Of teachers and students...

A brand new school year is afoot, and the folks at the Salinas Public library are gathering backpacks and/or donations to give to families in financial distress.
Backpack Extravaganza is back by popular demand.
On Sat. Aug. 15, folks at the library will give free backpacks and supplies on a first-come first served basis while supplies lasts. Their goal is to help 500 children,
Donations of $20 or more would help meet their goal -- each $20 will provide one backpack and basic school supplies for one child. Backpacks and school supplies may be donated at "bins" placed at all three Salinas Public Libraries.
Send a check to: Salinas Public Library Backpack Extravaganza, Attn: Mary Ellison, 350 Lincoln Ave., Salinas, CA 93901. Or drop off a backpack or make a cash donation at any Salinas Public Library:
John Steinbeck Library Cesar Chavez Library El Gabilan Library
350 Lincoln Ave. 615 Williams Rd. 1400 N. Main St.
For more information, visit www.salinaspubliclibrary.org

Monterey native Amanda Penn has joined Teach For America, the national corps of top college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools in
low-income communities.
Penn is a 2006 Monterey High School and Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Sciences, 2010 graduate of University of California, Los Angeles, and will teach in the Mid-Atlantic beginning this fall.
Only 12 percent of the 46,000 applicants got a job. Consequently, admissions were more selective than ever.