Allendale School: At the Top of the List

by Denise Davila

Remember the generation when kids walked to school and there was always a school nurse and a librarian? Hard to believe, but public schools like this still exist in Oakland, right in our community. Allendale Elementary School is an oasis in an ever-changing neighborhood, with enough funding to ensure services to kids and families. Children like Malik Shaheed in Ms. Anderson's class say, "Look at this school! Allendale has pride inside," and Julie Ho in Ms. De La Cruz's class thinks, "Allendale always gets an A."

The school has been working hard on its "A-List" status with students. Over the last five years, Allendale has raised standardized test (API) scores a whopping 154 points, and under the leadership of new principal, Steve Thomasberger, the goal is to go much higher. Thomasberger, who started at Allendale last year, believes that cultivating a sense of school pride and commitment among students, families, and teachers is key to success. He asks kids, "Whose name comes up first when people look up Oakland schools on the Internet?" and explains their shared responsibility of making Allendale a great school on paper and in person.

With a brand-new computer lab and playground on the campus; an adult-to-student ratio of one to ten; a wide variety of accessible learning support services, special education, and enrichment programs that include the fine arts and science all in a diverse community, Allendale has a lot to offer on paper. And, in person, the teachers and staff make all the difference, especially the "riveting" ones, who "enable the rest of our teachers and staff to blossom and to make sure that the kids blossom," Thomasberger tells the Metro. He sees education like a performance art in which practitioners model and learn techniques from each other. In turn, he is focused on fostering teacher collegiality at Allendale by establishing collaborative, grade-level planning times and ensuring that all his teachers receive additional District training in helping students who are learning to speak the English language at school. Approximately 60 percent of the children at Allendale are from immigrant families from various countries around the world.

In an effort to reach out and to be inclusive of all of the families, Thomasberger hired Marta Viteri, as family liaison. Viteri works as a consultant to OUSD and specializes in community building and violence prevention. One of her objectives is to increase interaction between the school and the home. Another is to encourage families to put Allendale first their school list during Oakland's new open-enrollment period. With more choices between public and private schools in the area and with the general shrinking enrollment in OUSD schools, Allendale can accommodate four more classes of students.

Viteri is also initiating discussions about establishing a preschool on the Allendale campus in order to serve the needs of families in the neighborhood. She says, "With such a caring staff and with Mr. Thomasberger's committed investment in the school, Allendale is a gem." If you'd like to visit Allendale, call 879-1010 for an appointment.