FAQs
WHO?
Diamond Educational Excellence Partnership, or DEEP, is a place-based 501c3 nonprofit that mobilizes community partners around a research-guided theory of change designed to ensure that children attending schools in a cluster of southeastern San Diego neighborhoods enter kindergarten prepared for success and complete third grade reading proficiently.
Check out our Board, Staff, and Partner pages to learn more about our team!
WHAT?
DEEP partners with four local schools to implement the practices that research shows will improve literacy rates among young learners. And it works.
On the 2022-23 CAASPP ELA test, third graders in the four DEEP schools outperformed their demographic peers in San Diego Unified School District. We still have a ways to go, but the work we’re doing with families, teachers, school leaders, and students is working.
DEEP achieves these impactful results through a variety of programs, including our signature Super Readers and Super Tuesdays after-school programs.
DEEP’s Super Readers program provides targeted after school literacy instruction for students in 2nd and 3rd grade onsite at partner schools. Learn more here!
Super Tuesdays provides literacy instruction along with STEAM enrichment activities on partner school half-days to encourage curiosity and project-based learning while giving students the opportunity to flex their reading muscles. As a result of Super Tuesdays, students report increased confidence in science, and 86% of students felt happy about reading aloud at school, a critical skill that directly translates from school to career. Learn more here!
These high-quality programs are unique and impactful because DEEP partners with certificated teachers who have been trained to deliver comprehensive literacy instruction.
WHEN?
DEEP runs programs year-round to accelerate learning. These include after-school programs such as Super Readers and Super Tuesdays, Pre-K programs such as 1,000 Books Before Kinder, and summer programs such as Summer Readers – Future Leaders.
WHERE?
DEEP is a proof-point of what is possible, currently partnering with four elementary schools in the Lincoln Cluster: Johnson Elementary, Encanto Elementary, Chollas-Mead Elementary, and Webster Elementary. DEEP also works with families of young children (ages 0-5) in the Diamond Community of southeastern San Diego through programs such as 1,000 Books Before Kinder, Family Workshops, and Childcare Provider Workshops.
WHY?
We live in the information age, and if you can’t read, you can’t access information. Only 28% of students in the Lincoln Cluster can read proficiently by 3rd grade. This is a problem that we know can be solved.
Children who can’t read proficiently grow up to be adults.
DEEP’s multi-pronged approach is successful and replicable, and we can’t wait.
HOW?
Students in the Diamond Community of southeastern San Diego are disproportionately achieving at lower rates than their more affluent peers—but there is no reason why our children cannot achieve great success. The relative success we see at DEEP schools illustrates that with the right investments of time, attention, and funding: these outcomes can be changed.
We coordinate community resources to provide programming that supports our four schools to
1. Work with families and community childcare providers to Prepare for Kindergarten
2. Ensure schools have adequate professional learning to get students Reading by Third Grade
3. Provide Learning Beyond the Classroom in the form of small group literacy instruction paired with high-quality arts and science enrichment for those students identified as in need of extra support
SOARING READERS AFTER-SCHOOL LITERACY SUPPORT
Many children need opportunities to hone their reading skills beyond the school day. DEEP’s Soaring Readers before/after school literacy program supports emerging readers at partner schools.
Certificated teachers lead small-group learning opportunities focused on phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.
Over 100 children are currently participating in this program.
"Being able to meet with a small group of students who are willing to extend their day of learning and receive targeted instruction in reading comprehension is a great use of our time.”
- Soaring Readers Teacher
SUPER TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS AFTER-SCHOOL ENRICHMENT
Super Tuesdays is an after-school enrichment program offered to children at DEEP partner schools on their weekly half-day.
This program includes small-group reading, writing, and STEAM-based enrichment activities.