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Monarch School for Children Expands Executive Team

Monarch School, a San Diego public K-12 school for children impacted by homelessness and the only school of its kind in the country, is expanding its executive team with the addition of Erin Spiewak as the new CEO. Spiewak has a proven track record of nonprofit leadership and joins current CEO Ronne Froman, who is transitioning into the role of president of the Board of Directors. The two will work together leading Monarch School as it continues its Capital Campaign and prepares to break ground on a new campus.

Spiewak has an impressive track record, bringing years of experience in education and nonprofits to Monarch School. Most recently, Spiewak served as executive director for the Gary and Mary West Foundation, San Diego’s largest private family foundation, which has committed more than $10 million to support innovative education and workforce programs. Prior to this role, she served as program officer at the West Foundation and earlier as program staff and financial analysis for the Rose Foundation/WebMD Health Foundation. Spiewak’s notable professional affiliations include: founding board member and treasurer for the Downtown Charter High School; education advisory committee member for the United Way of San Diego County; education committee chair for Women Give San Diego; and chair for San Diego Workforce Funders Collaborative.

“Monarch’s entire Board couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Erin Spiewak as the new CEO,” said Jim McMillan, outgoing president of the Monarch School Board of Directors. “Spiewak’s understanding of nonprofits, passion for education and successful leadership and fundraising experience makes her an invaluable part of our team. Combined with the ongoing strategic leadership of Ronne Froman, now chairing our Board, the organization couldn’t be in better hands.

“The program Monarch School has established, offering the highest academic standards while also providing basic needs like clothing, food and emotional support services, is vital to countering the rise in homelessness and giving these children the tools they need to prosper,” said Spiewak. “Higher test scores and rising student achievements are just two testaments among many that prove this program works.  It’s also an exciting time for Monarch School as we approach the ground breaking of the new campus that will allow us to serve even more students. I couldn’t be prouder to be joining Ronne and the amazing Board and staff as we work together to help build a bright future for these kids.”

Monarch School will break ground on the new campus in February in the East Village-Barrio Logan area of Downtown San Diego, just south of Petco Park. The new campus will allow Monarch School to serve more than double its current student population.

A School For Homeless Students

Yeseina is a half hour late walking into her class at Monarch School in downtown San Diego. Her teacher, Stephen Keiley, looks concerned and not one bit annoyed.

“Welcome,” he says, smiling warmly. “Why are you late?”

“I woke up late,” replies the youngster.

Keiley nods understandingly and asks if she has had breakfast. She tells him she has already eaten and settles down for a math lesson in the combination fourth- and fifth-grade class.

Yeseina is homeless, and so are all of her classmates and students attending Monarch School. So members of the Association of Educators CTA/NEA who teach here are flexible. They know punctuality can be a challenge for students if they are sleeping in a shelter, motel room or car with their family.

They may look like any other students, but those attending Monarch face obstacles unimaginable to most of us. They may lack food and health care. Many have been exposed to violence and adult relatives with mental health or substance abuse problems. For them, the year-round K-12 school is a safe haven.

“I love it here,” says 14-year-old Noelle. “It feels like family. I feel comfortable here.”

Students may switch shelters or motels, but many find some stability at Monarch, a school that provides meals, showers, laundry facilities and a clothes closet. The school has partnerships with health care providers for vision and dental services, and a clinic is slated to open on campus. Doors open at 6:30 a.m. since shelters close early, and many students stay until 5 or 6 p.m., when the shelters reopen. Family dinners are held two nights a week. Students are given free passes to take the trolley or bus to school from throughout San Diego County, and some travel many miles to get to school each day. It’s worth it, say students, because Monarch is the closest thing to having a home.

“The key word is services that Monarch provides to students and their families,” says high school math and science teacher Karen Daley, who began teaching at the school last January. “We have ‘shopping day’ here at the school where students can get toiletries including shampoo and conditioner or clothes that are nearly new. It’s almost like having a store at school. We also have after-school programs where kids can do homework, yoga and dance classes.”

The school was founded in 2001 and is located in a renovated warehouse. The population has grown by 75 percent since 2009 due to a worsening economy, and the school will be moving to a larger facility next year to meet rising demand. It is one of the few schools for homeless children in the nation. Federal law mandates that public schools allow homeless students to stay enrolled even when they leave the attendance boundaries so they are not segregated from other students. However, Monarch School was given a waiver and is allowed to serve only students who are homeless. If families find permanent housing, students can finish out the school year.

Staff members say the alternative campus helps meet students’ needs in ways that traditional schools may not, and students don’t have to worry about being teased by other students about being homeless or dirty, having body odor, or wearing old clothes. Some students say that at other schools they were embarrassed to be living in motels and told other students they were on vacation.

“The majority of the kids here are two to three grade levels behind,” says Keiley, a Teacher of the Year in San Diego County. “They arrive here deficient in reading and math and other basics. They have had gaps in their education. Part of homelessness is moving around, and when you’re transient, you’re often missing school.”

Students typically gain a year of academic achievement for every six months at Monarch through intensive interventions, says Principal Joel Garcia, and they are assessed every 100 days in language, reading and math. For high school students, the emphasis can also be on “credit recovery” so they graduate on time or earn their GED.

“Our school is about educating the whole child,” says reading specialist Stacy Bermingham, who has been at the campus six years. “We make sure every child receives love, care and attention. Students know there are adults here that they can rely on. We don’t take for granted that our children have had a good night’s sleep, or been fed, or had any sort of consistency in their lives. They are living lives of trauma, and there is no soft-selling that.”

Schools like Monarch are necessary, says Bermingham, because society no longer takes care of those who cannot fend for themselves.  

Two Monarch Graduates Receive Diplomas at June Commencement

Summer graduation was a proud day for two Monarch seniors. Roberto Cortez said goodbye to Monarch after seven years, while Jessika Valenzuela leaves after nearly a year. Both grads have been awarded scholarships and will continue their education at San Diego City College.

 

Roberto Cortez has attended Monarch since September 2004 and many Monarch staff members have had the pleasure of watching him grow into a fine young man who has continually strived to achieve academic excellence. Roberto will apply this inner drive and determination toward a career in professional wrestling and during his quest to reveal wrestling for the art form that it truly is. Roberto is currently enrolled at San Diego City College and will be taking courses for a degree in business management. Roberto qualified for the Monarch School Project Scholarship and has received the Beason Scholarship.

 

Jessika Valenzuela came to Monarch in September 2010 and quickly made Monarch her new home. She immediately demonstrated a drive to fulfill graduation requirements and a determination to do whatever necessary to achieve her goal of attending college. Jessika’s warm personality proved to be an asset in the classroom environment and she has supported Monarch by volunteering her time to do interviews and, of course, photo shoots! Jessika has enrolled at San Diego City College with plans to pursue a career in forensics and modeling. She is currently taking Summer Readiness classes and plans to transfer to a four-year university to complete her studies. Jessika qualified for the Monarch School Project Scholarship and has received the following scholarships: the Citizen’s Scholarship, the Price Scholarship, the Soroptimist Scholarship and the Words Alive Scholarship.