Tag: America’s Finest Charter School

  • How a San Diego Charter School Beat the Odds (The Answer Might Surprise You)

    Video Credit: Katie Schoolov, KPBS By Megan Burks Third-graders at America’s Finest Charter School settle in on the floor around their teacher, Cassandra Tinyo, for story time. But first, Tinyo reviews what to listen for and later replicate. They’ll soon have to write stories of their own. “So we have a hook. It gets the…

  • Mid-City School Scores Highest Among Low-Income Schools On State Test

    America’s Finest Charter School students eat pizza at a 2013 party celebrating their reading achievements. | Photo Courtesy of America’s Finest Charter School By Megan Burks Nearly 80 percent of third graders at America’s Finest Charter School in Chollas View scored at or above standards on the language arts portion of the California Assessment of…

  • Mid-City Charter Schools Among 39 Campuses in Traffic Pollution Danger Zone

    Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson By Joel Hoffman Along major roadways that connect the sprawling limits of San Diego County, 39 schools lie within 500 feet of smog-filled traffic corridors, a distance that air-pollution researchers believe significantly increases the risk of pediatric asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Click here for a map of the schools Below…

  • For Inner-City Kids, Time Spent Outdoors Builds Confidence

    Video Credit: Brian Myers, Media Arts Center San Diego By Megan Burks As a group of kids scrambled like lizards up a towering rock formation, Shantell Lacy stayed back in the shade. She swatted flying ants from a pile of backpacks and talked about her son, Jahvi. “I’m scared of heights, but he’s a daredevil.…

  • School Brings the Family Dinner Table Into the Classroom

    By Megan Burks and Brian Myers One by one, students in Jennifer Garfinkel’s third grade class shuffled into seats around tables set with plates and cutlery. They’re the same classroom tables where students unpacked pencils and paper earlier in the day to work. At noon, the work surfaces become dining tables with a little disinfectant…