Our Mission
Our Mission
Beatie Street Preschool & Kindergarten aims to nurture the next generation to be agents of change.
Beatie Street’s mission is to provide a place for children to bloom, families to be supported, and our greater community to be strengthened - as we stand up for ourselves, each other and our planet.
Our Vision
The school was founded with the vision of creating a space in Oakland that was representative of our greater community, where children from different socio-economic levels, racial and ethnic identities, family structures, and religions could come together to play, learn and solve problems. Beatie has always carried a sense of community, where families prioritize the school’s annual traditions and family get-togethers or day-to-day activities by holding the Beatie community as central to their lives. Outside of ourselves, the school holds a shared progressive vision to do our part to protect vulnerable populations and our planet.
Our History
Judy, the founding director of Beatie Street, was originally trained in New York as a medical social worker and eventually moved to CA and worked with Cesar Chavez helping to organize farmworkers in the late 70’s. The school building was initially used for activism office space in the early 80’s, even staffing around-the-clock surveillance to protect a family being harassed by racist Klan members in the Bay Area. When making the transition to becoming a daycare and then school, Judy held on tight to these social justice principles and has taught her students the real lessons of history and activism, in engaging and child-friendly ways, for almost 4 decades.