Aaleyah Madrigal wasn’t even paying attention to the band.
It was August of 2022, and she was at a concert at The Observatory, a theater in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego. On stage, one of her favorite rock bands, Sleeping with Sirens, played in the glow of more than a dozen spotlights.
But Madrigal wasn’t paying attention to what was happening on stage. She was watching the lighting technician seated right in front of her and her friends. He was operating a switchboard, controlling the huge lights that flared and changed color overhead. Madrigal realized that she could follow the technician’s movements and see clearly how the lights were affecting the mood and tone of the room.
“I knew what he was doing, and I knew what he was pushing and what it did,” she said, smiling. “It made it feel really cool.”
Even though she was still a sophomore in high school, Madrigal already had a deep understanding of the technical work behind stage lighting. That’s because she was a student at Chula Vista High’s School of Creative and Performing Arts, helping produce the plays put on by the theater students there.
Madrigal is one of many students and alumni who credit the renowned high school arts program with helping them develop their interest in the arts, dive deep into specific crafts and grow their confidence.
But this year, Madrigal and hundreds of other students, parents and teachers are worried that the future of the program is in jeopardy. That’s because the leaders of the school district, Sweetwater Union High School District, are planning to cut back the number of classes students at Chula Vista High can take every year.
Right now, the school runs on an experimental eight-period schedule that allows students to take two additional classes every year and supports elective programs like the arts school. But district officials want to move Chula Vista High back to a more traditional six-period schedule.
In a letter to students and staff obtained by KPBS, Chula Vista High Principal Jennifer Barker-Heinz said in late November that they had made the decision after “thoughtful evaluation of school-wide data.” The district is also moving forward with similar schedule changes at Southwest High School, the only other school in the district with an eight-period schedule.
That decision has left many current and former Chula Vista High students feeling frustrated and worried about the future of the arts school and other programs.
“I honestly feel very disheartened,” Madrigal said. “It's really sad to see that we continuously have to fight for the same thing over and over.”
‘A source of great pride’
For decades, Chula Vista High’s School of Creative and Performing Arts, or SCPA, has been a source of pride for the district.
The arts program was founded in 1979. It includes classical and jazz bands, a theater program, visual arts and an advanced Folklórico dance program and has earned a slate of national and state awards. Hundreds of students have transferred to Chula Vista High just to attend its arts programs, according to the school’s 2021 Plan for Student Achievement.
“SCPA is the only arts school in the district,” said Debbie Nevin at a school board meeting in January. “It’s embedded in our district and school culture.”
The school’s eight-period schedule is a more recent development. The experimental class format was approved by a staff vote in 2016 and has been in place ever since.
The way it works is by spreading out eight class periods over two school days. Chula Vista High students have an “A Day” and a “B Day,” which continue to alternate throughout the year. They take four classes each day, but get to spend more time with each period.
That’s different from a more traditional schedule, where students take all six of their classes for an hour every day. In those schedules, electives like band and orchestra are often confined to an early “zero period” class before school or a late “seventh period” after classes end.
Many students at Chula Vista High said the eight-period schedule allows them to dive deep into specific subjects without having to come in early or stay late, which can be a burden for many families. Some said the arts program has opened professional doors that they doubt would have been accessible otherwise.
“It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said senior Genevieve Prewitt, who serves as president of the SCPA’s student council and dances with the school’s Folklórico program. “I've been able to perform at Snapdragon. I've been able to travel to LA. I've been able to perform at the Escondido Center for the Arts.”
Other students said the flexible schedule format has reduced the stress of high school academics and helped them develop a stronger sense of self.
“I've seen so many people grow,” said senior Vivi Gonzales, a cellist in the SCPA orchestra. “So many introverted people have become extraordinary on stage, and that's because of the support that we got.”
Teachers also said they benefit from the eight-period schedule, which gives them more time to prepare between classes.
A few other schools in San Diego County also use similar schedules. High schools in Poway and Coronado run on a format called a 4x4 schedule, which gives students the option to take eight different classes during the year by dividing the school year up into four-class semesters.
District officials in Coronado said they credited the new schedule format, which they adopted in 2021, with increasing the number of students meeting academic requirements and learning different languages.
“The opportunities for students have increased exponentially,” said Maria Simon, a spokesperson for Coronado Unified.
Hazy district concerns
Late last year, rumors began to circulate that officials at Sweetwater Union High School District were concerned about the eight-period schedule.
In January, district spokesperson Nadèdege Johnson confirmed to KPBS that Chula Vista High’s schedule was “under administrative consideration” but declined to answer further questions.
That month, students held walkouts and rallied outside the district offices. Dozens of students spoke at monthly school board meetings. An online petition to keep the eight-period schedule drew more than 1,300 signatures.
Among those speakers was Karen Horse, an alumni who went to SCPA before the eight-period schedule took hold. At a board meeting in January, Horse said she credits the school with helping her become who she is today. Still, she said it was a challenge to fit the arts into her schedule, forcing her to take some classes outside the regular school day and over the summer.
“I'm asking you, the board, to do the right thing,” Horse said. “The eight-period schedule works, and it is essential to the ongoing success of the SCPA.”
In response to January’s protests, the district said it would hold off on any changes to the schedule. Officials said they would convene a working group that would analyze the schedule’s effect on enrollment numbers, the school’s budget and other factors.
But in November, Principal Barker-Heinz announced that Chula Vista High would be moving ahead with the changes starting next year. She said the school would offer optional zero and seventh periods for additional classes, which would take place early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
“We believe that the 6-period day will allow for more focused learning and the opportunity for students to engage deeply in their studies,” she wrote.
When asked about the change in person by KPBS last week, Superintendent Moises Aguirre declined to comment and referred further questions to a district spokesperson. The five trustees on the district school board did not respond to emails requesting interviews. Barker-Heinz also did not respond to requests for comment.
On Monday, Johnson, the district spokesperson, said over email that they had made their decision based on the working group’s analysis of “academic performance data, enrollment trends, and budget impacts.” Sweetwater Union is facing a major budget shortfall of $77 million next year.
“It is important to highlight that both impacted schools, Chula Vista High School and Southwest High School will continue to have a focus on their unique programs,”Johnson wrote. “The district will work with both schools to continue this focus on educational excellence.”
Johnson did not elaborate on the working group’s findings and did not respond to further questions.
‘We've had no explanation’
Even as district leaders move ahead with the planned schedule cuts at Chula Vista High and Southwest High, many students feel that they still haven’t fully explained their reasons.
Chula Vista High senior Quinton Rivera said their parents haven’t gotten a straight answer. They pointed out that many students’ parents are focused on work and may not have time to study the school’s newsletters and announcements.
“Nobody's fully aware of what's going on, and I don't think people understand the consequences that can come after this,” said Rivera, who is in the SCPA drama program and organized several of this year’s protests.
Rivera agreed that a six-period schedule might lead to a greater focus on academics, but worried that would come at a cost to students’ mental health.
“That doesn't leave them with any time to relax,” they said. “Any time to really get into something that will be their passion in the future.”
The district teacher’s union declined an interview request but said they urged district leadership to consider the success stories enabled by the eight-period schedule.
“Asking students to arrive early or stay later so they can participate in electives and advanced academics could be a challenge for families,” wrote Sweetwater Education Association President Lucy Ugarte.
City leaders are paying attention too. Last week, Chula Vista City Councilmember Jose Preciado said he had received a number of calls about the district’s decision from residents. Preciado represents the northwest quadrant of the city, which includes Chula Vista High.
“Chula Vista Middle and Chula Vista High are core assets of the west side of Chula Vista,” he told KPBS last week. “I think it’s absolutely critical that, somehow, that program would be continued.”
Still, Preciado said he felt like the situation was complex and questioned whether the change in schedules would actually lead to a loss of arts facilities or teachers. He said he planned to reach out to Superintendent Aguirre for more information.
Meanwhile, Madrigal, the technical theater student, said she doesn’t feel like she’s gotten a straight answer from district leaders either.
“I feel like they're making it for their own personal gain,” she said. “They're not necessarily thinking about the community or the students. They’re more like, ‘What’s better for us right now?’”
Madrigal is a senior now. When she graduates, she wants to become a lightboard technician like the one she saw working at that rock concert two years ago.
She said she feels ready to take that on because of her time at the SCPA, where she’s learned complex technical skills and been offered unique work opportunities at theaters like the Old Globe and Lamb’s Players.
Madrigal is sad that students are still having to fight to show why the program is important to so many people.
“I don't think a lot of us would have the opportunities or be able to do what we've done if we didn't have this program,” she said. “And if we didn't have the schedule that allowed us to keep all of the classes.”
She hopes district leaders will reconsider their decision.
