Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School (LVCP) is a new, tuition-free, state-approved public high school set to start the first day of instruction on Tuesday, August 24, 2010. LVCP is still accepting students through its rolling open enrollment process. Families in Dublin now have the second high school option they have been clamoring for all these years. Registration is first-come, first-served; enrollment is limited. “Based on how enrollment has been progressing, we will likely be full by August 15,” said Bill Batchelor, the Chief Operations Officer of the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation (TVLC), the same not-for-profit organization that will be leading the Tassajara Prep charter petition to the State Board of Education for approval.

Located at 2451 Portola Avenue in Livermore, LVCP is just two freeway exits down from the Fallon Road interchange along I-580 East and about 5 minutes drive from Livermore’s Costco. Many families in Dublin actually live closer to LVCP than Dublin High School. “The recent opening of Dublin Boulevard and Central Parkway to Fallon Road by the City of Dublin has made LVCP a realistic option for many families in Dublin,” said Batchelor.

Given that Tassajara Prep is set to open in Fall 2012, the Founders of Tassajara Prep have always recognized that some families in Dublin cannot wait that long. The Founders have been working very closely with LVCP Principal Dr. Jeffrey Watkins and Counselor Angela Tang to make sure these families know that incoming 9th graders in Dublin already have a real choice in their high school education. “LVCP probably has the best facility of any charter school in the state, and we are excited to be able to start serving the families in Dublin now, two years before Tassajara Prep comes online,” said Dr. Watkins.

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The following speech was delivered by John M. Zukoski, one of the Founders of Tassajara Prep, at the March 9, 2010, meeting of the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees. The Board unanimously voted to deny Tassajara Prep’s charter petition. The petition will now be submitted to the Alameda County Board of Education.

“The Founders of Tassajara Prep would like to reiterate our commitment to bringing a world-class, college preparatory high school to Dublin, CA. We know our endeavor will have a tremendous positive impact on thousands of students whose lives will be enriched by the smaller learning community at Tassajara Prep. This positive impact will be felt not only by our student population but also by students throughout the Tri-Valley. We expect everyone to benefit from the innovative, best-practice educational environment proposed in our petition. To that end, the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation is pleased to announce the addition of both Dr. Jeffrey Watkins and Dr. Douglas Treadway to our team, as we work toward our vision of academic excellence and elevated expectations.

The Founders have reviewed the findings of fact and the proposed resolution requesting the denial of Tassajara Prep. We are disappointed with the process and the quality of due diligence the District has afforded the citizens of Dublin, and, more specifically, the prospective students of both Dublin High School and Tassajara Prep. No substantive discussion regarding the merit of our petition has taken place between the District and Tassajara Prep since the petition’s submission on January 11, 2010. We are struck by the litany of inaccuracies and misrepresentations throughout the findings of fact. All of the concerns regarding our petition could have been easily addressed had the District been open to a meaningful dialogue with us. The Founders of Tassajara Prep and the Dublin Unified School District Board share similar missions. The District’s stated mission is “to support all students in becoming lifelong learners by providing them with a rigorous and relevant education that prepares them for college / university or service to our country and to succeed in today’s global economy.” We should strive to work in concert towards those goals.

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Scheduled to open in Dublin, CA, Fall 2012, Tassajara Prep will provide a comprehensive college-prep environment that represents the highest academic and civic standards for all students, establishing a solid foundation for success in premier universities and beyond through rigorous curricula, innovative teaching practices, an expanded choice of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and extracurricular enrichment programs, and integration of the latest technology in the classroom.

Tassajara Prep’s Charter Committee submitted the petition to the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) on Monday, January 11, 2010. Superintendent Stephen Hanke personally signed for the charter petition at exactly 11:25AM. The main body of the charter petition explains the founders’ vision for Tassajara Prep, what we promise our students, and objective measures for our success. The appendices of the charter petition include, among other important items, a draft course catalog of Tassajara Prep and a detailed fiscal plan with a five-year budget projection and a three-year cash flow projection. The complete petition is available for download in three separate documents:

• The Main Body of the Charter Petition
• The Charter Petition Appendices
• The Fiscal Plan

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The founders of Tassajara Prep strongly believe in the positive impact a charter public high school will have on the education of all students throughout Dublin. Tassajara Prep will receive money from the same funding sources as Dublin High School. That money belongs to the students and should, therefore, follow the students to the school that best meets their needs. The competition for enrollment will naturally motivate both the charter public school and traditional public school to focus on the students. Cities like Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Danville have thrived with two public high schools, and Dublin will be no different. In fact, the founders are delighted that Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) is already responding constructively to the competitive pressure exerted by Tassajara Prep, long before the school’s grand opening.

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The founders of Tassajara Prep would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend the recent town hall meetings. We received tremendous feedback from supporters who are excited about the promise of Tassajara Prep and stakeholders who expressed concerns. The concerns raised fall into four distinct categories:

• Harm
• Adequacy
• Need
• Affordability

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Three Initial “Tassajara Prep” Town Hall Meetings Scheduled to Gather Vital Input from Parents and Community Leaders, and Shape Direction of Planned College-Prep Public High School

Dublin, Calif. – October 15, 2009 – Dublin Learning Corporation today announced plans for a series of town hall meetings for Tassajara Preparatory High School, an independently-operated, fully credentialed public educational institution that is planned to open in Dublin, Calif. in August 2012.

The town hall meetings will offer a unique opportunity for parents, educators, community members, and local business and government leaders to learn more about plans for Tassajara Prep, volunteer for a variety of planning committees, and provide vital input that will help shape the scope and development of the new Dublin high school. The schedule and locations for the initial town hall meetings are as follows:

• Town hall meeting #1 – Dublin Library Community Room, 200 Civic Plaza – Oct. 20, 2009, 7pm
• Town hall meeting #2 – Dublin City Hall Regional Meeting Room, 100 Civic Plaza – Oct. 27, 2009, 7pm
• Town hall meeting #3 – Dublin Library Community Room, 200 Civic Plaza – Nov. 3, 2009, 7pm

“Parental and community involvement is critical to the success of Tassajara Prep,” said Rully Kusuma, president of Dublin Learning Corporation. “From the beginning, we wanted to create a world-class high school that will reflect the goals and priorities of the community as a whole and help our students better prepare for life beyond high school. Our hope is that these meetings will provide Dublin residents with an open, interactive environment that encourages them to get involved in all aspects of the planning process so that Tassajara Prep will ultimately become a school that we can all be proud of.”

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Tassajara Preparatory High School hosted a contest at their Day on the Glen booth this past weekend that invited folks to guess the number of round-trip traffic signals between Lorenzo Court in east Dublin (in the magnificent Positano community) and Dublin High School. There are 61 total traffic signals from Lorenzo Court to Dublin High School: 31 going to Dublin High School and 30 on the return trip. The extra traffic signal is at Sybase Drive.

While none of the contest participants were able to guess 61 traffic signals right on the nose, three participants guessed 60 and another three participants guessed 62. With the six-way tie, all six tickets were thrown into a hat with five winning tickets randomly chosen. The first ticket randomly selected won the Grand Prize, the second ticket selected won the first 2nd place prize, etc. Here are the winning tickets:

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“Tassajara Prep” Aims to Meet Highest Academic Standards for Diverse, Rapidly Growing Population, Emphasizing Parental Involvement, State-of-the-Art Technologies and a Preeminent Curriculum

Dublin Learning Corporation today announced plans to open Tassajara Preparatory High School, an independently-operated, fully credentialed public educational institution to meet the needs of the increasingly diverse and rapidly expanding population in Dublin, California. Tassajara Prep will be designed to offer a unique, challenging educational program reflecting the highest academic and civic standards, providing students with the foundation for future success in top university programs.

Scheduled to open in August 2012, Tassajara Prep aims to offer the advantages of a private education at a tuition-free, public school. With the goal of delivering an ideal combination of rigorous curricula and innovative teaching practices from leading instructors, Tassajara Prep will emphasize parent and community involvement, a collaborative, student-focused learning environment, an expanded choice of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and extracurricular enrichment programs, and the integration of state-of-the-art teaching and learning technologies.

As the fastest growing city in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a population expected to expand more than 69 percent, adding 34,600 and reaching more than 81,000 residents in the next 25 years [1], the citizens and businesses of Dublin will benefit significantly from the addition of a second, high-caliber high school.

“Tassajara Prep was established to offer all Dublin parents a new choice,” said Rully Kusuma, president of Dublin Learning Corporation. “It will provide the best possible academic program to help all of our students prepare for life beyond high school. In addition, while we may initially utilize a shared-use Proposition 39 facility in one of the DUSD buildings, our long term vision is to offer our families in Dublin the cohesive sense of community that a neighborhood high school brings, while eliminating the need for thousands of daily cross-town car trips to the only high school currently available, which is on the west side of town. It’s a truly win-win-win situation for our students, parents and the city of Dublin.”

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