Charter School of San Diego

The Charter School of San Diego (CSSD), authorized by the public 

San Diego Unified School District, states that it “is committed to 

the development of a personalized instructional program with 

intensive parental involvement that demonstrates positive outcomes 

for each student.” Opened in 1994, CSSD is specifically aimed at 

students whose futures are at risk because they were not successful 

at conventional schooling. Students who enroll at CSSD are seeking 

an alternative educational environment or fall into several at-risk 

categories. On average, 14 percent of the student population is 

designated as gifted and 13 percent require special education. CSSD 

provides free, individualized education in Grades 7-12 to engage, 

graduate, or redirect these students. CSSD is headquartered in San 

Diego, Calif., operates 21 instructional and educational resources 

centers in San Diego County, and employs 187 workforce members.

Student-Focused Processes Get High Marks

• To fulfill its ultimate goal of transforming the lives of students who 

enter the school behind academically and at risk of never receiving 

a high school diploma, CSSD focuses on providing an individualized

education program that will builds student confidence and 

engagement in learning so that they can graduate at CSSD or 

transition back to a traditional high school for graduation. Over 

the past five years, CSSD demonstrated an overall increase in 

successful transitions and exceeded its goal of 95 percent.

• CSSD systematically builds relationships with students and their 

families or other guardians, beginning with targeted marketing 

messages that aim to attract new students. As a result, CSSD’s 

student body has grown from 1,704 students in the 2009-2010 

academic year to 2,187 students in 2014-2015. 

• CSSD maintained overall student and parent satisfaction levels of 

close to 100 percent from 2010 to 2015. Furthermore, 95 percent 

of enrolled students for the past six years would recommend CSSD 

to others, and 97 percent of students’ parents would recommend 

the school to a friend or family member. 

• For the California High School Exit Exam, a state-required graduation

assessment of students’ achievement in English/language arts and 

math, CSSD students have maintained a schoolwide passing rate of

about 80 percent for five years, better than three competitor schools. 

• CSSD has sustained a student retention rate above 80 percent for 

the past five academic years. The school reduced the time from 

student enrollment through intake from an average of nearly 

12 days in 2010-2011 to about five days in 2014-2015. 

• CSSD determines what educational programs and support to 

provide for students and their families by systematically drawing on 

2015 Award Recipient

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

Highlights

• CSSD maintained overall student and parent satisfaction 

levels of close to 100 percent from 2010 to 2015. Furthermore,

95 percent of enrolled students for the past six years would 

recommend CSSD to others, and 97 percent of students’ 

parents would recommend the school to a friend or 

family member. 

• CSSD’s overall dropout rate of 2.4 percent in 2013-2014 

outperformed the county rate of 2.7 percent and the 

statewide rate of 3.1 percent, even though CSSD students 

are on average two to three grade levels behind peers in 

language arts and three to four grade levels behind peers 

in math achievement when they enroll.

• CSSD has retained between 80–90 percent of its instructional 

staff for the past six years. 

• Despite a combined decrease of 43.14 percent in state 

funding in recent years, CSSD’s positive end-of-year fund 

balances have increased for the last six years. 
Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

2015 Award Recipient

Charter School of San Diego

data and information from many sources, including local school 

districts, customer surveys, and community demographics.

The school’s student intake process determines individual 

student needs.

• On the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of 

Academic Progress (MAP)—a nationally normed test for students in 

grades 7 through 11 on math, reading, and language usage—CSSD 

results show an overall favorable trend over the past four years 

for the number of students who have met growth targets set by 

the school.

The Best Teachers Follow the Best Practices

• CSSD has retained between 80–90 percent of its instructional staff 

for the past six years. For four years, CSSD has maintained a greater 

percentage of teachers with advanced degrees than two of its 

charter school competitors and most recently outperformed 

its county school system on this measure in the 2013-2014 

academic year. 

• Results from CSSD’s Work Styles Behavior Survey of job candidates 

enable the school to identify individuals who are likely to be a 

good fit based on behavioral alignment with the organization’s 

mission, vision, and values. 

• CSSD teachers with Leading Edge Certification—which ensures 

that they have the skills to effectively facilitate students’ learning in 

online courses—increased from about 20 percent in the 

2012-2013 academic year to more than 80 percent in 2014-2015. 

• CSSD instructional staff members attending at least one

professional development activity in each quarter of the academic 

year increased from about 50 percent in the 2011-2012 academic 

year to about 95 percent in 2014-2015. 

Leadership and Vision Build a Rich 

Learning Environment 

• CSSD senior leaders effectively communicate with and engage 

their staff and school community members. For example, monthly 

meetings provide regular forums to discuss current instructional 

outcomes with the workforce, students, and parents. 

• CSSD leaders have embraced “kids come first” as an organizational

value and defined the school’s core competency as “transforming 

lives.” CSSD resource centers (where teachers work one-on-one 

with students) sponsor families for meals and school supplies 

during winter holidays, support work experiences for students, and 

provide career and health support for students and their families.

Teachers also make a regular practice of visiting students’ homes, 

traveling in pairs. 

• CSSD’s school’s overall dropout rate of 2.4 percent in 2013-2014 

outperformed the county rate of 2.7 percent and the statewide rate 

of 3.1 percent, even though CSSD students are on average two to 

three grade levels behind peers in language arts and three to four 

grade levels behind peers in math achievement when they enroll. 

Sound Business Principles Ensure Solvency 

• Despite a combined decrease of 43.14 percent in state funding 

in recent years, CSSD’s positive end-of-year fund balances have 

increased for the last six years. Additionally, CSSD’s innovative 

approach in evaluating the financial performance of each resource 

center demonstrates that the number of resource centers with 

deficits fell over the past three years from seven of 20 in FY 2012-

2013, to six in FY 2013-2014, and most recently, to three in 

FY 2014-2015. 

• Audits of the school’s finances for the past five fiscal years have 

had zero adverse findings. Additionally, CSSD has demonstrated 

full compliance with state regulations to spend no less than 

40 percent of public revenue expenditures on salaries and benefits 

for certified employees and 80 percent of all revenues on 

instruction and related services, while not exceeding a statespecified pupil-to-teacher ratio. 

Making the Grade with Planning

• CSSD manages and supports innovation through its Process Design 

and Improvement System and Plan-Do-Learn-Act (PDLA) process. 

• CSSD’s Student Information System (SIS)—the organization’s 

database of student and classroom management information—

serves as a portal for two-way communications, as parents and 

students can log in and review student data in real time. 

• Among staff members, CSSD’s PDLA process enables 

knowledge to be shared and learning to be embedded 

throughout the organization. Performance data, which are tracked 

daily, enable staff members to evaluate areas for improvement.

For more information:

Charter School of San Diego 

10170 Huennekens St.

San Diego, CA 92121

(858) 678-2020

jrobertson@charterschool-sandiego.net

http://charterschool-sandiego.net

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

The Baldrige Program educates organizations of all sizes and 

from all sectors in organizational performance management and 

improvement. We also administer the Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award. Our key services are to identify and recognize 

role-model organizations, share best management practices, and 

help organizations achieve best-in-class performance levels. We are 

the only public-private partnership and Presidential award program 

dedicated to improving U.S. organizations. 

For more information on Baldrige, visit www.nist.gov/baldrige, 

call (301) 975-2036, or e-mail us at baldrige@nist.gov.