Page 87 - ANAHEIM 2019

SCHOOL TOURS Anaheim Story Tour
In 1998, the Anaheim City Schools (K-6) had grown from 7,000 students to 21,000 and hadn’t built any new schools. The crisis was unprecedented, even for California where rampant growth has challenged many districts at various times. The crisis meant that they had added portable classrooms until they had no more space, then went to Multi-Track Year Round Schedules, and then had moved to double session MTYE for K-3rd grade, with more grade levels to come.
The solution required several changes to legislation at the state level (as this district for decades had not qualified), working with Disney to not oppose a bond, and working with our own community, including our own board members, to vote yes on funding. Once funded, we had to move quickly and innovatively in an urban area where no land was available. It resulted in some very unusual projects.
Now, 20 years later, we know what worked and what hasn’t. The district now named Anaheim Elementary School District will supply feedback on how the innovative schools are doing, what had to be changed, and what the future holds. This workshop will include a brief of the crisis and solutions, then will mainly focus on four of the innovative projects that became part of the answer.
1) Ponderosa Elementary
A joint use project with the City Parks, City Library, and Redevelopment Department. This project included acquisition of 19 apartment buildings adjacent to a park, a land swap with the park, a street closure with recom- mendation from the police depart- ment, and a library that is jointly City/ School to serve a very challenging area with over 2200 K-6 students within walking distance, all were being bused elsewhere. The playgrounds are jointly used with the park. This school ac- commodates 1168 on MTRYE or 875 regular enrollment.