These problems have come from the city of Oakland. Learn how to apply “lean startup” principles to local policy challenges.
Problems Updated:
Check back frequently as additional organizations and problems will be posted.
Check back frequently as additional organizations and problems will be posted.
Proposed Challenges
PROBLEM TITLE
Rent Control Ordinances in Hayward
BACKGROUND
In California, 15 cities across the state have rent control ordinances that limit or prohibit rent increases and require notices to vacate tenancy. Hayward, one of the 15 cities to offer rent control, is a diverse community with a population of about 160,000 people. The largest employers are the city and schools of Hayward, the median income is $60,000, and the average level of education completed is high school.
Hayward provides relief to residential tenants by stabilizing rent increases, encouraging rehabilitation of rental units whenever vacancies occur, and promoting investment in new residential property throughout the city. Additionally, landlords can apply to make units permanently free of rent control if a tenant voluntarily departs and if the landlord can demonstrate property improvement. In June 2018, Hayward City Council put an 18-month hold on this rent “de-control” process. However, NBC News Bay Area recently published a story about landlords that pushed out tenants in Hayward after their apartments were renovated. Residents were given 5 days to vacate the property.
As rent increases across the Bay Area and affordable housing become scarce, Hayward City Council members need to be more transparent with residential tenants and landlords regarding rent de-control. In order to do this, they need accurate, unbiased data and statistics about the current situation. If they had statistics on the cost of rent, city council members could determine how many individuals have been displaced and develop new housing policies.
CHALLENGE
City Council members need to gather accurate, unbiased data and statistics about rent de-control in Hayward in order to be more transparent with residential tenants and landlords.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Aisha Wahab, Hayward City Council
Rent Control Ordinances in Hayward
BACKGROUND
In California, 15 cities across the state have rent control ordinances that limit or prohibit rent increases and require notices to vacate tenancy. Hayward, one of the 15 cities to offer rent control, is a diverse community with a population of about 160,000 people. The largest employers are the city and schools of Hayward, the median income is $60,000, and the average level of education completed is high school.
Hayward provides relief to residential tenants by stabilizing rent increases, encouraging rehabilitation of rental units whenever vacancies occur, and promoting investment in new residential property throughout the city. Additionally, landlords can apply to make units permanently free of rent control if a tenant voluntarily departs and if the landlord can demonstrate property improvement. In June 2018, Hayward City Council put an 18-month hold on this rent “de-control” process. However, NBC News Bay Area recently published a story about landlords that pushed out tenants in Hayward after their apartments were renovated. Residents were given 5 days to vacate the property.
As rent increases across the Bay Area and affordable housing become scarce, Hayward City Council members need to be more transparent with residential tenants and landlords regarding rent de-control. In order to do this, they need accurate, unbiased data and statistics about the current situation. If they had statistics on the cost of rent, city council members could determine how many individuals have been displaced and develop new housing policies.
CHALLENGE
City Council members need to gather accurate, unbiased data and statistics about rent de-control in Hayward in order to be more transparent with residential tenants and landlords.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- Rent control in Hayward is currently higher than the Consumer Price Index
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Aisha Wahab, Hayward City Council
PROBLEM TITLE
Lower-Cost Housing in the Bay Area
BACKGROUND
The State of California is in severe need of affordable housing. The tech boom in San Francisco and Silicon Valley has created thousands of jobs over the past two decades. However, these cities have not created sufficient housing to support the workforce filling these new jobs, let alone the thousands of additional service workers (public and private) needed to support the quality of life expectations of these high-salaried tech workers. While the recent mid-term elections brought a new level of housing awareness to Bay Area residents – and funds to address the affordable housing problem – the reality is that there is a need for more innovative solutions.
For this reason, WeAccel, a local tech and innovation-focused consultancy, has partnered with the Dragonfly Group, a hybrid real estate solutions company that uses Smart Building technology and design offerings to develop sustainable, lower-cost manufactured housing solutions. Recent California State legislation signed by Governor Brown makes it easier for residential property owners to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) – new living units in existing backyards. Unfortunately, not all cities in the Bay Area are interested in easing the housing crisis through zoning and land-use policies that encourage dense housing and ADU’s. As a result, WeAccel seeks to understand the characteristics of cities or regional government agencies that are best positioned to support innovative housing solutions, with specific attention to the advantages of manufactured housing.
CHALLENGE
WeAccel Staff seeks to understand the specific characteristics of cities and communities throughout the Bay Area that are most prepared and willing to tackle the diverse housing needs of their community.
LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Debbie Acosta, CEO, We Accel, Former Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San Leandro
Lower-Cost Housing in the Bay Area
BACKGROUND
The State of California is in severe need of affordable housing. The tech boom in San Francisco and Silicon Valley has created thousands of jobs over the past two decades. However, these cities have not created sufficient housing to support the workforce filling these new jobs, let alone the thousands of additional service workers (public and private) needed to support the quality of life expectations of these high-salaried tech workers. While the recent mid-term elections brought a new level of housing awareness to Bay Area residents – and funds to address the affordable housing problem – the reality is that there is a need for more innovative solutions.
For this reason, WeAccel, a local tech and innovation-focused consultancy, has partnered with the Dragonfly Group, a hybrid real estate solutions company that uses Smart Building technology and design offerings to develop sustainable, lower-cost manufactured housing solutions. Recent California State legislation signed by Governor Brown makes it easier for residential property owners to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) – new living units in existing backyards. Unfortunately, not all cities in the Bay Area are interested in easing the housing crisis through zoning and land-use policies that encourage dense housing and ADU’s. As a result, WeAccel seeks to understand the characteristics of cities or regional government agencies that are best positioned to support innovative housing solutions, with specific attention to the advantages of manufactured housing.
CHALLENGE
WeAccel Staff seeks to understand the specific characteristics of cities and communities throughout the Bay Area that are most prepared and willing to tackle the diverse housing needs of their community.
LIMITATIONS
- Conclusions and recommendations must be backed by data and appropriate analytics, including:
- City/Community profile: include demographics, housing profiles, economic data, technology infrastructure and government “Smart City” goals, and resident digital engagement and access to quality broadband;
- Local Community Leadership, both public and private: what are characteristics of local leadership required to support successful innovative housing efforts? Look at regional organizations that develop and support regional housing policies, including SPUR and ABAG.
- Local Zoning/Planning Laws: What are local examples of cities with General Plans and Zoning Laws that support or expand on state ADU or manufactured housing requirements? What combination of public/private collaboration to support housing innovation is making significant progress? Are there examples of local cities/communities that are passing legislation that are intended to impede affordable housing construction? Are there policy approaches to dense housing that could ease residents’ concerns?
- Conclusion and recommendations should be specific to Bay Area, yet should be applicable to cities throughout California with housing and labor shortage challenges.
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Debbie Acosta, CEO, We Accel, Former Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San Leandro
PROBLEM TITLE
Interdepartmental Communications and Constituent Engagement
BACKGROUND
With the rise of digital literacy across Oakland, its city government is attempting to optimize current processes to increase engagement with its constituents and simplify common constituent requests. For example, for an Oakland constituent to submit a permit request, they must fill out a paper form and then email it to the appropriate city department. The Communications Department who are committed to increasing citywide digital literacy and increasing government-citizen online communications wants to create an intuitive, automated, online permit request form. Other such constituent requests or opportunities to further engage the community digitally exist, but city departments often do not work with the Communications Department to fulfill these needs. City department officials are either too busy to understand how the Communications Department could work with them, are resistant to new technologies, or do not know how constituent needs could be optimized digitally.
LONG-TERM GOAL
The Communications Department needs better processes to more easily fulfill constituents’ most common requests in order to increase positive engagement with the Oakland community.
CHALLENGE
The Communications Department needs a better understanding of which city department processes could be optimized digitally to better serve constituents.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Victor Flores, Constituent Liaison, District 6
Interdepartmental Communications and Constituent Engagement
BACKGROUND
With the rise of digital literacy across Oakland, its city government is attempting to optimize current processes to increase engagement with its constituents and simplify common constituent requests. For example, for an Oakland constituent to submit a permit request, they must fill out a paper form and then email it to the appropriate city department. The Communications Department who are committed to increasing citywide digital literacy and increasing government-citizen online communications wants to create an intuitive, automated, online permit request form. Other such constituent requests or opportunities to further engage the community digitally exist, but city departments often do not work with the Communications Department to fulfill these needs. City department officials are either too busy to understand how the Communications Department could work with them, are resistant to new technologies, or do not know how constituent needs could be optimized digitally.
LONG-TERM GOAL
The Communications Department needs better processes to more easily fulfill constituents’ most common requests in order to increase positive engagement with the Oakland community.
CHALLENGE
The Communications Department needs a better understanding of which city department processes could be optimized digitally to better serve constituents.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- The Communications Department is small and has limited resources
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Victor Flores, Constituent Liaison, District 6
PROBLEM TITLE
Missing Docs, Missing Life
BACKGROUND
Alignment Bay Area is a joint effort to coordinate a support framework for youth empowerment and whose vision is that every youth will have a family-sustaining income by the time they are 25 years old. The effort grew out of the California Careers Pathways Trust in Alameda and West Contra Costa Counties. Within Alameda County, the Office of Education focuses on vulnerable populations that have historically been destined for poverty and prison and recently, the office has been attempting to engage with a subset of the population that is usually the hardest to reach, Opportunity Youth. Opportunity Youth are defined as young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who are neither in school nor working.
A consistent issue for Alameda County’s Office of Education is how Opportunity Youth obtain and get access to the documents necessary to enroll in school or to gain employment. Opportunity Youth often have a hard time keep tracking of essential documents for school and jobs such as birth certificates, identification cards, work permits, health records, and school transcripts because many of the students are transient and do not live in a single household. Additionally, many of the students’ parents work multiple jobs and are unable to take off work to get the necessary documentation for internships or other work opportunities. As a result, it currently takes between three and six months to get Opportunity Youth enrolled in internships.
CHALLENGE
Opportunity Youth need an easier way to obtain and keep essential personal documents in order to enroll in school and apply for jobs.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Chris Boynton, Executive Director, Pathways to College and Career, Alameda County Office of Education
Missing Docs, Missing Life
BACKGROUND
Alignment Bay Area is a joint effort to coordinate a support framework for youth empowerment and whose vision is that every youth will have a family-sustaining income by the time they are 25 years old. The effort grew out of the California Careers Pathways Trust in Alameda and West Contra Costa Counties. Within Alameda County, the Office of Education focuses on vulnerable populations that have historically been destined for poverty and prison and recently, the office has been attempting to engage with a subset of the population that is usually the hardest to reach, Opportunity Youth. Opportunity Youth are defined as young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who are neither in school nor working.
A consistent issue for Alameda County’s Office of Education is how Opportunity Youth obtain and get access to the documents necessary to enroll in school or to gain employment. Opportunity Youth often have a hard time keep tracking of essential documents for school and jobs such as birth certificates, identification cards, work permits, health records, and school transcripts because many of the students are transient and do not live in a single household. Additionally, many of the students’ parents work multiple jobs and are unable to take off work to get the necessary documentation for internships or other work opportunities. As a result, it currently takes between three and six months to get Opportunity Youth enrolled in internships.
CHALLENGE
Opportunity Youth need an easier way to obtain and keep essential personal documents in order to enroll in school and apply for jobs.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- Most students have access to phones but not have consistent computer access except at school or public places. Most have limited data plans. Some do not have smartphones.
- Whatever equipment must be durable, easily replaced (phones get lost or stolen) and cheap.
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Chris Boynton, Executive Director, Pathways to College and Career, Alameda County Office of Education
PROBLEM TITLE
Building the next Pop-up Container Food Park
BACKGROUND
In 2013, the City Council of San Leandro approved the Next Generation Workplace District Study for San Leandro’s industrial area. In addition to addressing the immediate needs and opportunities related to the area’s new businesses, San Leandro would like to transform the industrial area of the city into a vibrant, innovative, and attractive 21st century workplace. One of the priorities of the study is to create a Pop-up Container Food Park.
The vision of the Pop-up Container Food Park is to create new, varied and moderate cost eating options in the district as well as generate excitement and enthusiasm. The focus will be on food containers (built in old shipping containers) because they are stationary and require a much lower level of investment than food trucks. The City of San Leandro has some initial sketches and ideas for the park as well as the funds and resources to enact the plans, however, they need to find the optimal location and willing property owners and other partners. Additionally, the Community Development Department of the City of San Leandro is open to students taking a second look at the current proposal and setup to determine if there is a better format/cost-sharing scenario for the City and property owners.
CHALLENGE
The Community Development Department of San Leandro needs to engage willing property owners and community partners in San Leandro in order to determine the optimal location for the proposed pop-up container park.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Katie Bowman, Economic Development Manager, Community Development Department, City of San Leandro
Building the next Pop-up Container Food Park
BACKGROUND
In 2013, the City Council of San Leandro approved the Next Generation Workplace District Study for San Leandro’s industrial area. In addition to addressing the immediate needs and opportunities related to the area’s new businesses, San Leandro would like to transform the industrial area of the city into a vibrant, innovative, and attractive 21st century workplace. One of the priorities of the study is to create a Pop-up Container Food Park.
The vision of the Pop-up Container Food Park is to create new, varied and moderate cost eating options in the district as well as generate excitement and enthusiasm. The focus will be on food containers (built in old shipping containers) because they are stationary and require a much lower level of investment than food trucks. The City of San Leandro has some initial sketches and ideas for the park as well as the funds and resources to enact the plans, however, they need to find the optimal location and willing property owners and other partners. Additionally, the Community Development Department of the City of San Leandro is open to students taking a second look at the current proposal and setup to determine if there is a better format/cost-sharing scenario for the City and property owners.
CHALLENGE
The Community Development Department of San Leandro needs to engage willing property owners and community partners in San Leandro in order to determine the optimal location for the proposed pop-up container park.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- Consider public and private land
- Within budget constraints
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Katie Bowman, Economic Development Manager, Community Development Department, City of San Leandro
PROBLEM TITLE
Reserving the Fields
BACKGROUND
The City of Oakland is dense, urban, and home to a multitude of leagues and other athletic groups competing for limited public facilities (ex. fields, indoor gyms, etc.). Athletic facilities can be reserved from the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Department, Oakland Unified Schools District (OUSD), private schools, and area colleges. Each group has a different reservation process and some are so complex that leagues must rely on personal relationships to guarantee their reservations. With the exception of the City of Oakland’s reservation system, other systems can be hard to navigate. Additionally, some groups such as OUSD may not want to simplify the reservation process because, although their mission is to serve the community, league events often require additional maintenance and higher costs. Therefore, public facilities not owned by the City often remain unused while those owned by the City of Oakland are in large demand and cannot satisfy current needs.
CHALLENGE
League directors need a centralized process for reserving public athletic facilities in order to more easily reserve spaces for their teams.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Zachary Wald, Chief of Staff, Oakland City Council District 3
Reserving the Fields
BACKGROUND
The City of Oakland is dense, urban, and home to a multitude of leagues and other athletic groups competing for limited public facilities (ex. fields, indoor gyms, etc.). Athletic facilities can be reserved from the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Department, Oakland Unified Schools District (OUSD), private schools, and area colleges. Each group has a different reservation process and some are so complex that leagues must rely on personal relationships to guarantee their reservations. With the exception of the City of Oakland’s reservation system, other systems can be hard to navigate. Additionally, some groups such as OUSD may not want to simplify the reservation process because, although their mission is to serve the community, league events often require additional maintenance and higher costs. Therefore, public facilities not owned by the City often remain unused while those owned by the City of Oakland are in large demand and cannot satisfy current needs.
CHALLENGE
League directors need a centralized process for reserving public athletic facilities in order to more easily reserve spaces for their teams.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- Organizations may not be willing to simplify their reservation processes or centralize them
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Zachary Wald, Chief of Staff, Oakland City Council District 3
PROBLEM TITLE
Standardizing Equitable Development
BACKGROUND
In the Bay Area, city officials and progressive developers are focused on meeting the needs of underserved communities through projects, policies, and programs that aim to reduce housing and income disparities while fostering communities that are healthy and vibrant. One such policy is Equitable Development, which is increasingly considered an effective place-based action for creating strong and livable communities. Equitable Development is defined as a development activity that creates communities and regions where residents of all incomes, races, and ethnicities participate in and benefit from the decisions that shape the places where they live. Unfortunately, in Oakland, Equitable Development does not have an agreed upon framework to measure and evaluate its success metrics by the zoning and planning department, city officials, elected officials, and/or other important stakeholders.
When Equitable Development proposals come up in hearings, the press, city officials, nor the greater community has a good way to judge the issues or make informed decisions quickly about the approval of such projects. This results in delayed approval processes or loss of funding for projects. There are a number of existing evaluation frameworks including zoning standards, seismic standards, LEED for environmental impact, and Walk Score, but none for measuring the impact or standards for Equitable Development.
CHALLENGE
City officials need a way to measure and set standards for Equitable Development in order to more effectively evaluate Equitable Development projects for the City of Oakland.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Regina Davis, Strategic Urban Development Alliance
Standardizing Equitable Development
BACKGROUND
In the Bay Area, city officials and progressive developers are focused on meeting the needs of underserved communities through projects, policies, and programs that aim to reduce housing and income disparities while fostering communities that are healthy and vibrant. One such policy is Equitable Development, which is increasingly considered an effective place-based action for creating strong and livable communities. Equitable Development is defined as a development activity that creates communities and regions where residents of all incomes, races, and ethnicities participate in and benefit from the decisions that shape the places where they live. Unfortunately, in Oakland, Equitable Development does not have an agreed upon framework to measure and evaluate its success metrics by the zoning and planning department, city officials, elected officials, and/or other important stakeholders.
When Equitable Development proposals come up in hearings, the press, city officials, nor the greater community has a good way to judge the issues or make informed decisions quickly about the approval of such projects. This results in delayed approval processes or loss of funding for projects. There are a number of existing evaluation frameworks including zoning standards, seismic standards, LEED for environmental impact, and Walk Score, but none for measuring the impact or standards for Equitable Development.
CHALLENGE
City officials need a way to measure and set standards for Equitable Development in order to more effectively evaluate Equitable Development projects for the City of Oakland.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- City bureaucracy can make adopting any new methods an intractable problem
- Not all stakeholders are looking at the problem as a problem
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Regina Davis, Strategic Urban Development Alliance
PROBLEM TITLE
Multi-Modal Transport in Berkeley
BACKGROUND
In the recently published Climate Action Report for the City of Berkeley, progress was made in every category. However, the generation of greenhouse gases continues to increase. By 2050, the City of Berkeley would like to reduce their level of emissions by 80% lower than the year 2000. For this reason, the City of Berkeley acknowledges that in order to fight climate change, the leading source of carbon must be addressed; transportation.
The City of Berkeley has several initiatives to improve options for transportation including a bike rental service, car sharing, and a new pilot for scooter rentals. However, none of these transportation services can be used on the same platform with the same payment processing system. For this reason, the Berkeley City Council seeks assistance and recommendations to shape an improved public transportation program that will integrate services and provide increased access for seniors, students, and low-income residents.
CHALLENGE
Berkeley City Council Staff needs recommendations for a new public transportation program in order to increase access to transportation for Berkeley residents.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Ben Barrett, Berkeley City Council
Multi-Modal Transport in Berkeley
BACKGROUND
In the recently published Climate Action Report for the City of Berkeley, progress was made in every category. However, the generation of greenhouse gases continues to increase. By 2050, the City of Berkeley would like to reduce their level of emissions by 80% lower than the year 2000. For this reason, the City of Berkeley acknowledges that in order to fight climate change, the leading source of carbon must be addressed; transportation.
The City of Berkeley has several initiatives to improve options for transportation including a bike rental service, car sharing, and a new pilot for scooter rentals. However, none of these transportation services can be used on the same platform with the same payment processing system. For this reason, the Berkeley City Council seeks assistance and recommendations to shape an improved public transportation program that will integrate services and provide increased access for seniors, students, and low-income residents.
CHALLENGE
Berkeley City Council Staff needs recommendations for a new public transportation program in order to increase access to transportation for Berkeley residents.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- Student work will be published nationally and presented to city staff
- All transportation should be accessible via the clipper card
- Ideally, local use would be involved in the managing of the program.
- Success would look like creating a proposal that would reduce carbon emissions by 50%
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Ben Barrett, Berkeley City Council
PROBLEM TITLE
Can’t Stop the Fire
BACKGROUND
The North Hills Community Association is an organization dedicated to community safety and fire safety and prevention in the north Oakland hills created following the Oakland Hills fire of 1991. Many Oakland and surrounding residents live in High Fire Severity Zones where wildfires are extremely likely. Another large fire in the region could threaten 10 thousand homes and potentially cause cities including Oakland to go bankrupt as citizens flee the area or are no longer able to pay taxes.
Wildfires are a much higher risk in the East Bay, in part because of the lack of strong vegetation management policies. Many plants, including eucalyptus trees which abound in the region, are highly fire-prone and easily lose their branches which, if not cleared, increase the plants’ flammability. Oakland was granted a FEMA grant for vegetation management but following a lack of community consensus around specific policies, the grant was retracted. Now, each city or agency in the East Bay and surrounding region institute their own vegetation management policies but because they are not coordinated across the East Bay area, wildfires sparked in mismanaged areas would still spread easily.
CHALLENGE
The North Hills Community Association need better and unified East Bay-wide vegetation management in order to decrease the risk of wildfire destruction.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Steven Hanson, Volunteer, North Hills Community Association
Can’t Stop the Fire
BACKGROUND
The North Hills Community Association is an organization dedicated to community safety and fire safety and prevention in the north Oakland hills created following the Oakland Hills fire of 1991. Many Oakland and surrounding residents live in High Fire Severity Zones where wildfires are extremely likely. Another large fire in the region could threaten 10 thousand homes and potentially cause cities including Oakland to go bankrupt as citizens flee the area or are no longer able to pay taxes.
Wildfires are a much higher risk in the East Bay, in part because of the lack of strong vegetation management policies. Many plants, including eucalyptus trees which abound in the region, are highly fire-prone and easily lose their branches which, if not cleared, increase the plants’ flammability. Oakland was granted a FEMA grant for vegetation management but following a lack of community consensus around specific policies, the grant was retracted. Now, each city or agency in the East Bay and surrounding region institute their own vegetation management policies but because they are not coordinated across the East Bay area, wildfires sparked in mismanaged areas would still spread easily.
CHALLENGE
The North Hills Community Association need better and unified East Bay-wide vegetation management in order to decrease the risk of wildfire destruction.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- Any regional vegetation management policies would have to align with currently enacted policies
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Steven Hanson, Volunteer, North Hills Community Association
PROBLEM TITLE
Building a brand for a new, alternative Catholic High School
BACKGROUND
Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School is a new, alternative Catholic High School in Oakland. Established in 2018 and independent from the Oakland Diocese, Cristo Rey De La Salle is a member of the nationwide Cristo Rey Network, which offers a college preparatory curriculum with a work-study program for students of limited economic means. Oakland is a competitive educational environment as a result of the many public, private, and charter schools. Catholic schools are filling the gap between those options; however, many Oakland families cannot afford a quality private school education because fund access for the students, families, and schools are limited. This is where Cristo Rey De La Salle comes in.
In this competitive educational landscape, how does Cristo Rey De La Salle, attract low-income income families and encourage enrollment? The school needs a way to communicate their value to the community in order to experience tremendous growth over the next three years and develop appropriate funding channels and mechanisms. If they can accomplish this goal, Cristo Rey De La Salle can enroll more students, transform the traditional model of teaching by offering students internships, and make Catholic High School education available to a greater number of low-income families in the East Bay.
CHALLENGE
Cristo Rey De La Salle needs a way to easily communicate its value to low-income families in the East Bay in order to increase enrollment over the next three years.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Greg Young, Director of Mission Advancement, Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School
Building a brand for a new, alternative Catholic High School
BACKGROUND
Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School is a new, alternative Catholic High School in Oakland. Established in 2018 and independent from the Oakland Diocese, Cristo Rey De La Salle is a member of the nationwide Cristo Rey Network, which offers a college preparatory curriculum with a work-study program for students of limited economic means. Oakland is a competitive educational environment as a result of the many public, private, and charter schools. Catholic schools are filling the gap between those options; however, many Oakland families cannot afford a quality private school education because fund access for the students, families, and schools are limited. This is where Cristo Rey De La Salle comes in.
In this competitive educational landscape, how does Cristo Rey De La Salle, attract low-income income families and encourage enrollment? The school needs a way to communicate their value to the community in order to experience tremendous growth over the next three years and develop appropriate funding channels and mechanisms. If they can accomplish this goal, Cristo Rey De La Salle can enroll more students, transform the traditional model of teaching by offering students internships, and make Catholic High School education available to a greater number of low-income families in the East Bay.
CHALLENGE
Cristo Rey De La Salle needs a way to easily communicate its value to low-income families in the East Bay in order to increase enrollment over the next three years.
PROBLEM LIMITATIONS
- In the next three years, Cristo Rey De La Salle needs to increase student enrollment, staff, endowment, and the number of corporate partners who offer internships to students.
PROBLEM SPONSOR
Greg Young, Director of Mission Advancement, Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School