77 out of 10GreatSchools

Oakland Technical High School

Oakland, CA
  • Public
  • |
  • Grades 9-12
  • |
  • Enrollment: 2016

Overview

Oakland Technical High School
4351 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 450-5400
Oakland Technical High School is located in Oakland, CA and serves grades 9-12.It received a GreatSchool rating of 7 out of 10
This information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Student Diversity

Race

Percentage

Native American
0%
Pacific Islander
0%
Filipino
2%
Two or more races
7%
Hispanic
17%
Asian
19%
White
26%
Black
27%
Other
2%

Reviews16 Reviews

3.5
student
My view on Oakland Tech is conflicted. I love and hate this school. Oakland Tech has great academics... for about 25% of the school. Oakland Tech has great teachers, but they are only 2 out of 5 teachers. I am entering my final year at Oakland Tech and I can say whole-heartedly that the OUSD administration is problematic and ineffective. Of course, there are some good administrators, but as a whole, the administration/school continues to waste money on unnecessary projects and fail to put in the time, effort, and money into the necessities. Oakland Tech is a divided community. You can see it in the classrooms and on campus especially during lunch. Students stick with people in the same academies. Oakland Tech might be one of the most diverse schools in California, but it fails to create equality in that diversity. The same students, who are in the "best" academies or in Paideia usually have the best teachers throughout their years at Tech allowing them to do well at school and then get into college. The students who do not take any special honors or advanced courses tend to have the worst teachers. (The math department especially is suffering). The normal, college prep classes normally have mediocre teachers, while the honors and AP classes have amazing teachers. Sadly, there just isn't enough room in those advanced classes for everyone at Tech. Students who don't want to have extra work and take those advanced classes, usually suffer with teachers who do not teach.The social scene at Tech is slightly desolate. Dances are barren, as well as the sports games. Students do not have a lot of school pride, I don't really know why. But the students themselves are great. Many are friendly and kind, it's not hard to make new friends, especially in the classroom. Finally, the counselors are inadequate. One counselor deals with 500 students. How is one counselor supposed to put in the time and attention when there are so many kids to be taken care of? As a result, the counselors are not helpful at all when it comes to changing classes, fixing grades, dealing with complaints about teachers, and giving important information about college readiness. This school has the resources that students need to succeed. However, the resources are inadequate for the population of Tech and poorly offered. You have to actively look for those resources and take advance of them.
parent
We regret strongly sending our daughter to Oakland Tech. When we complained about issues we were having the principles ignored the issues brought to their attention. I guess that is a typical OUSD method of dealing with complaints. I am glad we transferred out of this terrible school. I give the administration 0 out of 5.
parent
My ninth grader embraced this school from day 1. Many of the assignments were quite interesting (write election materials, draw propaganda posters). The math was challenging (Spanish wasn't). She joined several clubs, band, newspaper, and joined the Cross Country team , and ran miles and miles with lots of friends. The administrators are accessible, and clearly always working to improve their processes. They are open about weaknesses (which exist), but frame these as challenges which we can and should be able to improve on. This openness makes the school a community, not an us/them situation. OT is a community worth being a part of for a lot of reasons.
other
Oakland Tech is hands down the best Public High School in Oakland. Offering a huge variety of interesting and engaging programs, such as its amazing humanities program "The Paideia Program", and a variety of career oriented acadamies, I would recommend this school to all potential students who are OK going to a large school. Most of the teachers are kind, professional, and interesting. With a wide variety of AP and other advanced classes on hand, Oakland Tech is optimal for students who aspire to go to top colleges, with some students in recent years even getting into Brown and Harvard. The reason why the school does not get a 5 star rating has more to do with the uneven quality of funding and school district support than anything else (erratic building support, etc.) Back on the plus side, Oakland Tech provides a variety of varisty athletic teams (including some unusual ones like ice hockey) and offers a plethora of clubs (including a school newspaper, debate club, multiple community service clubs, etc.). Although Tech is a big school, most students' experiences are what they make of it- so for many students they can feel like they are in a smaller school than in reality.
Showing 4 of 16 Reviews