Education

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Written by: Editor

Published: 19 June 2015

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Sen. Mike McGuire has dedicated the greater part of the last five years on expanding career training and job skills programs in our public middle and high schools.

Since being elected to the State Senate, McGuire has doubled down on those efforts – organizing a bi-partisan coalition to successfully push for the largest investment in career training programs over the last decade via The Career and Job Skills Education Act (SB 148).

Agreed to by the Budget Conference Committee – and heading to a floor vote in the State Senate and Assembly later this week – $400 million will be invested across the state into results-driven, high-quality career training classes in public middle and high schools.

“This is the first time that small and rural districts, like many on the North Coast, will have an equal playing field when it comes to Career and Job Skills training,” McGuire said. “We know that results-driven Career Technical Education increases high school graduation rates and ensures students are better prepared for the workforce.”

Across the state, CTE programs have been cut by districts as California’s education financing structure has undergone significant change. McGuire has made it a priority to increase the state’s commitment to Career Technical Education by investing millions of dollars into new and expanded high-quality programs.

“This year, students all across our state will benefit from this $400 million investment in career training programs and I can’t thank the governor, Pro-Tem de León and our bi-partisan coalition enough for their incredible work and dedication to this vital issue. A new generation of students will have the resources they need to succeed in our state’s growing economy which will benefit our communities in the years to come,” McGuire said.

Key to McGuire’s CTE proposal are elements that would ensure smaller school districts are not at a disadvantage when it comes to applying for CTE funding and that urban and rural districts alike that have high drop out and unemployment rates will receive priority when applying for funding. In addition, districts that have high English Language Learner populations, low income families and foster youth will also be provided priority. 

Additionally, McGuire has focused on establishing accountability metrics to ensure that CTE money is being spent on high-quality programs that lead to student success.

Almost 70 percent of public high school graduates in California will not go on to receive a four year college degree. McGuire believes students deserve results-driven career, technical and job skills programs to ensure they have the tools necessary to thrive in today’s job market.

The investment in CTE funding comes on the heels of the largest investment the legislature has ever proposed for public education when the Senate and Assembly passed the legislative budget yesterday. The budget prioritizes education funding by investing more than $68 billion – more than $10,000 per pupil – an increase of 15 percent in just two years.

This year’s budget will also invest $265 million for Early Childhood Education programs, it will create an additional 10,000 new slots in the California State University System, 5,000 new slots in the University of California system (in addition to a two year tuition freeze) and will grow the state’s reserves to the largest in decades.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 12 June 2015

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport Christian Center Preschool held its 2015 graduation ceremony on Tuesday, June 9, to an excited crowd.

After the adorable performance, the graduates received their diplomas and certificates.

Receiving preschool/pre-K diplomas were Erick Alvarez, Izabella Ceja-Avila, Danny Biagi, Mason Carter, Jasmine Grider, Elyse Haley, Knox Hensler, Gemma Lewis, Lennon Llorin, Gael Moreno, Alora Nieto, Ruhi Patel, Jason Patrick, Thomas Preciado, Aliereya Scudder and Annica Warren.

Receiving Little Learner Certificates were Alturo Ceja-Avila, Hayton Chen, Mavrik DeSimone, Serenity Hermo, Colin Ingram, Gabriella Keyes, Wyatt Marshall, Kiera Mick, Evan Moretz, Haylee Perry, Hollace Stencil, Ximena Venegas, Samuel Valedez, Hailee McGabe, Kaida Holladay, Noah Baigi and Ashlynn Schlapkuhl-Cortez.

Also participating were several after-school daycare students.

Lakeport Christian Center Preschool begins its Summer Enrichment Program on Monday, June 15.

Call today to reserve a spot. The preschool can be reached at 707-262-5520. NCO is accepted.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 09 June 2015

Chancellor Brice W. Harris has announced that the California Community Colleges has upgraded its Web-based catalog of online college courses, California Virtual Campus, to make it easier for students to find transferrable courses, marking a major milestone in the system’s bid to improve student access and completion rates through enhanced distance education services.

Thanks to the upgrade, classes required to earn an associate degree under a streamlined guaranteed transfer program with California State University known as Associate Degree for Transfer, will be prioritized on the Web site’s course search results page.

“The exciting upgrades we’ve made to the catalog will allow students to clearly and quickly see what classes fulfill transfer program requirements and serve to improve pathways to CSU, a significant step in our drive to foster student success through improved online education,” Harris said.

The California Virtual Campus provides information on more than 2,500 courses that satisfy Associate Degree for Transfer requirements and 1,400 other academic degree programs offered entirely online to students.

In total, the catalog offers information on more than 19,000 online courses in California offered by the community colleges, CSU, UC and private colleges, and is available to students at all of these institutions.

The upgrade makes it easier for students to use the tool on their phones and provides online support if they have questions about navigating the college system. It also allows students to search courses by geographic location and narrow course search results by subject or college.

The Web site can be found at www.cvc.edu .

“This improved virtual catalog is part of a broader offering of services developed as part of the Online Education Initiative,” Harris continued. “The investment made by the governor and Legislature in this initiative places a heavy emphasis on support services tailored to the diverse needs of our 2.1 million students.”

Other online education improvements being developed by the initiative to increase student success and retention rates include:

• Increasing online course quality through instructional design support and professional development resources for faculty;
• Providing online tutoring and other student support services, including assessments to determine student readiness for online courses;
• Providing tutorials to assist students in becoming successful online learners; and
• Offering online course management systems for free or at low cost to the individual community college campuses.

The improvements are possible through a five-year, $57 million investment in California community college online education made by the governor and Legislature in 2013. The initiative is a partnership between Foothill-De Anza Community College District and Butte-Glenn Community College District.

California community colleges lead the way in online education:

• Over 29 percent of all California community college students will take a class offered through distance education this year, up from 12.5 percent in 2005-2006.

• Of all courses offered at California’s community colleges, 18.1 percent are offered through distance education, and it is estimated that nearly 60 percent of all courses have some online component.

• California community colleges first started offering distance education courses in 1979.

• Of the 2.1 million students enrolled in the 2013-2014 academic year, 654,344 took at least one distance education course.

• The average course load of all California community college students in 2013-2014 was 12 units. The average course load of students who enrolled in distance education courses was 15 units.

• Distance education more than doubled from 21,414 sessions in 2005-2006 to 43,545 in 2013-2014.

• Two age categories – 18- to 19-year-olds and 20- to -24- year olds – account for 57 percent of those enrolled in distance education courses in 2013-2014.

• Thirty-seven percent of students surveyed in 2011 said they enrolled in at least one distance education course because of the convenience.

• Sixty percent of California’s community colleges offer certificates and degrees that can be earned without stepping onto campus for classes. This typically includes a combination of both online and television courses.

• The Internet provides California community college students with 93.7 percent of the distance education offerings. Television is next with 2.2 percent, followed by correspondence (2 percent) and video conferencing (1 percent).

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.

For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/ , https://www.facebook.com/CACommColleges or https://twitter.com/CalCommColleges  .