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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 28th, 2018
 Fillmore Unified School District NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE The Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) met with representatives from the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA) on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 to negotiate. Negotiations were held at the District Office (627 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore, California) beginning at 9:20 AM. Present for the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association: Present for the Fillmore Unified School District: Articles discussed today were as follows: Today’s negotiations session ended at 3:22 PM. FUSD and FUTA have held three negotiation sessions during the 2017-2018 school year. Negotiations Sessions The next negotiations session for FUTA and FUSD is Tuesday, March 13, 2018. |
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By Anonymous — Tuesday, February 27th, 2018
Trees have always helped define the CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) campus, which has just been recognized as a 2017 Tree Campus USA university. “The canopies of trees throughout the campus add to the serenity of our campus,” said Director of Facility Support Raudel Banuelos. “I feel that the trees play a very important part of what attracts students to our campus along with the outstanding curriculum, faculty and staff.” This is the sixth year CSUCI has won a Tree Campus designation, which means CSUCI meets the five core standards for effective campus forest management: a tree advisory committee; a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual funding for the campus tree program; an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning program. The environmental honor comes from the Arbor Day Foundation program, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. “Students are eager to volunteer in their communities and become better stewards of the environment,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Participating in Tree Campus USA sets a fine example for other colleges and universities, while helping to create a healthier planet for us all.” During the 2017 Earth Day celebration on April 21, CSUCI students worked with CSUCI’s grounds crew to plant five new strawberry trees and 10 Western Redbuds in the Central Mall. The students learned how to properly transplant a tree and all trees took root and are growing. CSUCI tree advisory committee members have a five-year tree maintenance plan for fiscal year 2018/19 to safeguard against tree limb fall hazards in high-traffic areas. CSUCI continues to practice good stewardship toward the environment by planting native trees such as coast live oak, valley oak, toyon shrubs and western sycamore. In addition, the campus continues to observe water conservation practices and reduces the use of pesticide. CSUCI is among 344 campuses across the United States that have earned this recognition. The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the U.S. plant thousands of trees and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities have invested more than $48 million in campus forest management last year. More information on the program is available at: https://www.arborday.org/programs/treecampususa/. About California State University Channel Islands |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 21st, 2018
 On Saturday, February 17th the Fillmore High robotics team “Flash Drive” competed against Valencia High School. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 21st, 2018
Jose Alamillo – Stanislaus State |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 14th, 2018
 Last week Mountain Vista Elementary held their Annual Spelling Bee. It is one of the most competitive spelling bees held at Mountain Vista. This year’s winner was Adrian Fuentes (left) and runner- up Aurora Arellano. The spelling bee went for 18 rounds with Adrian spelling “parenthetical” as his winning word. Good luck Adrian who will move onto the next round which will be held at Cal State University Channel Islands. Photo Courtesy Kelly Myers of Mountain Vista Elementary School. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 14th, 2018
Fillmore Unified School District The Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) met with representatives from the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA) on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 to negotiate. Negotiations were held at the District Office (627 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore, California) beginning at 9:50 AM. Present for the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association: Present for the Fillmore Unified School District: Articles discussed today were as follows: Today’s negotiations session ended at 3:07 PM. FUSD and FUTA have held two negotiation Negotiations Sessions The next negotiations session for FUTA and FUSD is Tuesday, February 27, 2018. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 14th, 2018
 About four years ago the FHS Band rented a U-Haul to transport the band’s equipment and instruments to each competition. After years of hard work and fundraising they were able to purchase their own trailer. This past Thursday the Band revealed the FHS decals and the new trailer. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 14th, 2018
La Reina, Oxnard and Westlake High Schools Invited to Compete
Three additional local high schools will join the winner of the Ventura County Academic Decathlon in the statewide competition to be held in March in Sacramento. Calabasas High School was guaranteed a spot in the state competition after winning at the county level. And now, La Reina, Oxnard and Westlake High Schools have been invited to participate as “at-large” competitors. At-large teams are selected to fill open spots in the state contest based on how well they scored in their county competitions. “Having four high schools represent Ventura County in the California Academic Decathlon is a great honor,” said Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Stan Mantooth. “It’s a testament to the hard work and countless hours of preparation students and coaches dedicate to the competition.” The California Academic Decathlon will be held on March 23 and 24 in Sacramento. The winner of the state competition heads to the United States Academic Decathlon. Ventura County teams have made it to the nationals six times, placing second in 2000 and 2002, and taking first place in 1999, 2003, 2008 and 2009. A list of past winners is available here. The Ventura County Academic Decathlon, coordinated by the Ventura County Office of Education, is an opportunity for local high school students to compete against like teams of students countywide. Students compete in ten academic events: essay writing, speech, interview, art, economics, language and literature, mathematics, music, science and social science. This year’s competition was held on January 27 and February 3. High schools fielding teams this year were: Adolfo Camarillo High School, Buena High School, Calabasas High School, Channel Islands High School, Fillmore High School, Hueneme High School, La Reina High School, Moorpark High School, Newbury Park High School, Oak Park High School, Oxnard High School, Pacifica High School, Rancho Campana High School, Rio Mesa High School, Royal High School, Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley High School, Thousand Oaks High School, Ventura High School and Westlake High School. A unique aspect of the competition is that it’s designed to include students from all academic backgrounds. A team consists of nine full-time students from the 9th through 12th grades at the same high school. Each team is comprised of three students whose grade point average falls into the “A” category, three students in the “B” category and three students in the “C” category. More information about the Ventura County Academic Decathlon is available here. About the Ventura County Office of Education |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 7th, 2018
Fillmore Unified School District Comprehensive School Safety Plan Approve Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) Notice of Completion for Roof Restoration Extension of Contract for Dr. Adrian Palazuelos Personnel Recommendations |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 7th, 2018
 Last week Fillmore High School hosted an Anti-Bullying assembly in the gym for each grade level, where they learned about how they can help stop bullying and what they can do if they see it happening. Photo courtesy Katrionna Furness. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, February 7th, 2018
 Last week during lunch at Fillmore High School the US Marine Corps set up a Pull Up Challenge for the students to compete as well as learn about the Marines. Photo courtesy Katrionna Furness. Enlarge Photo |
 Pictured above are San Cayetano Elementary 3rd - 5th grade students who participated in the this year’s school Spelling Bee which took place Monday, January 29th. 3rd grade students: Saul Fraga-Sandoval, Kamila Maldonado, Paul Pacheco, Ricardo Quilo, Sienna Altamirano, Luis Navarro. 4th grade students: Giovanni Alcala, Jose Alcarez, Emma Victor, Jesse Cavazos, Jirhet Cruz, Jonas Ramirez. 5th grade students: Nadia Palazuelos, Diana Santa Rosa, Presley McLain, Nolan McKeen. Enlarge Photo By Tricia Gradias — Wednesday, January 31st, 2018
 (l-r) are 2nd place runner up Presley McLain and 1st place winner Nadia Palazuelos, who will compete at the Ventura County Spelling Bee Final in March. Enlarge Photo Congratulations to all San Cayetano 3rd -5th grade students who were eligible to participate in the school Spelling Bee, which was held Monday, January 29th. After several elimination rounds the final contestant standing to represent San Cayetano is 5th grade 1st place was winner Nadia Palazuelos. Our 2nd place runner up was Presley McLain. Nadia will move on to the next round to compete at the County level. The Ventura County Spelling Bee final will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on March 3, 2018, at California State University Channel Islands. The county champion will fly to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Spelling Bee. Submitted by Tricia Gradias, Principal, San Cayetano School. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, January 31st, 2018
 On Tuesday, January 30th Fillmore High School parents graduated from Fillmore High School’s 1st Aid for Mental Health Program, completing their 3rd and final class. They learned about mental illnesses and how to recognize them, and resources available to help. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, January 31st, 2018
The Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) met with representatives from the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA) on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 to negotiate. Negotiations were held at the District Office (627 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore, California) beginning at 9:00 AM. Present for the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association: Present for the Fillmore Unified School District: Articles discussed today were as follows: The next negotiations session for FUTA and FUSD is Wednesday, February 7, 2018 |
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By Anonymous — Monday, January 29th, 2018
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program named Ventura College one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The prize includes $1 million dollars in prize funds, as well as Siemens Technical Scholars Program student scholarships, highlighting the critical importance of improving student success in America’s community colleges. The Prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. The Aspen Prize recognizes institutions for exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings, and access and success for minority and low-income students. Ventura was also awarded the nomination honor for the 2017 award. “I am grateful for the dedicated work of all our college employees,” said President David Keebler. “Their efforts directly help students succeed at Ventura College. It is very exciting to receive this recognition from the Aspen Institute and we look forward to completing our application for the 2019 award.” Ventura College is one of 16 California Community Colleges eligible for the prize. A full list of the selected colleges and details on the selection process are available at www.aspenprize.org. Ventura College is invited to submit an application to the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence containing detailed data on degree and certificate completion (including progress and transfer rates), labor market outcomes (employment and earnings), and student learning outcomes. The Aspen Institute will select ten finalists, from the 150 eligible nominations, to be named in fall 2018. The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data. A distinguished Prize Jury will select a grand prize winner and a few finalists with distinction in early 2019. About Ventura College: Ventura College, an accredited two-year institution of higher education, has been a part of the beautiful seaside community of Ventura, California, since 1925. It is conveniently located approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Santa Barbara. The 112-acre campus, set in the rolling hills of Ventura, has an enrollment of 14,500 students. Ventura College offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Sciences Degrees in 33 majors, and Certificates of Completion and Proficiency Awards in 61 areas of study. Ventura College also has Transfer Guarantee Agreements with CSUCI, CSUN, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. Class schedules are posted at www.venturacollege.edu. For more information, contact the Ventura College Student Connect Center at 805.289.6420. About the Aspen Prize: The prize is funded by the Joyce Foundation, the Siemens Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation. The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to advance higher education practices, policies, and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes. Through the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the New College Leadership Project, and other initiatives, the College Excellence Program works to improve colleges’ understanding and capacity to teach and graduate students, especially the growing population of low-income and minority students on American campuses. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/college-excellence. The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org. |
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By Anonymous — Monday, January 29th, 2018
Foundation’s gift to benefit Cal Lutheran, community
A Camarillo couple’s foundation has made a $300,000 donation to California Lutheran University’s Center for Entrepreneurship to expand opportunities for students at the college and throughout Ventura County. Entrepreneur Dave Gross and his wife, Cal Lutheran alumna Dawn Gross, provided the gift on behalf of NewCo Foundation, which they started to further entrepreneurship and career technical education for students in Ventura County. Part of the five-year donation will fund cash prizes for the center’s annual New Venture Competition, which provides Cal Lutheran undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines with the opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills, experience the challenge of launching a startup business, and connect with mentors and investors. The gift will also cover expenses for students to travel to regional and national pitch competitions and to study entrepreneurship in other countries. The donation will also enable the center to co-fund a pitch competition for elementary through graduate school students in Ventura County in collaboration with the Ventura County Office of Education and Aspire3, a Ventura startup that provides programs and tools for aspiring entrepreneurs. Cal Lutheran, which also runs a Start-Up Kids program, will work with other institutions that teach entrepreneurship to host the competition in May on the university’s Thousand Oaks campus. Since 2014, Dave Gross has mentored student entrepreneurs at Cal Lutheran. He also volunteers daily and has taught engineering and entrepreneurship classes at Rancho Campana High School in Camarillo. A year ago, the Grosses launched RCMAKES, a student-operated makerspace and job shop at Rancho Campana. Dave Gross co-founded and is a managing partner of Persistence Partners, a local early-stage venture fund. Its investments include cloud-based software company Procore Technologies, biomedical company Sirigen and wellness software platform BioIQ. He co-founded and served as CEO of digital advertising firm Connexity, which was bought by Shopzilla. He also co-founded internet advertising firm Fastclick, which was bought by ValueClick. He founded his first company after earning bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and working as an engineer for a decade. Dawn Gross, a Braille transcriber and nationally recognized advocate of Braille literacy, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal Lutheran and is the Braille program manager with the Alternate Text Production Center of the California Community Colleges. She has served as treasurer or controller of Fastclick, Connexity, Persistance Partners and RCMAKES. For more information on the center, visit CalLutheran.edu/entrepreneurship. For information on NewCo, visit newco.foundation. |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, January 24th, 2018
 Fillmore High Schools outstanding Renaissance Class attended the Renaissance National Tour at Monrovia High School last week. The students were joined by over 1000 other students from other high schools that shared their passion for changing school. Enlarge Photo |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, December 27th, 2017
The Fall Semester for Fillmore High School will be extended for three weeks from January 8th to January 26th. Final exams are now scheduled for January 23, 24, and 25, 2018 due to the Thomas Fire closure. |
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By Anonymous — Tuesday, December 12th, 2017
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is among the top 20 colleges and universities in the nation in terms of social mobility, a term synonymous with a low income students being able to improve their socioeconomic circumstances. CSUCI is ranked number 18 out of 1,363 universities in the “Social Mobility Index” (SMI), which was developed by CollegeNET — a software company for higher education, and PayScale, Inc.an online salary, benefits and compensation information company. The SMI measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically-disadvantaged students at a lower tuition rate, then graduates them into promising careers. CSUCI Executive Director of Student Academic Success & Equity Initiatives Amanda Quintero, Ph.D. believes CSUCI excels at social mobility because the University takes special care to provide encouragement, tutoring and practical support to students and families who may not be familiar with the college experience. “This recognition made me feel very proud of the work we’ve been doing,” Quintero said. “For a long time, I’ve been applying for funding available to Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Some of the criteria is that we have a minimum of 30 percent of students receiving Pell Grants. Over time, that number has skyrocketed to about 50 percent. Nearly half come from under-resourced communities and about 60 percent are the first in their families on a pathway to completing a baccalaureate degree.” In fact, all 23 CSU campuses appeared in the top quartile of the listings, with five CSU campuses in the overall top ten. Data was collected through third-party sources such as Payscale, Inc. and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The index measured five criteria when compiling statistics: tuition cost; the percentage of the student body from low-income households; graduation rates; and the size of a school’s endowment. Quintero often works with students who are the first in their family to attend college, and these students are often from lower socioeconomic backgrounds reaping the greatest benefit from higher education as a tool for social mobility. Quintero herself is the picture of social mobility. She rose from poverty to become the first of her family to attend college, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University. “It was really tough. It was a hard, hard road,” she said. “I worked full time the entire time I was on this path. I had to work two or three jobs in order to go to school. At times it was very lonely.” But in the end, she said, the sacrifice was more than worth it because she improved circumstances for her entire family, and for generations ahead. Her advice to those who are seeking an education despite few economic resources is to “never give up,” she said. “It’s not always going to be easy. Ultimately the sacrifice they’re making is going to change the trajectory of their family forevermore,” she said. “This is something much bigger than themselves.” About California State University Channel Islands |
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By Anonymous — Wednesday, November 29th, 2017
 Fillmore High School AVID group took a trip to Cal State University of Northridge last week. They toured the campus and were able to get a feel for the college lifestyle. It is hoped that trips like this will encourage students to continue their education at the next level. Enlarge Photo |