When she was nominated to attend the National Young Leaders State Conference this year, Stefanie Tellez knew she wanted to go. “I knew it would really help me and I really wanted to get to learn new things about becoming a leader ... for my future,” said the 14-year-old, who recently finished eighth grade at Bonita Vista Middle School and will attend High Tech High School in Chula Vista this fall.

One former student recently graduated from San Diego State University, just two years after graduating from Grossmont Middle College High School. “He was so cute. He said, 'Well, if you put a free buffet out in front of me, what do you think I'm gonna do? I'm gonna take all the classes I can,'” said Cathy Zemlick, founding instructor and English teacher.

CHOLLAS VIEW — Plans to build 12 bungalows, a bathroom and a bus terminal on a Chollas View campus have sparked turf wars between a charter school and a magnet school that share the same site.

NATIONAL CITY — National City's only charter school will open next month with a new home, its first eighth-grade class and a downtown-as-classroom emphasis to get its students beyond the classroom walls and into the neighborhood.

NATIONAL CITY — To make the case for eighth-grade algebra, Granger Junior High School math teacher Kevin Beiser works backward from his ultimate goal for his students: Harvard. To get into an Ivy League school, his students probably need to take Advanced Placement math in high school, he says.