Castle Park Elementary is second highest in district with 32 student suspensions per year

The teachers at Castle Park Elementary who called themselves the "Castle Park Family" created an atmosphere of hostility toward students and other teachers. The school has been suffering ever since that group of teachers came to power in the 1990s, even though most of those teachers have left the school, because the community lost faith in the school. Only five members of the "Castle Park Family" are still on the staff, but the "Family" still has power since one of its foremost members, Peg Myers, is now president of Chula Vista Educators.

"Upon review of other Safe School Plans — including Castle Park Elementary with the second highest district suspensions at 32 — previous plans often gave little or no detail regarding school crime.

Castle Park’s solely stated 'The district office publishes regular reports on school crimes and safety data.'"

District revamps safe school plans
By Ashly McGlone
San Diego Union-Tribune
October 22, 2010

CHULA VISTA — The state’s largest elementary school district is revamping the way it compiles its Safe School Plans.

Staff at Chula Vista Elementary School District announced a “call to action” at Tuesday night’s board meeting, laying out new efforts to ensure plans are compiled at school sites properly.

The annual plans — outlined in the California Education Code — require assessments of school safety based on the review of crime data, something that was not happening at some campuses.

Kellogg Elementary school site council member William Perno raised concerns over the plans at the district’s September board meeting, prompting the district to look into the matter.

Among other concerns, Perno cited incongruity with the plan and district-reported data on the California Department of Education website.

For the last two years, the plans at his school included the following statement on crime: “Crime at Kellogg Elementary School is minor and infrequent. Police reports of assault vandalism, theft or other crimes are rare. Graffiti is a minor problem.”

On the state website, 16 suspensions are noted at Kellogg Elementary in the 2008-09 school year, 12 of which are violence and drug related.

Upon review of other Safe School Plans — including Castle Park Elementary with the second highest district suspensions at 32 — previous plans often gave little or no detail regarding school crime.

Castle Park’s solely stated “The district office publishes regular reports on school crimes and safety data.”

Still, board member and Chula Vista Police Chief David Bejarano said on Tuesday that the city, and in turn its schools, are among the safest in the county.

“The City of Chula Vista, and obviously that includes the 44 schools we have in the district, remains one of the safest cities in the county... There’s only two cities — the cities of Coronado and Carlsbad — that have lower violent crime rates than we do; keep in mind we are the second largest city. And then overall, again, we are one of the safest cities in the county.” Bejarano said. He also cited the district’s partnership with the police department providing school resource officers as a district asset, as did other board members.

Nancy Kerwin, executive director of student, family and community services, district Spokesman Anthony Millican and Sgt. Carlos Valdivia presented the report, in which Valdivia gave the district an “A” rating, but improvements were nonetheless identified.

“In reviewing our Safe School Plans, we identified a number of weaknesses,” Kerwin said, citing inconsistency among the school plans, minimal review of crime data and staff unfamiliarity with Education Code requirements.

“Hence, we contacted Stephanie Papas with the California Department of Education’s safe school office and frankly declared that we believe our past plans are insufficient to meet our extremely high standards as a system,” she said. District, state and police crime data will be now be provided to schools.

District Spokesman Anthony Millican said the district will be using a nearly $300,000 federal grant recently awarded to fund the creation of a standardized Safe School Plan template, as well as staff training...

Will $100,000s of tax dollars help CVESD improve its reponse to reports of possible disaster? There is reason for doubt

U.S. Department of Education Awards $28.8 Million to School Districts To Improve Readiness and Emergency Response Plans
August 19, 2010

School districts across the country will be able to improve and strengthen their emergency management plans as a result of $28.8 million in grants awarded today by the U.S. Department of Education. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) discretionary grant program will enable 98 school districts in 28 states to improve plans that address all four phases of emergency management: Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

“No student should feel unsafe in school,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. “The fact is that no school can be a great school until it is a safe school first, and these grants will support that effort.”

In addition to addressing the four phases of emergency management, plans must commit school districts to coordinate with officials in law enforcement, local government, public safety, public health and mental health; train school officials in emergency management; and provide a method for communicating emergency and reunification procedures to parents and guardians. Projects should support the implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and include plans designed to prepare districts for infectious disease outbreaks and take into consideration districts’ special needs populations.

Funds may be used to coordinate with local emergency responders, including fire, police, and health and public health agencies; conduct drills and exercises; purchase emergency supplies and equipment; and to train staff and students on emergency response procedures.

The grants are housed within the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, which supports efforts to create safe schools, respond to crises, prevent drug and alcohol abuse, ensure the health and well being of students, and teach students good citizenship and character. The office also coordinates the Department’s efforts in these areas with other federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A complete list of the 98 grant awards follows:

ALABAMA

Russellville City Schools
Russellville, AL
$128,854

ARIZONA

Paradise Valley Unified School District No. 69
Phoenix, AZ
$645,106

CALIFORNIA

Antioch Unified School District
Antioch, CA
$295,774

Chico Unified School District
Chico, CA
$443,906

Chula Vista Elementary School District
Chula Vista, CA
$297,849

Coachella Valley Unified School District
Thermal, CA
$280,703

Desert Sands Unified School District
La Quinta, CA
$254,968

Fresno Unified School District
Fresno, CA
$556,660

Hacienda La Puente Unified School District
City of Industry, CA
$212,285

Imperial County Office of Education
El Centro, CA $313,122

Kern County Superintendent of Schools
Bakersfield, CA
$564,251

Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles, CA $710,053

McKinleyville Union School District
McKinleyville, CA
$149,269

Merced Union High School District
Atwater, CA
$165,331
Oceanside Unified School District
Oceanside, CA
$270,566

Orange Unified School District
Orange, CA
$600,824

Petaluma School District
Petaluma, CA
$584,923

Sacramento City Unified School District
Sacramento, CA
$576,659

Santa Ana Unified School District
Santa Ana, CA
$612,423

South Bay Union Elementary School District
Eureka, CA
$121,112

Tustin Unified School District
Tustin, CA $358,476

West Contra Costa Unified School District
Richmond, CA
$578,262

Chula Vista Elementary School District Aid Asks To Withdraw Guilty Plea In Molestation Case

It's lucky this girl called the police. At Castle Park Elementary in 2001, two teachers reported a possible school shooting, and the district never investigated.

School Aid Asks To Change Plea In Molestation Case
Vincent Matthew Lopez Was Arrested In February
10 News
October 28, 2009

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A judge Wednesday appointed a new attorney for an ex- Chula Vista Elementary School District instructional aide who indicated he wants to withdraw his guilty plea to a charge of molesting a teenage girl.

South Bay Judge Timothy Walsh granted the motion by Vincent Matthew Lopez to replace his lawyer and scheduled a status conference for Tuesday.

A different judge was supposed to sentence Lopez to a year in jail.

The defendant was arrested last February, after a 15-year-old relative called police to report that Lopez had sexually assaulted her. Lopez was subsequently also charged with molesting another girl of similar age.

Last month, Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of committing a lewd act on a child.

The defendant, a part-time employee for the school district, was placed on administrative leave following his arrest. There were no indications that any of the assaults occurred at Halecrest and Tiffany elementary schools, where Lopez worked, authorities said.

If the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied, he will be sentenced to 365 days in custody and ordered to have no contact with both victims for five years, according to prosecutors.