Preuss School

] [] . On June 9 2008, Dr. Doris Alvarez made public an official statement and detailed rebuttal of the UCSD Audit. Dr. Alvarez described and documented numerous violations of internal audit standards and requested that the audit be reviewed by an independent third party, like the [http://www.bsa.ca.gov Bureau of State Audits] or the Institute of Internal Auditors. After not being allowed to include her statements along the audit on the UCSD Web Site, Dr Alvarez made her statements public available at her own site: [http://dorisalvarez.org http://dorisalvarez.org] .

Facilities

From the beginning, finding a place for Preuss was a concern. It was quickly decided that it would be best for the school to be on the UCSD campus to allow students a look at university life. [] The campus cost about $14 million, all of which came from community donors and organizations. 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 an office area; a gymnasium used for physical education, music, and choirs; an outdoor cafeteria; 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 side field formerly used for athletics was paved over and converted to two additional bungalow buildings intended to be used for music and the arts.

Academics

A goal of Preuss is to have every student accepted to a college or university. The school shapes its curriculum around college entrance requirements, especially those of the University of California. [cite web | url = http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/sd/swlit04preuss.asp | title = Preuss Model School: Schoolwide Literacy Model | accessdate=2007-11-19]

Every Preuss student studies Spanish or Japanese for at least three years, with an option for as many as five. Each student takes math courses for seven years. On the Preuss campus, students study basic algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus for two years and later take more advanced courses on the UCSD campus, which they travel to via shuttle. 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. English and physical education are also included in the required core curriculum. [cite web | url = http://preuss.ucsd.edu/newsletter/March%202005%20Newsletter.pdf |format=PDF| title = March 2005 Parent Newsletter |publisher=Preuss School|date=March, 2005| accessdate=2008-02-05]

Through all seven years at Preuss, students are required to take an advisory course known as "university prep". In addition to this 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, student's union (known as "Associated Student Body" or "ASB"), journalism, publications, music, music technology, and public speaking. In 12th grade, each student completes a senior internship, usually on the UCSD campus.

Preuss also has a policy on advanced placement (AP) courses. Students are required to take AP classes while in high school at Preuss, and most take their first such class in their freshmen year. 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, Preuss students will have taken at least six AP courses. Inclusion of AP courses in the Preuss curriculum assisted greatly in the school's ranking of ninth on "Newsweek"'s list of top high schools in America in 2007. Its ranking was unusually high for a school new to the list.

Preuss had the highest "academic performance index" in San Diego County as of 2005. Its students' results in the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, the California Standards Test (CST), and the University of California college preparatory (A–G) requirements were higher than those of other schools with similar student populations.cite web | url = http://create.ucsd.edu/Research_Evaluation/PreussReportJune2004.pdf |format=PDF| title = School Characteristics and Students' Achievement | accessdate=2007-10-24] These results led "San Diego Magazine" to name Preuss one of the city's great schools. [cite news| url = http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/July-2006/Great-Schools/ |last=Marcia|first=Manna|date=July, 2006| title = Great Schools | accessdate=2007-10-25]

Preuss students have been getting into college. In 2005, of the school's 75 graduates, 91 percent were accepted to a four-year college or university, and 9 percent were accepted to community college.cite news | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040609/news_1m9preuss.html | title = Distance from home a concern at Preuss | publisher = "San Diego Union-Tribune"|last=Magee| first=Maureen| date= June 9, 2004 |accessdate=2007-10-25] The class of 2007 surpassed these numbers when 96 percent of its members gained admission to four-year universities.

chedule

Preuss uses a different schedule from most schools to make room for all the courses offered. Both the school year and school day are longer than normal. The school year is 198 days (compared with 180 days for traditional schools),cite news | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/preps/20041109-9999-1s9p-preptu.html | title = Preuss students juggling course time and court time | publisher = "San Diego Union-Tribune"|last=Vargas| first=Nicole |date=November 9, 2004| accessdate=2008-01-03] and the school day is 396 minutes (compared with an average of 360 minutes for traditional schools). Preuss uses a block schedule that calls for four classes to meet on Monday and Wednesday ("A" day) and the other four to meet on Tuesday and Thursday ("B" day). Fridays rotate between the two "A" and "B" days. During its early years, Preuss ran on a trimester system to match that of UCSD. In 2006, the school switched to a semester system.

Graduation requirements

Every Preuss student who hopes to graduate must complete at least 10 volunteer hours each year and a total of 65 by the end of senior year.cite web | url = http://www.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/charterhs/report_pg20.html | title = Charter High Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap | accessdate=2007-11-19] Parents are expected to volunteer at the school for at least 15 hours a year, although this requirement is not enforced. Each student must complete an annual science-fair project that leads to a research project and presentation in the student's senior year.

Faculty

The tasks of the faculty members at Preuss extend beyond teaching. On Fridays, the teachers meet for two hours to discuss staff development, trends in education, and student work, and each teacher creates an annual portfolio to present to the rest of the faculty at the end of the year. Preuss signs one-year contracts with its faculty members and does not grant tenure.

tudent life

Athletics

Preuss requires physical education through the tenth grade. At this point, students may chose to opt out and take another elective or try out for one of Preuss' five athletic teams. All Preuss teams compete in Division IV of the San Diego section of the California Interscholastic Federation. Offered sports include cross country running, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse for boys and girls, as well as volleyball for girls only. Most Preuss teams are non-league and have yet to develop rivalries with other schools. Preuss has yet to win a section title game, although it appeared in one in boys' soccer in 2006–07. The game resulted in a 5–1 loss to repeat champion Francis Parker.cite news | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070304/news_1s4p-4bsoc.html | title = Players cheer Parker repeat | publisher = "San Diego Union-Tribune"|last=Thien| first=Glae|date=March 4, 2007| accessdate=2007-04-05]

Clubs

A majority of Preuss clubs and organizations meet after school until 5:30 p.m., when the late-activity buses take up to 256 students home. [cite web | url = http://preuss.ucsd.edu/documents/Afterschool%20Late%20Bus%20Schedule.pdf |format=PDF| title = Preuss Late Activities Program / Late Bus Schedule|publisher=Preuss School|date=November 2007| accessdate=2008-02-03] A large number of the clubs are science-related. Robotics is popular on the Preuss' campus, which has teams that compete in robotics-related events sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), as well as teams that compete in botball games played by robots they have built. [cite news | url = http://cfx.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060219-9999-1m19robot.html | title = Problem-solving skills encouraged at robot scrimmage| publisher="San Diego Union Tribune"|last=Rodgers| first=Terry|date=February 19, 2006| accessdate=2008-02-03] [cite news | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050320-9999-1m20robots.html | title = Student teams compete in tournament at USD| publisher="San Diego Union Tribune"|last=Stetz| first=Michael|date=March 20, 2005| accessdate=2008-02-03]

club which promotes the process to students.

Preuss encourages outreach and service clubs such as the Rotary-sponsored Interact, an organization similar to Key Club that helps involve students in community-service events. Others include the Preuss chapter of the National Honor Society, an ecology club that runs the school's recycling program, and a student-to-student mentorship program.

Other clubs on campus include a chess club, an urban dance league, and an arts collective. Preuss also has a choir that offers two concerts annually and has performed in other school events such as the "La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Stars in Their Eyes" concert. A tennis club has also been formed.

Events

The Preuss middle school and its high school each hold three dances per year. Two of the high school dances are the ASB Ball and the Prom. The students' union (ASB) also sponsors a school-spirit week, a talent show, a sports day, and a Shakespeare festival. Classic Cars for Classic Kids, an annual fundraiser featuring vintage cars and student exhibits, is held to raise the large sums, $375,000 in 2004, that the school needs to lease school buses. [cite news | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041205/news_1c5stiff.html | title =School patrons rev up at garage|publisher="San Diego Union-Tribune"|date= December 5, 2004 |last=Stiff| first=Burl| accessdate=2007-11-27] [cite news | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051027/news_1c27benefit.html | title = For Their Benefit| publisher="San Diego Union Tribune"|last=Inman| first=Brittany|date=October 27, 2005| accessdate=2007-11-27]

References

ee also

*Primary and secondary schools in San Diego, California

External links

* [http://preuss.ucsd.edu/ Preuss School Website]
* [http://www.firstwiki.org/index.php/812 FIRST Robotics Team 812]