San Diego Unified Demands Albert Einstein Academies Fix ‘Violations of Charter’

San Diego Unified officials last month notified Albert Einstein Academies, a local charter school, that the school is violating multiple elements of its charter. 

The move comes after months of protest from parents of students attending Einstein. At the root of their frustration is the sense that the school had misled parents about its programming. Since its founding, Einstein has advertised having a 50/50 German immersion program. The program is even included in the school’s charter – the document that lays out the school’s specific goals and policies. 

After doing some digging, however, parents discovered that Einstein no longer offers a 50/50 German immersion program – and it hasn’t for years. That realization, and the inconsistent implementation of German instruction throughout the grades, elicited significant pushback from parents who valued the program. 

Einstein’s superintendent, David Sciaretta, freely acknowledged the school didn’t have a functional immersion program, meaning it was out of compliance with that element of the charter. 

This tension mostly simmered under the surface until recently, when another entity started paying attention: San Diego Unified. The district is Einstein’s charter authorizer, the local education agency that oversees the school and ensures it’s living up to its charter. In serious cases, an authorizer can revoke a school’s charter, which could force a school to close. 

District officials performed a site visit on April 29, less than a week after Voice published a story exploring the messy standoff. Two weeks later, Tiffany DeGraffenreid, the manager of San Diego Unified’s Office of Charter Schools, sent Einstein a “notice to cure violations of charter,” identifying two concerns.  

In her May 12 letter, DeGraffenreid wrote that “Classroom observations and interviews with educational partners revealed that the implementation of the English/German dual language program varies and is broadly inconsistent across grade levels.” Based on what they found, district officials “could not confirm that [Einstein] is in compliance with the terms of its charter,” DeGraffenreid continued. That finding mirrored the complaints many parents brought to board meetings. 

District officials also found problems with Einstein’s implementation of state-mandated English language development instruction for English language learners. This wasn’t the first time district officials have flagged this issue. Following a site visit last year, DeGraffenreid wrote that Einstein’s English language development program “is not fully developed and implemented.” 

DeGraffenreid gave Einstein officials until June 2 to respond to the notice with how Einstein officials plan to fix the problems with its English language development instruction. She also requested the charter submit a corrective action plan outlining “specific actions,” Einstein will undertake to bring the German immersion program into compliance with what was laid out in the schools’ charter.  

In past years, such letters were a rarity, district Spokesperson James Canning wrote in an email. But more recently officials have sent an increasing amount. Eleven of the 12 letters of concern or notices to cure issued by the district in the past three years were sent during the 2024-25 school year. 

Sciaretta, Einstein’s superintendent, responded to the district letter on June 2. In his response, which was obtained by Voice of San Diego, he laid out the school’s plans to remedy the problems district officials found. Sciaretta wrote that Einstein leadership is working on a new master schedule that will more consistently incorporate English language development instruction into students’ school days. In partnership with officials at the San Deigo County Office of Education, school leaders are also reviewing a range of curriculum options. They plan to select one by July.  

When it comes to the charter’s German immersion program, Sciaretta acknowledged in the letter that the model is not “consistently aligned in Kindergarten through fifth grade and has not been for several years.”  

The school launched a focus group to tackle the issue in the 2023-24 school year, Sciaretta wrote. At a board meeting earlier this year, school leadership presented a proposal to ditch the immersion model and institute a program where German was taught every day, but as a foreign language. At that meeting, Sciaretta also announced that 82 percent of Einstein teachers supported the change. 

In the letter to San Diego Unified, Sciaretta wrote that Einstein leadership plans to submit a charter revision to its board in fall of 2025, which if passed would then go to San Diego Unified’s board for final approval. Any changes would also need to be approved by the union that represents Einstein teachers.  

Canning, San Diego Unified’s spokesperson, wrote that Sciaretta’s letter met its expectations but that officials will “follow-up with the school and continue to monitor its progress toward compliance.” 

Despite the language in the letter, the elimination of Einstein’s immersion program isn’t yet a done deal, Sciaretta said. The school has brought some parents into the conversation to both provide input on a new model and potentially help find German teachers to fill the school’s vacancies. Difficulty finding German teachers is one of the key reasons leadership claims the immersion model has fallen apart. 

“The input from the focus group is really important and it would be disingenuous to say no matter what the group comes up with it’s a foregone conclusion,” Sciaretta said. “On the other hand, we’re looking at a very resounding consensus from teachers and German teachers that … certainly, a change is needed to align policies with practice.” 

One of the key points of contention for parents has been a perceived lack of transparency from Einstein’s leadership, particularly as it relates to the charter’s German program. After all, the school’s website prominently advertised a 50/50 German immersion program all the way until mid-April, despite not having had one for years, per Sciaretta’s own admission. 

The school plans to send out more robust information to parents in the coming weeks, Sciaretta said, so that they “know what they’re getting into.” 

“I don’t think we ever 100 percent meet everybody’s needs,” he continued. “I own that we could have done a better job a year ago. I think there’s been a good faith effort to improve communication.” 

Stephanie Measures, an Einstein parent who’s played a lead role in organizing the protests in recent months, disagrees. To her, Sciaretta’s response only raises more questions.  

For one, despite the letter’s assertion that the focus group has been meeting for years, parent were only added in recent months. Even Sciaretta’s claim that 82 percent of staff supported the new model seems suspect. After all, staff weren’t asked their opinion about the specifics of a new German language model, only whether they would support moving toward a model “with a goal of daily German.”  

She also doesn’t buy that a German teacher shortage explains the school’s immersion troubles. 

“We don’t believe the issue of finding German teachers for the school is the whole story,” Measures said. 

To Measures, Einstein’s leadership has been focused on one thing and one thing alone: growth. That growth mindset has led the school’s leadership to neglect he German program that’s been a cornerstone of the school since its founding.  

It’s also created a lack of trust in the school’s leadership among parents who value the German program. Measures said she knows many parents in the program who plan to pull their kids out over the summer. Despite Sciaretta’s assertion that the axing of the immersion program isn’t a done deal, Measures has her doubts. 

“It almost seems like they’re trying to cover up deficiencies in the German program,” Measures said. “We are not confident they will actually try to save it.”