A charter school serving mostly Somali students from in and around City Heights received permission from a divided San Diego school board Tuesday to expand its program to include high schoolers.
Over the objections of district Superintendent Terry Grier and others, the school board voted 3-2 to grant Iftin Charter School in City Heights authority to open a high school in fall 2010.
Opponents, including one of Iftin's founders, argued that the school offers a racially isolated environment – 93 percent of its students are Somali in a community where roughly 14 percent of residents are of African descent. In addition, critics said campus leaders have no viable plans to diversify the student body so that it more accurately reflects City Heights and the San Diego Unified School District.
Educators, parents and students from Iftin pleaded with the board to grant their expansion, saying students need a chance to continue learning in a safe setting with a solid academic program.
Board President Shelia Jackson and trustees Richard Barrera and John Lee Evans voted to grant the request, saying the campus demographics were not reason enough to halt the school's growth – especially because its test scores have risen dramatically in recent years.
“If we deny this opportunity, we are denying kids a path to success that the school has proven,” Barrera said.
The school's Web site says it has 210 students.
Jackson said she wants the school, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade, to increase its non-Somali population to 20 percent by the time it expands.
Trustees John de Beck and Katherine Nakamura expressed concerns over the lack of diversity at Iftin. “I don't think it's good for America to set up situations where people are isolated racially,” de Beck said.
Maureen Magee: (619) 293-1369;
Source: http://www3.signonsandiego.com
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