Middle and high school students: do you know what career path you want to take?

Do you know where you'd like to go to college? It may not be too soon for you to start thinking about this, and the California Department of Education wants to help.


California's chief of schools Tom Torlakson today unveiled the new California Career Center Web portal to help middle school and high school students explore their options and plan their next steps toward productive careers.

“Studies show that helping students connect their schoolwork to their future in the workforce helps keep them on track and headed for success,” Torlakson said. “The California Career Center Web portal gives students, parents, and teachers a one-stop shop to help demystify the process of moving from the classroom to careers.”

I paid a quick visit to the site, and it looks interesting. But I'm not the intended audience, so I don't think I'm a good judge. But maybe some students out there want to review it and tell me what they think???? I'd love to hear from you.

More school districts are in financial distress across California

But with the exception of the South Monterey County Union High -- formerly known as King City -- none are in Monterey County.

The California Department of Education released the names of 188 districts that are walking on a financial tightrope, 12 of them have negative certification -- which means they could be in danger of not meeting their monetary obligations this year or the following one. One such districts is South Monterey County, but given the pricey loan they have from the state, they're destined to remain on the list for a long time to come.

Two or three districts in Monterey County have made an appearance on said list in the past, but none were listed this week, which is to the credit of district administrators and financial gurus with the Monterey County Office of Education, who keep careful scrutiny on all the districts spending.

Quite an accomplishment, given the financial times we live in.

It's the season to be solar

And Cal State Monterey Bay has been listed as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Princeton Review. The education services company selected CSUMB for inclusion in the third annual edition of its free downloadable book, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition.”

CSU Monterey Bay was praised for its initiatives including the revolving Energy Innovations Fund that supports energy-saving projects on campus and repays itself through energy savings, and the 6.4-acre solar installation that is meeting 16 percent of the university’s electricity needs.

Also drawing praise was the university’s food service operations, which include organic foods, compostable packaging and serving products, recycling of cooking oil and joining the “Meatless Monday” movement. All buildings on campus have designated recycling areas, and the ubiquity of the blue recycle bins has helped the university achieve a 50 percent waste diversion rate.

Even more impressive, according to the guide, is that 90 percent of campus buildings have undergone energy-related retrofits in the past three years.

The green learning opportunities, which allow students to take courses in subjects as diverse as environmental writing and food ethics, were also cited.

The guide pointed out that CSU Monterey Bay's commitment to green continues all the way to graduation – when students cross the stage to receive their degrees in gowns sewn with material made from recycled plastic bottles.

The guide can be downloaded here. More information on CSUMB’s commitment to sustainability can be found here.