Support our public schools while stocking up for Independence Day fireworks festivities at one of five fireworks booths supporting Dublin public schools. Each year local charities vie for fireworks booths via a lottery system. This year, Dublin High School has two booths and have joined forces in support of PFSO, Irish Guard Booster and Athletic Booster programs. Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) has a booth supporting location education initiatives. Wells Middle School’s Band Program gets a boost from fireworks sales and Dublin Elementary School looks to shrink the budget gap with explosive discounts on fireworks.
Take two minutes to hear directly from community volunteers staffing the fireworks booths:
Below are the fireworks booth locations supporting Dublin public schools:
On Tuesday June 22, 2010 the Alameda County Board of Trustees voted unanimously to deny the appeal of Tri-Valley Learning Corp.’s controversial Tassajara Prep charter petition for a charter high school. The Tassajara Prep charter petition was unanimously denied earlier this year by the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees.
During the same meeting the Alameda County Board of Trustees approved the Community School for Creative Education charter school, targeting low-income students in East Oakland. In contrast to other approved charter schools, Tri-Valley Learning Corp. has been unable to rally community support or demonstrate a legitimate need for Tassajara Prep in Dublin.
At both the local and county public hearings no Dublin parents spoke in favor of the Tassajara Prep charter petition (in stark contrast to the unified, organized and vocal opposition to the charter petition).
In denying the Tassajara Prep charter petition appeal, the Alameda County Office of Education prepared a detailed report (executive summary available here).
The Alameda County Board of Education’s role in this process is to consider the level of support for the petition, to “give preference to petitions that demonstrate the capability to provide comprehensive learning experiences to pupils identified by the petitioner or petitioners as academically low achieving” and to determine if the petitioner demonstrates a strong potential for establishing and operating a high quality charter school.
Key findings in the report include:
OneDublin.org met with Aileen Parsons, Fallon School’s new Principal, to film a OneDublin.org video interview. Aileen joins Fallon School and the Dublin Unified School District from Pleasanton Middle School, where she served as Vice Principal. With 25 years of teaching and administrative experience, Aileen Parsons is well suited to the challenges and opportunities of the Fallon School K-8 campus, bringing with her relevant experience from her time in the Pleasanton Unified School District (both as a teacher and as a parent).
OneDublin.org 2010 Mid-Year Report Card
Last Dec. 8 OneDublin.org shared 2010 goals at a Dublin Unified School District Board Meeting. Below is a mid-year report on progress towards achieving those goals as well as a snapshot of OneDublin.org growth since launching seven months ago (Thanksgiving 2009).
OneDublin.org 2010 Goals and Mid-Year Report:
- Educate Dublin parents on the charter high school initiative and provide an independent forum for parent feedback.
- OneDublin.org has become a key resource for parents and the community on the Tassajara Prep charter high school debate, arguing in favor of one united high school. A summary of articles published regarding Tassajara Prep is available here.
- Drive the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) to make permanent measuring and addressing the perception gaps about the quality of Dublin public schools.
- Tremendous progress has been made on this point. The Dublin community has responded with enthusiasm to a positive spotlight being cast on the accomplishments of our students. A great example is available here.
- Direct the School Board to prioritize Smaller Learning Community methodologies at Dublin High School.
- Progress is being made on this objective, with the Pathways Program at Dublin High being expanded to include an Engineering Academy (boosted by a $35,000 grant from Chevron – more details available here). OneDublin.org believes there are further opportunities to apply Smaller Learning Community methodologies at Dublin High.
- Work with the School Board and District to institutionalize an annual Parent / Student Survey at all Dublin public schools, starting in 2010, modeled after the successful 2009 Fallon School Parent/Student Survey.
- The Dublin Unified School District launched an annual district-wide survey in May of this year at all school sites. Students, parents, teachers and District staff were surveyed with the results to be analyzed over the summer. The survey was accomplished in a cost-effective manner leveraging online survey technology which also makes repeating the survey annually an easy task.
In addition, OneDublin.org has published a series of articles on college preparation issues, resulting in a College Primer for Parents specifically geared towards Dublin parents and students. OneDublin.org also provides convenient summaries of all DUSD School Board meetings (available here).
College Preparatory Summer Enrichment Study Plans (SESP)
Warning – the suggestions in this article fall under the category of advice your teenager will appreciate (but only after the fact). Summer should be fun and a time to unwind from the school year (parents included) and summer is a terrific opportunity for college preparation.
This article focuses on a very simple, yet practical, option for students that can be completed at home over the summer – creating a week-by-week Summer Enrichment Study Plan (SESP). The plan below (an actual Summer Enrichment Study Plan prepared for a student entering her sophomore year) helps prepare the student for the PSAT/NMSQT as well as gets her a head start on Advanced Placement European History (aka “AP Euro”). The student also has assigned summer tasks from her high school (in this specific case, assignments from Dublin High School for both Advanced English and Advanced Placement European History).
By taking end 0f summer goals and breaking them down into weekly tasks what appears at first to be overwhelming is achievable when looked at on a week-by-week basis. Having specific weekly tasks also provides the student frequent checkpoints to record achievement and feel a sense of accomplishment. Depending on the student’s other activities the amount of work can be varied (including incorporating free weeks or accounting for vacations involving the entire family).
The first step in preparing a Summer Enrichment Study Plan is defining clear goals. In this real example the goals are a combination of assignments from Dublin High School and enrichment goals crafted by the student’s parents:
Dublin High School Class of 2010 Graduates
OneDublin.org had the honor and privilege to attend the Dublin High School Class of 2010 Commencement Ceremony, the 40th in Dublin High’s distinguished history, capturing highlights with photographs and video. Deserving students, surrounded by a full house of friends, family and members of the community, were recognized by their teachers and members of the school board for four years of success at Dublin High School. The ceremony was blessed by perfect weather and well considered words of wisdom from each speaker under the unifying canopy of the Alameda County Fairgrounds Amphitheater.
Meet Eric Swalwell, graduate of Wells Middle School, Dublin High School (Class of ’99), University of Maryland (law degree) and Prosecutor with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Eric is also President of the Dublin High Alumni Association and is planning to run for Dublin City Council in the 2010 midterm election [UPDATE – Eric was elected to Dublin City Council in the 2010 midterm election and was elected to represent California’s 15th Congressional District in the 113th Congress].
Eric started his Dublin education experience at Wells Middle School in 1992 where he developed both a love of soccer and what would later become his career choice – the law. Wells Middle School and later Dublin High School’s Mock Trial teams developed Eric’s passion for the law. Eric correctly predicted in his article for the Dublin High Class of ’99 Yearbook regarding the Mock Trial Team: “Some of the students on this team may even go on to a profession in law.”
A joint UC Riverside / Children’s Spine Foundation study (“Influence of School Backpacks on Adolescent Back Pain”), and the experience of one of my older daughter’s friends who suffered a back injury related to backpack usage, confirms what many parents already suspect: backpacks laden with heavy textbooks pose a health risk for students. The study, in which over 3,000 students participated, notes in the conclusion: “These results indicate that nonspecific back pain affecting adolescent schoolchildren is becoming a major national, if not international, medical issue.”
A cautionary tale or an opportunity to accelerate the inevitable: the replacement of paper textbooks with electronic textbooks? Given Apple’s long-standing association with schools it’s no surprise that a few schools nationwide have taken the electronic plunge – replacing textbooks with iPads. Monte Vista Christian School, a private high school in Watsonville, California, is piloting the iPad and hopes to eventually completely replace textbooks and equip every student with an iPad. An interesting article with a video covering early results is available here. It isn’t just private schools taking the plunge – a high school in rural Minnesota is rolling out 230 iPads to replace textbooks (with the plan to ultimately provide every student with an iPad) – turning 20-30 pounds of textbooks into a 1-2 pound iPad (more details available here).
Dublin High School Evening of the Arts 2010
Dublin High School recently held its first annual Evening of the Arts – a showcase of the Visual and Performing Arts talent at Dublin High. Dublin students, parents and the community toured the Dublin High campus to experience:
- Performances by Dublin High’s award-winning Jazz Band
- A Fashion Show that kept the audience in stitches (that was a very bad intentional pun)
- A Film Festival featuring live video and animation
- An Art Exhibit featuring paintings, sculpture and live glaze demonstrations
- Roving demonstrations by Dublin High’s intrepid Drama Club
- Culinary Arts demonstrations including an Iron Chef BBQ Cook-off
The turnout for this first-time event was excellent and the positive word of mouth makes it a must see event for next year.
OneDublin.org’s cub reporter Emily took the OneDublin.org interview-cam in hand while her dad attended the John Green Elementary Open House. Her video interview featuring Dublin High Art Teacher Mark Pignolet, Dublin High Music Director Paul Everts and a Dublin High sculpting student is entitled “Why Arts Education is Important”. Enjoy:
OneDublin.org recently met with Janet Auer (Community Engagement Specialist – Chevron) to learn more about Chevron’s $35,000 Project Lead the Way (PLTW) grant to Dublin High School. Project Lead the Way is the foundation for Dublin High’s fledgling Engineering Academy. The $35,000 grant is part of Chevron’s $1.125 program supporting regions near Chevron facilities in Sacramento, Bakersfield, El Segundo and the East Bay Area. Dublin High was selected in part because of its plan to establish additional industry partnerships to support the expansion of its Engineering Academy program. Chevron also expects its partnership with Dublin High to include interaction with Chevron engineering staff to bring practical experience into the classroom.
OneDublin.org 