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In 1986, the members of Wo'se Community Church decided that there was a need to develop an independent, African-centered educational institution in Oakland, California. Members were concerned with the mis-education and the culturally and spiritually deficient education imposed on African and African American youth in the public schools.

To sustain an educational institute in the best traditions of our ancestors. We will give birth to the genius resident in every child, assist parents in their efforts to become models of right behavior and right order for their children, and provide a working environment that allows our educators to follow their passion of teaching and loving African children.

We believe that all children have a right to a quality education. Within every child resides genius, and it is our responsibility to guide and instruct our children on their path to their greatness.

The Wo'se Community Church school program, as embodied in Ile Omode, is grounded in academic and cultural principles which provide a foundation for the development of self-determined scholarship and leadership. Our goal is to create a learning environment which encourages creative problem solving, teamwork, and confidence. Through learning experiences that are both challenging and fun, we are preparing our children to compete in a technologically advanced society. We emphasize African values and community as a framework for the utilization of this technology. Our vision is that our students become highly motivated and creative leaders who are both capable and committed to the betterment of our nation.We stress the development of our students' bodies, minds, souls, and consciousness. We develop our bodies by eating a proper diet and exercising daily. We develop our minds by acquiring knowledge and skills that are useful to our advancement. We develop our souls by developing our relationship with the Creator and with our people based on Maat (truth, justice, right-order, and reciprocity). We develop our consciousness by attaining self-awareness, identity, self-control, and discipline.

Our children, today's children, represent our tomorrow. What they are gives us an indication of our future as a people. Ile Omode joins parents in the task of nurturing the development of superior children.

Knowledge is like a garden;
If it is not cultivated,
It cannot be harvested
-Guinea

Ile Omode School’s curriculum is based on a cognitive approach to learning. This approach emphasizes creative thinking and problem solving. By cognitive learning we simply mean learning through experience. The classroom experience embodies hands on teaching methods, student directed learning activities and self-motivation incentives - the focus for learning is removed from the usual teacher centered teaching methods. The intellectual development of the student is guided by activities that stimulate their curiosity and ultimately their high critical thinking.

The range of skills to be developed in the following areas will be appropriate to each child's development level:

Language ArtsScienceArtMathMusic and DanceSocial ScienceSocial SkillsCommunity AwarenessPhysical EducationHealth
Spiritual Development (inner soul)

The binding threads that run through the entire curriculum are:

Praise to our Creator,
Honor and respect for our elders and ancestors,
Knowledge and love of who we are,
and finally,
restoration of our people to our traditional greatness.

Ile Omode's curriculum is designed to meet and exceed standards of achievement outlined by the California State Department of Education. Our curriculum contains elements derived from the Council of Independent Black Institution's (CIBI) instructional guidelines which encourages an African centered approach to education. This assures that our children will learn about African culture and traditions that have influenced world history and culture. Thus, the curriculum is based on the following:

Oakland Unified School District's curriculum content standards Council of Independent Black Institutions
State of California Framework

We of course extend these requirements to meet the specific needs of our students and our community, as we seek to incorporate the best principles and practices from our ancestors and throughout the diaspora. Additionally we offer an extensive array of enrichment programs

Enrichment programs are designed to enhance the core curriculum and serves as an extension of our core subjects. We don't view enrichment programs as "extra curricular", but rather as "required curricular". Music for example, aids in math instruction, and capoeira benefits history instruction. Other programs that run through a typical school week include African dance, drumming, capoeira, computer training, singing, and martial arts.