Oakland Military Institute, formally the ''Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy'', is a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

run by the California Military Department's Youth and Community Programs Task Force in partnership with the Oakland Unified School District in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. Oakland Military Institute's mission is "to provide a structured and rigorous academic program where cadets develop as leaders, scholars, critical thinkers, and citizens." The school's cadets are members of the

California Cadet Corps The California Cadet Corps (CACC), originally called the California High School Cadets, is a component of the California Youth and Community Programs Task, Task Force Torch. The California Cadet Corps is a paramilitary youth organization in Cali ...

. The teaching staff are employees of the Oakland Unified School District while the Military Staff are member of the

California National Guard The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...

and the

California State Guard The California State Guard (CSG) (formerly the California State Military Reserve) is a component of the California National Guard (CNG). The CSG is a volunteer force that supports the state missions and federal readiness of the Army and Air Natio ...

. Ideally, students will go on to attend college. In addition to academics, the school develops leadership in its students through an elective class which all students take every year. They are assigned to a large group of students, or a Company, which they are a part of for all their years in the school. Students are mentored by the military staff in these groups to grow as disciplined adults and leaders of character.

History

Oakland Military Institute was founded in 2001 after a two-year campaign led by then Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. Governor Gray Davis helped secure the charter after local school boards rejected the proposals. It is the first charter school sponsored and run by the State of California Military Department and the first public military school sponsored by the National Guard. The school site, at its inception, was located on the Oakland Army Base - 2405 West 14th Street. AC Transit provided a dedicated bus line for student transportation to the base. Hundreds of applications were submitted from all over the East Bay and each prospective student was required to appear with their parent/guardian. The process for acceptance into the institute consisted of a in-person interview with a panel that included a military member, faculty member, administrator and representative from the mayor's office. The amount of application for entry into the first class required the staff to hold a lottery for acceptance at the Oakland Army Base Theater to determine which applicants would be allowed to attend a two-week summer camp held in Camp San Luis Obispo. The first class of 167 seventh-graders enrolled in August 2001, under the direction of Commandant Colonel Bradford M. Jones, Command Sergeant Major Alex Cabassa and Academic Director Rick Moniz. On May 17, 2007, Oakland Military Institute relocated from the Oakland Army Base to 3877 Lusk Street, Oakland, CA 94608. In August 2012, it opened a 15,000 square foot state of the art facility to serve 6th grade and house science classrooms, music and art classes, and a library and computer lab and virtual learning center.About
/ref>

References

Education in Oakland, California Military high schools in the United States Charter preparatory schools in California Bay Counties League 2001 establishments in California {{authority control