DPIE Summer STEM Academy for High School Students Prepares for 8th Year
Enrollment for our Summer STEM Academy opened for registration on January 25th. Dublin students seeking to accelerate or enrich their high school learning can enroll in our Academy; however, if students want to accelerate, they must obtain prior approval from Dublin High School in order to receive a letter grade or credit for enrolling in the DPIE Academy.
To simplify this approval process, students can submit their approval request for math and science courses via an Online Approval Form wich is availabe on our STEM inforation page. Complete the information requested and submit, which will send the approval form directly to Dublin High School for their review.
Math and Science department leaders will review student grades to ensure students meet the criteria established by the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) in order to be eligible to enroll in these summer classes. The approval link opened on January 18th and more than 450 DHS students have submitted their approval request for math or science classes. Students who want to take physical education during the summer do not need to receive prior approval to enroll in the summer academy
Course Approvals Will Be Communicated Starting January 30th
Math and science department leaders from the Dublin High School began emailing approval, denial, or contingency emails on Wednesday, January 30th and will continue as new approval request forms are submitted. All DUSD criteria for participation in our ummer math and science classes have been shared with us and is addressed on our STEM High School page.
Criteria for Taking DPIE Courses
Asked about the requirements for participation in the Summer Academy, Dublin High Math Department Chairperson, Anna Kim stated,
“Given that the Summer Academy is an intense 6-week program that runs five hours a day, we want to make sure students are academically prepared for the rigor and challenge of the program. Having taught in the Academy I know that a great deal of material is covered each day and students need to be ready to keep up with the pace of the class. Our research regarding students who take these DPIE classes show that the better prepared students are entering the DPIE program, the better they do in math the following school year. We want students to come out of the Academy with a good understanding of the concepts that will serve as building blocks in the courses to follow.”
Clearing Up Misunderstandings About DPIE Classes
Many Dublin parents are confused about what courses they can take in the DPIE Summer Academy and we want to make sure you have correct information.
Q: What Does A Contingent Approval Mean?
A: Some students may not quite meet the performance requirements to participate in the Summer Academy, if that is the case for your child you will be informed that a decision will be made at the end of the 3rd quarter grading period. Students will have the opportunity to improve their performance during the third quarter and if they do well enough, they will be given the approval to enroll in the Academy. Approvals will once again be sent out via email.
Q: Can a Dublin student take more than one math course in the DPIE program while they are in high school?
A: Yes, students can take two math courses with DPIE during their high school career. As an example, they can take Algebra 1 and Pre-Calculus, or they can take Geometry and Pre-Calculus. What they can’t do is take both Algebra 1 and Advanced Algebra 2 in the Summer STEM Academy. Because of the foundational nature of Algebra, the high school wants students to take at least one of their Algebra courses during the regular school year. Students cannot take more than one high school class in a single summer as there is only time to meet the demands of one course during the summer session.
Q: Is it possible for a Dublin student to take more than two classes in the DPIE program in their high school career?
A: Yes, a student could take up to four courses in DPIE assuming they meet the requirements to do so. As an example, a student could take two math courses as described above, one science course and a PE course if they chose to do so over four summers. However, very few, if any students have ever found the need to take that many courses with us.
Please don’t hesitate to see the list of Frequently Asked Questions for quick answers to most of your questions. If you don’t find the answer there, do not hesitate to contact our Academy Director, Rich Boschetti at rich@dpie.org or (925) 587-5613.
Dates for the High School Summer Academy
This year, the Academy will run six-weeks beginning on Wednesday, June 5th and ending on Friday, July 12th. Classes will run from 8 am to 12:45 pm Monday through Friday, which is a change from years past. DPIE will continue to take enrollments in the Academy right up to the beginning of the program and students will be admitted on a first come first serve bases. We do our best to make sure that as many students as possible are accommodated in the program without over-crowding our classes.