Monterey area high school junior and seniors: this one's for you

Want to travel to our nation's capital with all expenses paid to study the federal government in-depth? Here's your chance.

High school principals have until Oct. 1 to nominate students for the United States Senate Youth Program, which sends students to Washington, D.C. to learn about the federal government.

The California Department of Education coordinates the competition in California. Students must be nominated by their high school principal to participate and they have to be juniors or seniors currently enrolled in any California public or private secondary school. In addition, they have to be serving in an elected or appointed capacity in student government or a civic or educational organization.

California Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson will select four finalists, including two delegates, a first alternate, and a second alternate. The two delegates will participate in an intensive study of the federal government as guests of the U.S. Senate from March 7–14, 2015, in Washington, D.C. The Hearst Foundation, which sponsors the program, will pay all expenses for the delegates, including transportation, hotel, and meals. In addition, each of the delegates will receive a $5,000 college scholarship from the Foundation. Alternates attend the events only if the delegates are unable to participate. The two delegates and two alternates will be introduced at the State Board of Education meeting in Sacramento next January.

For more information on the nomination process, go to the United States Senate Youth Program Web page of the California Department of Education here or contact David Carriker in the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction at 916-319-0173 or dcarriker@cde.ca.gov. I'd be great to see delegates

Monterey's testing expert Doug McRae's rankling feathers at CDE

Testing expert Doug McRae, a former top executive with a local testing company, was busy two weeks ago visiting schools in Monterey County to see how the new testing system is going. I accompanied him to a couple of the schools, and even though I did not include any of my observations in my story in today's paper, the visits informed it a great deal.

McRae put together his comments in a meaty report to the California Board of Education, which apparently did not sit well with California Department of Education administrators. They immediately called at least one of the schools he visited to find out whether he had signed a confidentiality agreement.

Yes, CDE administrators. Mr. McRae is as "by-the-book" as they get, and he signed an affidavit at every single school he visited. He made me sign two of them, one at each school I accompanied him to. Frankly, I though that was overkill, but now I know why.

Plus, we were not in the room when the actual test began. Mr. McRae pushed me out the moment the test proctor read out loud "you may now begin the test."

We did not see ANY of the questions students had to answer, which is apparently a bigger secret than  anti-aging cream formula.

Scientist that he is, McRae wrote a six-page analysis of his methodical observations. He chose different schools with different scholarly achievement, and ranked his commentaries accordingly. Here they are, for your enjoyment.

California Department of Education warns of potential scam SAT calls

The California Department of Education (CDE) has received information about a possible telemarketing scam and is warning the public not to share any personal information on the telephone with unsolicited callers.

Concerned citizens have reported they've received calls from people claiming to be from the CDE about the Preliminary SAT. The PSAT  gives students firsthand practice for the college entrance examination. The caller asks for personal information, credit card numbers, and more. The caller ID seems to show the call is coming from the State of California or the main telephone line of the CDE.

These calls do not come from the CDE, officials at the agency say.

The CDE has contacted the proper law enforcement agencies to look into this potential scam. If you receive such a call, do not answer any questions and hang up immediately. You may also file a complaint online directly with the Federal Trade Commission using the FTC Complaint Assistant, also in Spanish.

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.

Monterey County districts to receive tobacco prevention funds

Four school districts in Monterey County plus the office of education will receive almost $20,000 to support anti-tobacco education programs, the California Department of Education announced Monday.

Monterey County Office of Education 4,500
Pacific Grove Unified School District 4,500
Salinas Union High School District 4,500
Washington Union Elementary School District 1,332
North Monterey County Unified School District 4,500

Thirty school districts will share $410,826 in Tobacco Use Prevention Education, a three-year, $16 million initiative. The grants announced Monday comprise the first phase of funding for new applicants, and the 30 winners were selected because they had demonstrated the highest levels of involvement and commitment in their tobacco-use prevention efforts.

Torlakson and students with special needs

Last week, during the conference of California school superintendents, Calif. Chief of Schools Tom Torlakson addressed Latino superintendents and administrators and told them about efforts to revamp education for language learners. I wrote about it here and here.

A reader called "Merry3000" asked when was Torlakson going to talk to administrators about students with special needs.

I have an answer for you.

According to Pam Slater, spokeswoman for the California Department of Education, Torlakson "speaks about the needs of students with disabilities in every context from physical fitness to the use of technology in education and has had a lot of meetings that addressed the topic." The California Department of Education also recently took part in a Disability Awareness Month (which is observed in October).

Hope this helps. Ask anytime.