Monterey County high school graduation rates on the rise

High school graduation rates in Monterey County are up, a trend that can be seen across all groups. In some cases, graduation rates are even higher than California's rate overall, according to the California Department of Education.

The graduation rate for all students went up from 80 percent in 2013 to 84.5 percent in 2015, a 4.5 point increase. California went up only 1.9 points to 82.3 percent in the same period.

Biggest increases were seen among English Learners, who went up from 67.3 percent to 73.1 percent the same time period, a 5.8 point increase. In California as a whole, 69.4 percent of English-language learners graduated in four years.

Students with disabilities also saw increases: 65.5 percent graduated in 2015, compared with 59.2 percent in 2013, a 6.3 point increase.

So much to to day about this data, but I will not have time to dig into it this week. More to come. 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.

Winners of the U.S. Constitution project earn trip to D.C.

Sixteen Monterey County students from four middle schools throughout Monterey County were  recognized on March 11 by the Monterey County Office of Education and the Dan and Lillian King Foundation for their participation in the second annual Monterey County United States Constitution Project.

The project was launched by the Monterey County Constitution Project Committee two years ago to enrich the lives of Monterey County 8th graders through greater knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. The primary goals of the project include curriculum development, materials and demonstration lessons.

In its second year, the program was expanded to include four middle schools. The 8th grade U.S. history teachers implemented the curriculum, activities and U.S. Constitution writing competition. Students were challenged to express their ideas through various U.S. Constitution writing and speaking projects, including short persuasive essays, spoken word poetry, and small group and individual debates.

The top essay winner from each school has been awarded a scholarship for a trip to Washington, D.C. Students have the opportunity to visit the nation’s Capital and Philadelphia to witness the documents, buildings and monuments that have shaped our history with their own eyes.What an opportunity for these youngsters! Way to go!

The winners are:

Los Arboles Middle School
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District
Kailani Gilbuena
Drake Johnson
Zena Lababidi
Alexander Soria

Main Street Middle School
Soledad Unified School District
Jesus Enrique Cuevas
Michelle Reyes Ortiz
Elena Rose Meza
Robert Wayne Santa Ana

North Monterey County Middle School
North Monterey County Unified School District
Isidoro Barragan Mendez
Andy Chhoun
Cassady Healy
Katelyn James

Washington Middle School
Salinas Union High School District
Sophia Arredando
Darcy Davis
Edward Trujillo
Andy Zheng

History Day Winners move on to State Wide Competition

Monterey County History Day was held for at Los Arboles Middle School on Saturday March 8 from 9 am to 5 pm.

The theme for this year was Rights and Responsibilities, and dozens of Monterey County students completed exhibits, websites, documentaries and composed research papers on the topic. The following are the winners who will go on the represent Monterey County at the state finals in Riverside on April 26-27.

Junior Individual Website:
Isidoro Cosentino: Inalienable Rights Lost: Italian-American Relocation
James Gonzales: The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949

Junior group Website:
Alex Brody & Noah Silverstein: Jews in the Holocaust
Jordan Banon, Gabrielle Arreola & Marianne Tuazon: Emilio Aguinaldo: The Phillipines Independence

Junior Historical Paper
Tara Mann: Watch What you Breathe- A Fictional Letter from a Concerned Mother to the EPA
Katherine Hewitt I.D.E.A: Protecting Children with Disabilities in Education

Junior Individual Documentary
Kyle Worcester-Moore: Rights and Responisibilites in Outer Space
Molly Mancina: The Rights and Responsibilites of Photographers: The History of Photo Manipulation

Junior Group Documentary
Rohan Bhushan & Christopher How: The Salt March
Talia Awerbuck & Annika Uemura Japanese-American Internment: Tragedy of the West Coast

Junior Individual Exhibit
Natalie Lobo: The Fight for Black Voting Rights
Sophia Davies: The Rights and Responsibilities of Smoking and Anti-Smokers

Junior Group Exhibits
Quynh Stanoff, Thai Stanoff, and Primrose Waranimman: Garments in Flames
Grace Padgett & Arya Puar: Japanese Internment Camps

Junior Group Performance
Tara Smith, Gabriella Gallo Rodriguez, and Gabriella Flanders: From Brain Buckets to Racing Helmets: Rights and Responsibilites of Motorcycle

Monterey County girl leaders combat bullying with "smile" campaign

Girl leaders from different high schools throughout Monterey County have been busy this week plastering their schools with tiny bright papers and words of encouragement.

They call it the "Post-a-smile" campaign, the work of Girls' Health in Girls' Hands leadership network, a group of girls who are trying to take charge of their prospects in life.

Students from Alisal High, Everett Alvarez, Pacific Grove, the Boys and Girls Club, Marina High, and other sites are taking part of this event. The girls have been writing anonymous positive messages on sticky-notes and post them at their school campuses. The girls have been taking pictures and tag #ghghmonterey to enter to win a prize for the most creative post.

The idea behind the campaign is to spread positive messages to combat bullying.

The Girls Leadership Network has also created a public service announcement about suicide prevention to raise awareness about the campaign and the serious issue of bullying and suicide in Monterey County. The Suicide Prevention PSA can be seen here. The site has also information about the Post-A-Smile campaign.

Thanks for the smiles, girls! Love and kindness make the world go round!

Salinas High School student takes first prize in Monterey County Science Fair.

Kapil Sinha, a 10th grader at Salinas High School, took the Grand Prize this weekend at the Monterey County Science Fair, which took place at Cal State Monterey Bay. His project in the Plant Biology category was titled "Molecular Characterization of the Weed Beet in the Imperial Valley’s Commercial Sugar Beet Fields."

It is at least the second year in a row that Sinha earns a top spot on the science fair.

First runner up was John Chapman Caddell, a 10th grader at Stevenson School. His project in the Applied Mechanics category was titled "The Leidenpump: A Non-mechanical Means of Coolant Deliver."

Second runner up was Jennifer McDonnald, a senior at York School. Her project in the Behavioral Sciences category was titled "Testing Teaching Styles."

The top three projects will represent Monterey County at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair May 11-16 in Los Angeles, California.

Twenty three projects (some include teams of 2 students) will advance to the California State Science Fair April 28-29 in Los Angeles. They include the following students listed in alphabetical order. All winners may also be found here.

Andrea Alexander, York School
Christian Arnold, All Saints’ Day School
Finn Barry, International School of Monterey
Rohan Bushan, International School of Monterey
Nora Butler, International School of Monterey
John Chapman Caddell, Stevenson School
Kalee Choate, San Benancio Middle School
Carson Coppinger, All Saints’ Day School
Sophia Federico, Salinas High School
Elle Froistad, Salinas High School
Madeline Hoisington, International School of Monterey
Christopher How, International School of Monterey
Iona Joseph, San Benancio Middle School
Jackson Gobel, All Saints’ Day School
Mary Liu, Salinas High School
Billy Lynch, All Saints’ Day School
Mason McCollum, York School
Jennifer McDonnal, York School
Camryn More, San Benancio Middle School
Olivia Myers, All Saints’ Day School
Grace Niccum, All Saints’ Day School
Alyssa Pompan, York School
Aaron Ray, York School
Kapil Sinha, Salinas High School
Montana Sprague, York School
Chaitra Subbarao, Salinas High School
Megan Tang, York School
Anna Wheat, International School of Monterey
Kyle Worcester-Moore, International School of Monterey

Congratulations to all these bright students! Hard work pays off, right? 

Nancy Kotowski stays put for another four years

Friday was the last day to file for candidacy for the upcoming primary election, and there's a slew of incumbents who will have another four years assured since nobody decided to take them on.

Including Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Kotowski.

Kotowski just got an apparent vote-of-confidence from the public, as she drew no challengers for the June primary. Either that or potential candidates decided they had to deal with internal problems before going public.

Either way, we'll have Kotowski for another four years. It'll be interesting to see what they bring.

Stay tuned.

Jonathan Capuyan captures Monterey Countywide Spelling Bee

Jonathan Capuyan, an 8th grader from Palma School, won the annual Monterey County Spellinng Bee on Sunday at Harnell College's Western Stage.

Jonathan won  in the 19th round with the word expectant. He had  finished in second place in the 2013 Countywide Spelling Bee.

Jonathan also correctly spelled the words: barley, maraca, implement, sukiyaki, entourage, samovar, karaoke, escargot, sassafras, commensurate, balalaika, edelweiss, proofread, bloodless, barrier, recipe, therein, and wither.

As champion, Jonathan will represent Monterey County at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, D.C. area May 25-31, 2014. Airfare, accommodations and expenses for a week of tours, activities and the spelling competition will be provided for the champion and a parent by community partners.

Roober Cruz, an 8th grader at San Benancio Middle School, came in second place. Roober and Jonathan went head to head in rounds 8 through 18. Roober correctly spelled the words: sumo, knavery, incorruptible, guilder, mystique, banzai, charpay, innocuous, halal, mercerize, madeleine, mukhtar, refrain, consort, cobwebby, scourge and victim.

Elijah Herrera is an 8th grader at Mission Union School. He correctly spelled the words transect, repel, bower, extravaganza and genre.

Congratulations, champions! You should be proud of your accomplishments. 

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 high school poetry contest announced

High school students from throughout Monterey County may begin submitting their poetry to the 2014 Monterey County High School Poetry Awards sponsored by The Cherry Center for the Arts.

The poetry awards recognize and promote excellence in high school poets and to develop an interest in creative expression through language. Certificates of merit, cash awards and books of poetry will be awarded at a reading and ceremony honoring the student poets on April 26th, at the Monterey Public Library, 625 Pacific Street, Monterey.

Additionally, an anthology celebrating the work of contributing students will be published by the Cherry Center. The poetry awards are held in conjunction with the Cherry Center’s annual high school art exhibit, Thinking Out Loud.

Rules:

1. Submission must be original poetry in English, Spanish or a combination of both.
2. The author must be presently enrolled in a Monterey County High School.
3. No more than three poems allowed per author, and no poem may be more than 40 lines in length.
4. There are no restrictions as to content, style, form or metrical device.
5. All entries must be typed. Student's name, address and phone number must be printed on each poem.

Poets should retain a copy of their poem. Entries must be postmarked by March 15th and mailed to the Cherry Center for the Arts, PO Box 863, Carmel, CA 93921.

Honorees will be awarded certificates of merit, cash awards and books of poetry during a ceremony on Saturday, April 26th, at the Monterey Public Library, 625 Pacific Street, Monterey.

Also, an anthology celebrating the work of contributing students will be published by the Cherry Center. The poetry awards are held in conjunction with the Cherry Center’s annual high school art exhibit, Thinking Out Loud.

Poets! Submit early and often!

The Literacy Summit: the first step on a long road ahead

If you attended the Literacy Summit, thank you!

If you didn't, you missed a very informative event. Although we heard from people who are near and dear to Monterey County -- Sylvia Panetta and CSUMB President Eduardo Ochoa, for instance -- there were also newcomers to the community and great experts in the issue of demographics and literacy.

The aim of the Literacy Campaign of Monterey County was to bring speakers who would discuss the issues of low-levels of literacy in Monterey County -- and the nation for that matter. As many of you already know, we face great challenges in our community as we try to educate our young and prepare them for an economically productive future. Only about a third of third graders in Monterey County score proficient or above in English language arts, and experts believe students start falling behind after the third grade if they don't read proficiently.

Francine Rodd, executive director of First Five Monterey County, made a presentation about how the learning has to start even earlier: as soon as babies are born, or when they're still in the womb. The first few years of a child's life are critical for brain development, and if mothers don't read to their children or don't engage with them, the children will have a hard time catching up later, according to a video presented by Rodd.

But the most compelling presentation -- in my opinion -- came from USC Demographer Dowell Myers: today's babies are tomorrow's taxpayers. If these children don't grow up to be educated adults, they won't be able to hold productive lifestyles, and they won't be able to support the retiring generation. They won't be able to pay into Medicare and Social Security to support the older generations, they won't earn enough to buy the homes, the "nest eggs" of retiring boomers.

Helping the next generation is not altruism. It's self-interest.

In order for the next generation to be productive, we need to help our children now. Better child care needs to be available. More programs for young parents to help them raise their children. A movement to make literacy Monterey County's first priority.

Friday's even was a great first step. At the end of the day, attendants chatted in small groups about what they're willing to do to promote literacy. There was a lot of enthusiasm and energy in the group, so it'll be interesting to see what ideas come to life.

Here's a snippet from Dowell Myers presentation. Enjoy!

A perilous situation in Greenfield

Drive around the streets of Greenfield in the afternoon, after school's over and before parents come home from the fields.

You'll see them by the dozens, maybe the hundreds. Children roaming the streets unsupervised, ready to cause some trouble.

It's not the children's fault. They have nobody to look after them, nothing to do. So they seek refuge in the library (I've heard reports of staff describing their facilities as the "town's babysitter"). 

Yesterday, when the TechMobile from the Media Center for Art, Education & Technology showed up, about 40 children happily overwhelmed the teacher with their demands for attention.

So, what happens when there's no TechMobile? When the library closes? The children are still there, playing ball by themselves.

Or getting recruited by older, more street savvy kids. Being instructed in the arts of causing trouble.

Folks, our unsupervised children in Greenfield today are our gang problem tomorrow. And I say "our problem" because this needs to be tackled collectively. Their parents, they're in the fields making money for their families and creating wealth for Monterey County. Specially these days of a reduced workforce (yes, all those reports of fewer immigrants crossing the border are true) harvesters are being asked to work longer hours so vegetables don't rot in the fields. By the time parents make it home, they've been away from their homes for 16 or 17 hours. Plenty of time for the kids to get in trouble.

Something needs to be done, and soon. We've already seen crime levels in the Salinas Valley spike in recent years, and if this amount of unsupervised children continues, it's only going to get worse.

Let's hear some ideas. Let's see somebody step into action. Keep me posted.

Common Core Standards for Parents!

Martin Cisneros, techology czar at the Monterey County Office of Education, put together this page on information and resources about the Common Core Standards.

Many schools in Monterey County (and the entire state) have begun the transition to the new educational system, which will need to be fully implemented in 2014, with students tested in 2015.

You can find the page here.

Monterey County's Women's Fund -- empowering girls

Roxanna Sanchez grew up in Greenfield, where health education classes were hard to come by. As a participant in Girls Inc., a program which empowers young women from all over Monterey County, she was invited to the Women's Fund breakfast in 2010, which gathers power ladies from all over the county to donate for a good cause.




Sitting next to Roxanna was one of these power ladies who listened attentively to what Roxanna said. Check out the video: the young woman didn't know what to do with her life back then. To her surprise, the attentive lady who had been listening to her the entire morning got up to speak, and told her in front of the audience: if you don't get into the health profession, I don't know what I'm going to do with you.

Roxanna immediately realized what she needed to do with her life, she told an audience of about 400 people at Thursday's Women's Fund breakfast in Monterey. Her comments made the entire audience laugh, bringing some levity to a morning full of sobering statistics.

More than one in four Monterey County women over age 25 did not have a high school diploma in 2009. More than one in six Monterey County girls drops out of high school.

And women, who hold up half the sky, need a lot of support. 

Supporters of the Women's Fund believe that, when women succeed, they lift the boats of their entire families. So they're raising money to endow the program, to continue supporting programs that empower women all over the county.  They're halfway through their goal of $1.5 million.

Listening to Roxanna, who now studies at San Jose State University health science and child adolescent development, was truly inspiring. She even made some of the powerful ladies in the audience tear up.

But it was Roxanna's turn to tear up when the woman who inspired her came to hug her at the end of the breakfast.

It was Morley Brown, decidedly one of my most favorite power ladies in Monterey County.

They embraced, Roxanna teared up, and they promised each other to keep in touch.

It was sweet, magical moment, and I feel so lucky to have witnessed it.

Girls do need a lot of help, specially in our rural, highly immigrant, highly agricultural community. If you'd like to learn more about the Women's Fund, click here.

Masonic Lodges honor Monterey County Teachers!

In cooperation with the Monterey County Superintendent of Schools and several mayors in Monterey County, the Masonic Lodges are inviting teachers and educators to attend an informal reception near their school or home to celebrate “The Day of the Teacher” on Wednesday, May 8 between 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.

Receptions will take place at:

Carmel Lodge On Lincoln, Between 7th and 8th Streets

Monterey Lodge, 525 Pacific Street

Salinas Lodge, 48 East Joaquin Street

Santa Lucia Lodge, 424 ½ Broadway Avenue, King City

Pacific Grove Lodge, 130 Congress Avenue

Teachers and educators are encouraged to RSVP with name, school and Masonic Lodge they plan to attend to Gene Bassett at genebassett@comcast.net.

Gathering ideas to boost literacy in Monterey County

The Literacy Service Providers Network of Monterey County will host Symia Stigler of Sacramento at its monthly meeting Tuesday, April 30.

Stigler will discuss the process Sacramento is using to develop and implement its 10-year plan to have all their third graders at grade-level reading.

Stigler will outline how Sacramento READS! and the stakeholders in Sacramento were able to draft, organize and implement a Third Grade Literacy Campaign as a ten year initiative with a vision of making Sacramento the first city in the country to have every third grader reading on grade level by the end of third grade.

It promises to be an interesting presentation, particularly as Monterey County gears up its literacy campaign. With the recent hiring of Ron Eastwood to lead the organization, there are already several major events planned for this year. Like the Sacramento campaign, the main goal of the Literacy Campaign for Monterey County is to have all children achieve literacy by the third grade. (Fully disclosure: I'm on the board of directors of the campaign, and very excited about how we're moving forward).

The monthly meeting will take place from 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the conference room, of the Salinas City Elementary District Office, 840 South Main Street, Salinas. RSVP to Crystal Macias Diaz at cmacias@literacycampaignmc.org or 595-2665. Lunch will be provided and sitting is limited. RSVP needed to plan lunches.

Six Monterey County Students Take Honors at California State Science Fair

Rohan Bushan and Paul Kunz, 7th graders at the International School of Monterey; Ailis Dooner, a sophomore at Carmel High School; siblings Aradhana and Kapil Sinha, a senior and freshman at Salinas High School respectively; and Montana Sprague, an 8th grader at York School; shone with their projects at the 62nd annual California State Science Fair last week in Los Angeles. Over 1000 participants from 413 schools throughout California competed for top honors.

Bushan and Kunz took third place in the junior division, general microbiology, for their project “Nitrate: A Threat to Plankton.” Their lab research was conducted at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and they examined how nitrate in water sources affect aquatic microorganisms such as plankton.

 Dooner received honorable mention in the senior division, pharmacology/toxicology for her project “Targeting Lung Mutagenesis.” Ailis used laboratory equipment under supervision at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

The Super Sinha Siblings took third place in the senior division, plant biology for their project “Evaluating Peronospora Presence in Salinas Valley & Analyzing DNA Similarity in Downy Mildew Pathogens Affecting Spinach." They discovered downy mildew is infecting Salinas Valley spinach and spreading by contaminated seed. They developed a way to identify the lethal pathogen, and proposed more effective seed screening methods to prevent further spread of Peronospora.

Sprague took second place in the junior division, zoology, for her project, “Can Fish Get Jet-Lagged?” She investigated the effects of circadian rhythm disruptions on the training and memory of common goldfish.

These students earned the opportunity to participate in the California State Science Fair by finishing first in their division and category at the Monterey County Science & Engineering Fair, sponsored by the Monterey County Office of Education, CSUMB, the Naval Postgraduate School, and many community partners, March 8-10, 2013. A total of 23 projects from Monterey County participated at the State Science Fair.

Dooner, and the Super Sinha Siblings will represent Monterey County at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, May 12-17.

And the winners of the 7th annual Japanese speech contest are...

Two students from North Monterey High and one from Stevenson emerged top three in the 7th annual Monterey County High School Japanese Speech contest:





1st Place: Ray Lantaca (North Salinas High School)
2nd Place: Alejandro Nunez (North Salinas High School)
3rd Place: Evelyn Zhai (Stevenson School)

About 250 guests took part in the March 22 event, which included visitors from Japan who spoke about their experiences with the 2011 Tsunami, Japanese language instructor Yo Azama said. There were 15 contestants from Alisal, Everett Alvarez, Stevenson School, and North Salinas High School.

The 1st place winner will compete at the National Speech Contest at UC Irvine in May. We can't wait to see how far he goes!

Monterey County visually impaired students win on regional challenge

Students of the Monterey County Office of Education Program for the Visually Impaired competed on Saturday, March 2 in the Regional Braille Challenge held at California School for the Blind in Fremont.

Students competed in the areas of spelling, reading comprehension, dictation and interpretation of tactile graphics during the all-day competition.


“We're extremely proud of our Monterey County students and staff," said Martina Sholiton, Assistant Superintendent, Special Education. "Our students have had many wins in the Regional Braille Challenges in past years. Two of our students, Janie Brunson and Monserath Espinola, have scored high enough to compete against top winners in the National Braille Challenge."


The 2013 Monterey County winners are:
Janie Brunson, senior at Carmel High – 1st place, Varsity
Alejandro Aguilar, 5th grader at Cesar Chavez in Greenfield – 2nd Place, Sophomore
Rocco Romeo, 4th grader at Washington Union Elementary –1st Place, Freshman
Monserath Espinola, 3rd grader at Del Rey Woods, Seaside – 2nd Place, Freshman
Melina Mendoza, 2nd grader at Marshall Elementary, Seaside –2nd Place Apprentice


Student scores will be compiled with scores from other regional competitions, and the top winners will compete in the National Braille Challenge.

Janie Brunson also won in 2010 and 2011, and Monserath Espinola won in 2012. Janie won 2nd place nationally in 2010.

Janie and her parents


Rocco and Alejandro

Constitution Project recognizes 12 Monterey County Students

Twelve Monterey County students representing Los Arboles Middle School, Main Street Middle School, and Washington Middle School were recognized on Monday, March 4, for their participation in the inaugural Monterey County United States Constitution Project.

The project was convened by the Monterey County Constitution Project Committee to enrich the lives of Monterey County eight graders with the great achievements of the Constitution that frames the United States. The primary goals of the project include curriculum development, materials and demonstration lessons. The efforts also deepened students’ understanding of the constitution through persuasive writing and debate.

In this initial year, this three middle schools piloted the project. The eight grade U.S. History teachers implemented the curriculum, activities and U.S. Constitution writing competition. Students were challenged to express their ideas through various U.S. Constitution writing and speaking projects, including short persuasive essays, spoken word poetry, and small group and individual debates. For their final test, the students had to write a persuasive essay to express the impact the U.S. Constitution had on our country and on their lives personally.

The top essay winner from each school has been awarded a scholarship for a trip to Washington, D.C. Students have the opportunity to visit the nation’s Capitol and Philadelphia to witness the documents, buildings and monuments that have shaped our history with their own eyes. They will also walk in the same steps as James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and the framers of the U.S. Constitution.

The winners are:

Los Arboles Middle School, Marina.

Lauren E. Dimaggio
Michael Howard Dronet, Jr.
May A. Khalil
Sebastian Soria


Main Street Middle School, Soledad

Omar Gallegos
Eric Martin
Cassandra Esteban
Maribel Ramirez

Washington Middle School, Salinas

Jason Haejoon Jung
Alexa Eusebia Villalobos
Enrique Vazquez
Corrina D. Lee