Schools
by John M. Zukoski on April 4, 2011 | 
8 Comments | Topics: Opinions · Schools
Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) is determined to go forward with plans to take millions of dollars from the Measure C funds and add capacity at Wells Middle School in Dublin, CA, even though the school district’s own student population projections do not support such a move. According to SCI Consulting Group, DUSD’s demographer, Wells Middle School will need no more than 80% of the current capacity through 2015-2016. If approved in its entirety, the Wells Middle School improvement project will cost an estimated $19M. This latest estimate is $6.5M more than what had been budgeted under the original Measure C bond fund allocation.
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by John M. Zukoski on March 28, 2011 | 2 Comments | Topics: Schools
Dublin’s schools are committed to provide art education for students. With the recent budget cutbacks, Dublin has been relying more heavily on volunteer instructors and the Promotion of the Arts program by Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE). “The purpose of (the Promotion of the Arts) program is to expose students of all ages to an art experience,” noted Board Trustee Amy Miller.
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by John M. Zukoski on March 27, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Schools · Things To Do
Students in Dublin, CA are encouraged to join Spectrum of Science this summer for an enriching and memorable summer of fun and learning. Each day camp attendees will explore, discover, and experiment as part of their daily project. Kids will even get to launch a rocket. Do not worry, moms, these rockets are safe enough for kids to launch in their own rooms. Children will also learn to concoct ooey gooey squishy chemistry and take home their very own lab rack and formulas, use a motor to build a vibrating bug, build a K’NEX Tethered SOSF ‘Bot, make fossils, bling a shiny box, morph a garment, travel at warp speed, and discover solar ovens.
Camp participants at this year’s Spectrum of Science will get to participate in myth busting challenges. Have your kids ever wondered if they can crawl through a piece of paper? Are they curious about the real science behind Mentos, how tunnels are made, and if dinosaurs and dragons ever existed in the wetlands? Spectrum of Science helps to answer these questions while making learning fun through exploration.
Spectrum of Science promises that no future scientist is left behind. Please visit www.spectrumofscience.com for more details.
LOCATIONS
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by Around Dublin Team on March 24, 2011 | 19 Comments | Topics: Schools
Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) Board of Trustees took action earlier this year to reinstate the Intra-District Open Enrollment policy at John Green Elementary School in Dublin, CA. Families of current John Green Elementary School students who are impacted by the boundary change had the option to submit a “Request for Intra-District Transfer” form. According to DUSD, current 4th grade students who are impacted by the boundary change have the option to remain at John Green Elementary in the 2011-2012 school year to complete their 5th grade year. For these students, no form is required. K-3 students who wish to stay at John Green Elementary School, on the other hand, needed to submit the “Request for Intra-District” form before the March 15th deadline.
Each student who turned in the “Request for Intra-District Transfer” form prior to the March 15th cut-off date was entered into the “Grandfather Pool.” Enrollment at John Green Elementary School will be awarded to families based on the following priorities:
- Children of DUSD employees
- Children currently in grades K-4 from neighborhoods affected by the boundary change
- Siblings of current students with the exclusion of incoming kindergartners
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by John M. Zukoski on March 16, 2011 | 5 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Opinions · Schools
Dublin’s newest police chief Tom McCarthy is off to a great start. In addition to making himself available to residents and business owners throughout the community, Chief McCarthy has managed to keep Dublin safe despite the city’s budget constraints. Part of Chief McCarthy’s focus has been to ensure that Dublin remains free of the gang violence and other crimes that have plagued neighboring cities like Livermore and Hayward. The City of Livermore had to beef up their gang enforcement in February after a spate of gang-related incidents earlier this year. Dublin has not had any gang-related crimes in the past few years.
Livermore’s police department estimates that it has roughly 400 gang members living within its borders in 2009; however, this number may be low considering that over 300 gang members are estimated to be attending Livermore High School. In contrast, Dublin has only one identified gang member in the Dublin public school district. The lone gang member is a second generation gang member and has not been involved in any reported crimes within Dublin. “The tell-tale sign for gang members is that they typically wear more than three articles of clothing with the same color,” observed Chief McCarthy.
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by Around Dublin Team on March 15, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Schools
Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) recognized the Rotary Club of Dublin, California and Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) earlier this month for their Dictionaries for Young Scholars program that benefits third grade public elementary school students throughout the DUSD. Dublin Rotary Club and DPIE gave out nearly 550 dictionaries over the first two months of 2011 with the help of many volunteers, including DUSD Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hanke.
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by John M. Zukoski on March 12, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Schools
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is seeking to gauge the impact of warning school districts to plan for the worst. Torlakson took steps to tally the impacts on California schools if the state’s temporary taxes expire on July 1st. “Californians cherish their schools,” Torlakson said. “Before we miss the chance to help our state’s 6.2 million schoolchildren weather this financial emergency, people have a right to know the consequences.” In a letter to county school superintendents, Torlakson noted that time is running dangerously short to place a tax extension before voters.
Torlakson warned that without an extension, an “all-cuts” budget could force the state to cut school spending by as much as $4.5B, or 10 percent of the K-12 annual budget. This warning comes two months after Torlakson declared a state of financial emergency in California’s schools, which have endured $18B in cuts over the last three years, equivalent to about one third of the state’s annual spending on K-12 schools each year.
The following is the full text of the letter from State Superintendent Torlakson:
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by John M. Zukoski on March 11, 2011 | 6 Comments | Topics: Announcements · Schools
Gasia Mikaelian joined the KTVU Channel 2 News team in March 2005. She anchors KTVU Channel 2 News at 5 and Bay Area News at 7.
Fallon School in Dublin, CA recently held its “Read In Day,” a literacy event sponsored by the Fallon Parent Faculty Club (PFC). “Read In Day” owes much of its success to the adage “It takes a village to raise a child.” Fallon School teachers, students, support staff, government officials, parent volunteers, and businesses across the United States generously contributed to and supported the “Read In Day” literacy event held on Friday, March 4th at Fallon School.
Organized by the Fallon PFC, “Read In Day” served as a way to highlight the importance of literacy in a relaxed and fun environment. As a nonprofit educational organization, Fallon PFC aims to improve reading and comprehension skills among Fallon School students. Fallon PFC believes that having the support of local officials, businesses, and parents is vital to fostering a successful learning environment for the students.
“Fallon PFC would personally like to thank their guest readers for showing support to the Read-A-Thon and we appreciate Mayor Tim Sbranti’s commitment to the program, as well as anchors and reporters Gasia Mikaelian from KTVU and Juliette Goodrich from CBS 5,” said Fallon PFC Minds In Motion Co-Chairperson Mihaela Edge.
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by John M. Zukoski on March 6, 2011 | 13 Comments | Topics: Opinions · Schools
The California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) recently released its first annual Portrait of the Movement report. Given the increasing public interest in charter schools in and around Dublin, CA, this report provides a timely comparative analysis of charter schools’ academic performance throughout California. The review also provides a framework of minimum performance criteria to press for greater accountability in public education.
The Charter School Movement in California started in 1992, the same year MacGyver and the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson bid farewell to their audiences. When lawmakers passed the Charter Schools Act of 1992, California became the second state in the country after Minnesota to enact charter school legislation. Charter schools like LVCP and Summit Prep are independent public schools that admit all students. They participate in all State-mandated tests, employ credentialed teachers, and are tuition-free. Charter schools offer rigorous curriculum programs and are subject to higher levels of accountability than non-charter public schools like Dublin High School.
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