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Carlsbad School Board Considers Magnet School Option

Posted on: Thursday, 19 January 2006, 21:00 CST

By Philip K. Ireland, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.

Jan. 19--CARLSBAD -- Seeking an answer to Carlsbad Unified School District's uneven enrollment among elementary schools, administrators presented a respected academic program to board members Wednesday as a way to draw students and parents from overcrowded schools to the underpopulated Jefferson Elementary School.

The district is exploring the International Baccalaureate program ---- an internationally respected educational program offering a global perspective and second-language instruction in Spanish.

District officials believe the program's rigorous approach to teaching the California standards through universal human themes such as "Who We Are" and "How the World Works" offers great promise for getting parents to leave their neighborhood schools for the Jefferson-based program. The program would serve students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The board expressed qualified support for the program, instructing administrators to continue their exploration and to return with answers to such key concerns as how many students would transfer and from which schools.

Trustee Mark S. Tanner urged Suzanne O'Connell, the district's assistant superintendent of instruction, to identify the goals by which the success of the program would be judged.

If the goal is to move students from overcrowded schools to schools that have room, Tanner reasoned, then success can be measured by setting a number.

O'Connell said that if 100 students moved in the first year, she would consider the program a success.

Roach told the board that he would set goals that increase each year. In Carlsbad, he said, the program would grow each year by word of mouth, as parents gathered in school parking lots and pool decks and bleachers to chat.

Trustee Elisa Williamson suggested a survey targeting those overcrowded schools ---- Calavera Hills, Pacific Rim and Aviara Oaks elementary schools ---- to measure parent willingness to move, for the right program.

The biggest challenge, O'Connell told the board, is getting parents to commit to the move without a clear understanding of the program and how it will look in the classroom day after day.

"The marketing is the next piece," O'Connell said. "We need to put together a plan to help parents see it."

Parent Rosie Marks told the board she supported the International Baccalaureate program and offered to promote it at Jefferson. Marks suggested a series of presentations on the program at Jefferson, inviting parents from the overcrowded schools to see the school, which underwent a $7.3 million modernization in 2000.

Jefferson was built for 850, although only about 500 students currently attend there. About three of four students there are Latino. Several of the 23 teachers who work at Jefferson came in support of the program.

Jefferson Elementary is west of Interstate 5 at the Tamarack Avenue exit.

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Copyright (c) 2006, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.

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Source: North County Times

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