HIGH MARKS The Preuss School UC San Diego consistently ranks as the top-serving school in San Diego County and has also been named " top transformative school in the nation " by Newsweek .
urban and regional planning or political science . She ’ s sure that without Preuss ’ help , she wouldn ’ t have made it to that starting line . She was born in Sudan , and after her father was the target of three assassination attempts , her family fled to Egypt , where they stayed nearly two years in a refugee camp . She was seven when they arrived in the U . S .; when she started second grade in San Diego , she spoke no English .
At Preuss she was goalkeeper for the varsity soccer team , and she interned at a stem cell lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys Institute . “ I look at what I ’ ve had at Preuss , and I know there are thousands of kids who haven ’ t had such a good opportunity . I feel like Preuss needs to get a little bigger , or maybe open a school in City Heights , so more kids who want to could go to college . I want more people from my background to have that same opportunity .”
Changing students , changing families Students are the ones who ride the bus and go to class , but support from their families is an essential element in their success . Sandra Gutierrez , Preuss ’ volunteer coordinator , runs the school ’ s Parent Academy , whose goal is to help parents feel comfortable with the school and to get to know each other . It meets monthly , usually with more than 100 parents in attendance . They learn the school ’ s expectations for students , how they can help them in the process , who the office and counseling staff are and how they can volunteer . The parent support specialist offers classes in parenting as well , and parents can take classes in nutrition and financial literacy .
Maria Martinez-Rendon , who ’ s had three children at Preuss , is a quiet , thoughtful woman , a volunteer in Preuss ’ library , in its office and with its PTA . She and her sons , Eduardo , who ’ s in seventh grade this year , and Luis , Preuss ’ 11 , talked about the difference Preuss has made for their family . Eduardo and Luis sat on each side of her and translated for her . Luis draped his arm across the back of her chair . “ What I wanted most ,” Maria said , “ was for my children to get a good education . It wasn ’ t always easy . We have a big family in San Diego , and we ’ ve had to miss a lot of family gatherings because the kids had homework and school projects . It was what they needed to do .”
Luis followed his sister , Tania , to Preuss . She graduated in 2009 , went to the University of Redlands and now works as a paralegal . Luis went to UC Davis and now is completing his certification as a biology teacher . “ Preuss has helped our whole family have a better life . We have
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