Schools
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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by John M. Zukoski on October 3, 2011 | 9 Comments | Topics: Development · Parks · Retail · Schools
New home communities continue to sprout throughout Dublin, CA as families move in to enjoy the city’s great schools, parks, retail and restaurant options, family-friendly entertainment, and convenient access to Tri-Valley employers with higher paying jobs. In addition to brisk existing home sales at all price points, Dublin is seeing strong demand for new homes at Schaefer Ranch in the West Dublin hills, Emerald Vista in Central Dublin, and various East Dublin communities such as Positano, Bella Monte, Sorrento East, Jordan Ranch, and Chateau at Fallon Crossing. Dublin’s easy access to the I-580 and I-680 interchange, as well as the fact that it has two BART stations within its borders, means that the best of the Bay Area is no more than an hour away in any direction.
Dublin has some of the best schools in the state of California. East Dublin schools continued to post strong API score gains in 2011 with John Green Elementary School leading the way with an API score of 952. James Dougherty Elementary School was close behind at 949, with K-8 Eleanor Fallon Murray rounding out the top three with a score of 917. Parental and community support for Dublin’s schools has never been stronger.
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by Around Dublin Team on September 29, 2011 | 37 Comments | Topics: Opinions · Schools
The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) Board of Trustees recently increased Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hanke’s pay to $206,211 for the 2011-2012 school year with an additional $6,600 per year auto allowance. Dr. Hanke’s district-paid pension contribution is also expected to be approximately $17,000 for the current school year. With the latest increase, Dr. Hanke’s base pay has jumped 33% in the past five years since his hiring for the 2006-2007 school year.
Money is not the primary objective for all school administrators. Fresno County Superintendent Larry Powell made national news earlier this month when he gave up $800K in compensation over the next three years to help his schools through a challenging time. The district was contracted to pay Powell $235,000 plus benefits a year through 2014. Putting students first, Powell officially retired as a district superintendent and went back to work as a consultant at an annual salary of $31,020 with no benefits to run 35 school districts with 195,000 students. Powell said he will give his new salary to charity, while his former, heftier salary will go into the district’s discretionary fund.
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by John M. Zukoski on September 29, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Schools
Mathnasium of Dublin, CA is hosting an open house on Saturday, October 1st to introduce its services to the Tri-Valley community. This special outreach event will show parents they can “count” on Mathnasium to forge a positive attitude towards math in their students. The open house will take place from 11AM to 4PM at 7723 Amador Valley Boulevard, Mathnasium’s Dublin location. At the event, parents can sign up their children for a risk-free assessment and a week of free tutoring.
“This is a chance for parents and children to see how Mathnasium can help boost a student’s math skills and understanding of math concepts,” said Divya Sharma, Center Director of Mathnasium of Dublin. “Math can be very intimidating to both parents and children, so we hope the open house will show how the Mathnasium Method makes math fun and interesting.”
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by Around Dublin Team on September 23, 2011 | 20 Comments | Topics: Opinions · Schools
Most Tri-Valley schools posted gains in the California Department of Education’s 2011 Academic Performance Index (API) reports. San Ramon Valley Unified School District once again led the way for the Tri-Valley by increasing its district API score to 922 from last year’s score of 916. Pleasanton, CA’s school district remained flat at 906. Dublin Unified School District’s (DUSD) API score increased to 885. Livermore’s school district API score jumped up to 832 from 822 in the prior year.
Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon led the way for secondary schools with an API score of 921 for 2011. Monte Vista High School (898) and San Ramon Valley High School (895) rounded out the top three. California High School in San Ramon posted the biggest gain by adding 18 point to bring their 2011 API score to lucky 888. Livermore High School (817) had the lowest score in the Tri-Valley. In its first year of instruction, Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory posted an API score of 820. Granada High School (843) rounded out the lowest three Tri-Valley high school scores.
Foothill High School in Pleasanton decreased by 4 points, dropping the school’s API rank from 4th in 2010 to 6th in 2011; however, the school still enjoys a relatively high API of 884.
East Dublin schools continued to post strong gains in 2011 with John Green Elementary School leading the way with an API score of 952. James Dougherty Elementary School was close behind at 949, with K-8 Eleanor Fallon Murray rounding out the top three with a score of 917. West Dublin schools did not fare as well in 2011 with Frederiksen Elementary School dropping 15 points to 846, Dublin Elementary School decreasing by 11 points to 879, and Wells Middle School shedding 9 points to fall to 827. Valley High School, Dublin’s continuation school, jumped by an impressive 103 points to bring 2011′s API score to 660.
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by Tassajara Prep on September 6, 2011 | 22 Comments | Topics: Schools
Tassajara Preparatory High School founders delivered their updated charter school petition early last month to the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) offices in Dublin, CA. The DUSD Board of Trustees will be conducting a public hearing to gauge support for the updated charter petition on Wednesday, September 7th, at 6:30PM in the Dublin High School library. More than 50 pages of new features and highly detailed policies & procedures were added to the petition, including three major new sections. Through the addition of Appendix N – Data and Assessment, Appendix O – Family-Student Handbook, and Appendix P – Job Descriptions, Tassajara Prep’s founders addressed each and every finding raised by the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) and the Alameda County Board of Education (ACOE) in their rejections of the original petition in 2010. The outcome is an enhanced charter petition that lays out a detailed plan on how Tassajara Prep will offer a true college-prep program with a solid fiscal plan and be committed to the academic success of all students.
A True College-Prep Program
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by Around Dublin Team on September 5, 2011 | 80 Comments | Topics: Local Issues · Schools
The Dublin Unified School District will be holding a public hearing to evaluate support for the Tassajara Preparatory High School petition on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 from 6:30PM-8:30PM in the Dublin High School Library at 8151 Village Parkway. “Tassajara Prep’s founders are reluctant to ask supporters to attend the hearing because of the intimidation tactics being used by the Dublin Unified School District,” said co-founder John M. Zukoski. “This hearing is a tremendous opportunity for us to represent the support for Tassajara Prep and the need to provide choice for students in Dublin.”
The Dublin Unified School District’s decision to hold the public hearing at the Dublin High School library is an interesting choice, given the district is tasked by the state to provide an objective assessment of Tassajara Prep’s charter petition. Many have perceived this as another District ploy to stack the deck with anti-Tassajara Prep speakers at the public hearing.
The first District hearing required the attendance of two armed police officers. The City of Dublin has not indicated whether police officers will be dispatched to Wednesday night’s hearing. Residents who are not able to attend the public hearing are encouraged to send Tassajara Prep’s founders their thoughts in advance of the meeting. Messages can be sent to admissions@dublinlearning.org.
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by John M. Zukoski on August 30, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Schools
Valley Christian Schools is a magnificent longtime private institution in All-America City Dublin, CA that continues to grow and evolve in bold ways. The beloved preschool – 12th grade private school added a varsity football team coached by former Oakland Raiders great John Parrella in 2007 and recently started construction on a new church building. While most of the school’s roughly 1,000 K-12 students choose Valley Christian to receive an education with a Biblical foundation, quite a few parents send their children to Valley Christian because they believe this private school far surpasses their local public schools in every way. Superintendent Dr. Roger Valci recently commissioned the film above to capture what Valci refers to as the “beauty and glory” of the Valley Christian Schools experience.
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by LVCP on August 29, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Announcements · Schools
As the newest public school in the Tri-Valley, Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School (LVCP) serves students from cities throughout the region and beyond, including many from Dublin, CA. LVCP will be hosting two Informational Nights for prospective families on August 31st and September 12th from 6:30PM-7:30PM in the Multi-Purpose Room. The school will also provide prospective students with the opportunity to shadow current students, so the prospective students may take a test drive on LVCP’s college-prep pathway.
LVCP is smaller than the large public schools in the Tri-Valley, yet it offers all the academics, athletics, and other extracurricular activities of the big high schools. Sixty-three percent of LVCP students participated in athletics during the 2010-11 academic year, and the Tri-Valley’s newest public school is proud of this high participation rate. Even more of LVCP’s students are actively involved in orchestra, jazz, and drama.
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