How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
Education
- Details
- Written by: Editor
- Details
- Written by: Janelle Bird
UKIAH, Calif. – The Mendocino-Lake Community College District is pleased to announce the appointment of Debra Polak as the new vice president of academic affairs.
After an extensive search, Polak was selected from a competitive pool of highly qualified candidates to provide the leadership and direction needed to strengthen the academic vision of the institution while continuing to support the district’s diverse student population.
Superintendent/President Arturo Reyes noted Polak’s higher education background has prepared her well for the challenges of her new assignment.
“Her keen understanding of the teaching-learning process and experience creating data-driven equitable learning environments will prove to be an asset for both our college and our community as we look to the future. Her strong academic background and experience as both a faculty member and dean for our institution make her an excellent fit for the vice president role. I am confident she will serve our students well and am thrilled to have her as a member of the executive leadership team at Mendocino College,” Reyes said.
Polak began her work in education 20 years ago as a part-time instructor at Diablo Valley College and UC Berkeley, where she also earned her BA in English and her MA in education.
She first came to Mendocino College in the spring of 2000 as a full-time English instructor. As an English instructor, Polak focused on developmental reading and writing classes and spent time as the Curriculum and Basic Skills Committee chair.
Fourteen years later, Polak was hired as the district’s dean of instruction. During her two years in this capacity, she led the early implementation of the Adult Education Block Grant and oversaw all non-Career Technical Education disciplines and associated faculty.
In 2016, she took over as the dean of centers, where she was responsible for overseeing all operations of the Lake, North County, and Coast Centers.
Around the same time that she assumed this new role, Polak was also appointed to acting/interim vice president of academic affairs. In this position, she has played a major role in leading the Education Master Plan, the implementation of new accreditation standards and Guided Pathways, while managing multiple deans.
Polak currently resides in Willits with her husband and daughter.
- Details
- Written by: Janelle Bird
The purpose of the Latino Student Retreat is to promote social and cultural awareness to high school students from Mendocino and Lake counties and it includes motivational speakers, workshops, entertainment and lunch.
The event has increased in popularity since its inception 30 years ago, and it continues to draw well-known and excellent Latino role models as presenters from educational, political, legal, business and artistic fields.
The theme for this year’s retreat is “Hecho en Mendo/Made in Mendo: Celebrating 30 Years of the Latino Student Retreat.”
Accomplished presenter Sam Blanco III will be sharing his cultural, educational and leadership experiences.
Blanco was born and raised in the Central Valley in the small agricultural town of Delano. He graduated from East Bakersfield High School and is the first from his family to attend a four-year university. He earned a degree in economics from U.C. Davis in 1992 and a master’s degree in educational administration from Sacramento State in 1999.
Blanco has worked at U.C. Davis for the past 25 years, and currently is the associate director of Pre-College Programs, which includes Talent Search and Upward Bound.
In addition to demonstrated leadership on the U.C. Davis campus, Blanco has been very engaged in the larger Woodland community including serving as a PTA president and a member of the school site council. This experience led to his successful campaign to join the Woodland Joint Unified School District as a school board trustee for four years.
Blanco has also served in leadership roles regionally in the state as a member and officer of the Northern California Chapter of the Western Association for Educational Opportunity Professionals and now serves as the WESTOP president.
He is a proud father of two daughters and has been married to his wife Pam for 16 years.
The college anticipates more than 300 students from grades ninth through 12th will be in attendance accompanied by their teachers, counselors and chaperones.
The following schools have been invited: Accelerated Achievement Academy, Clear Lake, Fort Bragg, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, Middletown, Point Arena, Potter Valley, Redwood Academy, South Valley, Ukiah and Willits.
For questions about the Latino Student Retreat, please call Monica Flores at 707-467-1008.
The Mendocino College Ukiah campus is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road in Ukiah. Visit the college online at www.mendocino.edu.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
The Education Fund will partner with the college to develop a credential program for workers to advance into the field of medical coding, the first program pathway selected for the online college.
“Partnering with the Education Fund will result in career advancement and wage gain for workers and will meet a need that our state’s health care system is struggling to address,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “The online community college, our 115th college, is gaining momentum and structure with strong collaboration involving organized labor, employers, regional partners and faculty. We will continue to add career pathways in health care and other industry sectors.”
“The Education Fund is excited about the potential of building on partnership with the community colleges in California. The new online college will allow us to create and deliver an affordable and accessible high-quality education that is ideally suited to our working learners,” said Rebecca Hanson, executive director of the Education Fund
The SEIU-UHW Joint Employer Education Fund is a partnership between labor (100,000 SEIU eligible members and affiliated unions) and management (18 employers) dedicated to changing the lives of health care workers, by accelerating their careers through education, skills training and career advice.
Dignity Health and Optum 360 have pledged their support in the development of health care curriculum for medical coders, and the Education Fund believes many of other employer sponsors will also be committed partners.
"California's new online community campus has the potential to open up real avenues of opportunity for workers,” said Alma Hernández, Executive Director, SEIU California. “If we do this right, health care workers, early education workers, caregivers and many other workers will have the ability to advance their careers through high quality, supportive study programs that fit their demanding schedules and that are affordable."
The new online college will help stranded workers have struggled to obtain credentials to get ahead in today’s economy.
The first program pathway will serve working adults who want additional skills and credentials in the field of medical coding and require the flexibility of a competency-based, online training model that removes barriers to their success such as work schedules, transportation challenges and family obligations.
“I am a single mother with two kids, and I commute two hours a day to work as a patient registration representative. This online community college will allow me to fit school into my schedule and budget and advance in my career so I can provide a better life for my family.” Lorraine Maisonet, a SEIU-UHW member.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical coding jobs are projected to grow by 15 percent through 2024, more than twice the average for all occupations.
Medical coding is a critical middle-skill level job that is transforming health care and pays a median hourly wage of $32 in California for union members – with some earning more than $50 per hour at the peak of their careers.
It also provides a step-up in earnings for entry-level workers in related roles, such as medical assistants and information clerks. For-profit colleges currently deliver 80 percent of the medical coding certificates in California.
The online program, whose fees will be in line with the low-cost options available at other community colleges, will allow working learners to earn their credentials in a flexible and personalized manner so they can keep their current jobs and continue to support their families. The college will operate with unionized faculty and staff just as at other community colleges, Oakley said.
This new partnership teams one of the largest union training funds for health care workers in the western United States, with more than 100,000 frontline caregivers, and the largest system of higher education in the country. More career pathways available through the online college will be announced in the coming weeks.
The college will start enrolling students at the end of 2019. To learn more about the online community college, go to www.ccconlinecollege.org.