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Central Elementary Context Map

EDAD 610: Fall 2018

Diana Salazar
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Table Of Contents

School Mission and Vision Statement Page 3

School Community General Background Page 4

Ethnographic Interview Page 6

Parent Involvement and Community Engagement Page 9

School Board Meeting Report Page 11

References Page 15
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Mission and Vision Statement

Central Elementary Mission Statement

The Central School Community believes in creating an atmosphere that develops self-

esteem, to promote a lifetime desire for learning and to help children achieve their maximum

potential through quality instruction and guidance, thereby, becoming responsible, caring, and

productive members of society.

My Vision Statement For Central Elementary

Central Elementary will educate students to the

highest standards and encourage them to expand their

creativity using critical thinking skills. Students will

demonstrate compassion for others, tolerance for our differences, and acceptance for members of

the community. Educators will teach a curriculum that goes beyond the fundamentals and expose

students to the world around them. Central Elementary will acknowledge diversity and share our

vision throughout the community.

Rationale

I agree with Central School’s mission statement. Education is important, but it is also

important to teach our students how to become valuable members of society. I also agree with

teaching students to believe in themselves so they may grow up to be confident and independent.

Students should be encouraged to make goals for themselves and learn how to achieve them.

Central Elementary does not have a vision statement but has a lot to offer the community.

Central Elementary is a title one school made up of 94% Hispanic and has a strong sense of

community. For their vision, I would expand on the concept of community and teaching students

about compassion and acceptance. Although most of the student are of the same ethnicity, it’s
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important to expose students to different cultures around the world so that they realize that the

world is much bigger than it seems.

School Community General Background

About Escondido
Escondido is located in North County San Diego along the

Interstate 15 freeway. Escondido has seen a growth in population

with a high level of Hispanics living in the area.

Central Elementary is located in the downtown area of Escondido.

The school is surrounded by small independent businesses, the public library, a Christian church,

a mortuary and restaurants. The community is very diverse consisting of 64%

Mexican, 8% White, 4% Asian, and 24% other. People in the area have an

education level ranging between elementary school and high school (World

Population Review, 2018).

The majority of people employed work in sales, restaurants, and labor jobs (Escondido

Crime Rates and Statistics, n.d.). The area is considered low-income with a median household

income of $54,000 and the majority of people rent their homes for an average of $1,200 a month

(NICHE, n.d.). Homes in area sells between $300,000-$500,000 and the medium value of homes

is $368,500 (NICHE, n.d.).

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About Central Elementary

Central Elementary was built in 1938 and is one of the oldest schools in the Escondido

Union School District (Breannan, 2018). Central Elementary is a public school that teaches

grades Kindergarten to 5th grade. Central is made up of 600 students, consisting of 94%

Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% White, 2% other (Breannan, 2018). 77% of students are eligible for free

lunch and 8% are eligible for reduced lunch (Public School Review, n.d.). Central Elementary is

a Title I school. It is ranked 5298th out of 5692 from the state of California and has a 23%

reading proficiency and an 11% math proficiency (SchoolDigger.Com, n.d.). Stephanie Rosson-

Niess is the current principal of Central Elementary and has been there for 2 years. She cares

about the staff, the students, the community, and has created a positive and caring environment

for all.

Lay Out Of Central Elementary

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Central Elementary received funding from proposition E and has undergone a $11.8

million-dollar renovation during the summer of 2018 (EUSD, 2018). The school is surrounded

by new fencing, has added new landscaping, and added new grass on their fields. With the

renovations, new preschool and kindergarten areas were built with their own playgrounds and 6

new classrooms for each area (Breannan, 2018). 1st to 5th grade classrooms are located in the

original buildings and are separated by long hallways. Central also updated their electrical and

wi-fi system throughout the school and built a brand-new family liaison center for the

community. The school has a computer lab, a library, and is in the process of opening a STEM

lab for 3rd-5th graders. Central Elementary is embracing the new and still remaining true to their

original culture.

Ethnographic Interview

I had the pleasure of interviewing Holly Dodd on September 24, 2018 at Central

Elementary. She is an instructional assistant in a special education class at Central Elementary.

She has lived in Escondido for 38 years and all her children attended Central Elementary at one

point. Holly has also worked for the Escondido Union School District for 18 years as an

instructional assistant in different schools around the district.

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Q: What is your name and what do you do?

My name is Holly Dodd and I am an instructional assistant for an Autism pre-school

program at Central Elementary. I have been in the district for 18 years and have been all over

the district as an instructional assistant. I love working with teachers and especially working

with students.

Q: How long have you lived in the community?

I have been in Escondido since I was 20 years old so for 38 years. I lived in San Marcos

before that but have lived around Escondido my whole life. I have 3 daughters and all my

daughters attended school at Central and my grandkids attend school in Escondido as well.

Q: How would you describe changes in the community from back then to now?

Back then children were more respectful. School had more rules and seemed stricter.

There weren’t many video games or I-Pads and computers were just starting to become known.

There was no social-media and children seemed to interact more with one another. There was a

lot of face to face interactions among people. Children and people were more sensitive to one

another and didn’t have technology at their fingertips. Everyone seemed more conservative as

well and no one talked openly about sex or had tv shows that expressed people’s sexuality.

Children loved school and everything that came with it like the library and school functions.

Now, kids react to life events and right away turn to social media. People seem less sensitive and

students don’t seem as excited for school functions as they did when I went to school.

Q: How have you seen the community and school change over the years?

There’s a lot more people that live in Escondido then there used to be. There’s also a lot

more students in the district and I’ve noticed that there’s more low-income students and families.
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It seems like there was an Autism explosion too. Since I worked in the district, special education

was very segregated, and you didn’t hear a lot about autism. In the late 80’s when my daughters

when to school, I saw special education beginning to integrate with general education. There

were no busses back then either. Parents drove their kids or kids walked to school.

There was a time where school was year-round, and it lasted for about 10 years. It

eventually faded out because families had a hard time finding childcare when students were on

vacation. Parents relied on after school programs and it enabled parents to go to work.

Childcare seemed more affordable for low income families and kids loved their afterschool

program. I know afterschool programs are still around, but I do think there are as many as

there used to be.

Q: What do you know about Central Elementary and what do you think of the school?

I know that Central was the first elementary school in Escondido. I remember performing

a dance routine here at Central when I was 15 years old in the auditorium. It’s funny because

the auditorium looks exactly the same. Central is clean, the people are so nice, and students

seem safe outside the gates. I love that there’s little to no traffic. I feel comfortable and it’s a

nice place to be. Most of the rooms are in good shape. It’s a large campus, friendly, and it’s in a

beautiful spot.

Q: What improvements would you like to see throughout the district?

Talking to people from other districts, I think other school districts are far more

advanced with their technology than Escondido. I feel like there’s more technology in other

schools. Escondido has a lot of old schools that are outdated, and I would like for old buildings

to be modernized and have better interiors. I love when schools are well maintained and upkept.

It’s reassuring know that our kids are going to school in buildings that are neat and clean. It
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makes everyone’s learning environment more enjoyable. I would also like to see more dance

programs, art programs, science programs, and some type of engineering programs for students

at school around the district.

Parent Involvement and Community Engagement

Teacher and parent collaborations are important and Central

Elementary expands this collaboration through the PTA (Parent

Teacher Association). The PTA consists of 9 PTA officers made up of

parents and teachers. PTA meetings are held once a month to plan

family events and raise money for classroom materials, field trips, and

raise money for teacher events such as luncheons. Teachers and parents also collaborate together

to organize a running club. The running club gives students the opportunity to release energy

when they are forced to come to school early in the morning. Students in the running club can

ensure that someone will be on campus keeping them safe and the running club motivates

students to set and meet running goals. Students run around the track while parents and teachers

keep track of how much they have run. At the end of the month, students are recognized for the

number of miles they ran.

One club that teachers appreciate and treasure is their Volunteer Club. Volunteer Club is

made up of parents who volunteer their time every Wednesday to help teachers. Parents come to

the school in the morning and help teachers make copies, complete prep work, and assist

teachers in what they need. Volunteers are made up of parents around the community that want

to ensure students and teachers have what they need to be prepared.

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Central Elementary underwent construction over the summer and their need to reach out

to families was seen through the new buildings. A new Family Engagement Center was built for

families in the community. The Family Engagement Center is a meeting place for families and is

used for other community purposes. The center has a family liaison who is extremely involved

with the community and promotes educational classes for parents and monthly meetings

discussing issues surrounding the community such as alcohol and drug abuse. The center also

collects food and clothes from the community and donates it to families in need.

A new program that is starting this month is Food For

Kids. The program is beginning with 5th graders and will

eventually expand to all grades. The concept behind Food For

Kids is feeding families in need. Students will be given a backpack full of healthy and hearty

meals to feed their families and new distributions will occur every two weeks.

Central Elementary wants students to succeed and has programs available to assist with

schoolwork. There is a YMCA located on campus which provides free afterschool

care for families. The YMCA helps students with homework, provides them with

snacks, and encourages outdoor structured activities. There’s also a new online

resource to help students with math homework called Engage NY Homework.

Engage NY Homework is an online program that parents can access to learn and understand their

child’s math homework. The online programs allow families to watch modules and learn about

math concepts being taught at school.

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The Center for The Arts of Escondido has a civic partnership with Central Elementary.

The Center for the Arts offers field trip opportunities, performances for youth, artist and

performer led classes, free arts and crafts workshops for families, and music education programs.

The Center for the Arts also encourages students and teachers to create their own art and will

display students’ art throughout the year in different art exhibitions.

Central Elementary has a strong sense of community and it’s demonstrated through the

programs and opportunities offered to their students and families. Central Elementary has

discussed and is planning to have doctors and dentists come to the Family Engagement Center to

provide health services for the students, their families, and the community. The school expands

on helping students beyond the classroom and it inspires teachers and families to help one

another.

School Board Meeting

Meet the Board

Luis Ibarra Doug Paulson Joan Gardner Gary M. Altenburg Joe Muga Zesty Harper
Superintendent President Vice President Clerk Member Member
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Board Meeting Observation

An Escondido Union board meeting was held on September 13, 2018 at the Escondido

district office. The meeting was scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. but started about 7 minutes late.

There were 10 board members on the panel consisting of 6 men (4 White, 1 Latino, 1 African

American) and 4 women (all White). The board does not accurately represent Escondido.

Escondido is made up of 51% Hispanic, 39% White, 6% Asian, 2% Black, and 2% other. In

attendance, there were 2 union representatives (White males), 2 cameramen, 1 news reporter and

about 30 people in which a majority were White. A security officer was also present to store

order and in case of any disorderly misconduct.

As the meeting started, meeting roles where established and explained. The notetaker was

also the time keeper and made sure speakers did not go over the time limit. The agenda was

presented, guidelines were established, and rules of conduct for the meeting were explained.

Speakers who wanted to address the board had to fill out a form prior to the meeting in order to

address their concerns. Speakers were given 3 minutes to address the board and had a timer on a

big screen facing them to let them know how much time they had left. Once the 3 minutes

expired, a buzzer would sound and the timer on the big screen would flash red. After rules were

established the agenda was presented and the meeting began.

The meeting started with two speakers addressing the board,

one was a teacher and the other a mother of a middle school student.

The teacher spoke about the removal of a staff member at her school.

She explained how the majority of students at her school deal with

trauma and inconsistency in their lives. The school lost 3 teachers last year and this year 1 new

male teacher was hired to teach a 3rd/4th grade combo class. The male teacher was a perfect
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addition to the school and students related very well to him. Without notice and without

notifying his students, the male teacher was told he would be moving to a new school starting the

next day. The teacher was emotional as she addressed the board. As she continued to describe the

situation, the timer on the big screen began to flash red and the loud buzzer sounded. Due to the

sensitivity of the situation, the teacher was allowed to finish her statement. When finished she

was given a “thank you” and the board invited the next person to the podium.

The next speaker was a mother of a 6th grader whose daughter was being bullied at

school. Since the beginning of school, her daughter had been slapped in the face and had

received a hate note. The mother was extremely concerned and want reassurances that the

schoolboard would do something about this issue. When she was done speaking, the board

members gave her a “thank you” and moved on to the agenda. The mother left the room after she

spoke, and the superintendent walked out of the meeting to talk to her and her daughter. The

meeting continued, and the board went through the agenda. The agenda consisted of a

presentation about the budget, voting on naming one of new buildings after a former teacher,

voting on new proposals, and board members discussing events they attended throughout the

week. Board members continuously swayed away from the agenda and were able to have the

freedom to discuss different topics without time restraints. At the end of the meeting, the

facilitator informed every one of the next board meeting and the meeting was over.

The board members did not discuss the issues that were brought up in the beginning of

the meeting. By not doing so, I felt that board members dismissed the community’s concerns and

did not acknowledge the severity of the issues. Escondido strives in collaborating with its

community and it’s important to remember that our students come first. It takes a village to work
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together to meet all their needs and as the teacher in the board meeting said at the end, “work

with us, not against us”.

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References

Breannan, D.S. (2018). North County students head back to schools with new buildings,
programs. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved from
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-back-to-school-
20180815-story.html

EUSD (2018). Escondido Union School District Escondido. Retrieved from

https://eusd.org/prope/by-school/central/

Neighborhood Scout (n.d.). Escondido Crime Rates and Statistics. Retrieved from
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/escondido/escondido-blvd#overview

NICHE (n.d.) Central Elementary. Retrieved from https://www.niche.com/k12/central-

elementary-school-escondido-ca/#living-in-the-area

Public School Review (n.d.). Central Elementary School. Retrieved from

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/central-elementary-school-profile/92025

SchoolDigger (n.d.) SchoolDigger.Com. Retrieved from

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/CA/schools/3432005431/school.aspx

World Population Review (n.d.). Escondido, California Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps,
Graphs). Retrieved from www.worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/escondido-ca-
population/