Jeanne Herrick, teacher extraordinaire, going over to the Alisal

After working at the Monterey County Office of Education for a number of years, teacher extraordinaire Jeanne Herrick and county's assistant superintendent of educational services told me she's going over to the Alisal Union School District.

That's definitely great news for the Alisal and its students. Ms. Herrick is a dedicated educator with great compassion for underserved students, a kind soul who just sees the best in people. It must be hard for MCOE to be losing her. It is for me. I hope I can still count on her knowledge to make sense of the confusing world education bureaucracy is.

Good luck, Ms. Herrick!  

College night and Transfer Day at Hartnell coming up

Attention high school seniors: Hartnell College will host a college information night on Wednesday, November 7, for all high school seniors and others who are planning to attend college next fall.  Representatives from more than 40 colleges and universities will be on hand to answer questions and give information and advice on college enrollment.

This 27th annual Salinas Valley College Night will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Student Center on the Main Campus at 411 Central Avenue in Salinas. It will be an invaluable opportunity for students and their parents who are researching and selecting colleges to get information from college and university representatives about admissions requirements, academic programs, financial aid, and student support services.

College representatives also will be on campus in the morning for Transfer Day, which is designed for community college students to learn about transfer requirements and opportunities. Transfer Day will run from 9 a.m. to noon in the College Center. For more information, please contact Hartnell’s Transfer and Career Center at 831-759-6007.

San Antonio students go for Romney

Today students at San Antonio School in south county received a civics lesson by 8th graders with the older pupils guiding their younger peers in the importance of voting.
 After watching videos of the presidential candidates, listening to presentations on the issues, and discussing what they all meant, the students voted and here's the results:

Presidential Vote
Obama - 78  (48 percent)
Romney - 85 (52 percent)

Prop 30 - Tax Increase
No - 106  (65 percent)
Yes - 56 (35 percent)

Prop 37 - Food Labeling
No - 77  (52 percent)
Yes - 72  (48 percent)

Given current polls, it doesn't seem likely the students will be predictors, at least not on the propositions. Maybe in the presidential election? Who knows. The important issue here is that the little ones are being schooled in the importance of voting. So they'll urge their parents to cast their ballots tomorrow, if they haven't done so.

Happy election day, everyone! I can hardly wait.