Jennifer Rainin, Graduate of the Reading Leadership Program '93, CEO of Rainin Foundation, provides $3 million grant to Oakland USD

As chief executive officer of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, I have had the honor and pleasure of working with many talented and committed partners to ensure that Oakland’s youngest learners, children from birth to age 8, are on track for reading and language success, and better prepared to thrive in school and life.

I credit Saint Mary’s College for giving me the skills and tools needed to do the work I do in early childhood education. KSOE taught me not to be afraid of data or overwhelmed by it, but to embrace it as a tool for figuring out what’s useful for a child’s learning trajectory. That’s what we’re doing at the Rainin Foundation—we are gathering data to determine what exactly helps children succeed, and using these effective evidenced based practices to scale our program throughout the urban schools.

I have a vivid memory of being at St. Mary’s during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. I was in Dr. Candy Boyd’s class at the time. She’s a strong, confident and vibrant person and she continues to be a role model for me even after all these years.

The School of Education continues to be a good friend to me –sparked a passion in me, and it’s a resource that I know I can count on. I see clearly how the education I received at KSOE influenced my work and that of the Rainin Foundation. I’m grateful for the experiences I had at the school.

My vision for social justice in education is every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

It’s a privilege to go to a school like Saint Mary’s College. You leave with the tools to examine problems and issues, and you’re prepared to work toward solving them.