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<p>The Chula Vista Elementary School District is keeping its promise to communicate better with Silver Wing Elementary parents.</p>
<p>The district has held several information meetings with the community since February when they first learned that a two-story high school would occupy part of the elementary campus. At a recent meeting, parents continued to express reservations about the presence of Chula Vista Learning Center Community Charter high school.</p>
<p>The May 20 Silver Wing meeting was attended by parents, teachers, and district representatives. Ernesto Villanueva, Executive Director of Operations and Instruction, updated the attendees about campus construction work with a crane that would be done after hours and during the summer. He also reassured the parents that the wall that will divide the campus would be 8 feet high. The high school will be ready by July 23.</p>
<p>The division of the Silver Wing campus is known as co-location; the practice was ushered in with Proposition 39. A Los Angeles Times article from 2013 states, “Under Proposition 39…charter schools have the right to use empty classrooms and share in underused public school facilities.” The article goes on to say that co-locations in Los Angeles Unified sparked issues, which often centered on parking and traffic. Some critics, according to another Times article from the same period, worried that co-locations with charter schools might drive down the enrollment of the traditional school.</p>
<p>At the Silver Wing meeting Villanueva responded to parents’ continued concerns about elementary school children and high school drivers. He said the district has obtained some information from the Sweetwater school district and intends to educate the drivers about safety.</p>
<p>Prior to the meeting attendees questioned the district about notification for the May 20 meeting. Villanueva said the district mailed out 297 notices about CVLCC, which included information about the May 21 meeting. But, only one man in the audience had received the flier, and he said he got it from his cousin.</p>
<p>The first question of the evening was– “Why are you building a high school on our campus? Why didn’t the district use the money to upgrade the school that was here?” The woman said it was the first time she had been able to attend a meeting– and wanted to express the fact that she didn’t feel comfortable with elementary students sharing the campus with high school students.</p>
<p>Villanueva said that the board made the decision four years previously and the point now was to make it a success.</p>
<p>The parent would not be pacified—“What happened to the two first grade classes that used to occupy the [500] building?”</p>
<p>Principal Ruth Diaz de Leon said the school has continued to experience declining enrollment, and went on to say that the school was going to lose two more teachers in the new school year.</p>
<p>Silver Wing teacher Susan Skala clarified that the loss of two teachers was not because of declining enrollment, rather that the school had lost a grant, which had formerly enabled the school to have smaller class sizes. With the loss of the grant, she said primary classes will increase from 20 to 24, 4th grade through 6th grade will go up to 31.</p>
<p>The next parent with a question has had children in Silver Wing since 2007. She wanted to know how Silver Wing elementary students benefited from the high school being located on the campus.</p>
<p>Principal De Leon said that the Silver Wing students have the benefit of cross-age tutoring. She also explained that the CVLCC students must, in order to graduate, do community service hours and that the cross-age tutoring enables them to get their community service hours.</p>
<p>Another community member asked that construction workers be more courteous, not starting work at 5 in the morning or working on Sundays. The principal from CVLCC said the construction workers are fully aware of San Diego’s noise ordinance and will be complying with that.</p>
<p>The meeting continued in this vein. The district has promised more informational meetings in the Fall.</p>
<p>After the meeting one parent summed up what some people in the Silver Wing community continue to feel, “CVLCC came here and took our land—they don’t even pay any rent, they’re just squatters as far as I’m concerned.”</p>