Downtown College Preparatory ~ A Charter High School in San Jose, California

At DCP, our students understand that their academic success depends on Ganas (Desire), Comunidad (Community), and Orgullo (Pride).

These core values are at the foundation of our students’ work, and supports their exciting and often arduous journey towards mastering content and creating original material.

At DCP, we take seriously the mandate to exhibit our work. This type of display engenders an environment of excitement where everyone is motivated to explain oneself, motivate others and improve.

Below you’ll find our ever expanding student gallery of work in all of our content areas. We welcome your feedback and the opportunity to share what our students are learning and creating.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Performance
Humanities Core Debate-To What Extent Did Technological Change Benefit Society?
Science Fair
The United Nations Event--DCP Students Expand Their Concept of Community
Pool Hall Geometry
Civil War Era Journals
Paper Voice and Spoken Word
Student Reflections from Drama class
AP Spanish Poems
DCP Artists Create Mural in Downtown San Jose

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Performance

As a part of a unit on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, ninth graders performed part of a scene from the play. Students had three weeks to plan their performances with their group members, including memorizing their lines, finding costumes, and making props. The goal of the project was get students more comfortable with Shakespeare's language. By requiring memorization, students got a chance to hear Elizabethean English come out of their own mouths. As a result, they were better able to comprehend the text as they read it. Students were graded on their preparation, costumes, props, and speaking skills. During a debrief after the performances, many students commented that they wish they had practiced more or put more effort into memorizing their lines. The groups that each class identified as outstanding performed their scenes for the entire school at assembly on March 10, 2004.

Humanities Core Debate-To What Extent Did Technological Change Benefit Society?

Sophomores in Humanities Core completed a unit where they studied the Industrial Revolution and read excerpts from The Jungle as well as other sources. All work focused around the central question, "To what extent did technological change benefit society?" Throughout the unit, students practiced debate skills, and writing structure, and analyzing primary and secondary sources. The unit concluded with in-class debates responding to the central question. Winning teams from each class challenged each other, with the two best teams having a "debate-off" in front of the entire school at assembly. Congratulations to the winning team of Nancy DeNiz, Maricela Martinez, Ricardo Montenegro, and Eugenio Solorio.

Science Fair

All Biology students were involved in a science fair this winter. At the beginning of the second semester, students were asked to pick a topic in any field of science that they were interested in studying and investigating. Students were given the choice of working in pairs or alone and the choice of doing an experiment or doing a research project. Students worked exclusively on the science fair project in class for three weeks leading up to the Science Fair exhibition on February 10th, 2004. The students also had to work a significant amount on their projects outside of class. All students had to make a poster of their project and present it orally to the class. In addition, they all had to write a paper with at least three outside sources, correctly sited in the paper.

The Science Fair itself was a big success. Parents, teachers, community members, siblings, and fellow students walked around critiquing student projects. All the Biology students explained their projects to each visitor who came by and asked questions about their projects.

Some of the students who got the best reviews for their scientific explanations of their projects were:

The United Nations Event--DCP Students Expand Their Concept of Community

From December 14, 2003 to January 21, 2004, a group of ten DCP 9th graders worked on "Building for the Big One," a Design Challenge curriculum developed by The Tech Museum in San Jose, California that teaches students about earthquake risk mitigation. Students were asked to design structures that would sustain a 30 second earthquake. Other students from Katmandu, Nepal, Antofagasta, Chile, and Tijuana, Mexico have also been working on the same Design Challenge curriculum. On January 21, 2004, DCP hosted a reception to welcome 6 international students, their chaperones, and 4 United Nations representatives. DCP students shared their learning experience with their international peers and also provided this international group with entertainment that included ballet folklorico, salsa dancing, and guitar playing.

This United Nations event helped DCP students expand their concept of community. Student Israel Navarro explained, “It was sad to learn that so many people die in other countries when earthquakes happen and that it is because the buildings were not built right.” During the presentations, Emanuel Emahazion explained that 3 people died in a recent California earthquake while 30,000 people died in a similar earthquake in Iran. “This proves that we need to make sure that all countries will be safe during earthquakes,” Emanuel explained. DCP students now realize how lucky they are to live in a country where buildings are safe.

Pool Hall Geometry

In Geometry, students have been doing "Math Labs" which are similar to science labs but require students to make observations about rules and patterns in Geometry. Math Labs are designed to bring critical thinking and literacy skills into the Geometry curriculum, as well as show real life applications of geometric concepts.

Our final math lab of the semester was called "Pool Hall Geometry." Each class went to West Side Billiards and investigated the angles that are created when a pool ball bounces off a bank. Students used string to show the course the ball took, and then measured the angles with protractors. The students worked in groups of 3 or 4, recorded their results, and later wrote up the investigation in a math lab. After students were finished recording their results at the pool hall we were able to play pool for half an hour or so. Some students had never played pool before. Student Mayra Rubio stated, "When my class went to the trip to the pool hall for Geometry class, I was amazed that we actually learned stuff that is used in real life. My experience was fun and educational."

Civil War Era Journals

In November of 2002, the entire 11th grade was reading Huck Finn in English and studying the 1850's in History. Our theme was perspective. Students were challenged to look at issues and events from different perspectives. The ultimate goal for the American Experience students was to teach them how to effectively use primary sources in solving document based questions like they would face on their final exam.

Students chose from a variety of perspectives and wrote journals about the people and events that we studied as if they were that person. Students tried to get inside the head of real people like Jefferson Davis, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Robert E. Lee. They also took on characters of their own creation like a teenage runaway, or a soldier from the North. In their journals, students were charged with writing about events such as the Women's Rights Convention of 1848, and the Emancipation Proclamation, and the battle of Gettsburgh from the prospective of their character. Students tried to use the voice and setting of the time that they learned from reading Huck Finn and their research.

Students presented their journals by reading parts of them to their peers without directly telling them who there were. Students then tried to figure out who the person was based on listening to the perspective.

The Journals were made to look, feel, and sound like they were from the 1850's.

The following is an excerpt from a student's diary:

June 13, 1861

Dear Diary,

Right now I am here at the center helping more injured soldiers. It is hot, and everyone is thirsty. Men are crying from all the excruciating pain they're going through. This environment smells like blood and fire. It is horrible to smell.

I think that what caused this Civil War from the North side was that they wanted to keep union in the whole country. Also, they wanted to keep taxes, or the protective tariff. The good, and one of the most important things from my perspective is that they wanted to stop the spread of slavery. I am from the North, so I am for it and agree with them.

Unlike the North, the South thinks the cause of this war is to preserve the Southern way of life. Also, they want to separate and have their own power. They want to get rid of the tariff and preserve slavery. They don't want black people to be free.

I only wish this war could be over so there won't be anymore deaths or people being shot. We can't do much to save the men who are shot.

by Norma Alvarenga writing as Dorthea Dix, a nurse in the Union army

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Paper Voice and Spoken Word

Paper Voice and Spoken Word was a class offered during intercession 2003. The class focused on students composing and performing their own poetry. The class took a fieldtrip to La Pena Cultural Center in Berkley to attend a slam poetry competition. As a class, we produced a booklet of twenty-five original poems by young poets here at DCP. The following are some examples of students' poems:

The New Beginning

In the radiant glimpse of the moon,
Will never compare to that of whom.
Stillness, movement, aware,
The shining night is fair.
Wondrous night has prepared for flight,
As the stars lay up right to the moon.

-Scott Brackett-

The Last Night

I woke up
A far away ring echoed in my ears
My chest ached with pain
I had been dreaming
In a distance I heard a scream of terror and disbelief
Soon I was driven away to an unknown place
I got off and entered
Then I saw people who resembled bloodhounds because of their
gloomy faces
I could hear people sobbing and sniffling all across the room
Still confused I saw a sparkling box in the front
I felt a certain rush take over my body
As soon as I was close to the box the smell of death flowed thru the air
I cowardly looked inside
At the first glance my eyes began welling up in tears
I opened up my mouth but nothing came out
The foul taste of sadness was running down my throat
I bent down and kissed him good night
For this was
The last night

-Mayra Rubio-

Puzzle Poem

The magic that I felt that day
All the turn that I took
The cold air that touches the bare of my skin, the
surrounding enclosure of buildings.
I hear the other cars pass on the highway,
Is one of them yours?
The taste of lemon melting in my mouth
do anything but stay mild.
Meanwhile I’m still watching your face in
The face of the moon.
The palm trees moving as if a hurricane had hit.
The wall, cold like ice in Alaska but still I can see the cars
coming faster.
I hear my heart beating faster and faster
as you approach me.
The river flows by, like my life flashes before my eyes.
Cars keep passing fast overhead,
Sounding like waves crashing together.
I feel the cold air drifting past me
And the hard, dirty cement beneath my feet.
My back against the wall as solid as my face,
Filled with failed, lumpy days,
The salty blemishes of water.
The muddy chocolate water flowing across smoothly as if
in a kitchen sink with the faucet turned low.
I see a dead bird in the river,
dead like a young girls cold, broken heart.
The creek ran over it smoothly,
As smooth as your skin.
Which walked up to meet mine,
To capture my eyes, tearing them away
from the sadness of a flowing creek.
Replacing the taste in my mouth with yours.
The roar of the highway was suddenly silenced.
The enclosure of the buildings face way
to the enclosure of your arms.
As I’d sensed, you were
what I’d been waiting for
all along.

* This poem is a compilation of lines from every student in Poetry & Voice class, rearranged, rethought, and melded together to create "Puzzle Poem".

Student Reflections from Drama class

Drama is a new class at DCP. It is one of the semester-long electives available to freshman. The first semester class culminated an evening performance, at which students presented a series of short scenes.

What are some advices you would give to future drama students?

Participate as much as possible...Practice for your final performance because that’s something that you are going to remember forever.
Practice when you are told to practice because, trust me, it’s embarrassing going up in front of people when you know your lines. Imagine if you don’t know them.
At first you might not like it and think it’s dumb, but after you get up on stage and hear all those people applaud your whole perspective will change and you will feel like you accomplished something.
Drama gets hard at first when you think you will not be able to do it, but you will. It gets fun later and you’ll be an actor.
Practice all the time because when you go at front you will forget.

How did you feel before you got on stage?

I felt nervous. I forgot all my lines and I started to laugh.
I was so nervous. I wanted to cry. My stomach was growling.
I will basically give you a summary of what was going through my head: I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die.
Before I got on stage I was really nervous and scared. I thought I was going to faint of pee my pants.
I felt really nervous and I felt like I couldn’t go on but I did.

How did you feel while you were on stage?

Before I got on stage I was really nervous and scared. I thought I was going to faint or pee in my pants.
When I was on stage I felt shy and embarrassed and scared because I thought I was going to forget my lines.
I felt good after people started laughing and I felt good and comfortable.
My face went red and I felt really scared.
I couldn’t feel my feet.

How did you feel when you were finished?

I felt a great sense of accomplishment.
I felt really proud of myself.
I felt really good because I thought they were going to laugh at us but they didn’t. I was excited when they applauded.
I felt so happy and I felt I did a really good job and I’m happy I did.
I felt good that we did it. It felt good that we did a good job. It felt good to be congratulated on our hard work.

AP Spanish Poems

Dios Lo Amo

Como no dudar que hay Dios
Si cuando lo necesito se esconde
Porque cuando lloro por él
A Dios reclamo y nadie responde

¿Será que Dios se enojó conmigo
porque sus pasos no he seguido?
O sera que al amarlo asi
Será mi peor castigo

Si él no ha de ser para mi
Dios ilumina mis pasos,
Hazme porfavor olvidarlo
O lánzame a otros brazos

Ya no quiero vivir esta agonía,
Por mucho tiempo fuí feliz
Paseaba, trabajaba, y comía
Estaba contenta cuando él era mío.

¿Dios, como se olvida?
Llorando de noche
Y soñando de día
Si era felíz cuando lo tenía

Veronica Lugo Perez
AP Spanish Language

Tu me haces llorar, yo te hago reir
Tu quieres verme la cara de mensita.

Me das migajas y yo te ofrezco mi alma entera.
Tú eres mis ojos con los que yo miro.
Pero qué crees soy más viva que tus celulas en la cabeza.

Eres malo como sopa fria
Feo como foto de licencia
Y yo bonita como las estrellas
Sabes que tú y yo no somos iguales
Yo soy mucho para tí y tú eres puras
Sobras que dejó la otra al salir.

Berenice Cervantes
AP Spanish Language

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DCP Artists Create Mural in Downtown San Jose

In the spring of 2002, DCP student artists created a prominent, public mural in downtown San Jose, California. Through the summer and fall of 2002, the students' mural was exhibited on the facade of MACLA (Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana) - a pre-eminent center for Latino culture
in Silicon Valley.

Through the entire school year, students studied public art, met public artists, and visited various Bay Area and Los Angeles museums, galleries and public art installations, to prepare themselves to design and execute this large scale project. The students worked in their spare time after school and on weekends to bring the project to completion. They then celebrated the mural with a community opening and press event.

The theme of the mural is captured in the mural's tagline, "If We Don't Change, The World Is Going To Fall Apart, And We're Going To Fall Apart With It." Their bold response to this statement is, "We're Ready To Change," superimposed on their portraits on a 7' x 10' photo-mural. The student artists have made a step toward change in their own lives by choosing to attend DCP and turn their mostly low academic performance into strong, college-bound work. The students' work also comments on the events of September 11th it stands against violence and for cross-cultural understanding.

Students worked closely with DCP Art Director, Michelle Longosz, and community artists, Abraham Ortega and Nicole Coleman, to complete this project.

Press Footnote:

The students' work received positive press coverage in the local media, including two articles in the San Jose Mercury News.

Quotes:

"We showed pride in ourselves and the community. We made our mural with confidence, not negativity." Tejas Bafna (age 16)

"Our mural responded to the events of 9/11. We understood that 9/11 affected the entire national community. We are not alone. We all need to change." Jose Silva (age 16)

"This mural helped me emotionally. We came up with the idea. We got the money. We did everything." Diana Guadalupe (age 16)

Project Sponsors:

California Arts Council
Community Foundation Silicon Valley (Youth in Philanthropy Program)
Downtown College Prep
Echoing Green Foundation
Focus: Youth Photography Project
Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana

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