Preparing Students for Industry Careers or College -- panel discussion and demonstration

The Media Center for Art, Education and Technology, MCAET, invites the public, including industry professionals, community leaders, educators, and artists to a community presentation, panel, and facility tour on Wednesday, April 26, from 10 am  to 3 pm at 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas.

Learn how the Media Center for Art, Education and Technology is developing the arts, media, and entertainment industry’s future as a State designated Career Technical Education Demonstration Site.

Tom Torlakson, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, referred to MCAET studios as one of “The Best in the State." The Career Technical Education division has also named MCAET and the Millennium Charter High School one of eight statewide “Career Education Demonstration Sites."

At MCAET, students from throughout Monterey County are learning alongside Industry Professionals: • Radio, T.V., Film • Advertising • Promotions • Web Design • Broadcast Journalism • Sports Broadcast • Engineering • Animation • Game Design

Wednesday, April 26
10:00am to noon - Presentation & Panel Discussion
“Preparing Students for Industry Careers or College”
Noon - Complimentary LUNCH
1:00pm to 3:00pm - Open House Tours
MCAET Studios, Production Truck, Mobile Digital Media Studio

For more information or RSVP, contact Hamish Tyler, MCAET Director, htyler@montereycoe.org or 831-784-4192

MCOE's Ester Rubio takes part of Washington's Women's Summit

Esther Rubio, school climate coordinator for the Monterey County Office of Education, was nominated to attend the first-ever White House Summit on The United State of Women.

The summit brought together thousands of people working to change the future of women. Held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on June 14 and 15, females from across the world came together to celebrate the progress made and turn their focus toward the future with the goal of gender equality.

Rubio said her biggest takeaway from the experience was confirming that, no matter the situation a girl is in, education is the way out.

“Creating a positive school climate for girls is essential so they feel good about going to school and continuing their education,” she said in a statement. “Women and girls, if they are going to be successful and independent, education has to be a part of their life The schools in Monterey County will be better places for students and I am proud that I will have been a part of that.”

To watch the Summit in its entirety, click here. 

Students Learn to “Think Like a Scientist” in STEM Camp South Monterey County

South Monterey County students will explore science on projects such as windmills, robots, and hovercrafts at the second annual Monterey County Office of Education STEM Camp, a week-long summer learning program that will be held Monday, June 13 through Friday, June 17, 2016 at San Ardo Elementary School, 62428 Center Street, San Ardo.

During the camp, students in grades 3-8 who are looking to strengthen and expand their scientific knowledge and have fun will get hands-on experience in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM), using a variety of science and engineering concepts introduced through hands-on experiments.

To register a student from Bradley, King City, San Ardo, San Antonio, or San Lucas (for free), click here.

STEM camp is funded through a donation by Chevron, in partnership with the Monterey County Office of Education, and school districts in South Monterey County. Chevron’s donation is part of its initiative to invest in education in areas where the company has operations.

Foster care organizations honored

Four organizations that provide services for children in the foster care system were honored by the Monterey County Board of Education for their support of these young people and their role in their development. Voices for Children CASA, Peacock Acres, Door to Hope, and The Epicenter told their mission, success stories, and personal connections to the foster care children and youth in Monterey Count during a ceremony on Tuesday. Two high school students who have been in foster care shared their emotional stories of experiencing numerous home placements and overcoming obstacles as they found self-confidence and success.

National Foster Care Awareness Month is a month set aside to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help children in foster care find permanent homes, healthy connections, and the resources to lead a successful and rewarding life.

Teressa Jimenez, Director of Development and Jasmine Flanagan, Therapeutic Learning Center Educational Coordinator from Peacock Acres share their mission and success stories during a ceremony on Tuesday at the Monterey County Office of Education.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County receives Excellence in Education honors

Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County was honored Thursday as the 2016 recipient of the Monterey County School Boards Association’s “Excellence in Education Award.”

The award is given to organizations that offer education opportunities to students countywide, that make transformative and significant impact on students’ quality of life, that addresses an unmet, countywide student need, and demonstrates a commitment to exceeding expectation in pursuit of addressing the challenge.

“We are so honored to be recognized by the Monterey County School Boards Association,” said in a statement Donna Ferraro, President and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, “We ourselves are not educators, but with the guidance, training, and support of MCOE, we provide effective and measurable programs that address critical after-school and summertime needs – like safety, nutrition, physical activity, mentoring, social and emotional development, homework help, summer learning loss prevention, and targeted academic interventions and solutions.”

Congratulations, Donna and team! I've seen the remarkable work you do for your club members and it's indeed an inspiration.

To read the story by the Monterey County Office of Education, click here.

Alternative education programs offered by the Monterey County Office of Education have received the stamp of approval by the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Accreditation by WASC, as it's usually referred to, certifies that the schools meet the required criteria that demonstrates to students their studies will be accepted elsewhere.

The programs offered by the Alternative Education Department reach students across Monterey County. Students who attend Alternative Education Programs are foster/homeless youth, students on inter-district transfers, youth who have been referred by probation, or students who were expelled from their home district. Full service programming and support are offered to all students, including in-house social workers, mental health counselors, and aides in every classroom who help providing individualized instruction. Each program is unique so needy students with can be successful and prepared for college and careers after high school.

Alternative Education Programs include:

Salinas Community Schools
Rancho Cielo Silver Star Program
Silver Star Center, Independent Studies Program
South County Independent Studies Program
Warner Davis Program
Innovative Arts Technology Pathway
Sea Air Fire Earth Transportation Pathway
 MCOE Court Schools
Wellington M. Smith, Jr. School
Salinas Valley Education Center

MCOE hosts the 2015 STEM Expo

Over 50 Monterey County science teachers took part in the 2015 STEM Expo organized by the Monterey County Office of Education last weekend. The expo gave teachers an opportunity to meet and network with local scientific groups, research organizations and non profits to learn what’s available for their students as they pursue scientific knowledge.

Some of the organizations that participated were the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Save the Whales, Rocket Mavericks and more. Hopefully, teachers got many ideas for jazzing up their classes and get more students interested in science!

Little Hands, Big Possibilities now open to the public

The artistic creations of Head Start students of the Monterey County Office of Education are  now on display. "Little Hands, Big Possibilities," will be on showcase until Friday, March 20.

Ryan Escobar poses with his creation

The art show, sponsored by MCOE’s Early Head Start program, is aimed at raising awareness about the Early Head Start program and the learning that happens during the infant and toddler years.

More than 70 pieces are included in the show, including several group projects produced by Early Head Start parents.

“In the Early Head Start program, the parents are equal partners,” said Dora McKean, EHS educator. “We wanted to give parents an opportunity to work in groups, be creative, and reflect on what is meaningful for them.”

The Monterey County Office of Education is at 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas.

Charts are beatiful. Check out this one, courtesy of MCOE

For the third year in a row, the Monterey County Office of Education has published a report to the community on the county's state of education, an effort aimed at highlighting the good things that are happening in education these days.

If you are a Herald reader -- or follow my blog -- you will find very little news in the report. Most of the articles are about issues we've already covered here. Of course, they look more nifty in a booklet all of their own.

But there are a few articles worth mentioning. The one about Common Core on pages 6 and 7. The one about new funding rules on pages 8 and 9.

And my personal favorite, the chart on English learners as they progress towards proficiency in English on page 5.

It's illuminating. Worth a story. I'll get to it one of these days.

Find the report here.

Navigator appeal coming to the Monterey County Office of Education

Perhaps you've noticed I've been doing quite a bit of coverage about a small charter operator that wants to come to Monterey County. It's called Navigator, and you can find an article about the national controversy on charters here and a description of one the Navigator schools,  Gilroy Prep, here.

Navigator asked to open two charters, one in the Salinas City Elementary School District, and one at the Alisal Union School District. After getting rejected from both districts, Navigator administrators appealed the Salinas City petition to the Monterey County Board of Education.

Trustees with the Monterey County Board of Education will hear the appeal at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the offices on Blanco Circle. I regret I won't be there, as I have an important issue to attend to on the other side of the country. So I'll be checking in to see what happened.

Scuttlebutt, I expect a full report!

Monterey County Office of Education gets nearly $3 million to address youth violence

A day after it was announced that, once again, Monterey County leads California in youth violence, the Monterey County Office of Education says it's received $2.8 million to tackle the problem.

The money comes from three grants. A $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's School Climate Transformation Grant to implement Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support -- PBIS -- in several schools. PBIS is a method that reinforces positive behavior as a way to decrease disruptions in the classroom, and therefore, student suspensions and expulsions. The funding will also address better understanding and response to the underlying causes for youth to act out and engage in violent behaviors (i.e., mental health and trauma).

A $100,000 grant comes from the National Forum to Prevent Youth Violence, also to support PBIS.

A $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Mental Health Services to offer a Youth Mental Health First Aid Program to train adults to identify and address the mental health problems and issues of Salinas’ students aged 12 to 18.

A cadre of politicians, educators and law enforcement officials will have an official announcement next week, with details about how it'll all work out.

Stay tuned.

Monterey County Home Charter School hosts open house

The Monterey County Home Charter School, a k-12 public school for families who home school their children, will host their annual open house from 5:30 to 7 pm. Thursday. You can learn more about the program and view student work and projects.

The school will also host a meeting for parents and community members on Common Core and funding related to it from 4:30 – 5:30 pm on this same day.

The events will take place  at the Monterey County Office of Education, Rooms A & B, 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas.

Millenium Charter is expanding

Hamish Tyler, director of the Media Center for Arts Education and Technology at the Monterey County Office of Education says the Millennium Charter School is not moving out of MCOE. It's just expanding into Sherwood Hall near the Salinas Sports Complex.

"There will always be 58 students here," at MCOE, Tyler said.

But with an incoming class of another 58 students, the freshmen and sophomores already housed at the MCOE campus of Millennium were feeling the squeeze. That's already 100 some students at MCOE, and capacity was becoming an issue.

Millennium's much touted studios will remain where they are, and Millennium students will use them as needed. By expanding capacity, the studios will also be available to students of the home charter program and other programs managed by MCOE, Tyler said.

"It really is a win-win," Tyler said.

Monterey County schools information at your fingertips

Hot off the press! The Monterey County Office of Education has just published the 2014 edition of the Directory of Monterey County Public & Private Schools.

The directory, published annually, is available online here, and includes contact information about Monterey County Office of Education departments and programs, Monterey County public school districts and the schools within each district, as well as information and listings on the private schools, charter schools, academies and military programs available in Monterey County.

Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Kotowski will seek re-election

And by now, the only person who was heavily rumored to be considering making a run against her, has largely fizzled.

I won't say the name, because you never know. Hedging my bets here.

If nobody challenges Kotowski, it will definitely be no fun.

Even if anybody decides to take her on, she has so much name recognition by now it'll be difficult to defeat her. Which would make for a dull race. Unless it's made spicy for other reasons.

But if anybody's interested, last day to file's March 7.

Keep me posted. 

A week-long party wraps up at MCOE's, Millennium Charter begins classes next week

The Media Center for Arts, Education & Technology, housed at the Monterey County Office of Education, is celebrating this week the unveiling of its state-of-the-art facility that will also be home to the Millennium Charter School.

They place's been happening all week, with dancers, poetry readings, plays and all sorts of artistic presentations in a taste of what's to be expected from this new venture.

Tonight, yours truly and my amazing boss Dave Kellogg will be guest speakers to talk about journalism in the digital age.

The performances are free and open to the public. They may also be viewed on Charter Channel 17 and Comcast Channel 26.

The grand opening ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, with music by Red Beans and Rice and tours of the studios. Then on Monday Aug. 26 there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony before the bell rings for the inaugural class of the Millennium Charter High School.

Come check out the studios, or watch Dave and me on TV. It's going to be fun!

The Media Center is at 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas, at the office of the Monterey County Office of Education.

Master Calendar for all Monterey County Schools

You have to be a nerd to like something like this; so I guess I am.

Now I'll have a central location to go find out if MPUSD is in session or if Alisal is already on vacation. So grand. You can find it here.

We have to thank the friendly folks at the Monterey County Office of Education for this one. You guys rock! And by you, I mean Marci!

Monterey County Office of Education to host teacher recruitment fair

The Monterey County Office of Education will host a teacher recruitment fair to help school districts in the tri-county area (Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties) fill vacant teacher positions. Employment opportunities for public and private school teachers, as well as other credentialed professionals, will be available and job fair participants can speak first-hand with district representatives about open positions.

Visit www.montereycoe.org and click on the “teacher recruitment fair” link to see current listing of participating districts. List will be updated regularly as districts confirm participation.

The Tri-County Teacher Recruitment Fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at the Monterey County Office of Education, Rooms A/B, 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas.

MCOE hosts workshop about California education budget

The Monterey County Office of Education will host a free workshop to discuss the most recent developments in state education finance and other topics from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Friday May 31 at the Monterey County Office of Education located at 901 Blanco Circle in Salinas.

The workshop will be provided by Capitol Advisors Group, a Sacramento-based education advocacy firm. The workshop is open to anyone who wants to learn the latest on education funding in California. Topics of discussion will include the governor’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), Proposition 98, school accountability, school energy funding, and more.

For additional information on this budget workshop, call Kevin Gordon (916) 847-9454. Register here.

Bay View Academy heading for another five years

Looks like Bay View Academy is here to stay. At least for a while longer.

Monterey County administrators are recommending the charter be re-authorized for another five years, and given the enormous support it's enjoyed, I see no reason why the Monterey County trustees would deny it. So I expect another lovefest this Wednesday at 3:30 at the Monterey County Office of Education.

See you there!.