Next school year, Dougherty Valley is adding two new classes to its catalog for students to be able to take — Ethnic Studies and XR for Social Good. Read more about them below.

The power of representation in the classroom: Ethnic Studies

Ethnic Studies is a class open to sophomores and juniors who are interested in getting an exposure to different cultures and ethnicities and is UC/CSU pending. Being a UC approved class means it is approved and accepted by the University of California as an A-G credit. It is also accepted by the majority of other universities and colleges as well. In this class, students will be talking about different ethnic minorities and their historical backgrounds, as well as gaining empathy towards the various experiences of black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the U.S. 

Mr. Roberto Clemente, DV World Geography teacher, will be teaching this class next school year. He describes this class as an “eye opening experience.” 

Rylee Huey, a rising senior decided to take this class because she “wants to expand her horizons especially when it comes to the treatment of people of color.” 

“My goal is to diversify the way we approach teaching history and the way we approach teaching in general… Ethnic and minority groups do not get represented and I believe that representation matters” said Mr. Clemente.

Real-world uses of computer programming: XR for Social Good

XR for Social Good is available to sophomores, juniors and seniors who wish to gain career-relevant knowledge about the world of XR and computer programming. Students will learn about virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), alongside Unity programming and application for immersive game experiences. Students will work towards designing prototype solutions and applications for the Oculus 2 VR headset, along with a multitude of guest speakers, and will be taught by Vs.net and AP Computer Science teacher Ms. Davoudzadeh. 

“I just wanted to expand my knowledge about the CS/AI world,” said junior Jaanavi Thanamala in regards to why she chose this course.

Along with the various prototyping opportunities, students can also use a multitude of new technology. Dougherty students last year won $100,000 in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, which has enabled the building of a brand-new XR lab at DVHS.

All students must have previously taken or be currently taking AP Computer Science in order to take XR for Social Good.

If you are interested in these courses, please email your counselors to request a schedule change by Friday, Apr. 16.