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Education
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UKIAH, Calif. – The Sustainable Tech Program at Mendocino College will host an open house and advisory meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The meeting will take place at the ag classroom on the Ukiah campus, 1000 Hensley Creek Road.
The open house will take place from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. and include an introduction to the Sustainable Tech Program, an overview of the course offerings and certificates, and a tour of the lab zones and tiny mobile house currently under construction.
Potential students and all interested public are encouraged to attend.
The advisory meeting will take place from 4:50 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Sustainable Tech Program depends on support and feedback from local businesses and industry experts.
Anyone with experience in construction, renewable energy, home performance, energy efficiency, sustainability and related subject areas is encouraged to attend.
Now entering its third year, the Sustainable Tech Program's fall course schedule includes hands on lab courses such as Intro to Photovoltaics (Solar) Design and Installation, Construction Fundamentals and Green Building (continuing work on the tiny house) and Safety for Construction.
Additional classroom and online courses include Sustainability Overview, Intro to Clean Tech and Understanding Blueprints.
The full schedule can be seen by going to www.mendocino.edu , clicking on WebAdvisor, and searching for SST under Fall 2013. Fall semester begins Aug. 19.
For questions or further information please contact Orion Walker at 707-468-3224 or
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Child Care Planning Council, in partnership with First 5 Lake and First 5 California is now accepting applications for the 2013-2014 Steps to Quality Program for early childhood educators.
Steps to Quality offers generous stipends for completion of a year-long program designed to mentor early childhood educators, provide opportunities for professional growth, improve quality and reward those who are continuing their education.
The 2012-2013 provided over $30,000 in stipends to Lake County early childhood educators, and this year's program includes new professional growth opportunities and opportunities for education and quality improvement.
For more information on eligibility and requirements, and to access the application, visit www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com or contact the Lake County Child Care Planning Council at 707-262-4162.
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WASHINGTON, DC – Lake County's members of Congress, John Garamendi (D-Fairfield) and Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), voted on Wednesday for a bipartisan compromise student loan bill.
H.R. 1911 will help keep down student loan interest rates, allowing students to take advantage of historically low interest rates.
The Senate passed the agreement by a bipartisan vote of 81 to 18 on July 24th. The House passed the legislation by a bipartisan vote of 392 to 31.
The bill will now go to President Obama for his signature.
“Our middle class will continue to struggle and our economy will never reach its full potential if we don’t work together to make college more affordable for working families,” said Thompson. “This agreement is a positive step that will save students and their families thousands of dollars. Now, Congress must continue working to make sure no student is ever denied a college education because he or she can’t afford it.”
“This compromise is the best of a bad situation. In the short term, given the makeup of this Congress, this was the best possible outcome for students and parents looking to pay for an education,” said Garamendi. “College will be more affordable with this bill than without it, and that’s the bottom line.”
The legislation was necessary after subsidized Stafford Student Loan interest rates doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1.
The bill sets the interest rates for subsidized and unsubsidized undergraduate loans at 2.05 percent above the current rate of the 10-year Treasury note.
It also sets unsubsidized graduate loans at 3.6 percent above the 10-year Treasury note. Graduate PLUS loans are set at 4.6 percent above the 10-year Treasury note.
Rates are capped at 8.25 percent for undergraduate loans, 9.5 percent for unsubsidized graduate loans and 10.5 percent for PLUS loans.
The bill allows students to lock in today’s low interest payments for the life of the loan, so they will know how much they will owe before taking out a loan.
The 10-year rate at the most recent Treasury auction was 1.81 percent, meaning that for Academic Year 2013-2014, the interest rate would be 3.86 percent for subsidized and unsubsidized undergraduate Stafford loans compared with 6.8 percent currently.
The new rates are retroactive for any loans taken out since July 1, 2013.
Over the 2013-18 period, undergraduate students will save $25 billion compared to the current law’s 6.8 percent interest rates, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
A freshman undergraduate student, who begins school this year and takes out the maximum amount of loans, will save $3,300 on his or her interest payments.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Office of Education will offer two August workshops for those who need to improve their skills in math, reading and writing.
The workshops will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, and Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Clearlake Community School, 6945 Old Highway 53 in Clearlake.
The cost of the one day workshop is $50 and includes enrollment in the computer lab for the remainder of the month of August.
The workshops are open to all adults and high school students.
Space is limited to 15 students per workshop. To allow for maximum participation, community members are asked to only attend one of the dates.
Registration papers are available at the Clearlake Community School, Lake County Office of Education and at www.lakecoe.org .
Whether you need to improve your skills for an upcoming test like the GED, ACCUPLACER and SAT or you just need to improve your basic skills for employment, the workshops will assess your strengths and develop a plan to improve your weaknesses.
Students will take a preassessment that fits their need, learn test taking strategies, develop an individual plan of action for improving their score and receive a month of full access to the computer lab in Clearlake.
Exams such as the GED will be changing come January 2014. Students who have already begun by taking a portion of the battery must complete the process by the end of December or their scores will become invalid.
These workshops will allow students such as those currently attempting the GED to access the information needed to be successful. Regardless of what exam or job you are preparing for, there are resources to help.
This event is hosted by the Career Technical Education and College Going-Initiative Department of the Lake County Office of Education.
For more information or to register please call Kim Boles-Cravea at 707-350-5985 or Tammy Serpa at 707-995-9523, Extension 407.