The Proposal

Here is a copy of the Proposal that Dr. Aleman (the Area 5 Superintendent) approved:

The Harborside Program at Washington Elementary

* This is what the San Diego Area Superintendent has proposed: picking up our school (our teachers, our students, our programs, our academics, our culture) and dropping it down on the campus of Washington Elementary as a unique program that co-exists with the original Washington, but that operates separately, sharing the one large campus.

* Enrollment in this program will not be automatic for the neighborhood children. Our children would take the first spots. After that, enrollment is open to San Diego students as a “choice,” but there will be some sort of admissions process that assures that the participants in the program fully understand the culture, the educational philosophies and are suited for this type of learning situation.

* The campus of Washington Elementary is located in Little Italy, ten blocks from our current campus. It is big and clean and bright. The classrooms are all quite large; there is a library, there are computers for every child, there are several playgrounds, there is a large black top PE area AND a large field. There is an assembly hall / theater, there is a hot lunch program. The students that attend Washington Elementary adhere to a uniform dress code (not that different from our own) they appear engaged and well-behaved. The teachers and staff of Washington were exceedingly welcoming.

* The District is completely confident that we can breakthrough the red tape and make this happen NOW. That means that we can have these preliminary decisions made next week and that the school will be up and running as The Harborside Program this Fall (07) for our kids to resume school as normal in September.

* The School District understands that much of the biggest successes have been the charters and magnets, many of which operate outside of the parameters of "traditional" public school formats and directives. They new thinkers of the district, including both our Area Superintendent and the head Superintendent, see a future for San Diego schools that includes many different options and styles of schools. We have an opportunity to be one of those options— retaining the teaching methods and academics that we already thrive in — while picking up resources from the district. It is a new concept but has many things in common with magnet programs and even some of the charters. And here we have the opportunity to be at the genesis of such a unique school.

BUT if for some reason it doesn't work, the office of enrollment options has ceded that they will move us to top of our list of choice schools in the district of San Diego.

* And of course as a public school, it's free. And yet, because the district will be paying our teachers, they will now receive more money and better benefits. And while many of our teachers are not fully credentialed or are missing certain tests to teach in the public system, the District is willing to work with those teachers and give them temporary status while they complete the necessary tests / classes.

* Any moneys that we as parents wish to donate and / or raise will go into a Foundation that we as a school can spend for even more resources and programs. (Some of which we could use to help get our teachers fully credentialed.) Remember this— it will be much easier to get community involvement and raise funds as a public school than it was a private institution. In fact, the CCDC (Center City Development Corp.) has already earmarked money for Washington Elementary, money which we would benefit from as a program on that campus.

* The Superintendent has said that he intends on keeping the program as-is, which means that class sizes will be capped at whatever we as a school deem appropriate (Dr. Aleman casually mentioned 15) and that our resource teachers, such as our fantastic Art and Spanish instructors, would also be brought over, if they so choose.

* Currently the school operates as a K-5 however they want to bring over our whole structure, K-8, provided we have the teacher and student support. In addition they believe they can also bring over the preschool — the facilities are already there for a preschool of our size — which would continue to serve as a feeder into the K-8 program.

* You can tour Washington Elementary at any time, although there will be some specific times set up for Harborside parents in the next week.

* The next step is for the District to secure the teachers, which they are currently working towards. From there it is up to us, the parents, to come aboard. If the District feels they have enough numbers — and of course they are realistic know these will not be full classes — then they will make it official and over the summer, the school will essentially be moved over to the new campus.