e3 Civic High School

The leadership is terrible. The executive director bullies the faculty. We have been there for 2.5 years and I am removing my student in the middle of junior year it is so bad. Every year over 30% of the teachers have left. Always the good ones. Academics not well planned or rigorous. Do not send your kid here.

Really wanted to like this school, but after a year we had to move our kid. Its fancy on the outside, but not a lot going on with the curriculum. Project based learning is good for kids that can’t work on their own and find textbooks challenging. This is a good school for under or average students with high hopes of getting into community college. Everyone keeps saying its a new school in progress, but its going on the third year and the charter petition was submitted in 2010. Academics should have been planned out with a fine tooth comb already, not still being written. Staff turnover is high and it is not uncommon for teachers/​staff to be there one day and gone the next. My student doing the exact same assignment from the same novel as the previous year was the last straw. The teacher was informed by the students that they already did the project last year, but she regurgitated it anyway. A seasoned teacher would have brought it to the attention of the administrator and adapted everything, but rookie teachers don’t speak up. If you don’t mind your kid being a guinea pig or just want them to graduate high school this is the school for you. The parent committee also sucks — big time. A little group of nazi’s that think they own the school. Unwelcoming and cliquish!

I really like their project based approach to learning. The teachers are inspired and engaging. The student body is diverse and seem to love learning. Every student is issued a MacBook Air at the beginning of the year. I don’t even have a Mac! lol Uniforms are mandatory and stylish. (love uniforms) that promote a businesslike on point appearance. Located in the multimillion dollar downtown City Library, there isn’t a more sleek and sophisticated campus in San Diego. They specialize in placing students in internships in the downtown area. My daughter currently works at the e3 front desk and is learning important organizational and people skills. There are also opportunities for after school enrichment such as ACE Mentoring (Architecture * Construction * Engineering) once a week after school. We have also been on important field trips like the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles as well as walking field trips to galleries and local attractions. My daughter will visit China this summer with the Confucius Institute of SDSU, which supplies the school with their Mandarin teachers. The only minuses are no sports, only one honors class, and limited performing arts. Also the curriculum seems a little remedial so it is not challenging for some students. Of course the administration is working to change that, but everything takes time. There’s a lot of potential at e3. I recommend it.