Emerald High School

Last updated

Emerald High School
Location
Emerald High School
3600 Central Parkway, Dublin, CA  94568

United States
Coordinates 37°42′32″N121°51′49″W / 37.7088°N 121.8637°W / 37.7088; -121.8637
Information
TypePublic high school
Established2023
School district Dublin Unified School District
PrincipalLenni Velez
Grades9–12
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment346 (2023-2024) [1]
Campus size23.46 acres (9.49 ha)
Campus typeSuburban
Color(s)Green, blue, and white
   
MascotAerouant
Website ehs.dublinusd.org

Emerald High School is a four-year high school in the Dublin Unified School District in Dublin, California, USA. The school opened to students for the 2023–2024 school year, and in August 2024 classes began on its own campus, scheduled for completion in the 2026-2027 school year, with all four grades on campus.

Contents

Background

In the 2010s, Dublin was the fastest growing city in California. [2] [3] [4] Enrollment in Dublin Unified School District increased 92% over that decade and by approximately 4,000 between 2014 and 2024, and the district has opened several new schools. [4] [5] Emerald High School is the district's second high school; it also has a continuation school. [6] It is the first comprehensive high school built in Alameda County since the opening of Foothill High School in Pleasanton in 1973. [7] After a committee had chosen three finalists from among community suggestions for the new school's name, on August 18, 2020, the school district board unanimously chose "Emerald High School". The school was originally projected to open in fall 2022, but instead opened to students the 2023-2024 school year with the first freshman class, and classes began in the 2024-2025 school year, opening with both freshman (9th graders) and sophomores (10th graders). In the 2025-2026 school year, they will have freshman (9th graders), sophomores (10th graders), and juniors (11th graders) in Emerald High School. They will have seniors in the 2026-2027 school year, meaning that the Class of 2027 is the first to graduate Emerald High School.

Opening

The first freshman class of Emerald High School students studied on the campus of Dublin High School during the 2023–2024 academic year, [3] [8] primarily in portable classrooms. [5] The administration was housed in a portable that had previously been a science classroom. [3] A tour of the new campus was held in April 2024, [7] [9] [10] and a ribbon-cutting on June 8, 2024; [11] it opened to freshmen and sophomores for the 2024–2025 academic year, on August 13, 2024. [5] [12] [13] Expected enrollment in the first year is 950, in 42 classrooms; [10] a grade level will be added each year until scheduled completion in 2026, when the school will have more than 80 classrooms and a capacity of approximately 2,500. [5] [10] [11] The cost of the building is $374 million, funded by taxpayer bonds. [5]

Principal Francis Rojas resigned in October 2024 and the assistant pricipla, Lenni Velez, was appointed principal. [14]

Facilities

The campus encompasses 23.46 acres (9.49 ha) [11] on the east side of Dublin. [4] It opened with the first of two planned academic towers, the administration building, library, visual and performing arts center, student center and wellness center, gym, and sports field. The second academic building and additional arts space are to be added in the second phase of construction, and the Catherine Kuo Performing Arts Center in the final phase. [5] [11]

Athletics

The school's teams are the Aerouants, dragon-like Celtic folklore monsters, and its colors are green, blue, and white. [6] The mascot was chosen to reflect the Irish heritage of the city of Dublin as well as the students' preference for a sea serpent or Asian dragon to reflect the large number of Asian Americans now living in the city. [15] [16] In its first year, the school competed independently; starting in 2024–2025, it competes in the Bay Valley Athletic League, whose other schools are in Contra Costa County. [17] At opening, the school's facilities included a 31,000-square-foot (2,900 m2) gym, [3] eight tennis courts, and a weight room with rowing machines; a swimming pool is to be added. [5]

References

  1. ↑ "Emerald High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  2. ↑ Susie Nielson, "This Bay Area city is the fastest growing in California. Here's why it’s booming", San Francisco Chronicle, February 16, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Juliette Goodrich, "Dublin students, parents and staff excited for opening of brand new Emerald High School", CBS News Bay Area, May 2, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Cate Peters, "California's fastest growing city unveils new $374M public high school", SFGate, July 23, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Carolyn Stein, "Inside first day at a $374 million high school in California's fastest-growing city", San Francisco Chronicle, August 13, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Nicole Gonzales, "Dublin’s Emerald High School unveils new mascot ", Pleasanton Weekly, March 9, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Ruth Roberts, "Dublin School District Offers Tour of New Emerald High", The Independent (Dublin, California), April 25, 2024.
  8. ↑ Molly Gibbs, "No D's and F's? No extra credit? Will Bay Area schools' switch to equity grading help or harm students?", Mercury News (San Jose, California), April 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ Jill Tucker, "California's fastest-growing city has built a $374 million school. Here’s a look inside", San Francisco Chronicle, April 17, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Nicole Gonzales, "A glimpse inside Dublin's new Emerald High School", Pleasanton Weekly, April 24, 2024, updated May 31, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Jeremy Walsh, "A green party: Dublin celebrates Emerald High School ribbon-cutting", Pleasanton Weekly, June 13, 2024.
  12. ↑ Veronica Macias, "New Emerald High School in Dublin opens for first day of class", CBS News Bay Area, August 13, 2024 (video, 1 min 59 secs).
  13. ↑ Jordan Baker and Will Tran, "Emerald High School opens its $347 million campus", KRON (San Francisco), August 13, 2024 (with video, 2 mins 13 secs).
  14. ↑ Jude Strzemp, "New Emerald High principal Velez 'ensures continuity and stability'", Pleasanton Weekly, October 27, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Emerald High School Mascot & Colors: Final Report", Emerald High School, retrieved August 14, 2024.
  16. ↑ The mascot of the school district's continuation high school, Valley High School, is the dragon; since aerouant is a Celtic word with the same meaning, some of its students and staff wrote a letter stating that the choice disrespected their school, while some parents said a dragon had overly negative connotations. Lizzy Rager, "Controversy Sparked Over New Emerald High Mascot", The Independent (Dublin, California), April 19, 2023, updated April 21, 2023.
  17. ↑ Dawnmarie Fehr, "Emerald High Athletics Find Appropriate Competition Outside of the Tri-Valley", The Independent (Dublin, California), April 25, 2024.
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