Morning Report: Middle College Mess at Lincoln Takes Bad Turn
by Kinsee Morlan January 23, 2017 March 15, 2022
A program meant to help Lincoln High students earn college credits is in shambles.
It's only been two years since San Diego Unified launched the STEAM Middle College program that allows Lincoln High students to take classes at San Diego City College. A few years ago, this program was the centerpiece of a rehabilitation of Lincoln meant to attract families back to the school after years of declining enrollment.
But Mario Koran reports that the last semester of the program was so plagued with problems it ended with dozens of students narrowly avoiding getting Fs on what would be college transcripts.
City College and San Diego Unified aren't saying much about the debacle, but Koran obtained an internal report from Lincoln High that shows 49 of the 66 Lincoln students who took a remedial math class at City College last semester failed the course.
The problems come on the heels of major changes to the floundering Middle College program. District administrators decided to whittle down the class offerings and chose to focus only on the remedial math class. All of the other Middle College courses were canceled, but nobody told the students, so they showed up to their assigned classes last fall to find empty rooms and no teachers.
Cindy Barros, president of Lincoln's parent-teacher organization, said the blame for the students' Fs and Ds should be placed squarely on the backs of district officials.
"San Diego Unified is failing the children of Lincoln high school," Barros told Koran.
Soccer the New Goal for Mission Valley?
Futbol could soon replace the football of yore in San Diego.
At a press conference Monday morning, San Diegans will learn more about a proposal to purchase the Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley and build a joint-use facility that will be used by a Major League Soccer team and the San Diego State Aztecs football program.
NBC 7 San Diego's Derek Togerson and the U-T's Kevin Acee have details on the proposal, which is being spearheaded by a group led by La Jolla investor Mike Stone.
The deal will be privately financed and would offer the city fair market value for the property, according to both.
The area surrounding the smallish new stadium will include a park area, restaurants, housing projects "plus 16 acres set aside for an NFL stadium (should one become necessary in the next several years," Acee writes.
• Washington Post columnist Normad Chad rails against wealthy NFL owners who demand public subsidies to build their teams new stadiums. A longtime Los Angeles resident, Chad also thinks both the Rams and Chargers' moves to Los Angeles will ultimately fail: "Trust me on this: Los Angeles can support 623 Jack in the Box locations but it cannot support two NFL franchises."
• Meanwhile, U-T columnist Mark Zeigler thinks the Chargers maybe possibly plausibly could soon end up back in San Diego.
• ESPN's Adam Schefter got Chargers fans talking when he reported that anonymous sources are telling him that the NFL isn't happy with Dean Spanos' decision to move to L.A. The sources say the anger could eventually force the Chargers to bolt back to San Diego (but probably not).
This Fallbrook church is definitely nowhere close to being ready to welcome the Chargers back anytime soon. (USA Today)
San Diego's Art Scene Ain't That Bad
Last week, we ran an op-ed by a San Diego artist who left for the more prosperous pastures of New York City. He argued that our region just doesn't have the infrastructure and community needed to support artists who are serious about making a living from off their work.
This week, a local gallery owner responds to some of the criticisms of the local art scene, saying, "The reality is that opportunities for artists have never been more abundant in the region."
• San Diego-based tech giant Qualcomm is being sued by Apple. In the lawsuit, Apple said it's owed about $1 billion in withheld rebates from Qualcomm. (The New York Times)
• The U-T looks at pay for local elected officials and finds, among other things, that leaders in San Diego, Chula Vista and Vista are making a lot more than many of their counterparts in other cities.
ICYMI: Rep. Scott Peters made an appearance on a recent episode of the VOSD podcast and talked about the need for change when it comes to pay raises for elected officials.
• About 21 Mexican pesos equal one U.S dollar these days. The value of the peso has slipped big-time recently, and the U-T's Roger Showley asked a panel of economic experts whether that means there'll be problems for the local and national economy.
• Local planners and communities are opting to approve condo and apartment projects rather than new housing developments. The U-T looks into the trend and its impact on families who want to own a single-family home.
• A new report is out confirming that the state's housing crisis is indeed negatively impacting younger Californians. KPBS reports on the Department of Housing and Community Development's public workshop Monday in San Diego where experts will be brainstorming solutions and hoping to counter the trend.
• Big protests over the cost of fuel in Mexico again caused officials to temporarily close down the border crossing in San Ysidro. This is the third time that's happened. (Fox 5 San Diego)
• Maybe San Diegans should consider protesting over the cost of fuel, considering the fact that our region logged the highest price in the continental U.S. (Associated Press)
• The San Diego Sheriff's Department is using drones to document crime scenes and otherwise assist officers, and that's got some people worried about potential abuse of the extra surveillance.
VOSD reported on the sheriff's drone program, which was quietly launched without public input, in December.
• Almost everyone was surprised by the huge turnout at the San Diego Women's March. The San Diego Police Department estimated that about 40,000 people flooded downtown streets Saturday to protest Donald Trump's presidency. (KPBS)
In her weekly column, VOSD's Sara Libby puts together a list of things people can do to keep the momentum going.
• Two San Diego politicians led a prayer at Chicano Park the day after Trump's inauguration. (NBC 7 San Diego)
• More rain is coming! (Times of San Diego)
• Ocean Beach band Slightly Stoopid are making a smokable record from marijuana. No joke. (SoundDiego)
Social Media Moments
• San Diego's trees are indeed weak. Try walking on a local sidewalk without running into a fallen palm frond or seven, I dare you.
• This was the best thing I saw at the Women's March on Saturday.
Tagged: Abraham Lincoln High School, Lincoln High School
Kinsee Morlan
Kinsee Morlan was formerly the Engagement Editor at Voice of San Diego and author of the Culture... More by Kinsee Morlan