Some of the faculty thought it was crazy, some worried where the
money could come from. But now four years later, the Preuss School
at UCSD is one of the University’s success stories.
In June,
when Jesse Lopez and 54 of his friends graduate they will become
the first in their families to go to college. Jesse, whose immigrant
father is a gardener, was recruited by MIT and has also been accepted
at Stanford. Many students are headed for UC colleges and other
Ivies. Although the odds seemed stacked against them, the Preuss
School
is showing that its intensive college preparatory education can
level the playing field for low-income students.
In 1992, California
passed legislation that allowed for the establishment of charter
schools. Three years later, UCSD crafted a proposal
to authorize a charter school on campus. The hope was that the
school
would provide qualified students for UCSD and other UC colleges
from underrepresented minority and low-income populations. The
faculty,
however, was concerned that the University was involving itself
in middle and high school education.
Task forces met to refine
the proposal. About one million dollars came from the University
of California Office of the President
(UCOP) and approximately $300,000 for startup came from the state
of California.
The building cost $13 million. The Preuss Foundation provided the
initial $5 million for the building and other donors contributed
another $8 million. The result is the first charter school
in California sited on a college campus.
Preuss, a public middle/high school that serves 760 students,
has become a model
for other charters. “This is a unique school,” says Cecil
Lytle, Provost of Thurgood Marshall College, and founder and visionary
of the Preuss School. “It is run by the
chancellor and it’s physically located on a university campus.” UCSD
faculty helped
develop the school curriculum. Students meet with
researchers and professors,
as well as attending lectures.
The Preuss program is
rigorous. Students spend
an extra hour at school each day and attend school 199 days instead
of 180 days a year. They participate in a single-track curriculum
that provides advanced, honors and AP classes for all students.
They also participate in prestigious internships and special academic
programs.
The entrance requirements are stringent and all applicants must
come from low-income families and be the first in their families
to attend
college. Then it’s the luck of the draw; they’re picked
by lottery. Approximately 500 students applied for 110 projected
spaces this year.
Most Preuss students commute for hours by bus, some leaving as
early as 6 a.m. and returning home as late as 7 p.m. But their
teachers
encourage them, their parents support their efforts and they are
unwavering in their commitment to their goals.
Senior David Iaea,
who is part Hawaiian, hopes to become a doctor. His mom died when
he was four and his grandmother’s dream was for him to go
to college. He was offered early admission to NYU. Khang Nugyen,
who
came from Vietnam when he was seven years old and will be the first
in his family to even graduate high school, has been accepted at
Berkeley. Elvira Gonzalez, whose father works in a factory from
4 a.m. to 6 p.m.
to support the family, has been accepted
at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and the University of Rochester
and has yet
to decide. “Out of the 54 applicants that
applied to UC schools, 35 or 64.8 per cent were admitted, 17 of
them to UCSD,” says head counselor, Carol Sobek. “Another
14 were offered Dual Admissions/University Link, to begin at a California
Community College with transfer to UCSD as a junior.”
Meanwhile, the Preuss School staff and students can’t wait
to celebrate. Janis Gabay, a respected English teacher and National
Teacher of the Year, knows many of the seniors since they were in
8th grade. At graduation, she’ll be cheering. “After
graduation,” she says, “they’ll be free to soar.”  |
