Renovated site of former North Park Elementary now open to public
By Dave Schwab | SDUN Reporter
ALBA school celebrated the opening of its new joint-use facilities Dec. 6 with pomp, circumstance and a little help from its friends, including North Park neighbors, the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and Council President Todd Gloria.
The occasion was a dedication and ribbon cutting marking the opening of the school’s field and athletic facilities to public use. The facilities recently went through a $400,000 renovation, funded by SDSU’s Proposition S bond. The site, located at 4041 Oregon St., previously housed North Park Elementary School, which closed due to declining enrollment.
The joint-use agreement is a partnership established in 1948 and updated in 2002 between the City and SDUSD, sealed with the consent of school neighbors. There are currently 76 joint-use agreements in the City.
Council President Todd Gloria said the dedication of the joint-use ALBA facilities was a win-win for everyone.
“We’re dedicating a public facility for the enjoyment of both our children and our community,” he said. “What we have done here is take a facility that did not reflect the greatness of neither our schools nor the neighborhood, and made it actually reflect the importance of North Park, a thriving and improving community.”
The Alternative Learning for Behavior and Attitude (ALBA) high school and middle school moved from its previous location behind Crawford High School in El Cerrito to Oregon Street, adjacent to the North Park Community Park, during the 2009-10 school year.
ALBA offers a program for students who are on suspended expulsion or have exhibited problems with conduct at other high schools. Typically students spend a semester – 18 weeks – at ALBA before returning to their former schools.
At the ribbon cutting, ALBA Principal Vernon Moore said the school’s move to North Park brought out concerns regarding the students’ behavior in the neighborhood, adding that he faced many questions before they moved into the building. Those questions were quickly answered, he said, and the move has been a success.
“This facility, in this community, is the envy of the entire district,” Moore said.
ALBA’s motto is “empowering students, changing lives,” and Moore said neighbors were not thrilled at first with the idea of the school in their midst. Adding that they came around to the notion after he and others “went door-to-door” to talk about the school, Moore said he reassured them the school would be good neighbors.
Improving the facilities immediately became a top priority, which resulted in a new basketball court, new lights for the resurfaced play field, repaired sidewalks, and new signage and fencing around the field, among others. Architectural partner was the IBI Group, with offices Downtown, and GEM Industrial, Inc. handled construction.
“It’s so exciting to see what’s become of ALBA these last few years, after it was moved from ramshackle portable buildings,” said SDUSD board trustee Richard Barrera at the Dec. 6 ceremony.
Barrera said in order for young people at ALBA to make a commitment to turn their lives and academics around, the district needed to commit to improving the new North Park facility to demonstrate its faith in the students. Part of that commitment, Barrera said, involved co-opting the support of the neighborhood.
“We said we’ve got to invest in this property so we can honor our students,” he said. “We also needed to invest in the neighborhood, [and] hear back from them on what we could do with the facility that would make the neighborhood stronger.”
Gloria said ALBA’s transformation and incorporation into the surrounding neighborhood was an example of what can be done collaboratively with people “who are willing to roll their sleeves up, get to the table and find solutions.”
“I just want to say thank you to the wonderful staff, and to the ALBA students, you are the reason why we’re here,” Moore said, adding, “this is a glowing example of what a group effort can do when it’s heartfelt.”
