New Highland Academy
8521 A St.
Oakland, CA 94621 (Map & Directions)
510-879-1260
Liz Ozol, Principal
liz.ozol@ousd.k12.ca.us
New Highland Academy is a member of the OSF After-School Collaborative Program.
New Highland Academy serves 340 students in grades K-5 in the Elmhurst neighborhood of East Oakland. Our student body is 65% Latino and 35% African American, with more than 60% of students classified as English learners and 90% qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
New Highland Academy’s vision is to ensure that graduates are powerful thinkers, effective communicators and compassionate citizens who are prepared for success in middle school and beyond. New Highland Academy is committed to providing excellent educational experiences for our students including:
- Integration of the visual and performing arts and technology across the curriculum.
- A focus on the whole child, including social and emotional learning and skill development.
- Relevant, differentiated instruction that engages students and develops their capacities to be creative and critical thinkers.
NHA is committed to creating a positive school culture, where every member of the community is known and valued, featuring:
- Strong family and community partnerships.
- Teachers working beyond the classroom to meet the needs of all students.
- Students empowered to exercise their voice.
- All members of the school community seen as teachers and learners.
- A highly collaborative faculty that uses the lenses of data and equity to continuously reflect on and refine teaching practices.
What’s special about our school?
We believe that through the arts, students learn to persist, envision, express, observe, reflect, develop knowledge and technique, and stretch beyond their current capacities. The arts are an avenue to academic excellence!
New Highland Academy has established partnerships with community arts providers including Museum of Children’s Art (Mocha) and Luna Kids Dance. Working with these organizations in our inaugural year, we will provide all students with standards-based visual art and creative movement lessons while simultaneously training and supporting classroom teachers to provide arts instruction integrated with the core elementary subjects.
Class meetings and cross-age buddies are programmatic elements of our caring and respectful school community. Daily announcements and weekly assemblies build our sense of community and provide a forum to celebrate our achievements. Student ambassadors welcome visitors to our school; student conflict managers assist their peers in resolving conflicts peacefully on the playground. Teachers work with parents in a variety of settings including home visits to establish common goals and strategies for helping our students achieve success. Community celebrations invite parents and community partners to share their heritage, talents and visions of the future with the school community.
Our Goals - By the End of Year 1
- 90% of students will report feeling safe, cared for and valued by the school community.
- Movement of 10% of students testing at Far Below and Below Basic in Language Arts on the CST into Basic, Proficient or Advanced.
- Movement of 20% of students testing at Far Below and Below Basic in mathematics on the CST into Basic, Proficient or Advanced.
- Each English Learner will advance at least one English proficiency level as measured by the CELDT.
- Daily student attendance will average 97%.
- All students will document their arts learning in a reflective journal, writing narratives to accompany selected video footage/portfolio pieces.
Spending Priorities
- $500 – supports the participation of 2 students in the year-long after-school program that provides tutoring, arts and community service projects.
- $300 – purchases a digital camera which students and teachers can use for photo-journalism projects.
- $50 – provides a stipend for a teacher to make a home visit and provide a struggling student with supplementary instructional materials.
- $24 – purchases a class set of oil pastels.