OneDublin.org

Earlier this month, the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) announced the 2022 Teachers of the Year, as selected by Alameda County school districts and Regional Occupation Programs. In sum, there were 18 educators recognized. Dublin High School’s Ramany Kaplan was selected as the recipient for the Dublin Unified School District.

Ms. Kaplan been in the education field for 14 years and she is completing her fifth year at DHS. Throughout this time, she has pushed beyond the boundaries of her classroom to positively impact the lives of students in all four grades. In our conversation, she disclosed discovering a unique balance of employing her professional skills with the confidence of feeling empowered to try innovative strategies. On top of it all, Ramany also serves as an advisor to both the Freshman Mentor Program and the Dublin Shield Newspaper. Given her very full schedule, we were delighted to find a mutual time to sit down together.

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one that I’m going to take tomorrow.” Imogen Cunningham – American Photographer

Middle school is often looked upon as the bridge between primary and secondary education. Mechanically, elementary students depart from the “cocoon” of largely remaining in one classroom with their teacher. As they matriculate, 6^th – 8^th graders learn to manage a daily structure that exposes them to multiple educators and to befriend fellow students that didn’t attend their previous schools. A true benefit during these years is to supplement one’s curriculum with self-chosen elective courses.

The three middle school sites within the Dublin Unified School District offer many elective options including courses in World Languages, Performing Arts and Visual Arts, to name just a few of the groupings. At Wells Middle School, Karey Ronnow has offered beginning and advanced photography courses for several years. Photography 1 teaches students the basic elements of composition and image design. This includes a focus on color, light, theory, and practical applications. Photography 2 adds skills to imagery, design, manipulation, and presentation. This is aided by advanced techniques in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

While we will not initiate the debate on what “normal” can look like during a period where the Pandemic still exist across the globe, it is a fair bet to say that daily operations at all 11 DUSD school sites have gained solid functional footing with most students returning to classrooms in 2022. What may not have been clear at the start of the academic calendar was what masking/health requirements would look like, how students and staff would navigate their school lives in the second year of COVID and the global style of leadership provided by a newly installed Superintendent. Last summer, OneDublin.org sat down with Chris Funk to discuss some of his professional experiences gained in San Jose and to have him provide a peek into his vision for continued growth and success of the Dublin Unified School District.

Just prior to Mr. Funk’s arrival, a number of key decisions were made. In May, William Kuo was selected to a provisional appointment to fill the vacant Area 3 position on the board. This position was created by the sudden and unfortunate loss of incumbent Catherine Kuo. Additionally, the District elected to relocate the Valley High School program to the Dublin High School campus. The program is now functioning as a “Continuing Education Academy”. In late June, DUSD and the Dublin Teachers Association reached a tentative agreement that addressed improved health and wellness benefits for DTA’s membership.

DUBLIN, CA–Viewless Wings, in collaboration with the City of Dublin, today launched Dublin’s first ever Poetry Walk as part of the City of Dublin’s 40th Anniversary and National Poetry Month 2022. For the month of April, 26 locations across Dublin are displaying poems curated from over 150 submissions by Tri-Valley residents and beyond. Submissions were curated by City of Dublin Poet Laureate James Morehead. Residents and visitors are encouraged to share selfies with poems on social media using the hash tag #DublinPoetryWalk. Viewless Wings will select up to five Poetry Walkers to receive free signed copies of Morehead’s books “canvas” and “portraits of red and gray“. Explore the City of Dublin and read them all!

DUBLIN, CA–Dublin Poet Laureate James Morehead second book, portraits of red and gray, is on sale now. The collection of memoir poems takes readers on an unforgettable journey from the Cold War USSR to Savery, Wyoming, from the mountains of Tuscany to the peak of Yosemite’s Half Dome, from the Canadian wilderness to the beaches of Normandy.

The last two years have been extraordinarily stressful for students, parents and educators. The dislocation of the pandemic has also accelerated the adoption of new technology into the classroom that provides more flexibility in how education is delivered. Consistent with our mission to celebrate education excellence, we recently sat down with Jenny Buccos, Founder & Head of Content for EXPLR Media, an education streaming service that “creates standards-aligned videos to educate, inspire, and empower young people to become agents of change.” We’re excited to share Jenny’s vision on the future of education.

Benevolence (n) – “a disposition to do good, an act of kindness” Merriam-Webster

At times, words are insufficient to paint a complete portrait. It is often more rewarding to experience something to truly understand it. While COVID-19 has impacted every corner of the globe over the past two years, geo-political events have added another layer of resonance to many that have already suffered enough. When the United States declared a complete withdrawal of military forces from Afghanistan, it signaled the end of 20 years or war. It also triggered an extremely complex evacuation of refugees and personnel by August 31, 2021, before the Taliban would take control of the country. Many of those seeking to relocate included contractors and Afghani citizens and their families that assisted the U.S. military with intelligence and translation support. The plan was to immediately evacuate up to 65,000 individuals and up to approximately 95,000 in sum by the end of 2022. These evacuees were to be temporarily housed at eight U.S. military bases and then be resettled in up to 46 states. At its inception, California and Texas would receive the highest number of evacuees.

DUBLIN, CA–The City of Dublin and Viewless Wings, led by Dublin Poet Laureate James Morehead, are collaborating on the City of Dublin’s first Poetry Walk during National Poetry Month (April 1-30). Modeled after a similar event in Rutland, VT, Dublin’s Poetry Walk will feature poetry submitted by poets around the world displayed in local business storefronts. Residents and visitors will be able to download or access online a Poetry Walk Passport with a map to visit all participating businesses.

“You can’t build a reputation on what you intend to do.” – Liz Smith, English Actress

The successful rise of an athletic program is usually a gradual and constant process. It takes the combination of commitment, innovation, athletes that compete for each other and sometimes a bit of good fortune. What Coach Chris Williams has accomplished with the cross country program at DHS has been nothing short of remarkable. This has not been an overnight sensation. It’s an accomplishment that has been built over a number of years. Roughly 75 students compose the boys and girls teams.

Prior to Thanksgiving, the team had been preparing to compete in the CIF North Coast Section Championship to be held at Hayward High School and hosted by Campolindo. Based upon previous successes and their training schedule, Williams felt that the athletes were poised for both team and individual success. However, the meet results may have exceeded even the most optimistic projections. Scores of students compete across five different divisions in the three-mile distance – Dublin High competes in Division 1. The girls team captured 2^nd place and became the first girls team in school history to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation State Championship. The boys team etched their place in the annals by winning their fifth consecutive NCS title. This achievement was further embellished by the fact that the finishers recorded the first ever perfect score (15-point performance) in history. To decipher: the first five finishers in this event of 53 elite runners were from Dublin High School. In sum, this is the first time that both teams have qualified to compete at the State Championships.

Dublin Unified School District (“DUSD”) students have returned from their traditional Thanksgiving break on the academic calendar. However, a reflection of the diversity of our students also includes other fall festivals including Moon Festival, Diwali and Chuseok. While they differ in purpose, each includes and element of gratitude and the hope for future prosperity/happiness. With that, OneDublin.org would like to express our thanks to the many Certificated and Paraprofessionals that literally go the extra mile to support our students in various extra-curricular activities. We elected to spotlight an organization that functions in both High School and Collegiate divisions.