Preuss School

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.[13] Faculty members Hugh 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 concerns over fiscal responsibility and oversight, rejected the proposal.[3][14]

Following the Regents vote, Lytle, Mehan, and Gourevitch, made changes to their plan.[3] 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).[14] 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.[14] 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, The Sacramento Bee, and the Los Angeles Times, it was approved.[14]

Doris Alvarez, 1997 National Principal of the Year, was selected to head the project.[4] Alvarez in turn selected Janis Gabay, 1990 National Teacher of the Year, to head the faculty.[15] After funding was obtained in 1998, the school began accepting applications.[3] By May 1999, the school had received more than 500 applications for the initial classes. 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.[14]

As Preuss has aged and garnered attention, it has influenced other schools. Gompers Middle School, also founded by Cecil Lytle, was modeled after Preuss and took advice from CREATE.[16] When Gompers first opened, much of its curriculum, faculty development, and community outreach plans were based on those in place at Preuss.[17] 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.[9]

The Preuss campus as seen from Voigt Drive

From its conception, it was decided that it would be best for the school to be sited on the UCSD campus. An early CREATE report authored by Bud Mehan stated that "operating on university grounds acts to integrate students into the culture of learning associated with a university campus" and that this location allows for "UCSD students serve as role models for the students they tutor."[18] Despite this goal, finding available space on UCSD's campus for a full high school facility proved challenging. For the first year of its existence, Preuss was housed on the campus of the Thurgood Marshall College, in a temporary bungalow facility known as "La Casa", surrounded by eucalyptus trees and within walking distance of UCSD's main library, Geisel Library.[3]

In August 2000, Preuss moved to its own new campus at the northeast corner of the UCSD campus.[19] The campus cost about $14 million, all of which was procured from community donors and organizations during a five-month fundraising campaign.[3][19] 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 the main office; a gymnasium used for assemblies, physical education, theatre performances, and choirs; an outdoor cafeteria and amphitheater; 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 secondary physical education field was paved over and converted to two additional bungalow buildings intended to be used for music and the arts.

Annually Preuss receives 800 applications from fifth graders for 110 spots in the incoming sixth-grade class. Preuss selects from this pool via a blind lottery. In order to be eligible for the lottery an applicant must meet three criteria: the student must qualify for federal free- or reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Act, the student's primary guardians must not be college graduates, and student must demonstrate proper motivation, through elementary school academic records and through completion of an admissions application which includes essays and teacher recommendations.[3][7] Of the students accepted, 25% scored in the top quartile on California standardized tests, 50% in the middle quartiles, and 25% in the bottom quartile.[20]

Preuss primarily recruits applicants at elementary and junior high schools in low-income parts of SDUSD and the Sweetwater Union High School District. Preuss staff visit these schools and present to parents and teachers, in both English and Spanish, about the mission of the school and the application process. Preuss staff are also responsible for distributing application materials to local churches and libraries and community organizations like the San Diego Urban League and the Parent Institute.[20]

According to charter renewal information provided by Preuss to SDUSD, Preuss believes that the student demographics that result from this admission process are reflective of the low-income communities that they recruit in.[20] As of 2011, Preuss was 67% Hispanic, 19% Asian and Pacific Islander, 10% African American, and 4% White.[7] This is divergent from SDUSD's demographics, which is 46% Hispanic, 15% Asian and Pacific Islander, 12% African American, and 24% White.[21]

The Preuss curriculum is shaped around college preparatory course requirements known within the University of California and California State University system as A–G courses.[22][23] Preuss also takes the pedagogical position that all students should be given the opportunity to take the same courses. As such, Preuss has an untracked curriculum that requires all students to attend the same college preparatory courses.[24]

On the Preuss campus, students study basic algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus and later can take more advanced courses on the UCSD campus, which they travel to via shuttle.[3] 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. Every Preuss student studies Spanish for at least three years, with an option for as many as five. English and physical education are also included in the required core curriculum.[25] As a result of these required courses, 100% of Preuss graduates complete the A–G course list. Only 38% of San Diego United students do the same.[22]

Throughout this curriculum, Preuss students are required to take courses at the advanced placement (AP) level, when offered. 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, all Preuss students will have taken at least six AP courses.[6]

Through all seven years at Preuss, students take an advisory course known as University Prep with the same teacher. This homeroom-like experience enables one teacher to become well-acquainted with students, their growth, their families, and their domestic situation.[3][10] In addition to University Prep 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, students' union (known as Associated Student Body or ASB), journalism, publications, music, music technology, and public speaking.[3] In 12th grade, each student completes a three-part senior wheel course, which includes a course on service learning, a research seminar leading to a senior thesis, and an internship on the UCSD campus.[3][7]

A significant portion of Preuss students matriculate to four-year institutions of higher learning. In 2005, of the school's 75 graduates, 91 percent were accepted to a four-year college or university while the other 9 percent attended a community college.[26] The class of 2007 surpassed these numbers when 96 percent of its members gained admission to four-year universities.[27] In 2011, 95 percent of graduates were admitted to four-year universities with 79 percent of graduates matriculating to one. 19 percent of the class of 2011 attended a community college.[7]

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