F.A.Q.s about Innovations Academy’s move to Kearny Mesa
Dear Parents of Current and Prospective Students,
The teachers and staff at Innovations Academy are SO excited about our up-coming move to our forever home at 5454 Ruffin Road! We want you to know that the planning is well underway, and we are working closely with the planning team and architects to create exactly what our students and families want and need. The most exciting part is that the campus is going to be brand new and all ours!
At this point, we don’t have all of the answers, but please know that as new information is available, we will update our families. Feel free to take a drive by the new campus, and begin to get excited with us.
If you’d like to see the most recent rendition of the site plans, you are welcome to stop by the office.
If you have further questions, please contact the school office at 858-271-1414 or info@innovationsacademy.org
Sincerely,
Christine Kuglen, Director of IA
Frequently Asked Questions Answered:
When will the school be moving?
We are aiming to begin the 2019-20 school year at the new site, however once the site plans are approved by the city, we will have more definition on the timeline.
Since Proposition Z money is being used to build out our new facility, the timeline is out of our hands. In exchange for this challenge, we will have a facility that is virtually free for us.
If, by chance, the school is not ready by August 2019, we will stay at our current location in Scripps Ranch until the new site is complete. This has been agreed upon by the school district, Innovations Academy and the Monarch developers who will build out the Scripps Ranch site once we vacate.
Will the school provide transportation for families coming from the north?
Innovations Academy will run a bus from a northern location (either Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, Poway, or Rancho Penasquitos) based on students’ home addresses and finding a safe, available and legal location to do so. There will be a small cost to the families associated with this service.
We commit to running a bus for the full school year (2019-20) and then will reevaluate the need. We will consider running two buses if there is high demand and/or more than one route/pick up and drop off location.
How will parking and drop-off/pick-up work at the new site?
There is less parking at our new facility than at our current site. We had to choose between parking and play space, and we chose more play space for students.
Drop off and pick up are going to require a lot of cooperation, patience and planning. There will be a round-about on the south side of the building. The bus service may decrease the amount of cars at drop off and pick up. Middle school parents may choose to drop off their student one block away.
We will do our best to monitor parking. The process could be frustrating for parents until we work out the kinks. Almost 100% of schools encounter difficulty with drop-off and pick-up. We hope that running a bus will decrease traffic. Parents are allowed to park on the street, and staff members who arrive early will park on the street to preserve parking spots for parents. We will also reach out to neighboring businesses that seem to have additional parking spots to see if we can make agreements with them.
We do not foresee any issues with parking at night for events such as Exhibition, plays, dances and parent meetings. The businesses surrounding our building are closed in the evenings, and we will be reaching out to them about using their parking lots for these events.
Parents will still be welcome on campus during the day. If there is no parking in the lot, parents may need to park on the street.
Will there be childcare before and after school?
Outpost (our current before and after school program) will be moving with us and continuing before and after school care.
What will the daily schedule be?
Our school day will be the same as this year. School hours will be 8:45-3:15 for 1st – 8th grades and 8:45 – 2:15 for Kindergarten. The minimum day will continue to be on Mondays with dismissal at 12:30.
Will lunch be provided for those in need?
By law, starting in the 2019-2020 school year, all SD schools are required to provide lunch to students who qualify due to low-income status. That will most likely trigger the availability of a lunch purchase program also. We are still working on this, but it will be coming next year.
The “servery” in our new building is a kitchen and will be for both lunch delivery and for cooking classes. It is called a servery and not a kitchen because there are different legalities around this type of space. We will not be cooking lunches for our school in the servery.
Lunch in our new facility will happen outside (as it does currently) under shade protection at picnic tables.
We will not be serving breakfast at our school.
Will there be a playground and other outdoor space?
YES! ☺ Students will benefit from our new interactive nature play-learn space. We are putting much thought and planning into the details of the outdoor areas. We will know more details in the coming months.
Students will continue to have the same amount of outdoor time as this year, since we believe that this is very important for health and well-being.
We will make the space as “green” as we can. Remember, we don’t have complete control over this due to district measures, but we will do the best we can.
How secure will the campus be?
The play yard will be in the back of the building, and it will be surrounded by a fence, which will create a secure play-space. We will have security measures at the new site, which we currently do not have. Our next round of schematic drawings will have more details about the safety infrastructure.
Will there be a library in the new building?
Having and running a library, large or small, is a serious logistical challenge. Students actually end up having less access to new reading material. We prefer classroom libraries. At the new site we will also have large common areas with bookcases so students will always have access to books.
Will there be common spaces inside the building and lockers?
Inside the building there will be a lot of common space that can be used for small groups, relaxation and rainy day activities. There will not be lockers. It is currently in our plans for each classroom to have a small glass enclosed space for small group instruction. The halls are wide and will have space for small groups there as well.
What are some additional future program details?
The Toby Wells YMCA is located a few blocks from the new school site. We will be reaching out to them for a partnership. Their facilities will allow us access to a more diverse portfolio of activities for students.
Will you be opening a TK next year?
We have no plans for opening a Transitional Kindergarten class. We believe that five is the perfect age for children to begin elementary school, so families are encouraged to wait until kindergarten to enroll.
Is there a concern about air quality since we will be in a business area?
Air quality was tested prior to purchasing the building and met the standards for schools. The school district has all of the soil and air tests completed as well. We anticipate that our plants and trees will enhance the environment.
Stay tuned for updates…