News
Fremont Students Design and Build Classroom
During this 2018-2019 school year, about two dozen Fremont High School seniors are building a new classroom for future students and teachers to use. “I love that I can get pieces of wood and turn them into so many different things,” said Elvira Rivera Soto, who has enjoyed studying wood working since her sophomore year. “Last year’s senior class designed the room, and this year we’re the ones who are building it,” she said.
The project is a year-long class called MC3 Design and Build co-taught by design teacher Phong Hoang and woodworking teacher Drew Prober. Students begin most classes by checking in at Hoang’s quiet classroom full of computers. Then some students move next door to Prober’s classroom filled with the sounds of hammering and sawing while others work just outside, at the construction site of the new room.
“What they’re building is different than a regular classroom because it’s an indoor-outdoor hybrid space,” said Prober. The room will be filled with plants and partially roofed with a large, open area to allow sunlight to stream in. Starting next school year, teachers will be able to sign up to hold their classes in the room if they wish. While classrooms are usually dark and enclosed, Prober sees the room his students are building as “a spacious, green, light-filled” area.
“When you’re in a classroom, you feel confined,” said Bill Luna, another Fremont student who’s working on the project, “so it’ll be nice for students and teachers to have something new and a change of pace.” For design teacher and Fremont High School graduate Hoang, his role at the school and in the project have special significance. “When I went to Fremont I felt that I didn’t get what I needed,” Hoang said.
“So when I came back to teach I wanted to be a part of a movement that taught students skills that would offer them more career choices when they finish high school.” Due to the close proximity of their rooms and the links between their subjects, it didn’t take long for Hoang and Prober to collaborate.
They ran an after-school class together called Design Build where nearby residents would give students projects, like building a bed frame or a stand, that students would then design and build.
After two years, the teachers asked Fremont’s administration if they could expand the after-school class into a regular class. The new class offered them the chance to delve into the two-year project to build a new classroom.
In addition to learning the hard skills, like using a saw and holding a hammer, Hoang and Prober are also happy that the project is teaching students soft skills like teamwork, time management, and applied mathematics. And they’re excited about them taking the skills they learn to apply toward their life, which has begun to happen.
“I’ve seen students use the skills they learn in my or Prober’s classes to rebuild or redesign their garage,” said Hoang. The students and the teachers both see the project as special and different from their other classes. To them, the grades are secondary to the project they’re creating. “It’s a project that is bigger than a grade,” said Prober. “It allows students to see the connection between what they’re doing and how that affects their environment.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of September 9 – 15, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 9 – 15, 2026
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026
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Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association
The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”
The post The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.” appeared first on BlackPressUSA.
Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association
The East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA) and Youth Alive! came together on Aug. 21 to share with their community all that Black August means to them.
Held on EOBA’s patio at 816 98th Ave. in Deep East Oakland, the two organizations hosted their second annual Black August Experience, featuring a food tasting, financial literacy and mindfulness workshops, and voter registration with the League of Women Voters Oakland (LWV).
Black August is known as a time to uphold the legacy of prisoners who protested their conditions by fasting, fighting, and educating themselves on the economic and political circumstances that contributed to their incarceration.
According to its website, “EOBA is a multi-service youth and community development hub that goes far beyond the ring. While rooted in the discipline of boxing, for nearly 40 years EOBA has also integrated robust programs in workforce development, food justice, afterschool enrichment, financial literacy, mentorship, and wellness.”.
The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”
Through Coro California, another leadership organization serving young people across the state for 80 years, they gained a broader understanding of Black August.
EOBA Executive Director Dawna Williams spoke about how much she learned about Black August from the youth who created it. “I let them educate me,” she said. Instead of talking about prison reform and mass incarceration, Williams and youth interns found that Black August meant so much more. “We would have done a disservice if we had just focused on who the people were and what their situation was…We tried to take their message from back in the day and make it relevant to the young people today. What do they need to know?”
Youth interns created and placed posters around the patio to help participants understand how traditional Black foodways, civic engagement, financial literacy, and the power of education are relevant to Black resistance today.
An EOBA member described Black August with Youth ALIVE! as “a whole vibe. “This year we added the Fun Zone for the kids, because you really cannot go wrong with a Fun Zone. I also loved seeing everyone chillin’ in the outdoor lounge, catching some Vitamin D and just enjoying a Friday evening together.”
The food tasting, a popular event from last year, featured traditional Black foods such as black-eyed peas, johnny cakes, and fried chicken. Led by Williams, the tasting included a talk about how these traditional foods were made and why they are forms of Black resilience.
The “‘Plate of History’ was a favorite of the online writers. “Fun, educational, and did I mention delicious? Our Taste of History cook, Angela Southall, served up some good eats while connecting food to history and culture.”
The writer also commended the “League of Women Voters Oakland for their civic leadership and for getting our young people informed, ready, and registered to vote.”
Overall, it was a “good Friday event in East Oakland,” the writer said.
Upcoming Black August events: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The websites for East Oakland Boxing Association, Youth Alive! and CORO are sources for this report.
Jana Lang is an Oakland resident, teacher, gardener and poet participating in the Propel News Initiative.
The post The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.” appeared first on BlackPressUSA.
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