Sept. 21, 2006
JENNIFER ANDALUZ
Jennifer Andaluz is the co-founder and Executive Director of Downtown College Preparatory (DCP), Silicon Valley's first charter high school and one of the only schools in California to focus explicitly on college success for low-achieving urban students.
Andaluz began her career as a history and English teacher in large urban public schools, and worked closely with administrators and teachers alike in school-wide initiatives designed to improve the academic performance of underachieving students. Her work in comprehensive schools culminated in a Hewlett-Annenberg grant that was used to attack grade and attendance disparities for students of color.
Since its opening in 2000 DCP has earned local, state, and national recognition for its student achievement. Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea and The School that Beat the Odds written by Joanne Jacobs, former education editor of the San Jose Mercury News, tracks the early story of DCP, its founders and its innovative programs.
A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, Andaluz has worked in public education since 1993. She is a member of the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley Class XV. In 2004 she was recognized for her leadership by the Santa Clara Valley YWCA at its 20th annual Tribute to Women and Industry awards. In 2006 she received the inaugural Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal Diversity Award for extending the promise of education through her ground-breaking work at DCP. Andaluz serves on the boards of MACLA: Movimiento de Arte Cultura Latino Americana and Rocketship Education.
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