Memorial Prep in Logan Heights was once one of San Diego Unified’s most avoided schools. The school was beset by poor performance and perceptions that it was unsafe, reports our Jakob McWhinney.
District leaders ultimately closed the school and spent $200 million rebuilding a new campus: Logan Memorial. But now, years after opening, the school is still struggling with performance and suspension issues.
“The school’s low test scores come with the requisite asterisk about educational outcomes being inextricably linked with socioeconomic factors like income. The community Logan Memorial serves is almost exclusively low income,” writes McWhinney.
Logan Memorial’s overall suspension last school year, which sat at about 14 percent, is nearly identical to Memorial Prep’s 2018-19 rate. The comparison isn’t apples-to-apples, since Logan Memorial serves more grades. In some ways, the new rate is worse.
When zeroing in on 7th and 8th grade only, Logan Memorial’s suspension rate is actually four points higher than they were at Memorial Prep.
The Latest Homelessness Data
For the 20th month in a row, the number of people becoming homeless in San Diego County outpaced the number moving into homes.
The Regional Task Force on Homelessness reports that 1,135 San Diegans became homeless for the first time in November and 813 exited homelessness.
Broken record, harsh reality: Local efforts to combat homelessness aren’t keeping pace with the number of people losing their homes. As we reported earlier this month, the equivalent of 16 people accessed homeless services for the first time for every 10 formerly homeless residents who were housed from October 2022 through September 2023.
Better news: Mayor Todd Gloria announced Wednesday that the city and homeless outreach workers have moved 97 unsheltered people off the street with the help of a $2.5 state encampment resolution grant the city received last fall to address camps near the East Village U.S. Post Office. The city has also received state grants to aid unsheltered people living in camps along the Interstate 15 in Normal Heights and City Heights, and with the county, Santee and Caltrans to house people staying along the San Diego River.
The latest count at the city’s safe sleeping sites: As of Monday, the city reported that 494 homeless residents were staying in 408 tents at the city’s safe campsites in Balboa Park. The two sites can collectively accommodate 544 tents.
All the Things We Learned This Year
Next week we are running our annual reporting series: What We Learned This Year.
Our reporters will reflect on some of the biggest stories they followed in 2023. Every day we will have a new story about what we learned this year. From the state getting serious about housing laws to how residents responded to new organic recycling programs. It’s going to be good.
Note: We’re taking time off to rest and spend time with our families. You won’t get a Morning Report tomorrow or Monday. We know you’ll miss us, and we will miss you too. Happy holidays.
In Other News
- Shane Harris, a local activist, withdrew from the San Diego City Council race to replace former councilmember Monica Montgomery-Steppe. Harris endorsed Henry Foster, longtime chief of staff for Montgomery-Steppe, who is also in the race. (Union-Tribune)
- Hundreds of rideshare drivers protested near San Diego airport over unfair wages and percentage splits with rideshare companies. “Twenty rides and I make $90 in 12 hours, it’s horrible,” said one driver. (FOX 5)
- The University of California blew a 26-point lead, but still managed to hold on to beat UC San Diego in men’s basketball. (Deadspin)
- “Fat Leonard” Francis was returned to the United States Wednesday in a prisoner swap with Venezuela. “Fat Leonard” orchestrated a vast corruption scheme involving dozens of US Navy officials. He had previously escaped house arrest and fled to Venezuela. (NBC 7)
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry, Lisa Halverstadt and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.
“The comparison isn’t apples-to-apples … When zeroing in on 7th and 8th grade only, Logan Memorial’s suspension rate is actually four points higher than they were at Memorial Prep.”
there’s a name for this; it’s called cheery-picking data to prove your point. and you shouldn’t do it; it’s really not good journalism.
“the city and homeless outreach workers have moved 97 unsheltered people off the street”. What the article didn’t include is the number of formerly sheltered people the city moved into homelessness during the same period. When the city hall politicians cater to their developer doners by upzoning large tracts of the city, they increased the value of those developers’ land in those areas, which encouraged the developers to evict the renters in their older homes so they could tear those affordable rental units down to make room for new high-end “market rate” apartment complexes and condo towers.
How many formerly housed San Diegans have been evicted by property owners to make room for new high cost apartments and condos. That’s the question nobody seems to want the answer to.