We are a community of learners and doers.  We serve, support, and shape the surrounding community by engaging in projects that are co-designed by teacher and student.  Children and adults work in tandem to operate our Community Center, offering after-school tutoring, mentorship, and enrichment classes to families in our neighborhood. Social and Emotional Learning is at the center of all our pursuits. Children and adults hone and develop skills in collaborative problem solving, communication, social thinking, and conflict resolution.

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Who are our Students?
We operate a middle school and a high school in the Grant Hill neighborhood of San Diego.  While our students come from all over San Diego, priority is given in our zip-code lottery to students residing within Grant Hill and many bordering communities, including Golden Hill, Sherman Heights, Stockton, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Downtown, Coronado, South Park, North Park, Hillcrest, Normal Heights, Kensington, University Heights, Midtown, and Mission Hills.  Other students (35% of the student body) come from all other regions of San Diego county.

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Our student body reflects the demographics of San Diego County in terms of socio-economic status and ethnicity.

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Who are our faculty?
Our family of educators are selected for their commitment to community: the development of our school community and the enrichment the surrounding community in our local neighborhoods.  We look for teachers who are reflective, passionate, energized, intelligent, flexible, and compassionate.  Our teachers have achieved exceptional skill and mastery within their discipline.  All of our teachers have Special Education certification in addition to their teaching credential(s).

 

Our goal is the development of a robust adult learning community.  Adults collaborate, share best practices, and push their practice forward with the support of their peers.  Teachers engage in common planning time, critical friend and mentor pairings, shared work/planning spaces, regular staff days and staff retreats for professional learning.  Our faculty practices shared-decision making for our school’s operations.  We foster and nurture teacher leadership within our community.

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Because we operate as a year-around school, faculty are afforded extended time for professional learning and development during the winter and summer.

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What are they doing?

Core Values:
-Personalization
-Service to Self, Service to Community
-Work that Matters
-Teacher and Students as Co-Designers

 

Students take content-area classes in the morning (Integrated Math/Science, Integrated Language Arts/History).  Classes are project-based, often connected with ongoing work in the Community Center.  In the afternoons, students spend one hour in a seminar preparing for their Community Center rotation, and 1.5 hours in the Community Center.

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Sample Schedule:
8-9am – Teacher Collaboration/Planning/Meeting Time
9-10:30: Humanities Class
10:45-12:15: Math/Science Class
12:15-1pm: Lunch
1-2pm: Seminar (prepare for Community Center Rotation)
2-4pm: Community Center Rotation

 

Integrated, Project-Based Curriculum:
Integrated morning classes are project-based.  Students and Teachers co-design inquiry-based projects that often connect with work for our Community Center, giving students voice and choice in their learning.  Coursework is designed to allow students to meet UC A-G requirements, and to prepare students for college, citizenship and work.  We operate a Transition Program to support students with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities with skills to prepare them for independent living and citizenship. 

 

Community Center Rotation and Seminar:
Afternoon Seminar is a one hour block where students and adults prepare for their Community Center rotation.  Rotations include:

-Mentorship (mentor younger children in the community, students with learning differences, homeless youth)
-Instruction: students tutor community members (adults and children) in reading, writing, mathematics, and technology.

-Enrichment/Art: students work with teachers and community volunteers to co-teach classes in (ideas: music, fine art, digital art, movement/dance, gardening, yoga, and voice).

 

The afternoon seminar supports students and adults in preparing for their rotation through an inquiry based approach.  Students and adults unpack questions such as: how can we better reach and teach adults who need English Language instruction in our community center?  How will we teach our gardening group to keep the lettuce alive?  What activities will we pursue this week with our mentees to support them in building self-esteem? 

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Social/Emotional Learning:
Like the vascular system of the body, social emotional learning circulates through all of our pursuits.  We engage in ongoing dialogue about who we are, how we talk to each other, and how we treat each other.  Students and adults practice Collaborative Problem Solving (from Ross Greene’s work) to identify and resolve problems as equal stake-holders.  Restorative Justice Circles are held regularly to address harm that surfaces in our community, with a focus on repair and accountability. 

 

Full Inclusion:
All learners are fully included in our community.  All of our teachers hold their mild/moderate Education Specialist credentials in addition to their single-subject credentials.  Teachers co-design projects with students to ensure that every learner’s unique needs are addressed.  Students are supported in the classroom by academic coaches who collaborate with students and teachers to further personalize learning.

 

Where are we?
We are located in Grant Hill, a neighborhood bordered by Golden Hill to the North, Stockton to the East, Sherman Heights to the West, and Logan Heights to the South. 30th Street connects Grant Hill to the neighborhood of Golden Hill.  The neighborhood is within close proximity of downtown San Diego and Balboa Park.  We selected this neighborhood due to its high percentage of school-age children, and due to its proximity to bordering neighborhoods with similarly high percentages of school age children.  Further, the neighborhood is centrally located and easily accessed from all over San Diego County.

 

Our zip-code lottery will give preference (65% of total student body) to our local 92102 zip code, and to the following bordering zip codes: 92113, 92105, 92101, 92103, 92104, 92103, 92116, 92106, 92107, 92118.  These surrounding zip codes represent a broad range of important markers, including socio-economic status and ethnicity.  The remaining 33% of the total student body is open to applicants from all remaining San Diego County zip-codes, and a small percentage (2%) of the lottery is open to any applicant in the state of California.

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Our mission is to provide community service to families in Grant Hill and its surrounding communities located within one mile on foot: Golden Hill, Sherman Heights, Stockton, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Downtown, and South Park. 

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How are we governed?
Our charter authorizer is the San Diego Unified School District.  We operate as a single, non-profit 501(c)(3).  We have a small independent Board whose members have expertise in finance, business, and facilities.