Age range

Contact information:
The Urban Dreams Project
Oakland Unified School District
Technology Learning Center

Room 6
314 E. 10th Street
Oakland, CA 94606

Website: urbandreams.ousd.k12.ca.us

Mission/Goals: Urban Dreams targets the academic and career needs of urban secondary students in Oakland while concurrently building the district’s capacity to sustain project outcomes through a more skilled, technologically proficient teaching force and an engaged parent-community partnership. Four major goals were identified: 1) Student achievement; 2) Professional development for school staff; 3) Family and community involvement; and 4) Technology access for Oakland students.

Source(s): urbandreams.ousd.k12.ca.us

Type of Evaluation: Quasi-Experimental.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the Urban Dreams project on Oakland's high school students, teachers, parents, and the community.

Impact/Outcomes: 1) Student Academic Achievement - Overall, the results demonstrated that students in UD classrooms score significantly higher on standardized achievement tests than students who are not in Urban Dreams classrooms, though scores for students in the 2003-2004 cohort were much lower than the previous years. In addition, students who were in more classes with teachers associated with the UD program performed significantly better on standardized achievement tests than students with fewer UD teachers. 2) Student Technology Proficiency - Overall results demonstrated that UD students scored higher on technology skills compared to non-UD students, though the difference was negligible this last year (2003-2004) when controlling for background factors. 3) Professional development- Results demonstrated statistically significant (p<.05) higher levels of technology proficiency and instructional use than non-UD teachers (for all teachers) in all categories related to computer knowledge and skills. 4) Community Involvement and Technology Access – Nearly 400 parents attended UD workshops and received computers during the last academic year. The post workshop assessments indicate that on average over 82% of the participants gave the workshops the highest rating possible in terms of content and delivery. The results of phone interviews revealed that adults in the families that received the computers believed the Take-
Home Computer program was worthwhile and
most were actively using their refurbished
computers for a variety of activities. Interviewees, as a group, reported higher levels of computer usage for academic purposes and stated they believed the availability of home computers enhanced their students’ academic performance.