News

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


Vignettes from the Summer of ’09

Human Anatomy & Physiology (ED) Patty Holman and Paul Bruno We got up extra early one morning to pick up our specimens for the day: sheep hearts. Getting up early is never fun, but this time it was completely worth it. A couple of hours later the hearts were in the hands of be-gloved and […]

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AP Art History at ATDP

by Laura Shefler, Instructor s the call to prayer echoed within the walls, a hand-held camera glided down one aisle of the great hall of the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, then panned left, revealing key features of Islamic architecture: the ornately carved marble pulpit, known as a minbar, and a tiled mihrab, one the niches […]

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Giving Back to ATDP

The 1995 photo of Nadia Hernandez and Laurie Mireles was taken during study break, during one of the many summers they came from Coalinga-Huron to learn and make friends. We don’t have a current photograph of Ms. Hernandez, who has since earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and is a credentialed teacher in the Central Valley—close […]

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World’s Oldest Living Alum Testifies on Behalf of Evolution

ATDP pioneer Abigail Lustig before the Texas Board of Education, posted on YouTube! Back in the dim mists of time (well, in 1982) ATDP began its life as the “UC Berkeley Gifted Program.” One of its 282 students was a middle schooler from Lafayette, CA named Abigail Lustig. As it says on the ATDP Timeline published […]

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Alumna, Engineer, Math Tutor

When Aimee Lopez was a 6th grader, her two passions were soccer and mathematics. When her teacher Grant Mellor (who gave up teaching in favor of being a pediatrician, but who remains a brilliant educator) introduced Aimee to algebra, she put the same dedication and energy into her studies as she did into soccer—an awesome […]

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Not Frequently Enough Asked Questions

From Paul Heller Secondary Division writing instructor Q: Why would it be useful for me to read the comments teachers write on my child’s papers? I’m not a teacher, so how could I help? A: It is not necessary to be a teacher to help your children think critically about their own work. What is […]

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Predicting Success in ATDP Accelerated Math Courses

Every year, over 150 students enroll in an accelerated mathematics course at ATDP. These courses, which include Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-calculus, and AP Calculus, cover an entire school year’s worth of subject matter over the course of six weeks. This means that what is normally taught in 180 days is instead being taught […]

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Summary: Research at ATDP, Summer 2009

As noted in the Director’s letter on the inside cover of the ATDP brochure, in addition to providing enrichment and acceleration classes, ATDP also engages in and facilitates research studies about the academic and socio-emotional development of learners. In 2009, there are four targeted studies taking place. The Adolescent Time Perspective Study involves a survey […]

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Tidbits from Summer ’09

1—ATDP at the GSE’s Commencement Under the direction of Associate Dean and Graduate School of Education choirmaster, ATDP Faculty Director Frank C. Worrell, the choir sings a beautifully arranged madrigal at the School’s commencement ceremonies earlier this summer. The audience listens in rapt attention, as one by one they figure out that the words are […]

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