Our group selected Skyline High School ("SHS") because of the interesting juxtaposition as an Oakland public school in the hills with a reputation of serving students who do not primarily live nearby. What, we wondered, was the perception of the school by those who live nearby? How do students in the Oakland Unified school district perceive Skyline? What about members of the larger community - do they consider SHS a valuable asset in the city's school district? Our research and community interviews spanned many parts of the city that the school DOES serve, and we realized that opinions and perceptions about Skyline cover the spectrum. At the end of our interviews, we were a bit confused. How can so many members of the community have such disparate thoughts on what SHS is and contributes?
We spoke with a teenage student at Oakland Tech on his way to church, and he told us that Skyline is known as a stoner school with too many teachers who don't care. Other than the Performing Arts program, he said, Skyline didn't have much to offer him. The very next woman we spoke with laughed when we asked for her opinions on Skyline - "that bougie school up in the hills?" she asked. She continued by telling us "that's where the rich kids go. There and O'Dowd." Our interviews over the course of the day went similarly back and forth. One minute we'd speak with someone who had nothing good to say about the school, and the next, all we would hear is how it's a great school, in the hills, and surrounded by wealth/opportunity. We even discovered this dichotomy existed within single individuals - a mother told us about her son, a struggling senior who hasn't lived up to his potential at SHS, but also her nephew who graduated a few years ago with honors and went on to a UC upon graduation, becoming the first college student in the family.
This blog is our attempt to consider these contradictions and diversity of opinions and how they appear to impact SHS and how it serves Oakland. After some reflection, we feel that Skyline, like greater Oakland, experiences a divided identity. The setting of the school itself contributes to this - a beautiful location among the Redwoods in "the hills," but also a school the neighbors' refuse to send their own kids because they don't trust they'll receive a quality education. The students of Skyline represent many neighborhoods of Oakland - meaning most students don't share a common sense of "home" and "community." In a city with neighborhoods and micro-cities with strong identity and culture, we posit that the greater sense of Skyline's confused identity may reflect Oakland at large.
We invite you to read more about the school's history, demographics, and other information to learn more about our findings. We summarize our thoughts and impressions in our Reflections tab.
-Erin, Jacqueline, Mario and Ryan
August 25, 2014
