News

Posts are listed below by date, or read our most recent community newsletter.


Giving to ATDP

Looking at our students and their outstanding accomplishments, as well as our teachers and the joy they derive from working with students who love to learn, we know these are “the best of times.” Seeing in ATDP so diverse a group of young people, who otherwise are unlikely to have met, learning together and forming […]

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Geoff Quan: Filmmaker

We extend our heartiest congratulations to ATDP alum Geoff Quan, who was recently invited into Film Independent’s prestigious Project:Involve film mentorship program as a director. A long-time member of the ATDP family, Geoff attended courses at both Elementary and Secondary Division—everything from Math Analysis to Shakespeare—and later went on to earn a degree in Cognitive […]

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Former SD Instructor Gemma Whelan Launches Novel

Several hundred ATDP alumni share exciting memories of their experiences in Gemma Whelan’s Shakespeare as Theatre classes at ATDP. I particularly enjoyed the performance put on by students in her “Teenagers in Shakespeare” class, which featured actors playing their parts while up (fairly high) in the branches of campus trees. [Yes, this was done both […]

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Friends Donate in Memory of Dr. Gary Griffin

This past spring, ATDP lost one of its best friends when Dr. Gary A. Griffin passed away. Dr. Griffin was an internationally respected educator, former dean at the University of Illinois, professor emeritus at Teachers College, Columbia University, and passionate advocate of rich learning for all children. Upon his passing, his sister Dena Griffin requested […]

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Supporting Rural Education From Berkeley to China

by Cary Lin, ATDP alum and former TA (writing from Guiyang, China) Every day I wake up to the sight of rice paddies in mountainous and landlocked Guizhou Province, China, and it seems that I really could not be further away from the breezy hills of the Bay Area. As a 2010-2011 Fulbright grantee based in […]

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A Lifelong Community

by Aaron Liao, former ATDP student, mentor, TA, and instructor My name is Aaron Liao. I live in Newport Beach, CA and work for Microsoft as a Technical Account Manager and Evangelist in Hollywood. I occasionally present at conferences, give talks at college recruiting events, and share my experiences working in tech with a variety […]

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Community Newsletter Vol. 2

Dear ATDP students, parents, alumni, and friends Vignettes from the Summer of ’09 by Teachers Patty, Paul, Nate and Junko-sama From Watts to Berkeley, Part 2 by Erin Donohue AP Art History at ATDP by Laura Shefler A Day in the Life of Washington School… An ED photo gallery from Summer ’09 Classes jumping for […]

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From Watts to Berkeley, Part 2

Part 1 (in the Summer ’09 issue): From Berkeley to Watts, and Back Again If this were an east coast prep school, we might say that it’s all about school ties—alumni of a prestigious institution making certain that valuable educational and social experiences are shared with people “just like them” (meaning others already targeted for […]

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