On Tuesday evening, April 26th, over two hundred Oakland students from Skyline and Metwest High Schools, parents, and teachers joined Mayor Libby Schaff, OUSD Superintendent Antwan Wilson, and dozens of civic and community partners at the Y-PLAN Oakland 2016 Spring Policy Summit in the City Hall Chambers to present their recommendations for the Oakland Downtown Specific Plan. “We value your opinion, need your ideas and hope this is just the beginning of our work together in planning for a better Downtown Oakland for everyone,” said Mayor Schaff in her welcoming remarks. Superintendent Wilson followed, adding: “Real world projects where our students are engaging in real problems generating real solutions is completely in line with OUSD's educational vision.” 

The evening began with an opening Gallery Walk of Y-PLAN Poster Presentations allowing student “Consultants for Change” to share their project vision and policy recommendations to city leaders, peers, UCB mentors, and adult allies from the public and private sector, who in turn offered both verbal and written feedback to the students. Y-PLAN Project Poster Presentations are modeled on professional academic conferences, offering a more intimate and personalized setting to both present findings and engage in dialog with professionals. Following this, everyone came together in the majestic Oakland City Hall Chambers where all student teams presented Policy Recommendations to the Mayor, Superintendent, and an esteemed panel.