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                              Our AHSCC Community Information Portal

           Home Page 
        Contents Guide 


· 12th HS Site Information
· General Information
· Breaking News
· Who Is The AHSCC
    
· LEED
· Objectives & Ed. Planning  
 September Opinion/Report on 12th HS
  (Click links for the September report)
  
New Item           
· Alpine & Blossom Valley HS 
   "Big Picture Learning"

· AHSCC Needs and Wants  
 Barbara Lowe, AHSCC Secretary
   (Barbara passed away on July 31st)
· Reports - Misc background
· Support Your AHSCC         

  Scroll down on this home page to view these headings

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         The future GUHSD 12th HS shares land with Viejas Creek in Alpine, CA

       Viejas Creek & Valley Viejas Creek is located within "Valle de las Viejas". We know that in 1853, barley & grain from "Valle de las Viejas" (Viejas Valley), was taken via oxen through "Mesa de Arroz" (now Alpine), on through to the area of "San Jorge" (Spring Valley) to "Old Town". The Viejas Valley had farming, ranching, bee keepingstage & mail routes


        More background; read 1] This AHSCC document, and 2GUHSD's Guiding Principles 1.1  

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          Subject:

The June 8th GUHSD Area Community Forum on the local 12th new High School
       12th High School Community Forum Video            
            (A link to the GUHSD recorded event)
  
Thank you all,

Everyone involved in this 12th HS project both directly, and indirectly... mentioned or non-mentioned... please pat yourself on the back, take credit where it is due! This Community High School roll-out event was a huge success, this was a turning point. We have rounded a corner, entered the tunnel, and there is a bright light (LEED Silver) at this tunnel's end! 

Our new high school is to be exemplary on every level, and all the community members and parents are to be commended for contributing to this endeavor. More information will be forthcoming, as details become available. This AHSCC Information Portal is updated often. Please join us, get updated on past and future planning, and provide your valued input.

Sincerely, 

Bill Weaver, Chairman - Alpine HS Citizens' Committee

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>> Also, on local My 107.9 FM radio, on June 17th, The Alpine-Viejas Creek High School was again the topic during a 1 hour interview. Interviewed from the GUHSD 12th HS Design Team were Bill Weaver, Dena Johnson, and Cindy Douglas... Click to Listen to this Radio Show
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                           GUHSD/Architects' (enlargement - click here) Conceptual Rendering
SLC Pod - 2nd level commons area
    The Small Learning Community (SLC) 2nd level commons  - 12th high school learning Pod

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  Grossmont Union Press Release -- The hiring of Ralf Swenson
take a look...New  
 
Ralf Swenson new Grossmont school district superintendent
 by Karen Pearlman , Union-Tribune -Thursday, July 8, at 9:53 p.m.

 Resume and Biography -- Ralf Swenson, GUHSD Superintendent  
 


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 Barbara Lowe - In MemorialBarbara Lowe, AHSCC secretary and Alpine resident 

Barbara has passed away due to complications from liver cancer and Crohn’s Disease.

Barbara was the secretary for the Alpine High School Citizen’s Committee and an executive committee member for the past three years. Her commitment to seeing this local Alpine High School built, largely for her Alpine resident grandchildren to attend, had become just one of her many reasons she fought her disease with desire and dignity. She loved her family and friends dearly.

Barbara is survived by her husband Richard Hoverstock, her three children, Jeff Lowe, Stacey Perkins (who also resides in Alpine), Erica Hironimus, and her grandchildren.

The funeral for Barbara Lowe was held at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills on Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. A celebration of her life was held after the ceremony at the home of Martin and Susan Strassner. Barbara’s wishes were that in lieu of flowers, you make a donation to the charity of your choice.  Barbara passed on Saturday, July 31, 2010.

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                            Below is a personal note to the AHSCC from the Lowe family 
                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would really like to see my mom's name on some part of the new high school. She devoted a great deal of time over the past few years to making it happen, despite being sick. She sometimes went to board meetings straight from chemo appointments or hospital stays.

I'd appreciate it if you could help to find out how we can get her name carved or bolted to some part of that school, perhaps we can donate a bench or plaque. Please work with Stacey to make this happen, since I think many people would agree that my mom is deserving.

Thanks,

Jeff Lowe                                                                                                                                

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                I suggest that any donations be made to the "Alpine Education Foundation"
(
www.AEF4Kids.org) in Barbara Lowe's name, as a memorial. Request that your donation be set aside for the 12th high school, in honor of Barbara Lowe.

We will go to the GUHSD, on behalf of Barbara Lowe and her family, to make these arrangements; that these duly noted donated funds be utilized to honor this wonderful woman, as her family has wished for. 

Barbara will be proud, as her work for a local high school continues, and will represent her spirit! 

Bill Weaver, AHSCC Chairman  

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     Who is... the Alpine HS
    Citizens' 
      Committee


     
The AHSCC
 (Founded in 1998) 
                            AHSCC Positions Positions    Who Is...AHSCC HistoryHistory         
     Contributors
                                                           AHSCC Contributors

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                                       LEED Energy Savings Examples: LEED Project Profiles

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      Now Playing on California DGS TV || Grid Neutral Schools Program (6/18/09)

                  Silver LEED Certification for 12th HS; Should the GUHSD go for the GOLD ?    
                                                           
                                Chula Vista's High Tech High (HTH) campus is GOLD!
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In LEED 2009 there are 100 possible base points plus an additional 6 points for Innovation in Design, and 4 points for Regional Priority. Buildings can qualify for four levels of certification:

Certified
- 40 - 49 points (good)
Silver - 50 - 59 points (better) 
Gold - 60 - 79 points (near best)
Platinum - 80 points and above (the best)

Prerequisites, and Credits, or Points are distributed across major credit categories such as Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Prerequisites in each category receive no points and are mandatory for all projects.

Prerequisites add to a projects' sustainability, over a non-LEED project, thus by definition, are desirable. Even at the entry "Certified" level... exists a very environmentally thoughtful project. One that has amassed at least 40 certifiable...
green points or credits!!

LEED 2009 Is more than simply Solar Panels, and Wind Turbines (Yes, these do acrue points).   See how involved this process is.  It is also more than just saving money on a power bill, way more!
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                        US Green Bldg Council - Green School Buildings Website            U.S. Green Building Council - Green School Buildings
 ... A Green California  (A ca.gov website direct link)
 Green Building Cost Issues  (A ca.gov link)... 
 ... Green CA Schools  (A ca.gov website page)

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Go To Top Of Page   The Objective of the AHSCC

Achieve an exemplary high school for the students, and community of Alpine in the fastest, most economical and effective means possible. This school will embody the spirit and values of the Alpine/Blossom Valley communities, and be dedicated to academic excellence and cultural diversity.

                                      See the AHSCC 12th HS Curriculum and Design Foundational Principles "Guideline" Document   (~50 pg PDF)

Review the 12th High School Educational Program, Facilities, Budget, and Attendance Study (5/13/10) (PwrPnt)

                                      Review the Alpine Area High School Guiding Principles, Directing the GUHSD's Planning Teams   (1 pg PDF)

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                       Alpine & Blossom Valley HS - "Big Picture Learning"


                                                                  IMPORTANT SECTION to REVIEW and UNDERSTAND

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|| The S.D. Met Regional Career & Technical H.S. "A Big Picture" White Paper ||

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            Big Picture Learning            Alpine & BV Big Picture Learning (BPL)
   
 


STEM at Big PictureBPL Prospectus / Strengthening Science & Empirical Reasoning

 For our new HS; the "Big Picture" Model Branding a proven BPL formula & success 
                           
EDITORIAL:   THE BIG PICTURE  —   A CREATIVE SMALL SCHOOL MODEL FOR ALPINE
By Megan Werland - Lifelong Alpine Resident, Parent, High School Teacher, and a 12th HS Design Team Member (scroll down at above link to find Megan's Opinion/Editorial)

Big Picture Learning (BPL) believes that high school graduates must know how to reason, problem-solve, and be active members of the community. At Big Picture Learning schools, there is no canon of information that all students must know. In a world where available information is growing exponentially, BPL believes that the most important thing a student needs to know is, "how to learn." Integral to the Big Picture Learning design are 5 teaching & learning goals & results; [ESLER's guiding, "how to teach & learn"]

1]  Empirical Reasoning
2]  Quantitative Reasoning
3]  Communication
4]  Social Reasoning
5]  Personal Qualities

San Diego Met's Big Picture ESLERs (Expected School Wide Learning Results):

San Diego Met High School staff refers to the ESLERs in all of the discussions with students and parents. Re: 1 thru 5 above... Here are some forming questions that help design learning plans and projects.

Big Picture Learning School Distinguishers

Big Picture Learning schools are unique environments where students can flourish as individuals within a community of learners. There are many elements within our learning design that are uncommon and distinct, and set Big Picture schools apart from most schools. BPL calls these common characteristics ‘distinguishers’, as they distinguish the Big Picture Learning design from other learning designs or models.

Big Picture Learning’s School Distinguishers, listed below, exist as a comprehensive whole. They are interrelated and inform one another - none work in isolation. It is the seamless integration of reflection-based action and the distinguishers that result in the powerful success of the Big Picture Learning design.

The Ten Distinguishers are: (click below underlined for detailed descriptions)

01] Learning In the Real World: LTI
02] One Student At A Time: Personalization
03] Authentic Assessment
04] School Organization
05] Advisory Structure
06] School Culture
07] Leadership
08] Parent/Family Engagement: Adult Support
09] School/College Partnership: College Preparation and Support
10] Professional Development
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Diego Metropolitan Regional Career & Technical High School is the only other Big Picture Learning curriculum modeled high school in all of San Diego County.
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      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                Below are Movie Clips...

     That underpin our need for 21st Century & State-of-the-Art Schools for our Children's Learning!

    1]  Learning to Change - Changing to Learn
 (6 min Movie)
      2]  Pay Attention To How Children Learn 
  (7 min Movie)
                                          One more...      3]"A Place To Learn" for the 21st Century

      


     "High achievement always takes place in a framework of high expectation."

                                                                                                 ... Jack Kinder

              

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Here are five (5) true facts to dispel the mis-information being spread:

A few vocal AHSCC critics want to "spin or mis-characterize" the positions of the Alpine High School Citizens’ Committee about supported size of the proposed high school, and whom attends it... WHY?

(1) The Alpine High School Citizens’ Committee wants as large a high school as the Grossmont Union High School District is willing to fund. 

(2) The Alpine High School Citizens’ Committee wants the boundaries of the proposed high school to encompass communities outside of Alpine, all those that were intended under the original Prop H.

(3) The Alpine High School Citizens’ Committee wants vibrant sports and performing arts programs at the proposed high school.

(4) The Grossmont Union High School District has sole control over the funding, size, design and content of the high school. 

(5) The Alpine High School Citizens' Committee encourages all those from Blossom Valley, Harbison Canyon, Crest, Dehesa, Alpine, or any other community with a civic interest to attend all meetings, and advocate for their community.

The AHSCC encourages all to assist us... to advocate for, and influence, all of the above.  

Let's not pit our communities against one another as a few folks seem to be doing. We all want the intent of Props H & U to be a reality. Let us be "one for all and all for one".

let's lobby for a high school that is comprehensive, and sized large enough to service all of Blossom Valley and Alpine. Let us do this in a friendly and collaborative fashion, that is a joint partnership between all of our communities and the GUHSD. 

Sincerely,

Bill Weaver, Chairman | Alpine High School Citizens' Committee

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               Site and building layout masterplan for 2000 students - The full-build-out of all phases

 Here is Google's Terrain Map View of the new 12th GUHSD high school showing the on-site Viejas Creek

       Click Map for More and 5/13/10 Presentation 
                     Alpine - BV - Viejas Creek/ Valley located High School

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                AHSCC's 12th HS Curriculum & Design Foundational Principles "Guideline" Document 

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Go To Top Of PageRepeating the Objective of the AHSCC

To achieve an exemplary high school for the students, and community of Alpine in the fastest, most economical and effective means possible. This school will embody the spirit and values of the Alpine/Blossom Valley communities, and be dedicated to academic excellence and cultural diversity.

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       The AHSCC receives on-going phone call inquiry’s and e-mails about the Alpine HS... Some are full of pleasantries, a few are full of misdirected anger. It seems that sometimes we forget that we all should be focused on the adage, “One for all, and all for one. Below are a few Up's & Down's as reminders of CONSTRAINTS underwhich the AHSCC operates

The AHSCC is ALL VOLUNTEERS… (no one is paid… no one personally benefits) 

AHS dream ongoing over 15 years, 4 GUHSD Superintendents (soon 5), 10+ Bd. Members. 

Alpine HS; 1st by $30 Mil in Certificates of Participation (COPs used on Steele Canyon HS) 

Alpine HS; then to be fully funded with the passage of Prop H… $274 million in bond funds. 

Prop H funds fell short as bond funds were re-allocated to other projects.

Alpine HS to be phased-in, funded by the recent Prop U; $417 million in added bonds. 

Our local new HS has come up short many times over, and rightly justified, many-many in Alpine feel jilted by past GUHSD actions. However, now we need to all work cooperatively together, set aside personal disagreements, accept what is, not skew reality… accept that public school fiscal realities are dismal… that school district budgets are tight, and that fiscal uncertainty will continue. 

The Alpine area High School is on the brink of an actual ground breaking becoming a reality sometime in the 1st quarter of 2011. The 1st phase of AHS will be built and opened by September 2013. We should all be celebrating this scope of achievement… the glass is more than half-full. There will be playfields and physical education fields, at a minimum, facilities and classrooms for 800 Alpine high school students. These are indisputable realities and facts.

Going forward, I'd like to encourage us all to jointly concentrate our current efforts towards constructing our area HS, leveraging known funding, appreciating what we have gained, and meanwhile continue to look at potential outside of the bond sources of funds, to help provide additional community use facilities on the Area HS campus. 

Need more be said? If yes...

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   Join the AHSCC, and engage in a collaborative discussion on the above and all issues 
        
                   Next AHSCC Meeting is... Click Here - Go to Posted Meetings Page
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Bill Weaver         
Chairman - Alpine High School Citizens Committee 
Civic Advocate & East County Education Community Volunteer   

billweaver@AHSCC.com

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                       Do you know children that will be in the Eighth (8th) Grade in 2012/13?

                                 They will be Freshman at the new local high school in 2013/14!

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    1] Large Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes!

       1b] This Large Scale Study "In The News"
                       

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                                     Media and Membership - Progress & Update Reports:
(Click underlined text for details)

August Update Report HS

July 2010 Update Report

June 2010 H.S. Update Report

May  2010 H.S. Update Report

There Was Not An April Update

March 2010 AHS Update Report

February 2010 AHS Update Report

January 2010 AHS Update Report

December 2009 AHS Update Report

(Click here for meeting documents of Dec. meeting)

                      
            See the Alpine High School Guiding Principles, Directing the GUHSD's Planning Teams

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              Several folks representing the GUHSD Design Team traveled to Seattle, WA on November 4th to tour several state-of-the-art school designs (including 3 of your own AHSCC members).

   We spent three total days touring several "small learning community" schools to gather ideas, and we also visited a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation facility. The Architects and GUHSD Facility Planner on our Alpine HS were all present on our Seattle area schools tour.

   See below for more...

              Let's reinvent schools; Read this school architect's thoughts ;This article really sums it up!

      -- August 2009 --
 
       The design team for the new 12th GUHSD Alpine High School has been selected. The design work is being handled by a partnership of firms unanimously approved by the Governing Board. IBI Group (Irvine, CA) and Sprotte-Watson (Vista, CA) was awarded the contract. IBI Group has an office in San Diego, in addition to the larger Irvine office. 

The Corporate office is in Canada, and they have other international locations. The website of IBI Group reveals that the Architects in this office were all part of the smaller firm named Thomas Blurock Architects. Thomas Blurock designed Alpines' Joan McQueen Middle School and Boulder Oaks Elementary, afterward was integrated into IBI Group in 2006.

The practice of Thomas Blurock Architects continues as the California educational facilities unit of IBI Group, and includes all the former principals of the predecessor firm. Youmight wonder about their resume and experience for designing high schools, well they’ve done them, and won several architectural design awards.

Sprotte-Watson is home grown with the one local Vista office, and also has several listed academic institutions in their portfolio.

The Civil Engineer that is part of the team is Snipes Dye from La Mesa. They will do most of the utilities and sitedesign work. They have extensive East County experience.

This School will be built on 92 total acres; East of the Albertsons Center at around 3148 Alpine Boulevard. There is reported to be 47.8 net usable acres. Tentatively there is planned to be 23.8 acres for physical education and sports facilities, 10.4 acres for education buildings and grounds, and 13.6acres for parking and roads.

Mr. Robert Collins, GUHSD Superintendent, has asked the Alpine HighSchool Citizens Committee, and its Sub-Committees, to solicit as many interested local community members as possible to make sure that this new Alpine High School delivers high standards for curriculum, with state-of-the-art facilities, to ensure that it offers academic excellence, cultural diversity, and satisfies our communities needs and desires.

Sign up at "ContactUs" and help "participate to oversee and assist" the GUHSD, and their design team.

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-- Update on September 15th, 2009
--

This is a short note to update you (our most interested community AHSCC members) on our future 12th GUHSD high school which is to be constructed here in Alpine, and opened by Sept. 2013,or before; The most important news from the 1st GUHSD DESIGN & CURRICULUM MEETING is that the architectural team has brought in a consultant, from Washington State,to assist in determining the overall design concepts for our Alpine high school. The consultant has published a book; the book's synopsis is linked below. Our expert consultant's name is Victoria Bergsagel. She is the President of "Architects of Achievement", located in Seattle. Ms. Bergsagel has (philosophically) similar visions to what we have laid out in our own AHSCC - 38 page "Foundational Principles" Draft Document, here and again linked at the beginning of this section.
(for your review)

The two GUHSD commissioned work committees;

1)  Design Committee, and
2)  Educational Specifications Committee,

(These two above committees of the GUHSD are now combined as one DESIGN TEAM)

Will develop it's own guideline documents. However, the information in our own AHSCC prepared document was presented, and the groups both agreed to review its content and use it as a reference for future discussions. A review of the table of contents of Ms. Bergsagels book, reveals that she does have the same visions for the needs of a new high school facility that we (AHSCC) have presented in our 38 page draft (linked above).

This is the beginning of a very exciting process, which includes a collection of very talented and visionary architects, education consultants, and our own Alpine community's citizens...

All collectively collaborating as team members!

See Victoria Bergsagel's website here;

http://www.archachieve.org/

See Victoria Bergsagel's book below;

Architecture for Achievement: Building Patterns for Small School Learning

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    The Alpine High School Citizens Committee (AHSCC)is a self-funded (donations) citizen volunteer group that has been diligently looking out for Alpine’s interests as it has beenworking with the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) over thepast 10 years since being founded. We're a voice of reason, respected & listened to by GUHSD staff, and Robert Collins, Superintendent.

It was on November 4th, 2008 that the Grossmont Union High School District, with the help of the AHSCC, passed Proposition U. This bond will complete what the 2004 Prop H could not finish, including the construction of a new GUHSD high school in the Alpine and Blossom Valley area.

Our AHSCC Working Sub-Committees must be representative and diverse. We invite all to help follow our new high school, and plan the design, financial oversight, and curriculum & career technical education programs.
 
GUHSD
 55% Passes
Prop 39 Bonds;
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$274 Million
Prop H;
62% Yes
Mar '04
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$417 Million
Prop U;
56.7% Yes
Nov '08

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