GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

Jose Ortega's General Education program teaches students to set goals, stay focused, and do their absolute best. A caring community of committed, fully accredited teachers bring an average of 18 years of teaching experience to the program. Many of those years were spent teaching at Jose Ortega, and many of our teachers began their careers as paraprofessionals (or teaching assistants) at the school.

General Education teachers use a variety of instructional strategies to fit the needs of all students. They are certified in California Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) and assist English Language Learner (ELL) students in developing English skills. Thirty minutes of targeted instruction is mandated for all ELL students.

Jose Ortega was among the first San Francisco schools to incorporate Columbia University Teacher College's Reader's Workshop as part of our standard curriculum. Following the marked success of that program in our school, we recently also introduced the companion Writer's Workshop into our curriculum. Each of these programs offers our students highly differentiated learning opportunities. The success of these programs is reflected in the school's continually improving literacy scores and, more importantly, in the excitement and enthusiasm our students have for reading and writing.

What else distinguishes Jose Ortega's General Education program?
The school hosts a series of Family Nights designed to encourage full family participation in fun academic games in mathematics, literacy, science, and art. There is a strong emphasis on visual arts with artists-in-residence, as well as daily physical education at all grade levels. Also, every Friday morning the entire school participates in a lively sing-along filled with school spirit and fun.