Election Section

Unless you’re a graduating fifth grader, it’s hard to find a compelling reason to leave Oxford Elementary School. 

It’s the kind of school where people tend to stick around. Kathleen Lewis, the principal, has been here 17 years, and a few of the school’s 17 teachers have been here almost as long. Lewis says stability is part of what makes Oxford great. 

“Right now we have a good mix of younger people who have been around a few years, and people who are veterans,” says Lewis. “People stay a long time.” 

Families tend to stay around Oxford too. A tradition of parent involvement makes the school a welcoming place. Julia Perkins is the mother of two Oxford kids, one beginning the 2nd grade, the other a recently graduated sixth grader. She’s involved in the PTA, and has helped in classrooms. This year, Principal Lewis asked her to come to Oxford to work as the school’s secretary. 

“Every parent wants to feel good about their school and connect with that school,” says Perkins. 

Events throughout the year, like a Harvest Fair and a Winter Fair, bring the school’s families together. In the spring, the PTA holds a raffle, which raises funds for special staff like music teachers. 

While pupils at Oxford are encouraged to speak their mind—they even have “community meetings” once a week—there’s a strong emphasis on appropriate behavior. Staff at the school credit vice principal Albert Williams for that. Williams keeps kids in line in the school’s hallways and playground, intervening whenever a situation looks as if it might escalate into tantrum or tussle. 

“A lot of times a kid has a problem, he takes care of it, and no one even knows,” says Lewis.  

The small school is housed in two modern buildings, discreetly situated on a tree-lined block of Oxford Street, north of Eunice, in the Berkeley hills. Although the current structures date from 1965, the school is one of the oldest in Berkeley—kids have been learning here since 1910. 

The walls are posted with the word “WALK,” written in blue tape. In the school’s rear yard, ball courts and equipment lockers are freshly painted, and the small, terraced garden waits to be tilled by a new crop of students. Black and white photos showing kids working in the garden are proudly displayed near the front door. The school was in some danger of losing money from the district that supported its garden two years ago, but PTA and staff saved it by getting parents to pledge financial support. 

Like all elementary schools in Berkeley, Oxford serves kids who live all over the city, not just those in the neighborhood. The families of the school’s 316 pupils range from homeless to wealthy. 

Rita Davies teaches a combination class of second and third graders at Oxford. Originally from England, Davies has 40 years of teaching experience, and has taught at Oxford for the last 10 years. Typically, her second graders go on to be her third graders, and she gets to watch them develop over two years.  

The theme of her class, “Caring and Sharing,” is strung up in bright red letters above the blackboard. With tables and chairs arranged in small groups and a big green couch, her classroom looks comfortable enough to be somebody’s living room—albeit someone with a surfeit of awfully small chairs. 

When asked what’s special about Oxford, she too mentions the high level of parent involvement.  

“The essence of a good school is the people,” says Davies. “Kids like to come to this school—it’s a place people care about them.” 

This is the tenth in a series profiling the Berkeley elementary schools. The reports are written by students of the UC Berkeley Journalism School.