The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) reports that the garden at Global Family Elementary School was destroyed over the weekend.
The garden was established two years ago by a charity headed by Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha.
Images released by the district, along with a news release, show that an individual, or individuals, broke a wooden bench and damaged planters and the irrigation system in the school’s garden. There is no good answer as to what the motive could be.
The school’s staff said that the vandalization also included the destruction of a ladder. The entire area was left a mess.
The school is currently on summer break, so thankfully, it is unlikely that any of the students have seen the damage.
With a Spanish immersion program, the Fruitvale community school educates 450 kids who are bilingual and bi-literate.
The OUSD stated on Tuesday that repairing the school’s garden and getting it back to its previous pristine condition is going to take a lot of time, effort, and resources, adding that it is regrettable that anyone should believe that it would be amusing, enjoyable, or wise to do this, which does nothing except harm the school’s employees and pupils.
In 2022–2023, the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, founded by the Currys, contributed to the creation of the garden. The foundation was established in 2019.
The Currys wrote on the Foundation’s website about when they launched Eat. Learn. Play. They saw the tremendous need in their adopted hometown of Oakland and set out to use their platform and resources to unlock the full potential of the kids in the community.
Curry’s previous Golden State Warriors home, Oracle Arena, is less than three miles from the school. Since then, the group has relocated to the Chase Center in San Francisco, across the water.
Juan Vaca, the principal of Global Family Elementary School, views the garden as much more than just a place to grow plants. Additionally, it’s a location that fosters and develops mental health, growth, and education.
