ACLC Students Place Highly in County Science Fair

Thirty-seven young scientists from the Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC), a small public charter school serving grades 6-12, entered projects in the Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair (ACSEF www.acsef.org) held March 8-9, at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA.  Out of the 37 projects entered by ACLC in the Science Fair, 22 gained at least 4^th Place recognition, with six receiving seven different “Special Awards,” three winning 1^st Place, and one being honored as a Grand Prize Runner-up.

“Science has always been one of ACLC’s strong suits,” said David Hoopes, ACLC’s Lead Facilitator. “One of our original founders and current Executive Director, Paul Bentz, was a chemistry teacher and has continued to foster a passion for the sciences in our program.”

Ninth-grader Sophia Moore’s project, “What is the Effect of Ammonium Acetate on Specific Phytoplankton in the Oakland Estuary?” earned a Grand Prize Runner-up award as well as a 1^st Place and “Best in Category” in the high school Biological Sciences.  As one of only two Grand Prize Runners-up, Moore will receive a fully funded trip to the California State Science Fair in Los Angeles, California’s most elite science competition for middle and high school student projects. 

Ninth-grader Joshua Morgan’s project, “Gone with the Wind” earned a 1^st Place in the high school Engineering category and a special award from the American Meteorological Society.  Seventh-grader Mary Jane Howland’s project, “Dancing Dynamics” won a 1^st Place in the middle school Physics category.

In the high school division, Camilla Guiza-Chavez received a 1^st Place special award from the Dublin-San Ramon Water District for “Can Duckweed Absorb Ammonium Nitrate?”  Michelle Cosette also received a special award from the Water District and another from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for “Implications of Temperature Variance on Oil-Spill Clean-ups.”  And Angela Kim received a special award from the Dept. of Health and Human Services for her project, “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.”

In the middle school division, Molly Howland earned an NCB-AALAS Animal Science award for “Planaria: Uncovering the Mystery of Regeneration,” and Luca van der Meer won an American Vacuum Society Award for “Siphon Speed-Up or Slow-down.”

An accredited school of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, ACLC is a tuition-free public charter school that educates 320 learners in grades 6-12 in Alameda, CA.  It ranks as one of Alameda's top middle and high schools, and has been named one of America’s Best High Schools for the past four years by US News & World Report.