School Setting: Explorer Elementary Charter School

Overview

Explorer Elementary Charter School was founded in 2000. It now serves approximately
360 children in grades K-5 who are enrolled by lottery from throughout San Diego. The school
has also become affiliated with High Tech High. Explorers mission is to successfully blend a
child-centered, socially intelligent approach to education with exemplary curriculum and high
standards for its students. Explorer is committed to providing an environment that emphasizes
learning as an interactive process focusing on individual needs of students. The School strives
to develop critical thinkers who are caring, confident and lifelong learners in a diverse
community that is sensitive to the needs of each child.

The Community

Explorer Elementary is located in Liberty Station in Point Loma, San Diego. The site was
originally a Naval Training Station, but was converted to retail, schools, churches, restaurants,
and other businesses. In addition to Explorer, there are five other High Tech High Schools,
including three high schools and two middle schools at Liberty Station. Most students who finish
Explorer will continue on to these schools. The neighborhood of Point Loma is a small seaside
community in San Diego, California. Its known mainly for the Navy presence, the harbor that is
host to yachts and fishing boats, and the Cabrillo National Monument.

The School Site

High Tech High Learning owns the site at 2230 Truxtun Road in San Diego. The facility
has more than 30,000 square feet. The school occupies the bottom floor of the three-story
building. The second floor is High Tech Middle Media Arts school and the third is High Tech
High Media Arts school. At most hours of the day, you will find students of all ages playing and
socializing in the common areas around the school building.
Upon entering, visitors are greeted by two site facilitators in the front office. The principal
is behind the site facilitators in an office with many windows into the school and outdoors.
Continuing down the hall, visitors pass a community gathering area, an activity room, where
lunch is served and after school activities take place, the library, art room, special education
offices, and two kindergarten/first grade classrooms. At the end of the brown hallway, named for
the color of tiles on the floor, there is a hallway that runs perpendicular. To the right is the blue
hallway where there are kindergarten through third grade classrooms and the science lab. To
the left is the yellow hallway where the fourth and fifth grade classrooms are located. The
hallways are lined with antique furniture, student cubbies, and bulletin boards displaying student
work and announcements.
Outside there is a large blacktop area where students play at recess and lunch. PE
classes also take place on the blacktop. There are a few playground structures, a large
sandbox, a small rock-climbing wall, and lunch tables. There is a garden maintained by
volunteers that provides space for gardening with students.

The Families

Parents are involved in the school at every level, from volunteering in the classrooms to
school wide activities and fundraising. Parents are seen as partners in the education of students
at Explorer Elementary. To enroll in Explorer Elementary Charter School, parents fill out an
application to be entered into the lottery. The lottery is a random drawing used to fill available
spaces at all grade levels. The process for enrolling in Explorer plus the necessity for
transporting students to and from school each day brings in a community of parents who are
committed to their childs success and willing to support their child, the teacher, and the school.

The Students

Explorer represents a diverse population from around San Diego County. In the Figure
1, there is a comparison of Explorer Elementary Charter School to Loma Portal Elementary, the
nearest public elementary to Explorer. The largest discrepancies are the socioeconomically
disadvantaged and the English learners, with Explorer having a smaller percentage than the
local elementary school.

Ethnicity/Designation Explorer Elementary Loma Portal
Elementary
Hispanic or Latino of Any Race 23% 30%
American Indian or Alaska Native, Not
Hispanic
<1% 0%
Asian, Not Hispanic 5% 3%
Pacific Islander, Not Hispanic 1% <1%
Filipino, Not Hispanic 4% 2%
African American, Not Hispanic 7% 3%
White, not Hispanic 58% 52%
Two or More Races, Not Hispanic 2% 9%
English Learners 12.4% 15.7%
Free/Reduced Price Meals 17.9% 40.8%
Total Enrollment 356 424
Figure 1. Enrollment at a glance for Explorer Elementary compared to Loma Portal Elementary.

The Curriculum

The curriculum used varies. Teachers are given freedom to choose or create the
curriculum that they believe best addresses the standards and social development of students.
In addition to the freedom, the faculty has been developing shared agreements about teaching.
Many teachers also follow in the footsteps of High Tech High and implement project-based
learning in their classes.
There is a large emphasis at the school on social-emotional learning. Developmentally
appropriate social-emotional skills are taught at each grade level, such as empathy, emotion
management and problem solving. Teachers and students use a common language to
communicate problems and solutions.
Students have specialty classes several times a week that are taught by specialized
teachers in different classrooms. The frequency and length of classes vary by grade level, but
for fifth grade students the specialty classes are:
Physical Education: Once a week for one hour
Visual Arts: Once a week for one hour
Science: Twice a week for one hour

Room 13

My classroom is at the end of the yellow hallway and has two full walls of windows letting
in plenty of natural light. There are 25 students in the classroom, and therefore, 25 desks
arranged into groups of four and one group of five. Students often complete activities with their
table group, and assigned seats are changed monthly so students work with a variety of
classmates. There is a large area rug with a map of the United States on it that we sit on every
day for morning meeting and other activities. Student work and resources for current topics are
displayed throughout the room. There is a corner of the room with a small loveseat and our
classroom library where students may check out books for independent reading. There are five
desktop computers, as well as a laptop cart with another 10 laptops. Supplies are stored in tubs
that students keep at their desks, and additional supplies are found in storage drawers for
students to access.

A Day in Room 13

An average day in our classroom starts with a message on the board informing students
about any important announcements, what they should do when they walk in the door, and a
survey question. Once students are settled in, we begin morning meeting, which includes a
greeting, going over the schedule, sharing and an activity. Math usually comes next. Math is
very hands on and builds concepts using prior knowledge. I often use the Investigations
curriculum for math. There is a fifteen-minute snack break midway through the morning. Most of
our reading work is done through book clubs where students take skills taught in mini-lessons
and apply that to their own reading. Then they meet in a group of four or five who are reading
the same book. Lunch is forty minutes and after lunch I read aloud to the whole class and model
reading skills.
I believe in project-based learning, and that is a big part of my classroom. Depending on
what we are doing in the project, we may spend an hour on it, or the whole day. Our social
studies, science, writing and often math and reading are incorporated into the projects we do.
An example of a recent project was a boat-building project, which incorporated history, science,
math, drama, and social curriculum. Students worked in groups to build boats that were then
paddled into the bay and also write and perform historical plays about historical figures that
relied on boats like the explorers and colonists. Beyond the curriculum, the students learned
how to work as a successful team member.