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CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY

Spring 2009

www.charterschoolstoday.com

THEVALEXANDER Chula ista Learning COMPANY, INC School Community Charter Reusing and Revitilizing Addressing Real-World Issues

THE MAG A ZINE FOR CH ARTER SCHOOL EX ECU TIVES

Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School Currently, he is teaching methods courses for new teachers at San Diego State University.

Dr. Ramirez’s team also includes the school’s instructional focus specialist and the instructional leadership team which is made up of teacher representatives. The Chula Vista Elementary School District helps drive the school’s educational challenges and goals it puts forth.

Addressing RealWorld Issues Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jacqueline Bodnar In 1998, the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School (CVLCC) opened its doors in southern San Diego County, California. The school has an important mission: to take on real-world issues and teach students concepts they can apply to their world and use throughout lives. Thus far, it has been successful at achieving this important objective.

The school has accomplished this goal through a variety of educational tools that have helped to create a unique learning environment for the elementary students. The success of the school’s approach can be measured by its growth in popularity.

When the school originally opened its doors, it had 190 students; today it has 588. CVLCC students are exposed to a unique learning environment and a dedicated team of professionals ready to assist them on their journey.

The CVLCC Team Leading the educational team at CVLCC is Dr. Jorge Ramirez, the school’s principal, who has been with the school since 1998 and in education for the past 17 years, mainly in the role of principal. Over the years, Dr. Ramirez has also taught in both public and private schools, as a bilingual Spanish teacher.

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US Executive Journal Summer Edition 2008 Charter Schools Today Spring Edition 2009

Leading a team of 55 teachers and personnel, Dr. Ramirez has helped establish the school’s vision and set the pace for how to get there. Making the implementation of teacher qualityimprovement measures a high priority, the school now operates several programs that benefit both the students and the teachers.

One of the most unique aspects of CVLCC’s learning approach involved their Dual Language program. The 50/50 model utilizes Spanish and English with the purpose of eliminating the achievement gap that adversely affects minority students.

The school uses research-based strategies to ensure that this is an effective method to reach both English- and Spanish-speaking students as a way to impact social and educational change.

Through this program, the school also promotes the development of bilingual and multicultural competencies and supports Spanish and English instruction as a second language for relevant students.

CVLCC also utilizes the services of the Developmental Studies Center which provides coaching for teachers and arms them with tools that increase the reading comprehension of their students. The process took two years, and helped teachers develop effective strategies that improve literacy and strengthen students’ personal responsibility for their education.

“There is a lot of reflection involved with this program,” says Ramirez. “Teachers have a lot of opportunity to reflect.”

Teachers also benefited from training provided by Targeted Leadership Consulting. This five-year process helped CVLCC to establish a uniform instructional focus throughout the school. They did this by analyzing student data to identify areas of concern, and then created a plan to address those areas.

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“We found out through our data that, in the area of reading, our kids were not achieving,” says Ramirez. “They helped us identify the skills that were needed, and we used strategies that worked.”

The school is also very transparent when it comes to teacher observation.

Ramirez is part of a process known as an instructional walk-through, where they pick a day after the planning and development has been completed and walk around campus, observing teachers in action, taking note of who is doing well, and where improvements may be needed.

Inside the School Unique to CVLCC is the fact that students are taught half the day in English and the other half in Spanish.

This is designed to enhance students’ cognitive development and increase their chances of academic success. Learning is focused on core curriculum courses, with an emphasis placed on character development. Additionally, students have access to computer labs, where they learn the various parts of a computer and how they operate. Students are also introduced to the library and throughout their elementary years, they learn how to locate, check out, and recognize materials that may be of interest to them.

One of the most innovative routes for reaching the students and giving them skills they can carry with them for many years is referred to as a MicroSociety®.

In creating a MicroSociety within the school, students take an active role in creating their own small city. They participate in everything from naming it to having a job. The experience even includes the students forming their own

government and currency, and learning about money. Through spending 45 minutes each day in the society they helped create, they work, contribute, and even make purchases, thus learning skills that can be carried with them and used beyond the walls of the school.

“When the school was established, we wanted to create an educational society that would challenge students,” adds Ramirez. “This gives students the opportunity to create their own society.

It gives them the ability to experience leadership in a variety of ways.”

Like many charter schools, students at CVLCC do follow a closely enforced dress code; however, the school rewards the students by allowing them free-dress days on their birthday, as well as on other special reward days.

A Collaborative Effort Like most schools, CVLCC recognizes the importance of parental involvement when it comes to student success and higher achievement. Because of this, the school encourages parents to get involved, and also has a parental volunteer requirement of 30 hours each year. Throughout the school district, CLVCC has been highly recognized for its parental involvement.

Those hours can be completed in a variety of ways, including attending parent activity nights and parent/teacher conferences, volunteering, supporting enrichment programs, and becoming a member of a school committee. The school also offers a variety of parent training programs that cover various parenting topics.

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Students are expected to maintain good classroom behavior and to respect their teachers and classmates. When discipline issues become a concern, depending on the severity of the misconduct, students have conferences with parents, teachers, and the principal.

Going Forward During the schools’ planning and inception its collaborators referred to CVLCC it as the “Dream School.” They envisaged a place where students would acquire tools and skills that would be applicable in the real world. Today, the creators have achieved this, and they have set still more ambitious goals for the future of the school.

“Five years from now, we see ourselves serving as a model for the state, the nation, and the world,” said Ramirez.

“Five years from now, we see ourselves serving as a model for the state, the nation, and the world.” ~ Dr. Jorge Ramirez.

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Charter Schools Today

Spring Edition 2009

SCHOOL AT A GLANCE Established : 1998 Staff : 58 Students: 588 Leading the School: Dr. Jorge Ramirez

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Spring Edition 2009

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CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY

Spring 2008

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Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School 590 K Street Chula Vista, CA 91911 United States