Volunteers help beautify Oakland schools

OAKLAND, Calif. - About 300 volunteers are visiting 30 schools in the Oakland Unified School District this week to help clean up and prepare for students to come back to the classroom. 

About a dozen volunteers were at Esperanza Elementary on Monday morning. 

"We want this beautification to be amazing, not just for students and families, but for our teachers that needs that support," said Geral Lowe, the associate director of programs for Oakland Public Education Fund, the nonprofit leading the volunteer effort. 

Each school has created a list of things they need done before kids come back. 

"Anything from dressing up the front of the school, taking care of bulletin boards in classrooms, helping cleanup the hallways, we want this to be a welcoming environment. It can be cafeteria cleanup, whatever the school site identified, we’re going to come in with a team that’s ready to work," said Lowe.  

Esperanza's new principal, LaShante Scott, is grateful for the help, saying it takes a village to raise engaged and educated students. 

She wants to make sure students feel joy when they come to school. 

"When kids are happy, they actually want to come to school. We know that chronic absenteeism is an issue, and so we have to have joy in our schools. It’s not always the first thing that adults are thinking about, but we have to have joy in schools. That’s what gets kids excited about coming to school," said Scott. 

Lowe said many of the volunteers have no connection to the school, they just want to help out. 

"I just love giving back," said Wells Fargo volunteer Joann Kuhl. "It feels good, it brightens my day. It helps someone else, you kind of see what you’re doing and that’s really rewarding." 

There are still some schools that need volunteers throughout the week. If you'd like to get involved, you can sign up here.