LUCERNE, Calif. – More than 200 Lake County teachers and administrators this week have been converging on the imposing three-story building and grounds of what originated as the 80-room Lucerne Hotel 87 years ago.
The building and grounds later briefly housed a theological seminary. But its only abiding identity has been as a Lake County curiosity, reflecting the architectural grandeur of the 1920s, but looking out of place in its surroundings, forlorn in its emptiness and unfriendly behind a non-negotiable steel fence.
But a joint renovation by the county and Marymount California University – which is opening a new four-year campus at the facility – has changed all that.
The structural improvements are tantamount to raising the bar on kindergarten through high school standards in Lake County.
The gathering of a full 40 percent of the county's K-12 educators for a Unit Planning for the Common Core State Standards, a three-year-old program, is the first significant use of the campus for Lake County education.
"The county of lake and Marymount did an incredible job of renovation," said Tim Gill, senior director of Educational Services for the Lake County Office of Education who is overseeing the program. "We went from a building that had been shut down for years to a fully modern facility that has beautiful classrooms and meeting rooms, broadband Internet access and all the technological bells and whistles that we need."
It also has the space – 75,000 square feet.
Gill lauded Kelly Cox, the county’s retired administrative officer, for "seeing the potential of the facility" after the county Board of Supervisors purchased it for $1.35 million, a portion of the price its former owners sought.
A "deal" is what District Four county supervisor Anthony Farrington called the 2010 purchase.
Most important, the facility upgrades the educational system in Lake County by providing its educators a place of their own in which to conduct seminars and training.
Up to now, teachers and principals, vice principals and the like were obliged to travel to Sacramento or the Bay Area for seminars and training. It also puts the county's teachers on the same page in initiating programs such as Common Core.
"We sure think so. We're working to make it happen," said Gill. "We're working hard to coordinate efforts for all the districts of Lake County so that we can be efficient in training opportunities and not duplicating efforts."
He added, "It's really a kind of major shift from where we were under the last paradigm we were under: Teaching students to be a lot more proficient in answering multiple choice questions and demonstrating their knowledge in writing and speaking. It's really kind of a major shift for teachers. We have a whole new set of Internet-based assessments."
Common Core State Standards are an academic concept for grades K-12 for mathematics and English language that were developed by the National Governor's Council.
California, which adopted Common Core in 2010, is one of 45 states in the program. Full implementation is set for the coming 2013-14 school year.
Can it be viewed as a quantum leap forward for education in Lake County?
"Absolutely," said Gill.
Email John Lindblom at
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