Collaborative effort makes teachers feel appreciated

During a typical morning at Monroe Clark Middle School, students participate in programs not typically found at inner-city schools.

The school band revs up noisily and then breaks into small groups for instruction on specific instruments. A class of 10 students in the library receives special help in literacy and writing, followed by one-on-one tutoring from college students. Physical education classes get under way on beautifully maintained playing fields. And volunteers show up for workshops in the school's parent center.

Although the school is located in San Diego's City Heights area, an "economically challenged" neighborhood where more than 30 languages are spoken, there is nothing impoverished about its offerings - nor those at nearby Rosa Parks Elementary School and Hoover High School.

In an age when the "extras" are being cut mercilessly at other schools, SDEA members at the three sites feel fortunate to have the benefit of electives, state-of-the-art facilities, technology and resources.

They owe it to the City Heights K-16 Educational Collaborative, a partnership between Price Charities foundation and the San Diego Unified School District, San Diego State University (SDSU) and the San Diego Education Association (SDEA). Resources are funneled through the San Diego State University Foundation, says Ian Pumpian, the collaborative's executive director.

Before the collaborative began, City Heights schools were characterized by low academic achievement, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate resources and high faculty turnover. But Price Club founders Sol Price and Robert Price saw possibilities where others saw only problems. The family's philanthropic fund committed $18 million to raising academic achievement, implementing new teacher-training methods and improving community involvement at the school sites.

During the planning phase, members of the Price family and collaborative organizers listened to teachers' suggestions and incorporated many of their ideas into the program. The experiment in teaching and learning offers proof that when foundations collaborate with teachers on how grant money can best be spent, amazing things can happen.

"On every measure, it's clear that academic performance is improving," says Pumpian. "Over the past five years, the three schools have had the third-highest growth rate of API scores in the district."

Among the things teachers suggested was infusing the curriculum with the arts, making sure that students don't fall between the cracks and offering high-quality professional development.

In response, the collaborative has put in place an arts team that's devoted to integrating the arts into the curriculum at all three schools. The team decided, for example, to start a marching band at the high school, now the third largest band in San Diego, and to provide extra funding for the middle school band.

"We have the money to go to music festivals and buy concert uniforms - 40 dresses and 40 tuxedos," says middle school band teacher Jackie Crump-Pace. "Teachers and students appreciate the fact that the school operates on the belief that the arts make children well-rounded."

A school-in-the-park program has been established in grades 3-5, allowing students to spend six weeks studying art, science and natural history in Balboa Park's museums.

As for making sure no student falls through the cracks, there's a new emphasis on class size reduction. At the middle school, it's paying off for the 10 students in the literacy class that meets in the library. "They get concentrated attention they would not get in a room with 30 other kids," says teacher Keith Freeman. "And they are not afraid to speak out in class."

Parent Centers at each school conduct workshops on topics ranging from nutrition and anger management to getting into college. Through an interpreter, Maria Rodriguez says the center has helped her learn new skills and find ways to improve her three children's academic performance.

The Synergy Program and an extended-day center offer tutoring and after-school activities for 1,000 middle school and high school students a week.

Each day, a health clinic at the high school treats about 100 students who have nowhere else to go for treatment.

The collaborative is also placing an emphasis on fully stocking libraries with new books to encourage students' love of reading and providing state-of-the-art computers. The elementary school library has a technology network specialist on site who coordinates operating systems and applications on more than 500 computers.

A major emphasis for the collaborative is providing high-quality professional development for teachers. San Diego State is offering a free master's program for collaborative teachers. "They bring the classes to us here on campus, and the courses are designed to meet our year-round schedule," says Mary Flood, a Rosa Parks teacher who serves on the Integrated Arts Team. "It's great for teachers."

Two cohorts have already graduated and a third is getting underway. In addition, there's a program for teachers who want to get their National Board Certification.

Each of the schools includes a professional development center where student-teachers from SDSU work alongside SDEA members. University students devote more than 50,000 hours annually to coursework, fieldwork and research on collaborative-related projects. Each semester, more than 100 SDSU students serve as tutors at the three sites. University faculty members contribute to curriculum and program design, mentoring activities and other school programs.

The Price Scholars program provides scholarships for Hoover grads who want to attend SDSU and work in the collaborative schools.

Because experimentation is encouraged, the schools are continually evolving. New "learning communities" of teachers have been formed to develop teacher-driven professional development.

"Teachers have support in materials, books, programs and computer technology," says Ramon Espinal, a first-grade teacher at Rosa Parks Elementary. "Leadership is very hands-on and trustful of the teachers."

Instead of feeling oppressed by a top-down administration, collaborative teachers say they feel empowered, valued and appreciated.

Collaborative schools are exempt from the San Diego Union School District's Blueprint for teaching and learning.

"We appreciate being semi-independent from the district," says Espinal. "We also don't have to go to all those mindless staff development and training sessions."

Since the project began, the three schools have averaged a 95 percent teacher retention rate.

"I won't leave here until I retire," says Connie Gearhart, a special education teacher who's working with students in an after-school homework program at Monroe Clark . "Teachers don't leave here because they feel that, in this environment, they can do what's best for the kids."

"We are a model for what should be happening in the district to increase academic achievement for all children," adds Espinal. "We have created conditions for teachers in which they can do what they are supposed to do. We feel very lucky - like an oasis in the middle of the Sahara."