Steph Curry’s Foundation Makes Lasting Impact on Six Oakland Schools

Steph Curry’s deep connection to Oakland shined bright this week as his foundation announced love and support for city’s schools and local teachers. Amidst the aftermath of a prolonged teachers strike, six Oakland schools have received a much-needed boost. Steph and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation announced this week which schools which will benefit from a generous donation which will include beautifying campuses, creating new play areas and upgrading campuses.

The first playground was unveiled this past week. Allendale Elementary School in East Oakland recently showcased its brand-new playground, garden, and mural to the local community. The work done at Allendale Elementary is just the beginning of a project aimed at revitalizing six public schools in Oakland, with each school set to receive a new playground. The event celebrated the foundation’s commitment to fostering educational and recreational spaces that enhance the well-being of students and uplift the community as a whole.

The six schools announced as part of this initiative are:

• Allendale Elementary
• Hoover Elementary
• Lockwood STEAM Academy
• Esperanza Elementary and Korematsu Discovery Academy (on the Stonehurst campus)
• Acorn Woodland Elementary and Encompass Academy (on the 81st Avenue campus)The 6th school has yet to be announced.

The new court at Allendale Elementary in Oakland. Photo by Desmond Gribben for Eat. Learn. Play.

Other cities in the East Bay also have benefited from similar programs as well. Newark city officials announced a new playground for Lincoln Elementary in January this past year.

How Eat. Learn. Play. is Also Helping Local Teachers

In addition to the school yard project, which directly will benefit students. Eat. Learn. Play Foundation also announced a partnership with Masterclass on Thursday, May 25th just ahead of the end of the school year. The partnership will give a FREE membership to Masterclass to any teacher in an effort to show appreciation by providing classes they can take.  They had a similar partnership in 2022. However, this year, they are tripling their budget by bringing in some money from the San Francisco Education Fund. This additional money will allow both Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) teachers as well as San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) teachers to benefit from the partnership.

“Graduation season is here in OUSD! It’s a time when all the hard work of our students and staff is paying off, and they are looking forward to a welcome break,” said Preston Thomas, OUSD Chief Systems & Services Officer. “It’s also a time when we know staff get to focus more on their hobbies and other interests. It’s the perfect time for them to receive this wonderful gift from Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation and MasterClass. When staff first received this access to the amazing MasterClass platform in the spring of 2022, they were so excited to take advantage of all the classes offered. We know they’re excited again this year because of all they were able to learn last year, and how that knowledge helped them in their personal lives and in our schools. We appreciate this fabulous support from MasterClass and Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation for all OUSD staff members.”

The new mural in the works at Allendale Elementary in Oakland. Photo by Desmond Gribben for Eat. Learn. Play.