SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It's been less than two weeks since parents at four K-8 schools in the San Diego Unified School District got what they called a shocking letter, alerting them that the middle school grade levels would soon be eliminated.
In an equally shocking move, Superintendent Dr. Fabiola Bagula announced Wednesday night that one of the schools would be saved.
“Why were you trying to close down the middle school here?” asked a student at Bethune K-8 School at a community meeting on campus.
The Bethune community has been searching for an answer to that question for the last several days.
“We were just shocked because we weren’t expecting it at all," said Frederick Dela Cruz, a parent of a 4th-grade student at the school
San Diego Unified sent out a letter to the families of four K-8 schools in the district in mid-September: Bethune, Golden Hill, Audubon, and Fulton.
The letter said these schools would transition “to become K-5 elementary schools starting in the 2026-27 school year, " as a way "to ensure students are offered a wide variety of options to become college and career prepared.”
It then went on to offer alternative middle school sites for all the students at each of the affected K-8 schools.
“We wouldn’t have known where we would’ve gone," said Sara Ovadya, a 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Bethune since 2011. "To be separated from colleagues that we’ve grown so close to, that was definitely a real concern. But the bigger concern was always about the students and about what was best for them.”
That's what brought a packed crowd to Bethune on Wednesday — to try and save the middle school.
“Bethune taught me what the definition of community is, and I only want for other folks to experience what that looks like as well," said Arlene Grace Nagtalon, a former student who culminated in 2017.
Teachers touted the school's unique model, new educational and sports programs, improved test scores, and more.
Parents, students, and alumni shared their own personal experiences that detailed why they feel Bethune is such a special place.
All this was done in an effort to change the mind of Dr. Bagula, who chose to be in attendance at Bethune, with meetings at the other three impacted schools also happening on Wednesday.
Dr. Bagula listened to everyone else speak first and then stepped up to the microphone herself to break the news. Good news.
“This type of corazon that you have here, this is what every single school should have," Dr. Bagula said, addressing the audience. "It does take a whole community showing up. I love that you’re here even when your kids aren’t going to be impacted, or they’re graduated. This tells me a lot about you. So please know, we’re not touching Bethune. It’s going to stay there."
The room erupted. Some gave Dr. Bagula and themselves a standing ovation. They did it. They saved the middle school.
“Is this how you thought the night was going to end?” ABC 10News asked Ovadya.
“No. Absolutely not," she replied. "In fact, I probably was over there, almost passed out. Put my head in my hands and started crying, and couldn’t look up. I had no idea that this was what was going to happen, but it was the right decision. It was the smart decision.”
Bethune K-8 School is back like it never left — because it never did.
“I mean, it was just amazing," Dela Cruz said. "What a feeling.”
The celebration at Bethune was much different compared to the end of the night for the other three schools.
A district official told ABC 10News there would be no reversal for Golden Hill, Audubon, and Fulton. Those middle schools will be going away, and the students will have to find a new home after this school year.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
