City Heights (San Diego) Education Pilot

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How can an educational partnership help revitalize an inner-city neighborhood?

The City Heights K-16 Educational Pilot partnership is a key component of the overall City Heights initiative to achieve comprehensive and holistic redevelopment of an entire community. Located a mile from San Diego State University. City Heights is the most densely populated neighborhood in San Diego. Its 72,000 residents speak 30 languages, crime rates are double the citywide average, median household income is $24,910 (42 percent below the city's median income), 92 percent of high school students qualify for free- and reduced-cost lunch, and about 70 percent of students at the three schools speak English as a second language.

San Diego philanthropist Sol Price believes that reform can be successful only if it is holistic and designed to support families who settle in City Heights and contribute to the neighborhood's growth and development. He donated land to the community development agency and has been personally instrumental in actively leveraging the participation of the city, police department, redevelopment agency, school district, community college district, and state university in this highly effective collaborative effort. Price Charities also provided a six-year $18 million research and development grant. Other grants and contracts total $8 million. The university foundation purchased and remodeled a building called the San Diego State University City Heights Community Center which houses the education pilot and other university services including reading and child psychology clinics, technology labs for parents and community members, classrooms for university courses, ROP facilities, and space for use by the City Heights Initiative. Other building projects include a police station, library, low-cost housing, recreation facilities, and commercial properties including a grocery store and restaurants.

The K-16 Educational Pilot is an integral part of the City Heights holistic approach to urban revitalization, which includes initiatives in safety, housing, community leadership, recreation, and education. The primary objectives are to: significantly improve student achievement, prepare educators, other professionals, and parents to effectively serve inner-city environments, and provide solutions to community problems through an active research agenda.

This partnership also seeks to be a laboratory for achieving comprehensive systemic change. The primary partners in the educational partnership are: Price Charities, one elementary, one middle, and one high school from the San Diego Unified School District, the San Diego Teachers Association, San Diego State University ,and Schools in the Park (a collaborative with the Balboa Park Museums funded by Price Charities).

The participation of the university involves faculty, staff, and administrators from many departments and units. The university has assumed responsibility for administering the three partner schools; the principles report to the partnership's Executive Director, who is a university faculty member. The partnership is designed to create community schools that not only provide for academic needs but also encompass the health and welfare services needed to ensure successful and healthy students and families. The partnership also focuses on professional development and retention of teachers throughout their careers. Pre-service and in-service programs are aligned and offered on site. Master teachers at the three schools serve as adjunct faculty of the university and supervisors for pre-service field placements for education professionals. Parents are partners in all aspects of the schools and community and provide community service in exchange for reduced rent or other services. University faculty members are involved through teaching, grants, and research.

Although it has been in operation only since 1998, impact on student achievement is becoming evident. SAT 9 reading scores have risen at all three schools. The most dramatic increases have been at the elementary level where the percentage of students scoring at the 50th percent or above on the SAT-9 reading test rose from 12.2 percent in 1998 to 21.7 percent in 2000. The proportion of elementary school students who scored at or above the 50th percentile in mathematics increased from 17 percent to 37.7 percent. At the middle school level, the growth was more modest: 16.9 percent of middle school students were scoring at the 50th percentile or above in 1998; by 2000, that proportion rose to 23.2 percent. On the mathematics test, the proportion of middle school students scoring at the 50th percentile or better rose from 17.9 percent to 25.4 percent. The proportion of high school students scoring at the 50th percentile in reading rose slightly from 9.1 percent to 10.9 percent; the proportion of students scoring at the 50th percentile on mathematics rose from 20.4 percent to 25.9 percent. Moreover, over 75 teachers in the three schools earned master's degrees, while 175 teachers completed on-site credential programs. Finally, 90 percent of the teachers were retained, a significantly high rate for urban schools.

Notable Results:

• The schools managed by the university were among the lowest academically performing before the project began. Data indicate substantial gains in reading and math scores on the state standardized testing program, especially at the elementary and middle school levels.
• San Diego almost doubled the percentage of students scoring at or above the 50th percentile on the SAT-9 reading examination (from 12.2% in 1998 to 21.7% in 2000).
• Student attendance data in the participating schools have shown dramatic improvements as well.

Lessons:

• A shared vision of success for all students is important.
• An appropriate organizational model which involves all relevant parties is useful.
• Sustained leadership commitment is important.