K-5 Program

Good Cents for Oakland's Elementary School Penny Roundup Program builds school community by engaging the entire student body in a school-wide, community-focused project over a 10-week period. It also provides leadership opportunities for smaller groups of students.

Good Cents for Oakland provides 10 weeks of classroom enrichment activities, all program materials, armored truck service and bank-verified coin counting for local elementary schools.

Click here to view samples of our Classroom Materials

Leadership Opportunities

Student Roundtable - Grades 3-5
Student Roundtable participants are charged with selecting two of the issues raised in the classroom votes to appear on the school-wide ballot. They then study the issues and make presentations about the issues to their school.

Student Roundtable participants are also responsible for selecting a non-profit organization to benefit from the the school's Penny Roundup. Students interview two different non-profit organizations working on the school's chosen issue. 

Election Team
Children in grades 3-5 may participate on the Election Team, preparing posters advocating for the ballot issues and advertising the school-wide vote, monitoring the election, handing out "I Voted/Kids Vote Too!" stickers to each voter and tallying the vote.   

Penny Roundup Team - Grades K-2
Children in grades K-2 are responsible for readying all the coin for pickup by the armored truck. Children sort and weigh all the school's collected coins, weigh them and bag them.  The armored truck then picks up the bagged coin and brings it to the bank for counting. 

To start a program at your school, please contact us.

The Penny Roundup Program is easy

Each classroom at participating schools takes part in the following five activities lasting approximately 1.5 hours over 10 weeks. 

The activites include: an opening assembly, a classroom vote, in-class "issue" presentations by Student Roundtable members, a school-wide vote and a closing assembly.  Children participating in leadership programs participate in those programs during lunchtime or after school. 

Children do not lose classroom instructional time unless the teacher wishes to use our optional enrichment activities which build upon language arts, social studies, math, financial literacy and civics.

See how school children are helping our community through the Good Cents for Oakland Penny Roundup Program today.

Current Schools