From Data to Agency: How Oakland Students Are Becoming Leaders in Their Own Education

At Energy Convertors, we believe that knowledge is power, and nowhere is this more evident than when students dive deep into their own educational data.

Over the years, our driving force has been agency, specifically helping students and families become more informed end-users and consumers of public education. We don't see agency as a replacement for much-needed systemic change. Rather, agency aids systemic transformation and has proven necessary for meaningful educational progress. As someone who was once a student in Oakland schools myself, I understand firsthand the importance of this empowerment.

This fall, we launched a cohort comprising Oakland public school students who attend Lodestar, a charter public school in East Oakland, CA. The Lodestar cohort is a fellowship for high school students who are empowered to become agents of change in their schools. Guided by adult facilitators, fellows research issues within their school, develop actionable solutions, and advocate for improvements. They learn to analyze education data and systems, ultimately serving as visible leaders who bridge the gap between student experience and school leadership.

In a recent session, we witnessed something remarkable: Lodestar students transformed from passive recipients of grades to active agents in their own learning journey. This transformation benefits everyone in the educational ecosystem. We value our school partners deeply, and we know that great schools not only respect but actively want a more agentic student and parent base.

Energy Convertors' Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Charles Cole, III, hosts a panel discussion featuring Lodestar x Energy Convertors fellows at the FIA Raise the Bar Awards on September 18, 2025, in Oakland, CA.

The Reality Check: Oakland's Educational Landscape

Before students can chart their path forward, they need to understand where they stand. The numbers paint a sobering picture of Oakland's educational challenges:

• Literacy Crisis: Oakland students trail the state by 11 percentage points in reading, with fewer than 4 in 10 students reading at grade level. These aren't just statistics; they represent real barriers to future opportunities.
  
  
• Math Proficiency Gap: Only 27% of Oakland students demonstrate math proficiency, with Black and Latinx students lagging 40+ points behind their White and Asian peers. This isn't just about numbers; it's about access to STEM careers and economic mobility.
  
  
• The Graduation Paradox: Here's where it gets interesting and where Energy Convertors has made a significant impact. While 81% of Black students graduate, only 55% complete the A-G requirements for college entrance. This 26-point gap reveals a systemic failure: graduation does not necessarily equate to college readiness. Energy Convertors confronted this issue directly by pioneering the public disaggregation of this exact data in Oakland. We equipped parents and students with the tools to analyze A-G completion rates themselves, transforming a hidden problem into a catalyst for accountability and advocacy — work that continues to grow with partners like Families in Action.

When Students Become Data Detectives

Our approach goes beyond simply presenting statistics. We turn students into educational data detectives, using tools like FIA's Interactive Map to investigate their own school's performance. Students don't just read about disparities—they discover them, analyze them, and begin to understand their place within larger systemic patterns.

The magic happens when students realize they attend one of the best high schools in Oakland and begin to grapple with what that means in context, comparing their education to the state average and examining data maps that show public schools perform better in more affluent areas with higher proportions of white and Asian students. They start asking the right questions:

• Why do graduation rates look "good" while college readiness lags?
• How do these disparities show up in their own classrooms?
• What does it mean to have good grades but lack proficiency?

The Agency Awakening

This is where our work becomes transformational.

We don't stop at data analysis; we pivot to agency building. The breakthrough moment occurs when students realize that good grades don't automatically equate to proficiency, and that this understanding empowers them to take action.

Beyond the Numbers: Building Agentic Students

Our curriculum design intentionally moves students through three phases:

1. Understanding: Grasping the broader educational landscape.
2. Investigation: Analyzing their specific school context.
3. Agency: Recognizing their power to influence their outcomes.

Students begin to recognize their power within the system by asking critical questions that build three essential components of agency:

• Self-Awareness (Awareness): "Do I know my reading level? My proficiency in each class?"
• Resource Navigation (Navigation): "Who on campus can help me answer these questions?"
• Goal Setting (Duty): "Am I on track to complete A-G requirements?"

This isn't about creating despair over challenging statistics. It's about building informed advocates who understand both the systemic challenges and their individual agency within those systems.

The Ripple Effect

When students become agentic, when they own their data and understand their position, they become powerful voices for change. They initiate conversations with teachers about the distinction between proficiency and grades. They seek out resources for college preparation.

Students become partners in their own education rather than passive recipients.

Over eight sessions, Lodestar fellows will progress from exploring their personal educational journeys to becoming actionable advocates for their school. They will identify key issues, conduct research, and connect their lived experiences to broader data and systems. The fellowship culminates with fellows developing and pitching their data-informed recommendations to school leaders, equipping them to bridge the gap between student experience and institutional change. 

These students not only improve their own outcomes, but they also become catalysts for systemic change.

They ask better questions, demand more precise answers, and hold themselves and their schools accountable for real learning, not just good grades.

Moving Forward: The Power of Informed Action

As we continue this work at Energy Convertors, we're seeing students develop what we call "agentic perspective": the ability to see themselves as powerful actors in their educational journey. They're building valuable insights that benefit not only themselves but also school leaders, educators, parents, and other students.

Energy Convertors' Founder and Executive Director Dr. Charles Cole, III 

The data tells us where we are. Agency tells us where we can go. When we combine both, we create students who don't just succeed within the system; they transform it.

EC Fellows have opened mental health lines at their schools, published thousands of survey responses from peers about key education issues, and, now at Lodestar, are partnering with school leaders to transform their own buildings.

Ready to learn more about how we're building student agency in Oakland schools? Follow our journey and discover how data literacy becomes the foundation for educational empowerment.

Energy Convertors improves education by building agency in students. Learn more about our work at energyconvertors.org or contact us to bring agentic education to your community.