We had a great day Friday at OTA’s 2nd Annual Jog-a-Thon Fundraiser. Special guests, Supervisor Ron Roberts, Chief Brown of the US Navy SEALS, baseball player Tony Gwynn Jr, and the Padres Mascot helped inspire OTA students as they prepared to run to raise money for their school.
- Thank you Event Organizers: Bridget Celentino and Sonja Donahue!
- Thank you to all Parent-Volunteers, including DJ extraordinaire, Martin Lopez.
- Thank you to Tony Gwin Jr and the Padres Mascot.
- Thank you to Supervisor Ron Roberts for his support of innovation & parental choice in public education, and for his support of Old Town Academy Charter.
- Thank you to Chief Brown of the US Navy for his service and his participation in the OTA flag dedication.
- Thank you to Lt Cmdr McFadden of the US Navy for his service and for the donation of two Operation Enduring Freedom flags to OTA.
- Thank you Chairman of the Board, Chris Celentino for recruiting our special guests and serving as Master of Ceremonies for the Jog-a-Thon and the dance contest (Gangnam Style!).
- And thank you to OTA Students for singing the Star-Spangled Banner, cheering on fellow students, & running running running to raise money for OTA!
Old Town Academy K-8 Charter is a free California public school located near historic Old Town, San Diego. The school is operated by a non-profit public benefit corporation dedicated to promoting excellence in public education for all California students.
—-
In 2012-2013, OTA is working to fulfill its mission under the added challenge of over $200,000 in funding cuts (this includes a $460 per child reduction in state funds [update: now that Prop 30 has passed, OTA and other charter schools will have the $460 per child funding cut restored–but not until June 2013], plus close to a $300 increase in the per-child fee the District charges OTA for … services).
Despite these challenges Old Town Academy K-8 Charter teachers and staff are providing a free, world-class education to 244 K-8 students (teaching Music, Math, Science, Robotics and Programming, Language Arts, History, Fine Arts, Sports, and Seminar) while receiving less than $4000 per child in public funds (this figure is less then the average per-child public school funding in 1971!*). The school relies on donations to make up the difference between charter public and traditional public funding and that support is especially important this year. Thank you all for your support of OTA!
*According to Waiting for Superman, (the award-winning documentary about the importance of charter schools in the lives of five families in different US cities) “from 1971 to today, America has gone from spending an average of $4,300 per student to $9,000 per student, (adjusting for inflation [note: this figure applies to traditional public schools, CA charter public schools receive far less than $9000 per child])…”
