Sacramento has a new arts and sciences charter high school, a merger of two small high schools. It opened in September and was officially dedicated on Monday.
This is a model for what Sacramento City Unified schools should be doing as they face declining enrollment, tight budgets and the need for more personalized high school options.
Administrations at two of the district's small high schools realized in April that they would not meet enrollment goals, so they began talks to merge the schools. The school board approved the idea in June and changes to the charter by October.
The school is housed at a brand-new campus convenient to public transit: Take light rail to the Mather/Mills stop, then catch the No. 72 bus, which stops at the school.
The George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences is named after the 19th century painter, poet, pianist, botanist, educator and inventor. Its teaching methods are inspired by the Waldorf school movement. The principal spent 13 years as a teacher and administrator at the private San Francisco Waldorf High.
In the spring, the new Carver school will launch a 5-acre garden with an orchard, vegetables, herbs and flowers for a farmers market. The arts program includes music, drama, dance, drawing, print-making and sculpture. Students do hands-on exploration of chemistry, biology and physics in two beautiful labs.
As the Sacramento City Unified school district adjusts to life with 48,000 students – down from 53,000 six years ago – board members and the public should keep their eyes on the goal of high school reform established several years ago. Now is the time to move aggressively to get enrollments at the large, comprehensive high schools down to 1,800 students from the current 2,000-plus and to promote small high school options.
And families should take a look at Sac City's six small high schools, including the new Carver school, as the January open enrollment period approaches.
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