Educators map out studies for VUSD magnets
By: STACY BRANDT - Staff Writer
Principal excited about team founding Mission Vista High Schools | ∞
OCEANSIDE -- Now that Principal Rodney Goldenberg has hired five teachers to help him get Vista Unified School District's new magnet high school campus open in August, he said he's excited to start putting together the schools' curricula.
"You need creative and dynamic teachers around you," he said.
The school board hired Goldenberg last month to lead the two magnet schools, which will share a campus on 66 acres near the intersection of Highway 76 and Melrose Drive in eastern Oceanside.
One of the schools, which are collectively known as Mission Vista High Schools, will focus on arts and communication, the other on science and technology.
This month, Goldenberg hired five teachers who specialize in different areas related to the two themes.
"It's great to have individuals who are experts in their field," he said.
Roger Royster will leave Rancho Buena Vista High School to focus on visual arts, Anne Fennell will leave the Vista Academy of Visual and Performing arts to specialize in music and technology, Carol Jones will come from Vista High School to teach theater, Steve Post will leave Vista Academy to teach science, and Dara Rosen will leave Rancho Buena Vista to focus on chemistry.
They will all continue in their current teaching jobs while they work to put together the academic plan for the new schools.
"All five of us have a pretty full plate," Royster said.
As part of the founding faculty, they will be responsible for putting together the vision, academic focus and schedule for the schools.
"It's an opportunity to start with a clean canvas, and to work with a close-knit group of teachers to create something that will be unique to our district," Royster said.
They don't have much time. Goldenberg said he plans to start recruiting students for the schools in February with meetings and letters to parents of this year's eighth-graders.
The campus is expected to open in August for 500 freshmen, expanding with one class each year until 2,000 students are there in grades nine through 12. It's the centerpiece of the district's $140 million bond measure approved in 2002 and expected to cost roughly $91 million.
Goldenberg said he doesn't anticipate any problems getting that many students to sign up, especially considering the overcrowded conditions at the district's two comprehensive high schools. He said he's not trying to compete with those schools, but working to offer some opportunities not available there.
"What I'm looking for it giving parents options," he said.
-- Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.
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A little reality... wrote on Dec 26, 2007 9:44 AM:This is all well and good, but with the construction schedule problems ("Various delays affecting work at VUSD school site, NC Times, 12/19/07) someone needs to step up to the reality that there will only be a bare-bones site in August, with active construction going on for the foreseeable future. These dual magnets need a temporary home for a year or so, Lincoln or whatever, and the students would be much better off if the "board majority" would just try to consider what's best for the students.
Samuel wrote on Dec 26, 2007 12:33 PM:I apologize to Taxpayer # 2 for using his or her blog but it makes a valid point and an answer should be forthcoming from the VUSD immediately—“ At the 12-13 Board meeting Ms. Caperton said that In the District’s permit with the City of Oceanside one of the things that was reviewable when we looked at the agreement is that we can not occupy the site until the 76/Melrose intersection improvements are completed. Those intersection improvements are to be done by Hi Hope Ranch as part of our purchase agreement. She continued that on November 14th Hi Hope indicated that they had not received approval from the City of Oceanside and Caltrans had not approved any of the improvements to the 76/Melrose interchange. Doesn’t it make sense that there is a good chance that the required work and improvements for the 76/Melrose intersection won’t be done until Caltrans starts it planned widening of 76 to Mission Rd. in Bonsall/Fallbrook in the first quarter of 2009? It would be nice if the District would clarify this situation." The principal and five core instructors continue to meet their requirements at their current assignments and are working on this new task after hours. I can imagine that they are working on enthusiasm now and the adrenaline will kick in as the opening date nears. However, as time passes will their current students continue to receive the same quality of instruction as before? The District must evaluate the data and if it turns out that the intersection work won’t be completed in time to open for this next school year then lets stop this rush to insanity and build a quality project with an opening date of August of 2009.
Vista Watchdog wrote on Dec 26, 2007 5:56 PM:Will there really be 500 students wanting to attend this school after SB777 goes into place 1 January? And will the overcrowding at the other two schools reaaly be all that large? The drop in enrollment year over year in the High Schools ooks to be running around 250. But, with SB777 it should be very interesting to see how many parents are willing to send their children to generless schools, with genderless bathrooms and lockerrooms, and mom & dad banned from the books and classrooms. Will we really need this new school when all is said and done?
Hey NCT what are you trying to hide? wrote on Dec 26, 2007 7:14 PM:Good for them I think they should concentrate on an overall education. As we know Casita and VAPA are failures. We learned that focusing on one subject is not such a sharp idea in the end. Perhaps the failure of these "MAGNET" schools was due to the fact that Casita retained all of its teachers that were computer ILLITERATE in a magnet school that was supposed to be a science and TECHNOLOGY school. Lets not mention the science part and the lack of school supplies while Title I offered the funds. As we know the Title I funds were used to fund field trips for their little GATE program, how cozy. What a disaster that was and even after a decade of failure former Superintendent Dave Cowles couldn’t figure out what the problem was maybe because his BROTHER was the vice principal of that school.
Stuck in VUSD wrote on Jan 9, 2008 3:41 PM:What they really need is industry mentors so the kids have a change at learning employable technology skills. I'd have loved to see some of the part time community college teachers who've active in industry be the first planners. But what we see here is an internal shuffle from other crappy schools in the district.
Based on what is presented as what they've previously been teaching, it sounds like they picked teachers who are not suited at all for a modern state-of-the-art technology curriculum.
I thought the school was originally two magnets, one that started as "Media" and communications, so now its "Arts" and Communications? I thought the program would focus on the internet, film, TV and video, journalism, not art, music and theater. Sad.
And the idea that you are either enrolled in one or the other is also weird. I've seen several articles that indicate they will be treated as separate schools.
People want science and technology to be what industry is going to be hiring when the kids graduate, not what was taught 10 yrs ago. I have a feeling this HS will end up failing and a regular HS will be put in. Which is just fine with me since I don't believe VUSD has a clue how to really run a magnet.
Sounds like we'll get the same ol same ol. VUSD needs to get its head out of its own ....
I'm thinking my oldest will end up in Private school next year.
We need a Bonsall HS.
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