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Politics

City Council To Meet With School Board On Ways To Improve Schools

The San Diego City Council will hold a joint meeting with the board of the San Diego Unified School District Sept. 18 to take suggestions on ways to improve schools, two councilmen said today.

The joint meeting will be held at the Joe and Vi Jacobs Center at 404 Euclid Ave. at 6 p.m. that Tuesday, according to City Council President Tony Young and colleague Carl DeMaio, a mayoral candidate.

"Every student in San Diego deserves a quality education and we can help improve our schools with constructive input from teachers, parents, and the community,'' Young said. "We want to hear from educators, business leaders and the general public on the best ways to improve schools and better prepare all of our students for the jobs and careers of the 21st century.''

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Young and DeMaio cited a study that showed disparities in grades among council districts.

"On average, the study showed that 30 percent of schools in San Diego are underperforming but, in some City Council districts, the number is as high as 75 percent,'' DeMaio said. "I know our teachers and administrators are facing enormous challenges, but I also know that San Diegans can help meet those challenges through honest and open dialog on how to improve our schools.''

The report by the Center of Education Policy and Law at the University of San Diego shows that 75 percent of SDUSD schools in District 8, which covers Barrio Logan, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, are underperforming -- based on standardized test scores.

In District 3, which includes North Park and City Heights, 42 percent of the schools were said to be underperforming.

But in District 1, which includes La Jolla and Carmel Valley, standardized test scores were good enough that none of the schools was termed underperforming.

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In District 5 -- it covers Mira Mesa and Scripps Ranch and is represented by DeMaio -- 6 percent of schools were categorized as "underperforming.'' Some Poway Unified School District schools are also in DeMaio's district.