Oakland Students, Parents Keep Kids Learning at 'Solidarity Schools' During Teachers' Strike

On Wednesday morning, as her teachers hit the picket lines for the fifth day of a district-wide strike, 17-year-old Noemi Grascoeur arrived at the picnic area of Dimond Park to help look after a group of Oakland elementary school students.

“We’re playing frisbee with them, drawing with them, teaching them how to share, which is odd because I’ve never had to do that before. I don’t have experience with kids,” said the Oakland Tech senior.

“What else do I have to do?” she added. “I could go to the picket line or I can come and change these kids’ lives because, ultimately, we make a huge difference for these kids.”

The pop-up child care program, known as a “solidarity school,” offers parents who don’t want to cross the picket line a safe place to drop off their kids for the day. The teachers union and parent volunteers have operated a handful of these across the city since schools emptied out last week.

Anna Beliel, whose daughter is a kindergartner at Manzanita Seed Elementary in East Oakland, is running the temporary child care center at Dimond Park.

“I think the hardest part is that I didn’t expect nearly as many kids as we ended up getting,” she said. “This is all just parent-run, so one of the hardest parts I think is financially trying to fund it. But, we’re making that work, too.”

When it opened last Thursday, on the first day of the Oakland teachers’ strike, only two students showed up.

“Ever since, it’s evolved,” said Grascouer, who has come every day to volunteer. “Like now, we have over 50 kids and we just spend our days playing with them.”

As the students drop their backpacks on a wooden bench and sprint for the grass, Ruby Mechanic, a fellow Oakland Tech senior, heads to the line of picnic tables that are overflowing with backpacks, snacks and art supplies.

“I think we spend most of our time running around, getting energy out, because with this many kids and these few volunteers, it’s definitely a high ratio of energy,” she said.

Mechanic found out about this opportunity from her old elementary school teacher, whom she’s kept in touch with over the years.

“I think it’s important that there’s a place for these kids, and that we’re here,” she said.

But with just over two weeks left in their high school careers, both Mechanic and Grascouer are struggling with the uncertainty of this moment, and don’t know whether they’ll actually get a chance to return to their school.

“I didn’t finish my graduation project,” Grascouer said. “I feel kind of weird because I didn’t say bye to any teacher. I didn’t say bye to any friends. Like, I’m done with high school more or less.”

She added, “I just think we’re kind of stuck. We don’t know if our high school experience is over or if we have to go back.”

While Mechanic was able to finish her final senior project, she’s disappointed her classmates won’t be able to see it.

“It’s a goal of our entire high school experience that would be nice to complete and present before we go,” she said.

Advanced placement testing, which was scheduled for this week, has also been a challenge — it’s forced students to cross picket lines to enter their schools where the exams are administered.

“I’ve had to cross the picket line twice,” Grascouer said. “The teachers have been really nice about it. They’ve been supporting us.”

For seniors, the strike has also complicated many quintessential end-of-high school events. Senior prom, for instance, is on Friday, and students have to pick up their tickets at school.

Mechanic said that her striking teachers are sympathetic and have tried to make it as easy as possible for their students.

“I think the teachers are doing their best to make it possible for us to get those prom tickets and to finish our few tests without feeling ashamed for crossing the picket line,” she said. “They opened the entrance on the side of the school so we didn’t have to go through the front.”

With many unknowns between now and their graduation on May 24, Grascouer and Mechanic both said working at the solidarity school is a good way to stay busy and fill an important need.

On Wednesday, the two spent the morning playing basketball with fifth graders at the park and tricking children into capturing dummy squirrels made out of wood chips.

“Even though I’m talking about how I’m done with high school and I’m going on to college next year, I’m acting like a little kid today and this past week,” Grascouer said, “and I’ve absolutely loved it.”