Ayer Introduction

Gaspar de Portola Middle School: Community

Gaspar de Portola Middle School is located in San Diego , California , in the Tierrasanta/Murphy Canyon community. De Portola is one of 22 middle schools in the San Diego Unified School District , which is the second-largest urban district in the state of California and serves over 130,000 students. De Portola enrolls students from its own community as well as students who ride a bus through the Voluntary Ethnic Enrollment Program (VEEP), choice applications, and No Child Left Behind petitions. Over 40% of the students at de Portola are from military families, as we have two feeder elementary schools that are located in military housing projects.

Helping all students reach their fullest potential is a shared goal for the de Portola school community. All stakeholders, including parents, teachers, classified staff, administrators, community members and students play important roles in developing a clear vision for the school.

• The PTA supports the teachers by raising money for books, classroom supplies, field trips, and teacher appreciation (i.e. Welcome Back luncheons, thank-you notes, themed-appreciation treats, etc). They provide hundreds of volunteers throughout the year for events such as the All-School Track Meet, library media center, office support, career day, and nurse's office.

• The PALs (Parents at Lunch) program provides three to five parent supervisors every day to help monitor lunch so the school can maintain a one-lunch program, allowing the entire school to be together for ASB and club activities.

• The de Portola Foundation shows their support by raising money for the educational and technology goals of the school. Last year, through an auction, they raised over $35,000 that was used to purchase 39 computers for the library/media center.

• The local churches show their support by hosting foundation membership drives and sponsoring a “help clean our school” landscaping project.

• The school's business partner, Cubic, provides many resources to the school. On November 8, 2005 , De Portola and Cubic were recognized by the San Diego Unified School District for their exemplary partnership in education agreement.

• The community shows their support by buying magazines during the annual ASB all-school magazine drive. This year, $103,000 was raised through subscriptions and the ASB will net close to $38,000 as a result of this fundraiser.

The teachers at de Portola are all professionals who support one in another within the classroom. In the last three years, two teachers have had local, state and national recognition for exemplary classroom practices (i.e., District and County Teachers of the Year for 2004 and 2005, State Wal*Mart Teacher of the Year for 2005, California League of Middle Schools Educator of the Year finalists for 2004 and 2005, and Disney Award Winner for 2006).

California League of Middle Schools
6615 East Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 120, Long Beach, California 90803
Voice: 562/430-3136 or 800/326-1880 . . . FAX: 562/430-5607. . . E-Mail: info@clms.net