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Letters
UC's admissions policies will help De Anza College
I felt compelled to write on the topic of the new UC admissions policies that now permit dual enrollment for the top 12 percent of California high school graduates. Unfortunately some are of the opinion that increasing access to UCs will somehow result in lowering academic standards. Not true!
With our high school counterparts, not only has De Anza College raised its academic standards over the past few years, but also our students have historically performed as well as, or often, better than their UC counterparts who enter as freshman. This is apparent when we compare the grade point averages of community college UC transfers and native UC students in their junior and senior years of study.
At De Anza, we pride ourselves on holding and maintaining rigorous academic standards. At the same time, we know that many more students could benefit from a UC education than are currently admitted. We therefore applaud the boldness of UC President Atkinson and visionary leaders like President Greenwood of UCSC who forged the dual admissions policies with De Anza and our sister community colleges across the state to increase the opportunity and affordability of college for present and future generations.
These students will be able to complete the first two years of their four-year program at De Anza or at another community college of their choice. They must meet all of the UC standards upon transfer in the junior year. As we have shown the past 30 years, I am confident that we will continue to demonstrate that the state's investment in these students was well worth it, both for our local economy and for California's future.
Dr. Martha J. Kanter
President, De Anza College
Portal should become fifth middle school
I'm writing my opinion for the Cupertino Union School District on the subject of the fifth middle school. I think that Portal should be the new middle school. Here are some reasons:
If Portal is to be the new middle school, elementary school kids have to move from Portal to a closed school which will be opened at their arrival. With Collins as the new middle school, Collins' kids will go to Portal, and Portal kids will go to the other elementary school. So, if Portal is made the new school, not as many kids will have to move schools.
At the board meeting, we looked over the Collins and Portal middle school schemes. From my point of view, the arrangement of classrooms at Portal looked as though you could get to your next class quicker and easier.
Collins was a middle school a while ago, so why switch it back again? I think it makes a little more sense to make Portal the middle school.
Eric Hilton
Cupertino
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
