Sankofa United Elementary School

581 61st Street

School District

Oakland Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Oakland Unified School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on February 03, 2025

I'm writing this as an update to a prior review where I did recommend Sankofa. Unfortunately, with the new principal Arnold I no longer recommend Sankofa. The issues are notably due to the leadership and administrative, but unfortunately that affects many aspects of the school. As others have noted, despite the very hopeful parent community, it's almost impossible to volunteer at the school. School safety has been an issue with principal Arnold paying lip service to restorative justice and stories of her not informing parents when incidents occur. There has been a major exodus of families to other schools as students get older, resulting in the combination of and cutting of many classes. The school also has awful communication, but again that could be improved with better leadership. Sankofa really needs an experienced principal to lead them forward and unfortunately got stuck with one who is both inexperienced and seems to take what has been called a micromanagement approach without the management (for exabmple, requiring meetings to do anything, but never holding the meeting, or sending volunteers home after they show up at the school). I hope for the best for Sankofa and love the community of other local families we met, but until the leadership changes, I do not recommend it.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2024

We love being a part of the Sankofa community. My daughter is now a first grader in Ms. Ryba's class, and her reading skills have really blossomed after only a few short weeks of school. She's coming home and reading chapter books to us in the evenings and, most importantly, I think she's just really excited about learning. Sankofa's free after care program has also been so fantastic. Mr. D is clearly a caring educator. My daughter participates in a lot of cool activities, including dance and a girls STEM program.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2024

My daughter transferred to Sankofa United from a private school in third grade. She is now in fifth grade. Sankofa has provided our family with a community where everyone feels included. The special education support has been incredible and she is now reading above average. They have outsourced tutors to help children who are struggling with reading and math. Her love for singing was nourished and supported by Sankofa's talented after school staff. We will miss this wonderful community.
Submitted by parent on December 14, 2023

I am a frustrated parent that has been trying to volunteer inside the school for almost a year.OUSD has pretty strict volunteering standards, which I have met, but it is now December and there has been no word on when I can participate in my child's education despite several emails and phone calls with the coordinator. In talking with other parents it seems like there is a 'stone wall' in effect for allowing volunteers on campus, with regular reports of student violence in all age groups with little/no adult intervention. I, and many others, feel like this is an attempt to control the optics of the school and prevent further scrutiny of what happens behind closed doors.504s are not enforced or honored, and trying to get mandated state assessments for students that need them are near impossible to obtain, even with plans from previous schools. Every attempt thus far to enact/uphold our current 504 plan has been met with resistance/dismissal, which is causing severe distress to my child. I cannot speak to the IEP process.There is little communication between families and the school. I have been told by several instructors that they are expressly forbidden from contacting parents directly without school permission, and this is also in effect for any volunteering, which must be approved through the front office. Even with OUSD clearance volunteers can't just help; we're expected to commit to a schedule that never finalizes.The PTA meetings are largely focused on budget and any attempts to discuss SEL, volunteering issues, and parental concerns are often dismissed due to 'lack of time'. I don't feel like the teachers have the support they need, and parents are often kept in the dark about what's happening at school until there's an issue that can't simply be kept behind closed doors.Sankofa has a lot of amazing programs; my child loves all of the extracurriculars and their primary teacher. I think the new principal, Dr. Arnold, has a great vision for the school, but I feel like there are a number of 'old guard' staff that wish to continue handling things the way they always have, which is no longer working for us. Unfortunately, we are going to start looking for another school with better communication and support. In talking with other families there is a common theme of intense frustration and deep concern shared across the board that seems to have no solution. When there is no communication, the community falls apart. I hope things improve.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2022

My daughter is a new TK student this year. We have 3 kids at 3 different elementary schools, including Peralta and Chabot (not ideal), but from this experience I can say that so far Sankofa is our favorite. It has a real community feeling that we have not felt to the same degree at the other schools. It may be because the school is small or because it's new, there's a real excitement and energy that the parents are putting into the school. The principal is charismatic and engaged with the community as well. My guess is this is related to the "new school" feel as Sankofa United was formed from a school merger a few years ago and also the changing neighborhood demographics. Reflective of this change, the parents that show up to school groups on weekend activities and bike to school day are mostly from lower grades (TK-1) and are not representative of the 71% black student demographics (posted on Greatschools at the time of this writing). From speaking with other parents, it seems like the parents that send their kids to Sankofa in the lower grades are largely doing it because they believe in the school and value being part of a local community, over sending their kids somewhere further away that might have a higher score on Greatschools. I would not be surprised if the Greatschools academic rating starts to improve year to year in the test scores.The principal greets each kid as they enter every morning and my daughter knows the names of all her teachers, the after school staff, and they know her. The TK teacher, Ms. Jackson, is fantastic. I have no idea how she gets so many 4-5 year olds to listen to her and does it in such an incredibly loving way. My daughter says she plays all day, but I know from parent teacher conferences and newsletters that she's learning and I'm glad she sees it as play. I appreciate that the TK students are already getting small group instruction with (pre)"reading" activities. They have dance classes, art class with a dedicated art teacher beloved by students, and other enrichment activities.Overall, I'd recommend Sankofa.
Submitted by parent on November 11, 2022

I have two children at Sankofa United and the experience has been exceptional. The teachers are excellent and experienced, and everyone at the school is attentive and empathic to the children, making sure no child goes unseen or unsupported. There is a lot of emphasis on social-emotional learning and support, which is critical (especially for children who had less interaction with their peers in 2020-2021). The principal is focused on both ensuring a great current experience as well as implementing a long-term vision, which is very important for the stability of students' experiences. The after-school program has a variety of different programs/activities and runs till 6 pm. The community involvement at the school is high, with family activities planned throughout the year. Our children joined Sankofa through a merger after another school was shut down, so we came to Sankofa without researching options. After three years, we couldn't be happier that we ended up at this special community.
Submitted by parent on September 30, 2022

To tell you the truth, we were not expecting to be at Sankofa when we moved to the Bushrod neighborhood 5 years ago. We had been planning to attend Peralta, based purely on the 10/10 ranking. But when the time came to rank our choices, we heard from other families how special Sankofa was, so we thought we would at least check it out. We were surprised that after exploring both schools, meeting the leadership and other families, the choice became clear. If you value diversity, equity, and a supportive community dedicated to their children, Sankofa has it in spades. The Principal, Dennis Guikema, is truly a godsend - his remarkable leadership and vision for the school is one of the main reasons we changed our minds and ranked Sankofa as our top choice. But now that we're at the school, we see it is the entire community that makes it great. The school is committed to ensuring students master the fundamentals of math, reading, etc., but there's so much more. Because we are fortunate to have the resources and knowledge to ensure our children are on track academically, Sankofa's focus on emotional safety, diversity in all forms, and community building is what sets it apart for our family. And we feel good about having our son at a public school where he is making friends from economically diverse families, and where data shows that economically-secure kids still succeed academically, and that less privileged kids benefit from the added resources that come from more affluent families.The TK and Kinder teachers are awesome (we don't have experience with others yet). The after school program, including the science, dance, art, and soccer after-school enrichment activities are free for all families. During the school day, each day of the week the kids have art, dance, gardening, library, or PE. We're so grateful to all the hard-working teachers and staff, and the other committed parents, for our wonderful community!
Submitted by parent on March 16, 2022

I have a kindergartener at Sankofa United. We have been very pleased with the organization of the school and the efforts of the staff. My child feels safe, cared for, and has made great connections with students and teachers. We've also seen great progress in reading and math skills. It's a true community school with many families walking or biking in every morning. The after school program provides free child-care, activities, and homework help until 6pm. Students have weekly art, music, and garden classes. There have been some conflicts with other students but nothing unusual for kids and the staff handles these incidents well. Overall we're very happy with Sankofa United!
Submitted by parent on December 08, 2021

We feel extremely lucky to be at Sankofa United. This school was formed in 2019 via a merger between two schools (including Sankofa Academy, which was on this site). The current principal and teachers bring a ton of experience--many of the teachers on campus have been teaching for 20+ years and the principal has been working in the district for even longer than that. The core principles at the school are "equity, rigor and joy," and the school finds lots of ways to reinforce that (including, recently, a walking tour around the campus to find examples of those principles at work). The students come from very diverse economic and racial backgrounds and the school does a lot of work to dismantle white supremacist culture and focus resources on the kids who need them the most. There are a lot of supports on campus, including reading intervention and an African-American Male Achievement leader.Communication from the school is consistent and effective. I feel like just about every adult on campus knows my kid's name, and there is a lot of adult supervision on the (gigantic) playground and yard. The principal greets each kid by name as they arrive at school each day.There are weekly art classes in a dedicated art room (with a kiln!) and weekly music lessons in a dedicated room (violins!). Each class gets PE twice a week with Coach T. The after-school program is free and runs til 6 and kids can opt in to extra activities (frisbee, Scientific Adventures for Girls, dance class, soccer, circus arts). They also do homework support in the after-school program. The man who runs it, Mr. D., is wonderful and has been on the campus for many years and is in a leadership position at the school.The PTA has a smaller budget than some other schools in the area and primarily focuses on social events for kids and families. I can't say enough about this wonderful school.
Submitted by parent on December 08, 2021

Sankofa United has been through some major changes in the past two years, and our family has worked through the process. We are very pleased with how our children feel valued and are learning values of Rigor, Respect, and Joy at school. Equity is of high concern, and the leadership team is passionate about providing opportunities for all children to succeed. Our experience with teachers and staff has been full of care, attention to detail, and concern for individuals. The school feels very safe and welcoming and there is a solid group of support from the families and community. I really think it is worthwhile to join this community.
Submitted by other on February 13, 2018

As a partner I have had a great experience working with teachers staff and parents. The events are very effective and fun and festive! The students are very respectful and spirited. They operate under what we call the "Sankofa way."
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2018

I am extremely happy with the care and attention my child gets at Sankofa.
Submitted by other on January 15, 2018

This school has some great aspects including a wonderful music program where each student learns to play an instrument and a committed group of parents and supporters.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2017

I'm switching my son to a different school next year I was originally aperhensive about sending him to Sankofa because of the negative things I heard about the school and the teacher my son would have.but I sent him there because that was the school he was assigned to and it is the closest elementary school to my house.my son was reduced to tears some days and did everything in his power some times not to go to.school he was being bullied by kids I'm not quite sure how old seeing as the school goes all the way to 8 grade Wich was another problem for me how they didn't separate the age groups enough for me,his teacher I felt is not compassionate enough to be working with TK kids who at the end of the day can't even do thing like button up their pants or tie theirs shoes....with a whole list of others problems I had I feel like Sankofa is a joke of a elementary school
Submitted by other on November 16, 2016

Sankofa Academy is a great school for student learning and parent engagement. Since my student has been at Sankofa she has learned to play the violin and viola. My student is learning French. Each day students are learning about the environment, science, art and technology. The school faculty and staff have a vision plan for success in place.
Submitted by parent on September 06, 2016

Sankofa is an awesome community. Their academic core is supported by this. I know personally how important it is for a child to have a positive environment while learning to promote success. My three children are blessed to have this here. We are a growing school with many positive attributes around diversity, and change in a good way.
Submitted by parent on August 30, 2016

Sankofa can be a beacon of achievement for your scholar as it has been for ours. This last year at Sankofa was fantastic for all of our kids. Our transitional kindergartner's academic career took off as we watched her transform from a preschooler into a wonderful elementary student. Her TK instructor, Ms. Tran provided the structure and academic rigor of kindergarten with a social-emotional preschool component. Ms. Tran's strong mix of compassion and excellent academic expectation allowed our daughter to flourish. Our now second grader's strong kinder experience at Sankofa last year allowed her to skip first grade and skyrocket to second. Her teacher, Dr. Wilkins', "the stars are not even the limit" approach to education afforded our other daughter the chance to blossom in math and language arts. His ability to structure the academic day to meet our daughter's voracious appetite for learning was amazing. Finally, our son's year at Sankofa last year gave him a solid foundation for entering Sankofa's middle school this year. His fifth grader teacher Ms. Nene's commitment to academic excellence and student personal responsibility and achievement guided our son on a fantastic education journey that is looking to be a strong anchor for success in middle school.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2016

I am a long time sankofa family and it has hit its bottom. We are not ready for tomorrom. The parents,staff need to be on the same page. The Children
Submitted by other on January 25, 2016

this school has no staff s commutation, so there is a lot of finger pointing
Submitted by other on January 08, 2016

This school is severely understaffed, overpopulated, and majority of the staff doesn't know what they're doing. My oldest son is now being home schooled because, although he is in 3rd grade, he was put into a class that has 2nd grade work. So he gets bored with the repeat work, acts up in class, and the teachers don't want to deal with him.we've tried having meetings with the teachers and principal, only to find there's a whole lot of blame-placing and passing the blame amongst the staff. I've had it, we are already looking for another school.