Seaside native Terry Maurice Poole, an offensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks, returned home on June 2 to encourage and motivate graduates as the keynote speaker for the Monterey County Office of Education Alternative Programs Commencement Ceremony. Poole’s message focused on how students can create a positive image of themselves, become active, positive citizens, and find their place in society.

A 2010 graduate of Monterey County Office of Education’s Alternative Program at Salinas Valley Education Center for incarcerated youth, Terry has returned to Monterey County several times to meet with at-risk youth, tell his story, and provide encouragement. His message – that teens who make poor decisions can recover – is a personal one, mirroring his own high school struggle with incarceration.

After graduation from Salinas Valley Education Center, Poole attended Monterey Peninsula College and San Diego State University, majoring in Criminal Justice with the intention of working in a career to assist at-risk youth in turning their lives around. In 2015, he was drafted in the fourth round by the Seattle Seahawks.

Garth Brooks co-manager Randy Bernard gives commencement at King City High

Randy Bernard, co-manager of country superstar Garth Brooks, was the keynote speaker for the King City High Graduation on June 3 at the school's War Memorial Stadium.

Bernard, 49, grew up in San Ardo and graduated from King City High School in 1985. Prior to co-managing Garth Brooks, Bernard was the Chief Executive Officer for Professional Bull Riders, INDYCAR and RFDTV. He was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2014.

A total of 203 students graduated from King City High during the celebration.

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.

York School and Stevenson seniors, candidates for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

Kevin Zamzow-Pollock, a graduating senior at York School, and Teeger L. Blasheck, from Robert L. Stevenson School, are among the 4,000 candidates in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars program.

They're believed to be the only two graduating seniors from Monterey County selected for the recognition.

A panel of educators will review the names and accomplishments of these candidate and select 800 semi-finalists in early April. The commission of Presidential Scholars, a group of up to 32 citizens appointed by the president, will select the finalists. The U.S. Department of Education will announce up to 161 chosen scholars in May.

Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is one of the highest honors granted upon graduating high school seniors. They’re selected on the basis of superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in school activities.

Congratulations, Kevin and Teeger! What a great honor!

CSUMB's Capstone Festival, a chance for the public to see what students are working on

CSUMB students must complete a capstone project in order to graduate, and they will present them to their parents, peers and general public on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Capstone projects represent the skills, knowledge and abilities developed over the course of a student's education at CSUMB. They include research presentations, original poetry, oral histories, installation art, photography, tabletop exhibits, films and videos, multimedia works and computer visualizations.

Presentations will be held all day on Wednesday and Thursday and until noon on Friday at various locations around campus. A schedule is available here.

The Cinematic Arts and Technology students will show their work in the World Theater at 1 p.m., Thursday, May 14. The show will be repeated at 6 p.m. Twenty short films will be screened. Admission is free.

I love the capstone projects. They give you a sense of what students have been working on, a truly inspiring experience. Catch some if you can!

Nominate your favorite graduating high school senior to be featured in the Monterey Herald

Graduations are coming. It's that time of the year when parents feel puffier than a peacock strutting its feathers and lighter than a helium balloon.

I feel your joy. And I want to share it with the world.

Nominate your favorite graduating senior, for a chance to have his/her story featured in the the Monterey Herald. I'm looking for special students who worked hard and beat the odds, students who refused to give up when things were not going their way. It doesn't matter to me if they're straight A students. What matters most is that they did not give up.

Know a student like that? Send him/her my way!

More on graduation requirements at MPUSD

If you read today's edition of The Herald, you no doubt saw the story about a few students at MPUSD who will not be able to participate in graduation ceremonies even though they say they were previously told they would. You can find the story here.

Apparently, it wasn't only high school students who were affected by late notification of graduation requirements.

Scuttlebutt tells me some middle school students were also told this week they would not be able to participate in their promotion ceremonies because their GPA wasn't up to par. Either the rules were changed so late in the year that nobody was properly notified of them, or the major communication breakdown that seems perennial at MPUSD now affected graduating students.

It's very sad, really. To think that these hard working and earnest students have been planning for this day for so long only to have their illusions shattered. Administrators and school officials make exceptions all the time, why wouldn't they this time? 

CSUMB's Capstone Festival coming up next week

It's probably hard for the common folk to get out to CSUMB, but if there's a good time to do it, it's next week. During Capstone festival, the public gets to be impressed by the work students have put together to graduate.

At CSUMB, all students must complete a capstone project in their final year, publicly presenting and defending the project or portfolio of work that demonstrates what they have learned. They do this each spring at the Capstone Festival, which is organized by academic departments. The festival takes place May 16 and 17.

Presentations will be held all day on both days throughout campus. The festival ends May 17, with the Teledramatic Arts and Technology (TAT) students showing their work in the World Theater starting at 6 p.m. Sixteen short films will be screened. Admission is free.

A matinee showing of the TAT students’ work is also scheduled a 1 p.m. on May 17, in the World Theater. The theater is located on Sixth Avenue near the intersection with A Street.

A complete schedule is available here. Driving directions and a campus map are available here.

Robert Danzinger to be CSUMB's commencement speaker in May

Robert Danziger, a Carmel resident who received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from CSUMB for his accomplishments as a musician, inventor and sustainable energy pioneer, will be the keynote speaker at the university's 17th commencement ceremony May 18.

Danziger worked at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he had a close-up look at one of the space age’s most ambitious projects, the Voyager exploration into deep space.

While still in his 20s, he founded Sunlaw Energy Corp. His goal was to research, develop, demonstrate and commercialize new energy and environmental technology.

He has been issued 10 patents, including one for a “walking chair,” which he uses to help overcome his own mobility issues.

And he’s a law school graduate, an artist and musician. His current project: rewriting Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, “coming at it from a jazz point of view,” he said.

The ceremony will be held at Freeman Stadium on the CSUMB campus. Approximately 1,300 students will receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Last year, CSUMB officials bucked tradition and scheduled no commencement speakers. At the time, they said they would review the issue for subsequent commencement ceremonies.

Time to donate that prom dress

The Prom Dress Free Shopping Days will only be possible for hundreds of girls if a lot of prom dresses are collected.

Sooo

The Planning Committee for the 5TH Annual Prom Dress Drive have kicked off this year’s prom dress drive, which will take place during February, March, and April 2013.

Help high school students in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties by donating a gently used prom dress and give a less fortunate student a chance to attend their prom this year.

In collaboration with local schools and agencies all students will be invited to locations in Watsonville and Santa Cruz for the 2013 Prom Dress Free Shopping Day

Prom Dress donations can be dropped off at:

Classic Vapor Cleaners, in Santa Cruz, Capitola and Aptos.

All Comerica Banking Centers in Santa Cruz and Monterey County
Monterey: 35 Bonifacio Plaza
Prunedale: 7915 San Miguel Canyon Rd.
Salinas: 430 South Main St.
Watsonville: 1998 Main St.

The UPS Store at 1961 Main Street, in Watsonville

Comcast Store at 2440 Fremont Street , Monterey

Comcast Store at 1481 N. Davis Road, Salinas

Radio Campesina Office, 608 E. Boronda Road, Suite C, Salinas

CSU Monterey Bay Alumni & Visitor Center, at 100 Campus Center, Seaside


The Free Prom Dress Shopping Days will be:
SANTA CRUZ: 10am-4pm Sat April 13, in Santa Cruz at Teen Center, 301 Center Street, Santa Cruz

PAJARO: 10am-4pm Sat April 20, in Pajaro at Our Lady of Assumption Church, 100 Salinas Road, Pajaro

Graduation parties are coming up

And parents everywhere are ginning up support so they can help finance safe and sober parties to celebrate their kids' achievement.

Here's information from Carmel and Monterey High schools:

Carmel Sober Grad is accepting sellable goods this Friday, February 1, from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm and from 3:30 to 6:00 pm at the Carmel High School Theatre. These goods will be sold to help finance the party.

The sale benefiting Sober Grad is Saturday, Feb. 2nd, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For Monterey High:

Keeping with the tradition, the Monterey High School PTSA is organizing sober grad night and receiving monetary and object donations. Since they don't want to keep the theme of the party a secret, monetary donations are actually better, PTSA president Joanna Greenshields says. For more information contact her at 747-7927 or jhg2531@aol.com.

And if you are helping organize a party for any other high school, send me a note and I'll help up with the support part.

Seaside High graduation

It's always touching to be at graduation ceremonies. All that excitement, accomplishment, ceremony. Not sure about the "wave" as the keynote speakers delivered their addresses (is that why you faced the graduates, Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera?) Yeah, I'm a boring adult, but isn't that a bit disrespectful?

In any event, here's some images and videos from a memorable day for the class of 2012. Go Spartans!

Everyone's invited to the Capstone festival

Even if you don't have a student graduating from Cal State University Monterey Bay, it's great to see their talent at play during the Capstone Festival.

At CSUMB, all students must complete a capstone project in their final year, publicly presenting and defending the project or portfolio of work that demonstrates what they have learned. They do this each spring at the Capstone Festival, which is organized by academic departments.

Capstone projects represent the skills, knowledge and abilities developed over the course of a student's education at CSUMB. They include research presentations, original poetry, oral histories, installation art, photography, performances, tabletop exhibits, films and videos, multimedia works, computer visualizations, and more.

Presentations will be held all day on May 17 and 18 at various locations around campus. The festival ends on Friday night with the Teledramatic Arts and Technology students showing their work in the World Theater starting at 6 p.m. Twenty-four short films will be screened. Admission is free.

New this year is a matinee showing of the teledramatic art students’ work, which will get under way at 1 p.m. on May 18 in the World Theater. The theater is located on Sixth Avenue near the intersection with A Street. A complete schedule is available online. Driving directions and a campus map are available here.

It's not too late to donate a dress for the "Prom Dress Drive"

Although the planning committee for the 4th annual Prom Dress Drive, organized by Tony Madrigal for the Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, will be sorting out dresses today, it's not too late to donate. You can still bring your gently used dresses to several locations throughout the central coast. The dresses will be cleaned, courtesy of Classic Cleaners, and given away to any young girl who needs it on April 14, at the Santa Cruz Teen Center, and April 28 at the Casa de la Cultura in Pajaro.

Here's a list of places where you can donate:

· Classic Cleaners locations at 609 Soquel Ave & 2220 Soquel Ave in Santa Cruz, and 809 Capitola Ave in Capitola

· All Comerica Banking Centers in Santa Cruz County

· CSU Monterey Bay Alumni & Visitor Center, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, 831-582-4550

· The UPS Store at 245 Mt Hermon Rd, Suite M, in Scotts Valley

· The UPS Store at 1961 Main Street, in Watsonville

· Comcast Store at 2440 Fremont Street , Monterey

· Comcast Store at 1481 N. Davis Road, Salinas

· Comcast Fulfillment office at 106 Whispering Pine Road, Scotts Valley

· Beach Flats Community Center, 133 Leibrandt Avenue, Santa Cruz

· La Manzana Community Resources, 521 Main St. Suite Y, Watsonville

· Live Oak Family Resource Center, 1740 17th Avenue, Santa Cruz

More grads: fun summers and $4,000 later

Dozens of Seaside High graduates received a $4,000 scholarship as part of the Imagine College program, which gives them fun classes in the summer and the promise of the scholarship if they graduate with at least a 2.5 average and get accepted into a four-year university.

This week, they were recognized during their commencement ceremonies and at different special events. They're the first graduating class of "Imagine College."

"Imagine College" welcomes students from throughout the MPUSD district to take summer classes at CSUMB -- but only those from Seaside are eligible for the scholarship. At CSUMB, they take fun classes in the film and computer science departments, and they also take classes in algebra 2, geometry and math analysis. That sounds fun too, doesn't it. Brain calisthenics.

The summer session for "Imagine College" begins Monday and goes on for six weeks.

More kudos

to the 2011 graduating class of the Salinas Adult School, which held its ceremony Thursday.

More than 350 students graduated, with special recognition to:

Paula Villaseñor, Award of Excellence High School Diploma; Mark Davila; outstanding student award; Carlos Aguilar, outstanding performance GED; Michael Dowdy, outstanding performance GED; Elizet Garcia, outstanding commitment and dedication award (plus more than 100 community service hours). Also in the more than 100 community service hours were Anika Palacios, Chester Sleker and Kristin Ginn. Elizabeth Lopez received a tutor service award.

Congratulations to all the graduates and their families. Now, on to the next mountain!

Congratulations are in order to the 2011 graduating class

And graduation season begins this weekend, with the commencement ceremony of CSUMB and the graduation of 1,022 candidates.

This year, university officials are experimenting with a new kind of ceremony that includes no big-name commencement speaker. Instead, the graduates will get their sendoff from the winner of the President’s Award for Exemplary Student Achievement, Scott Bell, and President Dianne Harrison. About 8,000 people are expected to attend, university officials estimate.

New also is a program that will help students make sure they leave their dorms exactly as they found them. Today and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., personnel from the Monterey Bay Area Regional Recycling Program will be on campus to help students get rid of their waste. These experts will be able to help students decide whether to recycle, donate, or trash what they don't need anymore.