Preuss School

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The Preuss School UCSD
Address
9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California 92093
Information
School district	San Diego Unified School District
Principal	Scott Barton
Enrollment	752 students[1] (2007)
Faculty	43 full-time
School type	Charter secondary[1]
Grades	6–12[1]
Language	English
Campus	Urban
Mascot	The Triton
Color(s)	Blue and gold ██
Founded	1999
Homepage	http://preuss.ucsd.edu/index.html

The Preuss School (commonly Preuss (IPA:/pɻoːyːs/), Preuss School UCSD, or Preuss Model School) is a coeducational college-preparatory charter day school established in 1999 on the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus in La Jolla, California, United States. The school was named in recognition of a gift from the Preuss Family Foundation and is chartered under the San Diego Unified School District.^[2]

Preuss uses an intensive college preparatory curriculum to educate low-income students between sixth and twelfth grades,^[3] hoping to improve their historical under-representation on the campuses of the University of California.^[4] Criteria for admission include that the student's primary guardian lacks a college education and that the student's family qualifies for federal free- or reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Act.^[5]

The school, which charges no tuition, has received a seven-year accreditation from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, has been evaluated as a California Distinguished School,^[6] has been named by The Center of Educational Reform as one of the top 53 charter schools in America,^[7] and in 2007 was listed among the top 10 American high schools by Newsweek and US News and World Report.^[1][5] Preuss sends a high percentage of its graduates to four-year universities.^[3]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Controversies 2 Facilities 3 Academics 3.1 Schedule 3.2 Graduation requirements 3.3 Faculty 4 Student life 4.1 Athletics 4.2 Clubs 4.3 Events 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] History

A group of faculty members at the University of California San Diego first conceived the idea of establishing a college-preparatory school for minority groups after California Proposition 209, a state measure that banned the use of affirmative action, passed in 1996. It was their belief, as expressed by Cecil Lytle, provost of Thurgood Marshall College, that public universities were not active enough in creating educational opportunities for the state's most disadvantaged youth.^[8] Faculty members Hugh "Bud" Mehan and Peter Gourevitch proposed establishing a college-preparatory school that would admit only low-income youths with the potential of becoming first-generation college students. In 1997, the proposal was sent to the regents of the University of California for approval. The regents, citing a need for private funding and strong oversight, rejected the proposal.^[9]

UC regent Peter Preuss provided a gift of $5 million through the Preuss Family Foundation, and the project was revamped.^[10] In the new proposal, the project was to be mostly privately funded and was to have an oversight agency known as the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Access, and Teaching Excellence (CREATE).^[9] CREATE would be responsible for maintaining Preuss as an example for other institutions of public education. In addition, it would coordinate efforts between the university and Preuss, including using the school for research on educational equality and for extending this research to other neighborhood schools.^[9] This second proposal was brought to the regents and, assisted by public outcry against the university and positive press for the school from the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sacramento Bee, and LA Times,^[9] it was approved.

Doris Alvarez, 1997 National Principal of the Year, was selected to head the project.^[3] Alvarez in turn selected Janis Gabay, 1990 National Teacher of the Year, to head the faculty.^[11] After funding was obtained in 1998, the school began accepting applications. By May 1999, the school had received more than 500 applications for the charter class. About 300 of these were deemed acceptable by the admissions board, and 150 of them were then chosen by lottery. The group included about 50 students in each of three grades—sixth, seventh, and eighth—and the school continued to add a new sixth-grade class each fall until the intended total enrollment of 800 was reached.

As the school became established, it influenced other schools. Gompers Middle School, also founded by Cecil Lytle, was modeled after Preuss and took advice from CREATE.^[12] Southeastern San Diego-based Lincoln High also used Preuss as a guide, and the University of California, Davis, (UC Davis) and the University of California, Berkeley, (UC Berkeley) studied it while designing their own high schools for disadvantaged youth.^[6]

[edit] Controversies

In its history, Preuss has been the subject of two controversies. The first arose in March 2005 when a study, released by UCSD through CREATE, concluded that students who applied to the charter school but lost out in the subsequent lottery did as well in standardized testing as students who won in the lottery and were accepted. This led to speculation that Preuss was a boutique charter school that attracted highly motivated students while leaving less-motivated students to the mainstream public schools. It also led to the criticism that the school's practices were no more progressive than any other public school.^[13] The study found, however, that the number of college preparatory (A–G) courses and advanced placement (AP) classes taken by Preuss students was higher than the number taken by their peers who lost in the lottery.^[14]

The second, more publicized controversy, arising in the fall of 2007, involved accusations of grade tampering. The accusations, whose source was past faculty and included a former teacher who filed a legal claim against the school,^[15][16] alleged that the school sometimes changed Fs to passing grades.^[15] Some past teachers also said that they felt overwhelming pressure to give good grades while teaching at the school.^[6] UCSD's office of audit and management advisory services was assigned to investigate the accusations,^[17] and the school's principal, Doris Alvarez, and academic adviser Phil Ensberg were placed on leave.^[18] The report, released in December, found that 76 percent of the 190 transcripts reviewed contained grading inaccuracies and that a majority of these changes had a positive effect on the student's transcript.^[19][20] After the audit and what she said was pressure from the university,^[21] Alvarez resigned as principal of Preuss but denied any role in changing grades. She was expected to remain at UCSD as an advisor until retirement on June 30, 2008.^[22][23] Scott Barton was named acting principal for the remainder of the academic year.^[22] The audit was later challenged by a group of UCSD professors who questioned its statistical analysis and the method by which its testimonial evidence was gathered.^[24][25] The Association of California School Administrators also voiced concerns about the audit and said that the auditors did not appear to understand the role of the principal or the goals of the school.^[26] Later UCSD Vice Chancellor Paul Drake said on National Public Radio (NPR) that in the audit "they were never able to exactly prove who had done what or why".^[27]

[edit] Facilities

From the beginning, finding a place for Preuss was a concern. It was quickly decided that it would be best for the school to be on the UCSD campus to allow students a look at university life.^[28] However, finding a suitable location proved difficult because all the land on campus was already in use. For the first year of its existence, the school was housed on the campus of the Thurgood Marshall College, in a building called "La Casa", surrounded by eucalyptus trees and within walking distance of UCSD's main library, Geisel Library.^[29]

In August 2000, Preuss moved to its own new campus at the northeast corner of the UCSD campus.^[30] The campus cost about $14 million, all of which came from community donors and organizations.^[30] The campus has five buildings for classrooms; each building has six classrooms, three on the first story and three on the second. The one exception to this is the science building, which requires more room for labs and hence has four rooms in its building. The campus includes an office area; a gymnasium used for physical education, music, and choirs; an outdoor cafeteria; a library that includes a media and resource center; and a lacrosse and soccer facility. The front of the school includes a loading and unloading dock for the school buses. While an open campus for its initial years, by the 2006 school year the Preuss campus was fenced around the perimeter. During the 2007 school year, a side field formerly used for athletics was paved over and converted to two additional bungalow buildings intended to be used for music and the arts.

[edit] Academics

A goal of Preuss is to have every student accepted to a college or university. The school shapes its curriculum around college entrance requirements, especially those of the University of California.^[31]

Every Preuss student studies Spanish or Japanese for at least three years, with an option for as many as five. Each student takes math courses for seven years. On the Preuss campus, students study basic algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus for two years and later take more advanced courses on the UCSD campus, which they travel to via shuttle. Required science classes include Earth sciences, physics, biology, and chemistry. Required history classes cover Western civilization, as well as U.S. history, European history, and government and politics at the advanced placement (AP) level. English and physical education are also included in the required core curriculum.^[32]

Through all seven years at Preuss, students are required to take an advisory course known as university prep. In addition to this and other required courses, during sixth, seventh, and eighth grades each student chooses one elective course per semester. In ninth and tenth grades students take a year-long elective, while in eleventh and twelfth they choose two year-long electives. Electives have included robotics, engineering, drama, student's union (known as Associated Student Body or ASB), journalism, publications, music, music technology, and public speaking. In 12th grade, each student completes a senior internship, usually on the UCSD campus.

Preuss also has a policy on advanced placement (AP) courses. Students are required to take AP classes while in high school at Preuss, and most take their first such class in their freshmen year. This requirement is meant to improve the students' chances for college admission and to reduce the number of college courses these low-income students might later have to take and pay for. By graduation, Preuss students will have taken at least six AP courses.^[5] Inclusion of AP courses in the Preuss curriculum assisted greatly in the school's ranking of ninth on Newsweek's list of top high schools in America in 2007. Its ranking was unusually high for a school new to the list.^[5]

Preuss had the highest "academic performance index" in San Diego County as of 2005.^[30] Its students' results in the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, the California Standards Test (CST), and the University of California college preparatory (A–G) requirements were higher than those of other schools with similar student populations.^[33] These results led San Diego Magazine to name Preuss one of the city's great schools.^[34]

Preuss students have been getting into college. In 2005, of the school's 75 graduates, 91 percent were accepted to a four-year college or university, and 9 percent were accepted to community college.^[35] The class of 2007 surpassed these numbers when 96 percent of its members gained admission to four-year universities.^[23]

[edit] Schedule

Preuss uses a different schedule from most schools to make room for all the courses offered. Both the school year and school day are longer than normal. The school year is 198 days (compared with 180 days for traditional schools),^[36] and the school day is 396 minutes (compared with an average of 360 minutes for traditional schools).^[36] Preuss uses a block schedule that calls for four classes to meet on Monday and Wednesday ("A" day) and the other four to meet on Tuesday and Thursday ("B" day). Fridays rotate between the two "A" and "B" days. During its early years, Preuss ran on a trimester system to match that of UCSD. In 2006, the school switched to a semester system.^[20]

[edit] Graduation requirements

Every Preuss student who hopes to graduate must complete at least 10 volunteer hours each year and a total of 65 by the end of senior year.^[37] Parents are expected to volunteer at the school for at least 15 hours a year, although this requirement is not enforced. Each student must complete an annual science-fair project that leads to a research project and presentation in the student's senior year.^[37]

[edit] Faculty

The tasks of the faculty members at Preuss extend beyond teaching. On Fridays, the teachers meet for two hours to discuss staff development, trends in education, and student work, and each teacher creates an annual portfolio to present to the rest of the faculty at the end of the year.^[37] Preuss signs one-year contracts with its faculty members and does not grant tenure.

[edit] Student life

[edit] Athletics

Preuss requires physical education through the tenth grade. At this point, students may chose to opt out and take another elective or try out for one of Preuss' five athletic teams. All Preuss teams compete in Division IV of the San Diego section of the California Interscholastic Federation. Offered sports include cross country running, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse for boys and girls, as well as volleyball for girls only. Most Preuss teams are non-league and have yet to develop rivalries with other schools. Preuss has yet to win a section title game, although it appeared in one in boys' soccer in 2006–07. The game resulted in a 5–1 loss to repeat champion Francis Parker.^[38]

[edit] Clubs

A majority of Preuss clubs and organizations meet after school until 5:30 p.m., when the late-activity buses take up to 256 students home.^[39] A large number of the clubs are science-related. Robotics is popular on the Preuss' campus, which has teams that compete in robotics-related events sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), as well as teams that compete in botball games played by robots they have built.^[40][41]

School clubs include Science Olympiad; Oceanography Club; and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and the Black Chemical Engineers Club which focus on practicing for Quiz Bowl-like events. Other science-related clubs include a medical engineering club, the students well-being advocacy program (SWAP), and an organ donation club which promotes the process to students.

Preuss encourages outreach and service clubs such as the Rotary-sponsored Interact, an organization similar to Key Club that helps involve students in community-service events. Others include the Preuss chapter of the National Honor Society, an ecology club that runs the school's recycling program, and a student-to-student mentorship program.

Other clubs on campus include a chess club, an urban dance league, and an arts collective. Preuss also has a choir that offers two concerts annually and has performed in other school events such as the "La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Stars in Their Eyes" concert. A tennis club has also been formed.

[edit] Events

The Preuss middle school and its high school each hold three dances per year. Two of the high school dances are the ASB Ball and the Prom. The students' union (ASB) also sponsors a school-spirit week, a talent show, a sports day, and a Shakespeare festival. Classic Cars for Classic Kids, an annual fundraiser featuring vintage cars and student exhibits, is held to raise the large sums, $375,000 in 2004, that the school needs to lease school buses.^[42][43]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Primary and secondary schools in San Diego, California

[edit] External links

• Preuss School Website
• FIRST Robotics Team 812

• Preuss School is at coordinates 32°52′48″N 117°13′06″W / 32.88011, -117.21838 (Preuss School)Coordinates: 32°52′48″N 117°13′06″W / 32.88011, -117.21838 (Preuss School)