Sonny Kim

Sonny Kim is Oakland Unified School District’s coordinator of social and emotional learning in the academics and Instruction Department, where he focuses on the implementation, professional development, leadership, and integration of SEL across the district. He was a member of the 2020 California CDE Social and Emotional Learning State Team tasked with helping to identify and disseminate best practices to provide SEL supports, including developing policy recommendations, resources, and the development of SEL conditions and competencies. Previously, Sonny was an SEL Program Manager on the SEL Team, leading schoolwide SEL implementation at the elementary school level, as well as the development and implementation of OUSD’s SEL Standards. Prior to joining the SEL Team in 2012, he was an OUSD upper-grade elementary classroom teacher for 19 years. In addition to teaching full-time, he actively participated in site-based leadership, and facilitated professional development in literacy and mathematics at the school and district level. Sonny helped design and develop a districtwide 5th grade process writing assessment and designed and implemented district-wide professional development courses on teaching reading and writing for 5th grade Oakland teachers. Sonny is a Bay Area Writing Project Teacher Consultant, served as a course lecturer in the Mills College Educational Leadership Program, and was a former OUSD Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Coach. Sonny received his BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Masters in Educational Leadership from Mills College.