Schools
by John M. Zukoski on December 29, 2011 | 
5 Comments | Topics: Local Issues · Opinions · Schools
Dublin High School’s students and teachers had much to celebrate in 2011. Dublin High was able to grow its API score to 879 from last year’s score of 867. This score ranks amongst the highest of Alameda County.
Dublin High School unveiled the newly-constructed humanities, arts, library, counseling, career center, and administrative buildings this year as part of the $120M Measure C project. Dublin High also played host for California Assemblywoman and long-time San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board Trustee Joan Buchanan, as she toured the school to see the latest Measure C facilities improvements and additions. Buchanan paid Dublin High a large compliment by comparing the renovations and additions to those that she oversaw at California High School in San Ramon and San Ramon Valley High School in Danville.
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by John M. Zukoski on December 4, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Announcements · Schools · Things To Do
Come along and enjoy the holiday season at Dougherty Elementary School’s Winter Wonderland in Dublin, CA. Students are busy creating many wonderful holiday gifts for their Student Craft Fair on Friday, December 9th, from 5:00PM to 7:00PM. The festive fun will focus on over 30 students who will be selling their handmade products throughout the evening making this a great new family shopping tradition right here in the Emerald City. All funds raised, except those from the sale of handmade products at The Student Craft Fair, will help pay for many of Dougherty Elementary School’s enrichment programs, so this special holiday event is a great way to shop, have fun, and give back at the same time.
Along with the Craft Fair, the special holiday event will feature lots of festive fun for everyone. Visitors are encouraged to taste the season with the wonderful Bake Sale stocked full of home-baked goodies by Dougherty Elementary School families. Guests also have a chance to get ahead on holiday reading with the Used Book Sale. The sounds of the season can also be heard thanks to the Dougherty Elementary School Choir, as it performs some holiday favorites. Visitors will have a chance to join in and sing along with the Choir.
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by Around Dublin Team on November 21, 2011 | 5 Comments | Topics: Development · Local Issues · Schools
The founders of Tassajara Preparatory High School, a public charter school expected to open Fall 2012 in Dublin, CA, recently announced their intentions to claim 30 acres of land at the future Dublin Crossing development for its permanent campus. Located directly across Dublin Boulevard from the East Dublin BART Station, the 180-acre parcel will be developed by SunCal into a mixed-use community that will include 1,500 new housing units. “We wanted to wait to make the formal announcement until after Lawrence Berkeley National Lab rejected the Dublin Crossing site for its second campus project,” said Dublin parent Rully Kusuma, one of the founders of Tassajara Prep.
Tassajara Prep’s 30-acre campus is expected to be nestled among the thousands of homes, extensive city parklands, and abundant campus office sites planned for the new development. “The central location of Dublin Crossing and proximity to the BART station will be ideal for high school students throughout Dublin and beyond,” said Jimmy Huang, another founder of Tassajara Prep. “We anticipate that many of the businesses at Dublin Crossing will also become valued private-sector partners in Tassajara Prep’s College Pathways program.”
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by Around Dublin Team on November 14, 2011 | 10 Comments | Topics: Development · Local Issues · Opinions · Schools
No other city in the Tri-Valley can illustrate the widening wealth gap between the old and the young better than Dublin, CA. According to DQNews.com, the median home price in the All-America City of Dublin plummeted by over 26% in the past year. Out of 64 transactions, the median home sale price for September 2011 was $410,500 compared to a median of $555,000 just one year ago in September 2010. This drop includes all new and existing single family homes and condos.
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by John M. Zukoski on November 7, 2011 | 10 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Local Issues · Opinions · Schools
The elected officials for the City of Dublin and Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) have been fantasizing about the possibility of a voter-approved 4.75% utility user tax on the November 2012 ballot. Dublin’s 4.75% utility user tax could be imposed on all electricity, gas, water, sewer, telephone, sanitation, and cable bills, which have all gone up in recent years for all Dublin residents. If approved, the tax could raise up to $4M per year for five years with a yet undetermined allocation between City Hall and Dublin’s schools. Although only a simple majority of voters is needed, gaining approval for the tax is far from a sure thing. A recent survey of 400 residents indicated that only 54% of likely voters would be willing to vote for the joint tax.
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by Jimmy Huang on November 3, 2011 | 5 Comments | Topics: Opinions · Schools
Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) has gone to great lengths to fight Tassajara Prep at the expense of the kids. On the one hand, DUSD claims that nobody wants Tassajara Prep and that it will not succeed. On the other hand, the tremendous time, effort, and taxpayer dollars the District has put into fighting Tassajara Prep shows that it clearly expects Tassajara Prep to become an outstanding high school that will attract many students. Just how will Tassajara Prep be different from Dublin High?
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by John M. Zukoski on October 29, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Schools
According to a report released recently by California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, California should retool its school construction process to foster 21st century learning, streamline school-building regulations to help create jobs, and change state law to encourage campuses to install solar and other renewable power systems. Torlakson announced the release of the Schools of the Future report and highlighted key recommendations at a ceremony to dedicate a solar power system installed at Aragon High School and the five other campuses in the San Mateo Union High School District. “Our students deserve to learn in schools designed for the 21st century—not relics of the past,” Torlakson said. “California can lead the way, and help our schools save money and create good jobs in the process. The solar power system coming online today at Aragon High School shows that the time to create the schools of the future is now.”
San Mateo Union Board President Stephen E. Rogers served as co-chair of Torlakson’s Schools of the Future Team, and helped lead the effort to install solar power at the district’s campuses, paid for by a local bond measure approved by voters. “Our project proves a central theme of the Schools of the Future Team’s report: that schools can embrace clean, renewable energy while putting more money into the classroom and creating new opportunities for our students to learn about the environment,” Rogers said.
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by John M. Zukoski on October 26, 2011 | 1 Comment | Topics: Opinions · Schools
According to a recent community survey conducted by the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD), students in Dublin, CA set high expectations for themselves and are supported by families that place a high value on their success in school. A little over 2,000 of out of the 6,700 students currently served by DUSD participated in the survey. DUSD also collected feedback from close to 360 parents in the same study. Not all schools participated in the survey, and students in kindergarten through third grade did not take part.
Along with the positive findings, the survey also highlighted two troubling spots for the District. School safety is a big concern for many students in Dublin. Based on survey responses, 22% of Dublin’s fourth and fifth grade students, as well as 31% of middle school students, do not feel safe at school. “Do we wonder why the rest don’t,” asked DUSD Board Trustee Greg Tomlinson. “I just don’t know what to do with this.”
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by Around Dublin Team on October 9, 2011 | 3 Comments | Topics: Opinions · Schools
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act of 2011 with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 365-54. The passage of this bill is good news for Tri-Valley Learning Corporation (TVLC), a non-profit organization committed to providing top quality public education choices for families of all socioeconomic backgrounds in the Tri-Valley and beyond. TVLC operates both Livermore Valley Charter School (LVCS) and Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School (LVCP). The State Board of Education has recently renewed the LVCS charter through June 2013. TVLC is also seeking to open a charter high school in Dublin, CA. The non-profit organization had expected the recent denial of the Tassajara Prep charter petition by the Dublin Unified School District and will be appealing that decision to the Alameda County Board of Education.
Grants for Opening New Charter Schools, Replication and Expansion. The bill updates the charter school start-up grants to state education agencies, which run subgrant competitions to open charter schools. In previous years, funds were accessible only for the creation of new schools. Through the passage of this bill, the Federal government is encouraging states to provide grants to replicate and expand the most high-quality public charter schools, while still opening new schools and supporting innovative models. It also expands the definition of a state eligible entity to include a state charter school board or a governor of a state.
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