DUBLIN, CA–The 2016 election cycle will be memorable for many years. WikiLeaks’ publishing of hacked email accounts even reached the Tri-Valley when the East Bay Times published a story over this past weekend that included current Dublin Unified School District Trustee Megan Rouse.
Rouse has served the school district since 2013 when she was appointed to a vacancy on the board. She is currently serving as the Vice President and is seated through 2018. The published story was notable as it cited two primary factors. For one, it cited business relationships fostered by her father, John Podesta. Mr. Podesta is currently serving as the campaign chair for presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. Secondly, a hacked email made mention of the potential solicitation of a campaign contribution on behalf of his daughter for election to the DUSD board.
The validity of these email communications cannot be 100% verified. With the story now a part of the public domain, we offered Trustee Rouse an opportunity to respond to the East Bay Times story. These are her words: Read more…
Shelley Fischer on 30+ Years Serving the Dublin Unified School District and Retirement
DUBLIN, CA–We recently sat down with Shelley Fischer, who has been with the Dublin Unified School District for more than 30 years and has served in a number of capacities with the district. Shelley was initially an Instructional Aide in Special Education at Dublin High School before moving on to a string of office positions including Attendance Secretary, Counseling Secretary/Registrar, Principal’s Secretary, and Human Resources Specialist before landing at her final destination, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent.
Shelley’s contributions to the district have resulted in countless recognitions and awards over the years, including the District Recognition Award both as Classified and Leadership, the Community Super Star Award from Rotary, and ACSA Administrator of the Year. Shelley even found time to be the CSEA President for Chapter 439.
OneDublin.org: Talk about your very first day on the job at the Dublin Unified School District?
Shelly Fischer: “I started as an Instructional Assistant in the Special Education Department at Dublin High School. On my very first day I started working one-on-one with a student and thought ‘here I go, I can do this.'”
OneDublin.org: And tell me about your first day as an Assistant to the Superintendent. Read more…
DUBLIN, CA–A flipped classroom comprehensively changes the class dynamic, eliminating traditional lectures in favor of short video lessons viewed by students at home, with class time spent reviewing concepts through assignments with constant teacher support. The flipped method was implemented in Trig/Precalculus classrooms at Dublin High School in 2011, after Precalculus teachers Barbara Hall and Lenni Velez (now an assistant principal at DHS) saw this concept work in an Honors Chemistry class taught by former Dublin High School teacher Kim Baumann.
“The challenge in the first year was to keep ahead of the students,” Mrs. Hall recalls. “Running the video program was hard. The first group of students didn’t like it because that wasn’t how they had been taught. By the next year, they were starting to think this wasn’t a bad idea, when they saw that at least they could get their homework done in class.”
I recently had the chance to sit down with the current team of Trig/Precalc teachers, consisting of Mrs. Hall, Ms. Kathryn Maurer, and Ms. Allison Mongold to learn more about the benefits and challenges of a flipped classroom.
Our popular Women in STEM Series of interviews continues with Emily Calandrelli, producer and the host of FOX’s Xploration Outer Space, TEDx speaker and space industry contributor to TechCrunch. Emily is an MIT alum where she completed dual degrees – a Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Masters in Technology in Policy. During her academic career, she was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship, the Truman Scholarship, and MIT’s Rene H. Miller Prize.
OneDublin.org: What do you see when you look up into a clear night sky, into space?
Dublin School Board Candidates Square Off to Debate Public Education Priorities (Video)
DUBLIN, CA–OneDublin.org hosted the candidates for Dublin School Board last night before a full room in the Dublin Unified School District Board Room to debate public education priorities (video from the event is included below). With the November 8th election day rapidly approaching, a platform was provided for all seven candidates that are vying for four open seats. The event was moderated by OneDublin.org Founder James Morehead.
There are two opportunities for candidates:
- There is one “short seat” which is currently held by incumbent Sameer Hakim. Mr. Hakim was appointed into this position upon the resignation of Trustee Sean Kenney. The term is for two years and is being contested by Dan Cherrier.
- There are three open “regular seats” which constitute four year terms. Running for re-election are Trustees Dan Cunningham and Amy Miller, contested by three additional candidates : Gabrielle Blackman, Joe Giannini and Xiaozhao (Betty) Zhuang.
Seven questions (see below), based in part on suggestions provided by the community, were posed to all of the candidates with the order drawn at random. Additionally, the order for both opening and closing statements were drawn blindly just prior to the debate. OneDublin.org hosted the forum to provide the community an opportunity to acquaint themselves with all seven candidates. We will provide a more detailed analysis that includes candidate statements in a subsequent post.
With four of five seats in play, and seven candidates, this election could result in a significant change to the composition of the DUSD Board of Trustees.
Below is full video from the event, divided into separate segments by question (but otherwise un-edited): Read more…
DUBLIN, CA–Flanked by bulldozers and backhoes, members of the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees and the Dublin City Council marked the groundbreaking of the E-5 K-8 School and Park site on Monday.
The 10-acre site, located in the Jordan Ranch Development, will be home to a K-8 school site as well as city park facilities. The as-yet-unnamed school is scheduled to open to students in the fall of 2018.
“This is a great day for the City of Dublin,” said Dublin Unified Board President Dan Cunningham. “This is an important example of the partnership we have between the City Council and the Board of Trustees. We are breaking ground today on a brand-new facility that will provide the community a beautiful new school and a great park.”
Dublin Unified Superintendent Dr. Leslie Boozer also hailed the partnership between the City and the District.
“We are very grateful for the City’s collaboration on this project, which came to fruition thanks to hard work and shared commitment to the community’s best interests,” Dr. Boozer said. “This school/park site is important to our growing district as we move forward and continue to offer the students of Dublin an outstanding education in state-of-the-art facilities. We are excited for construction to begin.”
The Evolving Role of Libraries in Dublin’s 21 Century Schools
DUBLIN, CA–When one considers the role of a “Librarian”, the most common frame of reference is to reflect upon the time spent in elementary school. One might conclude that the job was centered upon the checking in/out of books, maintain the Dewey Decimal System and suggesting reading selections. All of those qualities remain necessary. However, in 2016, the role of has evolved into a much more complex and rigorous role. Examples of these changes can be found in our very own schools within the Dublin Unified School District.
OneDublin.org wanted to explore this evolution and we were able to do so by reaching out to a long tenured Dublin Unified School District employee as well as one that has recently joined this district after a decorated career. However, it may be useful to employ some perspective. In the primary level of education (K-5), students at all seven elementary schools rotate through their respective libraries on a weekly basis to check out new materials. The goal is to establish/confirm a love of reading while broadening young minds outside of the online world. Numerous studies have confirmed that continuous reading by young people accelerates learning, increases vocabulary and provides a healthy alternative to watching television.
It is equally important to consider the role of a librarian. In this district, these professionals are commonly referred to as Media Technicians. As the title would infer, the scope of work has moved well beyond the management of books.
We recently visited with Sandy Chang-Yee at Wells Middle School. After a lengthy and successful stint at Frederiksen Elementary School, she accepted the challenge of a different environment at Wells Middle School.
Dublin High School’s Bethany Zummo Brings Home Gold from the 2016 Paralympic Games
DUBLIN, CA–We recently caught up with Dublin High School Class of 2011 and University of Central Oklahoma student Bethany Zummo who returned as a gold medal athlete from the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. Bethany was born with Fibular Hemimelia and Rroximal Femoral Focal Deficiency, two congenital disorders, resulting in her right foot being amputated at 2 years old. Bethany’s enthusiasm goes well beyond the thrill of being a gold medal winner; her love for live shined through during our conversation.
OneDublin.org: When did you first get the itch for volleyball and did you start with sitting volleyball?
Dublin High School Teacher Michael Ruegg on the Relevance of History and Navigating the Pressures of High School
DUBLIN, CA–With more than a decade of teaching experience in the Dublin Unified School District at both the middle school and high school levels, this is Mr. Michael Ruegg’s first year teaching AP European History at Dublin High School. In addition to teaching AP Euro, Mr. Ruegg also teaches World History and Freshman Seminar.
He has a degree in Communication and Politics from Saint Mary’s College of California, where he graduated cum laude, as well as a Masters of Arts in Educational Administration from Santa Clara University. Mr. Ruegg started his career as a banker at Wells Fargo, but after working there for a year, did a “bit of soul-searching” and fully realized his passion for education. He cites his own mother, an educator, as well as his wife, Ms. Sara Hollison (who teaches Sophomore Advanced English at Dublin High) as people who influenced his decision to become a teacher.
Mr. Ruegg began his teaching career as a history teacher at a high school in Livermore, and moved on to teach Accelerated Core at Fallon Middle School, where he eventually became the English Department Chair.
This past week, I had the honor and privilege to sit down with Mr. Ruegg, who shared more about his love for education, his teaching philosophy, as well as his sincere advice for students on how to navigate through the pressures of high school.
Dublin Unified School District Honors Retiring Asst. Superintendent Dr. Tim McCarty
DUBLIN, CA–Last week Dublin united to honor the career of retiring Dublin Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tim McCarty. The gathering included Dublin Unified School District administrators, teachers and friends, and was held in the Sorrento Clubhouse. The mood of the event was light and airy as several in attendance volunteered to share some favorite memories. Of course, the evening was entirely appropriate and a fitting way to recognize 44 years in the education industry.
While both of his parents were educators, Tim didn’t necessarily see himself following that particular career path. However, upon graduating college, he had the experience of working with students with severe emotional and learning disabilities. That literally cemented his commitment to education. Subsequently, he attained a Masters in Special Education from Vanderbilt University and then completed a Doctorate of Organizational Development through LaVerne University. Along the way, Dr. McCarty served in many different roles including classroom teacher, site principal and administrator. His initial stint in Dublin was in the role of Director of Educational Technology. Subsequently, he accepted the position of Superintendent with a smaller K-8 school district near Sacramento. Ultimately, he returned to DUSD as an Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services.
OneDublin.org had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. McCarty in the days leading up to his departure. We collected his thoughts on some of his experiences. And, we asked him about his thoughts on the future of classroom education.
OneDublin.org: Given your two combined tenures in support of DUSD, please articulate what accomplishments that you are most proud of as an administrator.
OneDublin.org 