SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT CARD Roger Sciarretta Principal 6880 Mohawk Street San Diego, CA 92115 VILLAGE (619) 668-8635

MARCH 1999 CHARTER SCHOOL San Diego City Schools

SCHOOL PROFILE

Harriet Tubman Village School is a or reduced-price lunches; 16 percent charter school. Like public schools, it is speak a language other than English. REPORT CARD MEETING, financed by the same per-pupil funds that Harriet Tubman Village utilizes a cur- traditional public schools receive. The riculum and methodology inspired by Wal- INFORMATION charter school movement brings together dorf Education, an international three powerful ideas: developmentally-based school movement. Date: June 1, 1999 · Choice among public schools for fami- The program coordinates with the Califor- Time: 6:30 p.m. lies and their children. nia State standards where appropriate, and Place: Auditorium provides an interdisciplinary approach in · Entrepreneurial opportunities for educa- which all subjects are woven together into tors and parents to create the kinds of a total child centered curriculum. All public schools in California must pro- schools they believe make the most sense. vide information about themselves to the pub- · Explicit responsibility for improved MISSION AND GOALS lic through a School Accountability Report achievement, as measured by stand- Card. This report card examines Tubman Vil- ardized test and other measures. San Diego City Schools has adopted a lage School policies, programs, and progress. mission statement to guide the district in At a meeting on June 1 at 6:30 p.m. parents providing educational programs. can discuss the report card and ask questions. The mission of San Diego City Additional information about all areas Schools is to improve student covered in this report card is available at achievement by supporting teach- Harriet Tubman Village School. We invite ing and learning in the classroom. parents to come to the school to look at their children’s materials, to meet their chil- San Diego City Schools has created an dren’s teachers, and to expand their in- Institute for Learning to support high per- volvement in their children’s education. formance learning at all school sites. The focus of the Institute is to study learning and instructional practice to improve stu- The mission of Harriet Tubman Vil- dent achievement and enhance teaching. lage School is to provide a program that The Institute for Learning is establishing both nurtures and challenges each stu- a system that commits teachers and ad- dent, providing integration and focus in a ministrators to a common focus on in- diverse, creative educational workplace. struction and learning Goals for our fifth year are: Originally a K–6 school, by parent re- The Institute has established literacy as · Raise achievement of students who are quest, a seventh grade was added in 1997, a focus and will branch out into other cur- performing below grade level followed by an eighth grade in 1998. ricular areas as instructional improvement With efforts towards an improved cur- becomes systemic. The San Diego Literacy · Insure all students read at grade level by riculum and an environment rich in cul- Framework has been developed to outline the end of third grade ture and diversity, the parents and staff and guide a balanced literacy program. The · Improve parent-teacher communication continually work toward improvement framework provides instructional ap- · Develop parent education programs and growth of this exciting educational proaches that will support students in learn- opportunity. ing to read, write, and speak successfully. · Continue to seek educational partner- The Charter School at Harriet Tubman ships with community groups. Village, now in its fifth year of operation, is The Waldorf-inspired program at Tub- located in the College area of San Diego, man demands high academic achievement near La Mesa in a neighborhood of sin- REPORT CARD COMMITTEE and development of good social skills. We gle-family homes, apartments, and small wish to maintain and strengthen basic businesses. Nearly all of Tubman Village Parents and staff contributed in de- skills, while establishing goals within the students are from working class, single-and veloping this report card. faculty to aid students attain the highest two-parent families; 80 percent receive free academic gains in all curriculum areas. STUDENT LEARNING

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL-TO-CAREER TRANSITION trative office staff work diligently to track How are students doing? How are students prepared for the absences. On the day of an absence, par- world of work? ents are called and asked to verify the ab- Our curriculum follows both the Wal- sence. A message is left if there is no dorf-inspired program as well as state The integration of hands-on, practical ac- phone response. Families without tele- standards and guidelines where applica- tivities in all aspects of the school curriculum phones are mailed forms that are to be re- ble. The Tubman program includes grade from Kindergarten through Grade 8 puts Har- turned to school. Every effort is made by specified core subjects, as well as foreign riet Tubman Village students in an excellent our entire staff to ensure that students attend languages, music, art, physical education, position to be prepared for the school-to- school regularly and on time. If a child is hardwork, and gardening. work transition. Children in our upper ele- experiencing attendance problems, our The uniqueness of the program lies not mentary grades learn the difference between School Site Attendance Review Board fol- simply in what is being taught, but in how “work” (necessity of human life) and a “ca- lows up using state-required policies. and when subjects are taught. Each grade reer” (the use of skills and capacities in a pro- has its own course of study that is respon- fession). Guest speakers, working parents, Suspensions and Expulsions sive to the student’s stage of physical, and Tubman supporters visit the school to Suspension emotional, and cognitive development. discuss their work and careers with students. Year Rate* Expulsions San Diego City Schools students in Harriet Tubman Day, our annual celebra- 1994–95 0.0 0 grades 2–11 take the Stanford Achieve- tion in May, focuses on the culmination of the 1995–96 3.4 0 ment Test, Ninth Edition (SAT 9), to school-to-career program and provides an op- 1996–97 0.0 0 measure their academic progress in basic portunity for business and civic professionals 1997–98 0.0 0 skills as part of the state Standardized to share their life experiences with the students. DISCIPLINE AND CLIMATE FOR Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program. Attendance Rates LEARNING Spanish-speaking English learners en- % Absences % Actual Is this school a good place to learn? rolled in a California school less than 12 Year Unexcused Attendance months or enrolled in a California school 1994–95 11.1 91.9 Our disciplinary goal is to hold stu- for more than 12 months and receiving dents responsible for their behavior. All 1995–96 25.6 93.6 language arts instruction in Spanish are students understand and follow our disci- 1996–97 24.4 92.9 also tested on the Spanish Assessment of pline program, the Code of Conduct. 1997–98 28.8 93.9 Basic Education, Second Edition Tubman Village’s Counseling and Guidance (SABE/2), a Spanish Language Achieve- ATTENDANCE/DROPOUTS Center promotes emotional literacy. A full-time ment Test measuring the same skill areas. counselor and university student interns help Last year, the Spanish language Aprenda Do students attend and stay in school? students develop positive self-images. They fo- 2 test was administered to Spanish-speak- Tubman teachers and staff work hard cus on barriers that impact student success. ing English learners. to maintain student attendance. Adminis- The result is increased academic performance. TEACHING QUALITY

TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS frequently than those on most public INSTRUCTIONAL AND Do we have qualified and dedicated schools. An evaluations committee, made LEADERSHIP QUALITY teachers? up of teachers, parents and staff, are How good is it? working to develop a comprehensive We have 15 teachers; 12 have been at evaluations process that includes Waldorf All elementary schools have imple- Tubman Village for three years or more. and district teacher expectations. mented a three-hour literacy block. Students Our teachers have taught an average of spend three hours a day actively engaged in seven years. Eight teachers have master’s SUBSTITUTES literacy activities and lessons that are guided degrees. Every teacher at Harriet Tubman by the San Diego Literacy Framework. Village is properly credentialed to teach Do we have qualified substitutes? To support reading instruction at the at the appropriate grade levels. The district has a pool of substitute middle school level, all sites have been As a charter school, Harriet Tubman Village teachers available for assignment when a allocated one reading teacher. selected its staff from a multi-talented group of classroom teacher is absent. The majority of instructional time is qualified candidates. We strive to have a staff By state law, credentialed teachers focused on literacy, math, social studies, representative of our student population. may substitute at any grade level and in science, and other academic skills. The any subject. We try to place substitute entire curriculum interfaces with specialty TEACHER/ADMINISTRATOR teachers in their area of expertise. subjects during the week such as handwork, EVALUATION We now have our own list of qualified organic gardening, music, Spanish, and PE that are taught by additional teachers. How are teachers and administrators substitute teachers. We have discovered An exceptional teacher/student relation- evaluated? that substitutes who are familiar with our site and our students are more effective. ship is developed as the class teachers move At Harriet Tubman Village, evalu- up the grades with the students. This height- ations are more extensive and occur more ens the teachers knowledge of what each stu-

2 TUBMAN VILLAGE CHARTER School Accountability Report Card SAT 9 Results Pct. Scoring at or above 50th Percentile

Grade Results Pct. Achieving at or above Satisfactory

School Accountability Report Card TUBMAN VILLAGE CHARTER 3 Class Size Distribution, Class Size Distribution, Class Size Distribution, 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1– 16– 21– 26– 31– 36 1– 16– 21– 26– 31– 36 1– 16– 21– 26– 31– 36 Grade Level 15 20 25 30 35 + Grade Level 15 20 25 30 35 + Grade Level 15 20 25 30 35 + K 1 1 K 2 K 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1–2, 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 3 1 3 2 2–3, 3 2 1 3–4 1 3–4 1 4, 4–5 2 4 1 4 1 5 1 5 1 5, 5–6 1 1 6 1 6 1 6 1 Other Comb. 1 1 Other Comb. 1 Other Comb. 1 Special Ed. 1

State Class Size Reduction Teacher Credentialing Data Program Participation Number of Classroom Teachers Percent of Grade K–3 Working Year Students Participating With With Outside 1996–97 100.0* Appropriate Emergency Without Subject Area of Year Total Credential Credential Credential Credential 1997–98 76.4 1996–97 19 NA NA 0 NA * State program included only grades 1 and 2. 1997–98 24 24 0 0 0 1998–99 20 16 4 0 0

4 TUBMAN VILLAGE CHARTER School Accountability Report Card dent needs as the progress yearly. Parents and · A guidance and counseling center with SCHOOL FACILITIES AND SAFETY teachers are also able to work together year a full-time counselor How clean, safe, and orderly is our school? after year enhancing the learning process. · A certificated school nurse, providing Harriet Tubman Village is over 60 services one day a week INSTRUCTIONAL TIME years old and still in need of a face-lift · A full-time health assistant and major repair How much time is there for instruction? · A full-time resource teacher and re- · The school plumbing system is old and All district schools meet or exceed source assistant frequent repairs are needed. state requirements for annual instruc- · A school psychologist · Building stucco needs upgrading and repair. tional minutes. Tubman Village School · will have 38 minimum days this year. Four full-time bus aides · Interior paint is peeling and chipping · Four instructional assistants throughout the school site. Instructional Minutes, · Seven college students workers/seven · Wooden doors are termite-infested and need 1998–99 classroom aides to be replaced with modern metal doors. Annual Instructional · A speech specialist one day a week · Our student population has outgrown Minutes the available instructional space. Addi- · Eight noon-duty assistants Grade State tional classrooms are needed. · Senior volunteers and Rolling Readers Level School Requirement · program. The library is too small to serve our K (a.m.) 38,700 36,000 expanding population. As a result of being a schoolwide Title I pro- K (p.m.) 36,000 36,000 · gram, we receive funds allowing us to expand The school does not have supply room as 1–8 58,010 54,000 our supportive services and educational program required by district architectural standards. TRAINING AND CURRICULUM · The AC power system needs to be up- IMPROVEMENT TEXTBOOKS AND graded to accommodate modern tech- nological advances. What are we doing to improve staff? INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS How does the school use textbooks · Data line installation is needed for site Our school administrators attend monthly intra network communications. instructional conferences to receive training on and other instructional materials? · specific areas of the San Diego Literacy The district adopts textbooks and instruc- Double-hung wooden encasement win- Framework. They use the information learned tional materials each year based on a six- to dows have outlived their useful lives. Many to help guide staff development for teachers at eight-year cycle implemented by the state. district sites were upgraded with metal Tubman. Teachers are provided opportunities This year teachers and students in elementary encasement windows several years ago. to study and improve instructional practice schools will use newly adopted textbooks and · Unsafe playground equipment needs to through grade level/department meetings, visi- materials in language arts and art. This year be replaced. Other playground equip- tations to other classrooms to observe instruc- teachers and students in middle level schools ment needs to be upgraded. tion, participation in study groups, and direct are reviewing language arts materials for im- Fire drills take place monthly and training on specific instructional strategies. plementation in the 1999–2000 school year. earthquake drills twice a year. We provide Middle school English and Reading Tubman does not rely solely upon district adult supervision before school, at recess, teachers have received extensive training textbooks but uses them as one of many re- and at the end of the day. in reading instruction. sources to augment our Waldorf-inspired cur- A great deal of work has been done Child development theory, classroom riculum. In addition, Tubman has purchased over the summer and during the school management and artistic practice are pre- extensive classroom libraries of reading, year to make Tubman a safer and more sented by experienced Waldorf teachers. writing, and literature. Our library is espe- comfortable site. Our grounds are clean Teachers and staff study new ways to assess cially proud of its multicultural selections. and well maintained. There have been no- students, multicultural education, and ways to All students go regularly to the school table improvements to the playground, involve parents in their children’s education. library. The library sponsors a reading club roof, and garden fencing. The addition of two Tubman staff also attend districtwide for students and parents. Our library is playground structures with approved safety workshops, conferences, and in-service train- stocked with books that address the needs mats now serve our students. All play areas ing aimed at improving teaching and learning of our multicultural student population. are supervised by adults and the grounds are in the classroom. For the last two years, eight This year we have had the opportunity kept remarkably clean of debris. Monthly fire staff development days have been held. This to update our library media collections and earthquake preparedness drills support year ten staff development days allowed through use of state funds specifically our safety readiness program. teachers to enhance Waldorf-inspired cur- designated for library materials. We have riculum incorporating district standards. been able to renew our library collection CLASS SIZE with current, accurate, appealing, and COUNSELING AND SUPPORT challenging materials to meet the curricu- Are classes too large? SERVICES lum and literacy needs of our students. Tubman Elementary’s class sizes for Harriet Tubman Village is proud of our What is the current profile of the last three years and its participation in computer lab, paid for out of state block Tubman Village support services? the state’s Class Size Reduction Program grant funds. Our goal is to have all children are shown on page 4. Class sizes in Harriet Tubman Village has: computer literate by the eighth grade. grades 1–3 have decreased significantly

School Accountability Report Card TUBMAN VILLAGE CHARTER 5 over the last three years due to district and grades 1–3 the average class size has been work with adults. Our efforts to restruc- state initiatives. We can do a better job in reduced to 20 students. ture include looking for other ways to teaching our students with smaller class- In addition, our 11 instructional and provide smaller classes for our pupils in room enrollments. In kindergarten and other aides offer students more chances to the higher grades. INTEGRATION AND DIVERSITY

RACE AND HUMAN RELATIONS phere of inclusion and celebration of our tinue to in the district’s race/human rela- Do students get along with each other? cultural differences. Harriet Tubman tions workshops. Day, a celebration of African-American To improve contacts among students, The Waldorf-inspired curriculum of History Month, and Día de los Muertos, staff and parents, we have staff who Tubman Village teaches the children to , , and the speak Spanish. When possible Harriet respect one another and the world of na- Festival are just a few of the Tubman Village provides interpreters at ture. This can be seen in the social life of events celebrated to focus attention on parent meetings to encourage all parents the students at school. The integration of our diverse population. There has been to attend and translates flyers and impor- lessons at Tubman, and use of the arts in virtually no incidents of violence or racial tant information sent home with students these lessons, work to create an atmos- conflict on campus and the teachers con- in English and Spanish. SHARED DECISION-MAKING

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT tion projects are held regularly at the with the school to assist in the creation of a larger Does Tubman Village welcome school site. Transportation is provided school community to serve the needs of the stu- parent and community involvement? for many of these activities. Both our dents. At present we have partnerships with governance council and Parent Advisory Leonardos Restaurant, Ralphs Grocery Stores, Tubman faces the challenge of educating Council (PAC) memberships are diverse A.D. Stratton, Kinkos, Papa John’s Pizza, and a student population that lives many miles and represent our population. PAC and Tom Dove. from the school site. Approximately 60 per- governance council meetings are held The neighborhood community has em- cent of our students are bused in daily. This monthly and attendance has improved. braced Tubman Village and often volun- creates some difficulty for our parent com- Tubman is represented at monthly district teers with the staff to provide direct munity as many have transportation prob- advisory council (DAC) meetings. instruction in the classroom. lems. We have resolved to meet these We have expanded our connection with the To become involved in any of the ac- obstacles head on. Parent education classes, district’s Partnership in Education program. tivities, parents are invited to call the of- open house evenings, and school beautifica- Local business have become active partners fice at 668-8635 during school hours. FINANCES

EXPENDITURES AND SERVICES OFFERED How and on what is our money spent? The adjoining budget chart shows the ma- School Budget, 1997–98 Salary and Budget Data, jor areas of district funding for Tubman Ele- Dollars per Pupil* Teachers and Administrators, mentary and other district schools. It includes Atypical 1996–97 all monies budgeted from the general fund Budget Category School Avg. Unified San except those for transportation, maintenance General Operations 3,379 3,683 Districts Diego and operations, and district administration. (20,000+ (129,504 Special Education 351 214 Each school receives an instructional ADA) ADA) Integration 0 334 budget based on enrollment and programs Position Annual Salary ($) and on formulas which are set by Board of Gifted and Talented 0 20 Beginning Teacher 28,707 27,641 Education policy, state law, agreements Special Projects 325 194 with employee bargaining units, and guide- Total 4,055 4,444 Midrange Teacher 44,725 42,002 lines of outside funding agencies. General Operations—services, materials, and Highest Teacher 53,449 55,877 support to the general education program School Principal Avg. 71,817 76,338 In addition we receive funding through the Special Education—programs offering stu- following programs: Title I, School Improve- dents with special needs appropriate, individual- Superintendent 122,416 170,000 ment Program, and Bilingual Education. This ized education Pct. of Pct. of Integration—the district’s voluntary integration † † year approximately 47 percent of our budget effort to counter the racial/ethnic isolation of pupils Salary Category Budget Budget is spent on teacher’s salaries and seven per- Gifted and Talented—specialized learning as- sistance for students with great ability, achieve- Administrative 4.9 3.9 cent on administration. We spend about five ment, or potential Teacher 43.3 41.3 percent more on teachers’ salaries than the Special Projects—monies from agencies (e.g., † district average because of the wide range of federal, state) earmarked for specific services Percentage of general fund expenditures. Does * Based on total student enrollment. not include benefits. special subjects offered. These include gar- dening, handwork, Spanish, and music.

6 TUBMAN VILLAGE CHARTER School Accountability Report Card