springboard Collaborative Orgs ensuring tomorrow's teachers and early care providers are ready: - EDvance College - Reach University * I serve on the board of these organizations.

Powerful insights from recent California conversations about family advocacy and collective empowerment! Exploring transformative forms of power—advocacy, brokerage, mobilization, and organizing—reveals how we can amplify parent voices and drive systemic change in education. What untapped potential exists when we truly embrace authentic family leadership? #FamilyPower #EducationAdvocacy #CommunityLeadership Charter Schools Development Corporation (CSDC)Rich Harrison Kimi Kean

At the end of last month, FIA partnered with Black Cultural Zone and hosted a Non-Partisan GOTV and Skate party for the community to come and learn about the election and voting. Families had a great time answering questions and being in community with others. Shout out to Alameda County Registrar of Voters for coming and bringing their ballot box for drop off!! Grateful for our first partnership stay tuned for more community events like this with FIA. #GOTV #Parentpower 

Kimi Kean and I presented our session, Empowering Communities: Lessons from Families in Action Oakland for Collective Advocacy at the Charter Schools Development Center (CSDC) conference. It was great to share some key reminders about sharing power, community organizing, and building local political capacity. I am honored to be a board member of Families in Action for Quality Education and supporting this critical work!

Goodness knows we need fearless advocacy leaders to meet the times ahead. Proud and unbowed to stand next to these fierce ladies! Families in Action for Quality Education

At the end of October, literacy experts, elected officials, and advocates came together to tackle the pressing literacy challenges facing Oakland. This collaboration aims to drive real, actionable solutions to help our community thrive. We love to see Oakland's literacy advocates come together! Sam Davis Rich Harrison Oakland Literacy Coalition EdSource