Linked on the Mount Diablo High School website is Concord's Community Youth Center. The CYC's main goals are to help children grow and succeed in academics, athletics, and life. To help achieve these goals the CYC has two rooms with computers, printers, books, tutors, and quiet work space dedicated to helping kindergarten through 12 grade students with academics. CYC also has classes for boxing, cheerleading, dance, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, judo, taekwondo, wrestling, sports conditioning, and outdoor activities such as visiting a farm, boat tours on the bay, camping, horseback riding, archery, rafting, canoeing, etc. It is $31 a month to become a member of CYC and once a member, children can participate in any of the activities and classes at no additional charge. Children are encouraged to try out many of the different activities and the classes are kept open on a continual basis as a way to allow children to experience whichever activities they would like month to month or even sometimes day to day. Scholarships are also awarded for children who cannot afford CYC.
The City of Concord also hosts many festivals and events held in Todos Santos Plaza which is about five blocks from Mount Diablo High School. There is year-round farmer's market on Tuesdays and Thursdays which includes free music concerts featuring local bay area performers and an all-Blues series in July. Throughout the year there are also free car shows, a holiday tree-lighting, chili cook-offs, Halloween trick-or-treating, and a 4th of July celebration.
Concord also celebrates National Night Out which is one night dedicated to making Concord safer. The event includes celebrating the community through music, foods, speakers, and local business booths. The idea behind National Night Out is to allow neighbors a safe space to learn about and meet each other and the city leaders in order to develop plans to address crime prevention despite the various cultural differences within these neighborhoods. Themes in the past have been "Building a Healthier Community", "Emergency Preparedness", and "Concord Against Crime".
excited for, Max for the MTBA program (a three year course designed for those interested in heading into the medical profession) and Angela for the recently established ROTC program which she began in early summer for pre-training. Both were excited as well as nervous to start high school, but each made sure to state that despite past rumors, Mt. Diablo High is nowhere near as "bad" as it once was. In fact, starting this year they have a new principal, a former VP who has now been promoted and hopes are high that she can continue to improve the school. They told us their favorite restaurants downtown (Max: Skipolinni's and Ravioli's for Angela) and shared their excitement to join an athletic team (Angela hopes to make the volleyball team).
the school had only two African American students who were bussed over from the nearby Pittsburg area. The school had around 2,000 students and his graduating class was a paltry 400 compared to today's average. It is now more of a commuter school in his view with a significant increase in gang activity, violence and crime. In Bill's mind the problems facing Mt. Diablo High are not based around student actions but those of the administration, referring to the administration as being "top heavy" and these are where the real budget cuts should be coming from, rather than student courses. In Bill's day there was much more emphasis on the Industrial Arts (welding, machine shop, auto) and it is a "shame" that these classes are now the first ones being cut from curriculums. Bill is a strong supporter of the Industrial Arts, being an active participant back in his own high school days and stresses the need for classes based around real occupations, not just academics. When asked if the school has changed much since his day his reply was that it has remained almost exactly the same; few renovations and almost no total overhauling has been done on the campus over the past forty odd years.
school career said that they will "stick with the public school system". However, there was some hesitation on which local high school they would rather he attend, as apparently "Ygnacio Valley has a better reputation" than Mt. Diablo High, a belief we heard a few more times throughout the day. When we informed them we were in the St. Mary's credentialing program hoping to become teachers ourselves one day Brad began to speak up. Speaking of his years living abroad (Germany and Spain) Brad shared with us his belief that students need to be able to relate to their teacher, a relationship that is hard to foster due to age discrepancies, or, as Brad put it, "in old Mrs. Smith's Algebra Class". Students need a teacher closer to their own age in order for their to be that relatable factor, a point Brad stressed to us.
quite common in Concord. However, despite her close proximity to the high school Mrs. Fisher noted that very few of them are related to student violations. In the summer and spring seasons she works around 6 days a week, an extra day added for the swap meet Concord now hosts. During the fall season the number drops back down to 5 days a week. In her opinion the high schoolers are respectful of parking rules and regulations, a fact that may only be attributed to the fact that they have two large parking lots allocated for student use.
The City of Concord also hosts many festivals and events held in Todos Santos Plaza which is about five blocks from Mount Diablo High School. There is year-round farmer's market on Tuesdays and Thursdays which includes free music concerts featuring local bay area performers and an all-Blues series in July. Throughout the year there are also free car shows, a holiday tree-lighting, chili cook-offs, Halloween trick-or-treating, and a 4th of July celebration.
Concord also celebrates National Night Out which is one night dedicated to making Concord safer. The event includes celebrating the community through music, foods, speakers, and local business booths. The idea behind National Night Out is to allow neighbors a safe space to learn about and meet each other and the city leaders in order to develop plans to address crime prevention despite the various cultural differences within these neighborhoods. Themes in the past have been "Building a Healthier Community", "Emergency Preparedness", and "Concord Against Crime".
While visiting Concord we also came across a festival to raise money for the Queen of All Saints Catholic Church. At the festival there were booths of volunteers selling food from various cultures including Italian, Filipino, Salvadorian and especially Mexican. There were also performers including dancers and singers representing and celebrating their cultures. All of the proceeds went to the church. While there we were fortunate enough to get some insight from Concord community members and find out just what it's like to be a resident.
Marleth, 23
A local resident and active member of the All Saints Catholic Church, Marleth had some insights on both Mt. Diablo High School and the surrounding area. While not noted for its stellar education, Marleth doesn't blame the school for the stigma saying, "It's not the school that makes the students, but the students who make the school". She goes even further and bemoans the lack of local jobs within the community, blaming high rent and mortgage prices for forcing long time citizens to look elsewhere for residency. The increasing cost of living coupled with the tough job market make it difficult for community members such are herself. And yet, those a part of the close knit church group have found a way to celebrate their commitment to their hometown; by getting volunteers to sell homemade food, provide raffle prizes and various forms of entertainment all to help the local church. Community is a big part of the area and residents take pride in being able to provide and support for local causes.
Angela & Max (14)
We met up with two recent middle school grads and talked about their worries, concerns and general thoughts about starting a new year at Mt. Diablo High. Both mentioned particular programs they were
Bill
Bill, a former Mt. Diablo High alumni from class of '72 had much to share about the changes, or as it were lack thereof, from his own days on campus. In his day there was far less cultural variety, in fact
Brad & Ida
Brad & Ida were a young couple we came across at Todos Santos Park. They have a young boy who is currently attending a public middle school in the area and when asked about their plans for his high
Ariel, 23
We met Ariel in Half-Price Books where she worked and managed to ask her a few questions about Concord. As an Alhambra High School graduate she couldn't tell us the ins and outs of Mt. Diablo High but her views were quite helpful. Despite living nearby in the community her family managed (somehow, we felt it would be rude to ask how) to enroll her in Alhambra High rather than Mt. Diablo because of the many "safety concerns" rumored around the school. Referring to it as a "rough and tumble" campus where "one should never go to the bathroom by her or himself", Ariel's depiction of the school fit many of the rumors we ourselves had heard. Yet despite the rumors surrounding the campus Ariel herself has never faced many problems. She says the area is nice enough to walk around on, being subjected to little of the "rough" contact (something which she noted has indeed lessened over the years) and when pressed said that she herself "would send my kids to the public schools...just maybe not Mt Diablo".
R. Fisher
While leaving Concord we were lucky enough to stop and talk with a member of the local police force...as she was pulling over to give some poor unfortunate soul a parking ticket. Parking tickets are
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