Moorpark College is hosting an open house to provide solutions for students who may be displaced as a result of the recent closure of ITT Technical Institute. The open house is Wednesday, September 14, 2016, 6-7:30 pm, on campus (7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, CA) in Fountain Hall. Moorpark College offers similar associate degree and certificate programs as ITT, including, but not limited to, Accounting, Business Administration, Computer Networking Systems Engineering, Computer Science and Criminal Justice.

“This is an opportunity for all students, including those who attended ITT, to evaluate the programs and services available at Moorpark College,” stated Moorpark College Executive Vice President Julius Sokenu. “Our team of academic counselors and financial aid advisors are ready to use their resources to empower these students to overcome this challenge.”

Late start classes begin Monday, September 12, 2016, and early October and November. Admissions, academic counselors, program faculty, and financial aid staff will be available to meet with students and help them prepare a plan for moving forward.

“We are working with the three colleges and communicating with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to determine all of the options that are available to students” stated Ventura County Community College District Chancellor Bernard Luskin. “With more than 40,000 students needing placement nationwide, we look forward to assisting students locally to successfully transition into programs that meet their educational goals,” added Board of Trustees Chair Larry Kennedy.

For more information about classes and to RSVP for the open house, please contact Dr. Jesus Vega at (805) 553-4754 or email jesusvega@vcccd.edu.

Piru Elelmentry student is all smiles about the school’s new iPads.
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The Sept. 1 roll out began at 9 a.m. at the school with a school-wide assembly and ribbon cutting ceremony. Staff immediately integrated the technology into the instructional day by teaching pre-planned lessons using the devices. All students will eventually be prepared to use their devices at home to expand and extend learning. The school won the award in October 2014 through a competitive grant funded by Apple ConnectED. Piru Elementary, the oldest school in the Fillmore Unified School District, was one of 114 schools nationwide and one of only 11 in the entire state of California to receive funding.

Athletes in Action
Our new Athletic Director of Sports Medicine, Breanna McLain working with a new athlete on setting a baseline for concussion assessment. Basically, all athletes are surveyed about health concerns and given several short assessments before their season starts. In the event of a suspected concussion injury they are given the assessments again in real time to determine the probability of a concussion. There is clear CIF protocol regarding concussion assessment and return to practice procedure. Player safety is of the highest priority. We are very fortunate to have Breanna as a full time certified athletic trainer. She is already making huge in roads into injury prevention, assessment and rehabilitation

PBIS Information
Flashpoints
by the PBIS Committee

The following has been adopted from the KQED program “Mind/Shift” (https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/04/21/20-tips-to-help-de-escalate-in...)
Students’ behavior is a form of communication and when it’s negative it almost always stems from an underlying cause. There are many reasons kids might be acting out, which makes it difficult for a teacher in a crowded classroom to figure out the root cause.

A National Institute of Health study found that 25.1 percent of kids 13-18 in the US have been diagnosed with anxiety disorders. No one knows how many more haven’t been diagnosed. Additionally between 8 and 15 percent of the school-aged population has learning disabilities (there is a range because there’s no standard definition of what constitutes a learning disability). 9 percent of 13-18 year-olds have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (although the number one misdiagnoses of anxiety is ADHD), and 11.2 percent suffer from depression.

‘We are 50% of every interaction with a child, so we have a lot of control over that interaction.’
“So basically we have this gap in teacher education,” said Jessica Minahan, a certified behavior analyst, special educator, and co-author of The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students. Often, Minahan argues, teachers are trying typical behavioral strategies for a group of kids for whom those strategies don’t work.

Your PBIS committee will be providing short weekly articles within the FFF every week to offer a positive behavioral technique for your consideration and use. We are excited to present them to you and hope they will be profitable to you in your craftwork of shaping minds and futures. Teach on fellow pedagogue, teach on!

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Children’s Justice (BCJ), the California Department of Education (CDE), and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) have jointly developed statewide guidelines for school districts, county offices of education, and child welfare agencies to better assist them in the secure sharing of data and information that is critical to the success of students in foster care.

“Too many foster children in California are falling through the cracks, not meeting their full potential, and ending up in the criminal justice system. Schools and child welfare agencies must communicate effectively in order to provide children the services they need,” said Attorney General Harris. “This collaborative effort between the Bureau of Children’s Justice and the California Departments of Education and Social Services is a positive step toward improving the ways we support vulnerable children, particularly foster youth.”

Under the law, foster youth are entitled to a range of services, including enhanced academic counseling regarding graduation eligibility requirements and mental health counseling. But many eligible youth are not receiving the services they need because schools don’t know which students should be receiving additional support. This guidance makes clear that schools and child welfare agencies can share information to keep children on track.

The guidance will help local educational and county welfare agencies by providing clarity on the scope of information which can be shared under the law, including critical information that school districts, local county offices of education, and caregivers need to identify and coordinate supports and services for foster youth. In addition to providing clarity on the state of the law, the guidance encourages local educational and child welfare agencies to collaborate with each other to create joint data systems for the continued sharing of information regarding foster youth between and within their respective agencies.

“Providing clear statewide guidance is vital for strengthening the relationship between foster children, caregivers and educators,” said Will Lightbourne, Director of the California Department of Social Services. “This allows the focus to shift away from administrative hurdles and directly to the educational needs of each foster child.”

“I deeply appreciate the joint effort by the state social services and education agencies, and the Bureau of Children's Justice, to create this guidance,” said Martha Matthews, Directing Attorney of the Children's Rights Project at Public Counsel. “It will help school districts and county child welfare agencies here in Los Angeles County and statewide to share information and work together to support foster youths' educational success, while respecting their dignity and privacy.”

“The only way we can significantly improve education outcomes for children in foster care is through strong collaboration between schools and child welfare agencies, and that can only occur when they have the ability to share essential information,” said Molly Dunn, Senior Policy Attorney at Alliance for Children’s Justice. “The joint guidance cuts through a labyrinth of federal and state laws to provide a clear path for the communication and collaboration necessary between agencies to support the education success of children in foster care.”

“The release of this guidance is huge step forward in California's efforts to close the achievement gap for students in foster care. It answers important questions about what data may and must be shared, who should be permitted to see what information and for what purpose,” said Michelle Francois Traiman, Director of FosterEd at the National Center for Youth Law. “Effective, thoughtful sharing of information across systems is critical to ensuring that the adults that are charged to support young people collaborate meaningfully, work as a team, and put the needs of each young person at the forefront of their practices and policies so they can succeed in school.”

In February 2015, Attorney General Harris formed the Bureau of Children’s Justice, a unit within the California Department of Justice that works to support and protect children and ensure they are on track to meet their full potential. The Bureau works to enforce California’s civil and criminal laws with respect to California’s foster care, adoption, and juvenile justice systems; discrimination and inequities in education; California’s elementary school truancy crisis; human trafficking of vulnerable youth; and childhood trauma and exposure to violence.

Earlier this year, the Bureau made public its active civil rights investigations on issues related to juvenile justice, the child welfare system, and education across the state. More information is available at http://oag.ca.gov/bcj/investigations.

Attorney General Harris’s office is leading the California Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative—a collaboration of state agencies including CDE and CDSS—in its work to address the impacts of violence and trauma on children across the state, including enhancing the secure sharing of data to inform supports and services. Under Attorney General Harris’s leadership, California was one of three states nationwide selected by the U.S. Department of Justice to be a part of its national Defending Childhood Initiative.

Attorney General Harris has pioneered the use of data to inform public policy and pushed for greater transparency and more effective collaboration and data-sharing between state agencies in order to better serve the public. She announced OpenJustice, a first-of-its-kind open data criminal justice initiative, in September 2015. Since its launch, OpenJustice has published additional analysis and plans to release new juvenile justice data in the coming weeks. Her office also is collaborating with the Children’s Data Network at the University of Southern California to link the administrative records of youth involved in the justice system in order to better understand their early experiences, trajectories through systems, and factors that may increase the of risk involvement, all with an eye toward preventing involvement altogether.

Parents:
One of our parent/community Site Council members is not able to serve this year. If you would like to serve, please let me know. We will have an election at Back to School Night on September 8th.

The responsibilities of the FHS School Site Council are described in detail in Board Policy 1260. In summary of Board Policy 1260, the School Site Council is responsible for developing a three year School Improvement Plan which will address the following topics: instructional strategies, curriculum, and instructional materials which will lead towards student achievement of basic skills, develop knowledge in other aspects of the curriculum and assist them in pursuing educational interests and the development of their self-esteem; supplemental services to meet the special needs of non-English speaking students, educationally disadvantaged students and pupils with exceptional abilities; a professional development component for teachers, other school personnel and volunteers; the improvement of the school environment and climate; and other objectives established by the site council. Annually the site council is responsible for reviewing, evaluating and modifying the school improvement plan and establishing a new school improvement budget.

Fillmore, CA — The Fillmore Unified School District is pleased to announce two information nights that will be held for perspective families to discuss the new State Funded Preschool Program. We will be sharing the benefits of a preschool experience, program locations, qualification criteria, family fee, and upcoming enrollment dates.

Please join us at 6:00 p.m. on September 6 at Mountain Vista Elementary School Cafeteria located at 918 Fifth St. or at 6:00 p.m. on September 8 at Rio Vista Elementary School Cafeteria located at 250 Edgewood Dr.

Please contact the Child Development Office at 805-524-8312 or 805-524-8311 for more information.

Cybersecurity, engineering, medical science, and video game design are some of the leading edge courses being offered to Ventura County high school and adult education students at the new Career Education Center Moorpark. A ribbon-cutting ceremony this afternoon marked the official opening of the facility, which is operated by the Ventura County Office of Education. The Moorpark center is the second campus for the Career Educations Center (CEC), which is headquartered at its original location near the Camarillo Airport.

“We are very excited to bring innovative career and technical education courses to students in east Ventura County,” said CEC Executive Director Dr. Tiffany Morse. The campus has been upgraded to include a digital media lab, a music and sound production lab, and a certified nursing assistant training facility. Classrooms feature the latest technology and innovative designs, such as lounge areas intended to encourage student collaboration. The center will serve as a model of innovation for teaching in Ventura County by piloting advanced technologies such as virtual reality.

The new facility is located at the former site of Community High School on Condor Drive in Moorpark. The continuation high school buildings had been vacant since last year when Moorpark Unified School District moved its students to classrooms at Moorpark High School. The district is leasing the facility to VCOE for one dollar per year for the next five years. The deal allows the district to expand its career and technical education offerings. It also gives CEC the ability to serve students who are unable to commute to Camarillo and helps relieve space constraints at the Camarillo site.

Enrollment Now Open for Classes Beginning August 30

The Moorpark campus will offer courses Monday through Thursday afternoons beginning August 30. The offerings include honors level courses, some of which earn college credit. In addition to providing career and technical education, the Moorpark site is home to adult education services.

Students who wish to enroll should contact their school counselor. Adults who are interested in taking courses should call the CEC at 805-437-1420. Transportation to the new facility is available from high schools in the Moorpark, Simi Valley and Conejo Valley Unified School Districts. The new campus is holding an open house and offering classroom tours August 23 to August 30 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

A complete list of courses offered this year at the Career Education Center Moorpark is available at www.vcoe.org/cec.

About the Ventura County Office of Education
The Ventura County Office of Education provides a broad array of fiscal, training and technology support services to local school districts, helping to maintain and improve lifelong educational opportunities for children, educators and community members. VCOE also operates schools that serve students with severe disabilities and behavioral issues, provides career education courses, and coordinates countywide academic competitions including Mock Trial and the Ventura County Science Fair. Learn more at: www.vcoe.org.

Jennie Andrade, Assistant Vice President, Fillmore Branch, and Adriana Mejia, the Financial Service Representative of the Fillmore Branch presented the check to Kari Skidmore, Principal.
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Dr. Gosta Iwasiuk present a check to Kari Skidmore, Principal.
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Community support is essential for the local historic Little Red School house to offer enrichment programs such as art to their group of students. And the Bank of the Sierra and a local doctor have stepped up to help. On August 3, 2016, the Fillmore Branch of Bank of Sierra presented a check for $3,000 in support of the Arts Education program to Santa Clara Elementary school. Jennie Andrade, Assistant Vice President and Adriana Mejia, the Financial Service Representative of the Fillmore Branch of the Bank presented the check to Kari Skidmore, Principal and Amber McCalister, PTO President. Santa Clara Elementary aka "The Little Red School House" is a small public K-6 one-room school house, with only three classrooms and three teachers, which was established in 1879 and provides an amazing education for 50-60 K-6th grade students each year. The $3,000 grant was also matched by Dr. Gosta W. Iwasiuk, MD, who wanted to share his love of art and the arts with the students in the school by his house. The generous grant from the Bank of Sierra will provide arts education to 50-60 students and lead them to a greater understanding and appreciation for art by learning about art and creating art and holding an art show. Studies have also shown that in creating art, responding to art, and performing art, youth develop knowledge that is fundamental to the communication necessary in today’s world. Bank of the Sierra has a focus to serve the families and youth of the communities where they have branches with a particular interest in enhancing the educational development of children. The partnership between Bank of The Sierra and Santa Clara Elementary school will help infuse art and culture into the lives of many youth, affirm their value, nurture their skills and talents, help them realize their artistic value, and lead them to a greater understanding and appreciation for art. For this, the families and youth extended that appreciation to Bank of Sierra.

Moorpark College President Luis Sanchez, JD, LLM, is pleased to announce the re-launch of the Photovoltaics program beginning fall 2016. Photovoltaics (PV), the process of converting solar power into electricity, is one of the fastest growing fields in the United States, claiming one out of every 83 new jobs created in 2015. Annual job growth is 20 percent since 2015 and 123% since 2010, representing more than 115,000 new jobs in the U.S. The workforce is diverse with 24 percent women, 8 percent veterans, 11 percent Hispanic, 9 percent Asian/Pacific Islanders and 5 percent African American.1

“Solar Photovoltaics is quickly becoming an industry of the future,” stated Sanchez. “Individuals and corporations are looking for alternative means of energy production, and the Photovoltaics program, here at Moorpark College, is a chance to become part of a sustainable solution to humanity’s energy challenges,” Sanchez added.

After several searches to find an industry insider who is qualified to lead the program, Moorpark College hired Dr. Peter T. Parrish to teach their two lecture and laboratory courses in solar energy and photovoltaic technologies. Parrish holds a Ph.D. in solid state physics and is a NABCEP™ Certified PV Professional. “Moorpark College has one of the best facilities in Southern California to teach solar photovoltaics and to train students for jobs in the industry,” stated Parrish. The college has three “mock roofs” for students to practice installation of PV modules and several PV systems that can be installed and broken down each term.

“Our goal is to help students acquire skills to fill jobs that are available now,” said Ventura County Community College District Board of Trustees Chair Larry Kennedy. “These jobs may also set individuals on a path to long-term career achievement,” Kennedy added.

Solar companies located in Los Angeles and Ventura counties include, American Solar Power, PHAT Energy, Vivent, Solar Electrical Systems and Solar City, the number one solar company in the U.S. In addition to installation, there are job opportunities for design engineers, sales and marketing, assembling and general office staff in solar panels.

Students enrolled in the program can earn a Proficiency Award in Photovoltaic Technology in one to two semesters by taking four courses, including an optional internship at a local solar company. Registration is open and classes begin Wednesday, August 17 and Saturday, August 20. Evening and Saturday classes are available to accommodate working adults. For more information on the program, contact Dr. Peter P. Parrish at 323-839-6108 or pparrish@vcccd.edu; or the Moorpark College Sciences and Student Engagement Division at 805-553-4133 or mcscistuengmt@vcccd.edu.

The Solar Foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2016. Retrieved from http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/TSF-2015-Na...

Dear Fillmore Middle School Community:

We are pleased to announce that John Wilber has been appointed as the Principal of Fillmore Middle School effective Wednesday, August 3, 2016. Mr. Wilber has been in education for over 31 years as a professional educator in the Fillmore Unified School District serving as an accomplished Social Studies classroom teacher and school administrator at both the secondary and elementary levels. In his current position, he has provided exceptional leadership as a school administrator for the last four years at Mountain Vista Elementary School.

Mr. Wilber is a resident of the City of Fillmore and looks forward to leading Fillmore Middle School. He is committed to supporting the school community and continuing its work to increase academic success for all students. He envisions working collaboratively with students, parents, school staff, and the community to ensure that student learning is of the highest quality. Communication is an integral part of that collaboration and he is excited to work in partnership with you to ensure that all students are on a path to academic success.

We are confident that Mr. Wilber will provide excellent leadership and support to the Fillmore Middle School community as its new Principal. He is an advocate for all students and has an established record of increasing student achievement throughout his career. It is an exciting time for Fillmore Middle School and we invite you to come and meet Principal John Wilber on Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 6:30 PM in the Fillmore Middle School library.

Sincerely,
Respectfully,
Adrian E. Palazuelos, Ph.D.
Superintendent

AEP/im

Fillmore Adult School (FAS) will be celebrating the end of its first semester of English as a Second language and computer literacy classes on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on the Sierra High School campus at 615 Shiells Drive in Fillmore. Student recognition, food, fun, drawings, and classroom demonstrations will be the order of the evening. Fillmore Unified School District is excited to share the many opportunities it is providing for adult learners to improve their English language and computer literacy skills, prepare for high school diplomas or their equivalencies, and most importantly, to enhance their employment readiness and preparation for job training. Reservations for this event are requested. Please call (805) 524-8232 and identify the number in your party by Monday, August 1st.

Enrollments for FAS’s fall session are being accepted through August 4th, from 4:00-8:00 PM Mondays-Thursdays at the Fillmore Adult School, 615 Shiells Drive.

FUSD teachers and instructional aides who are interested in working in these adult education programs are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Please contact the Human Resources Office at 805-524-6034 for details on the application process.

In collaboration with Ventura College and the Ventura County Community College District, FUSD will fund Ventura College to provide the two initial qualifying courses for fifteen child care assistants who plan to work in accredited institutions in a 32-hour per week intensive program beginning July 18th through August 4th, 2016.

The classes will be taught by Ventura College instructors at the Fillmore Adult School located on the Sierra High School campus. Students who successfully complete the program will earn six units of Early Childhood Education credit, which makes them eligible to work as Preschool Instructional Assistants. To qualify for the training, students must possess high school diplomas and be proficient in English.

FUSD will be starting six full-day preschool classes for 2016-2017 school year. Child Care Assistants will be needed for this preschool program.

For additional information, please contact the Fillmore Adult School at (805) 524-8232. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Young people with autism who have difficulty speaking are discovering other methods to communicate, and California Lutheran University is starting a center to support them in the search.

The number of people identified as being on the autism spectrum has dramatically climbed to 1 in 68 births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 30 and 40 percent of children with autism spectrum disorders speak minimally or not at all.

The primary goal of the Autism and Communication Center is to provide information on various augmentative and alternative communication strategies including keyboards, letter boards and brain/computer interface systems so that children and young adults with autism who struggle to speak can have their voices heard and connect to their communities. The center will also promote practices that support inclusive communities and schools, from preschool through college. Cal Lutheran faculty members from several disciplines will conduct research, present workshops and conferences, and provide information and support to individuals with autism and their teachers, families, caregivers and school administrators.

Beth Brennan, associate dean of the Graduate School of Education and director of special education programs, and Edlyn Peña, director of doctoral studies and an associate professor of higher education leadership, founded the center and serve as co-directors.

Peña, who has a son on the autism spectrum, is a member of the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and on Tuesday she will present research she conducted with Cal Lutheran associate professor of psychology Jodie Kocur on supporting college students with autism in Washington, D.C., and in a webcast. In 2015, the American College Personnel Association recognized the Camarillo resident for her influential research.

Brennan began her career as an instructional aide in a program for students with significant disabilities and went on to earn a master’s degree and doctorate in special education. The Westlake Village resident is an expert on supporting students with autism and inclusive classrooms for students with disabilities.

The idea for the center grew out of the enthusiastic response to the Spectrum of Opportunity: Autism, Inclusion and Communication Conference, which Cal Lutheran presented in March. More than 400 people from Florida, New Jersey, Texas and throughout California attended. The speakers included people with autism who have learned to communicate through alternative methods and educators who work with students who type.

The opening of the center will be celebrated at a free event at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 29 on the Thousand Oaks campus featuring a keynote presentation by the author of “NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity.” The second Spectrum of Opportunity conference will be held Oct. 8.

For more information, email autismcenter@callutheran.edu or visit callutheran.edu/autism.

California Lutheran University is launching a Center for Nonprofit Leadership to provide needed training for the region’s charities.

Dena Jenson, who led the former Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF), is the director.

The Cal Lutheran center’s primary focus will be affordable professional development workshops for nonprofit board members, staff and volunteers. The sessions will provide hands-on training in management skills and opportunities to connect and collaborate with peers. Jenson and volunteers who are respected leaders in their fields will lead the workshops, which are scheduled to begin in September. Additional resources for nonprofits will be available online.

The center will offer workshops at Cal Lutheran’s main campus in Thousand Oaks, where it is based, and at the university’s Oxnard Center. Funding will come from participation fees, memberships, corporate sponsorships, grants and donations.

Nonprofits constitute a vital segment of the community. In Ventura County alone, there are more than 3,300 registered nonprofits ranging from all-volunteer efforts to large organizations such as hospitals and universities. They account for $2.6 billion in annual revenue and $5 billion in assets.

“Investing in the nonprofit sector and its leaders is more important than ever, and it would be hard to find a more effective investment with such lasting returns,” Jenson said.

Jenson was the vice president and director of the VCCF Center for Nonprofit Leadership from 2005 until it closed in September. The center, which was launched 25 years ago, served more than 800 organizations each year under her direction. Cal Lutheran is working with VCCF as it moves forward with plans for the new center.

“We’re incredibly fortunate that Dena has agreed to serve as director,” said Cal Lutheran President Chris Kimball. “Her considerable experience will enable us to hit the ground running on this critical endeavor.”
For the last year, Jenson has been the interim executive director of the Alliance for the Arts. Prior to joining VCCF, the Ventura resident served as program and public policy director at the Perinatal Advisory Council in Los Angeles and as program director for the Los Angeles County Department of Health. She has also lectured at Cal Lutheran and Pepperdine University. She has served on the California Association of Nonprofits Board of Directors and is a past chair of the local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

A public event celebrating the center’s opening will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 7 in Lundring Events Center on the Thousand Oaks campus. For more information on the center, contact Jenson at djenson@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3677.

Fillmore Unified School District Adult Education Program Offers Child Care Assistant Summer Intensive Classes
In collaboration with Ventura College and the Ventura County Community College District, FUSD will fund Ventura College to provide the two initial qualifying courses for fifteen child care assistants who plan to work in accredited institutions in a 32-hour per week intensive program beginning July 18th through August 4th, 2016.

The classes will be taught by Ventura College instructors at the Fillmore Adult School located on the Sierra High School campus. Students who successfully complete the program will earn six units of Early Childhood Education credit, which makes them eligible to work as Preschool Instructional Assistants. To qualify for the training, students must possess high school diplomas and be proficient in English.

FUSD will be starting six full-day preschool classes for 2016-2017 school year. Child Care Assistants will be needed for this preschool program.

For additional information, please contact the Fillmore Adult School at (805) 524-8232. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Thousands of educators and administrators around the state will spend part of their summer vacations coming together to exchange ideas about their shared passion: education.

The 2016 “Better Together” California Teachers Summit is a free statewide day of learning that will take place on Friday, July 29 at 38 locations around California, including CSU Channel Islands (CI).

Running from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m, the Summit is open to all California Pre-K teachers, teacher candidates, school administrators and other educators.

One of the keynote speakers is Kelly Gallagher, an author and consultant who works with educators around the world and is considered one of the leading voices in literacy education.

Gallagher is former co-director of the South Basin Writing project at CSU Long Beach and author of several books including “Reading Reasons: Motivational Mini-Lessons for Middle and High School;” “Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12;” and “Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It.”

CI “Better Together” coordinator Dianne Wilson-Graham, Executive Director for the California Physical Education-Health Project, said many of the sessions will be centered on how to implement current state priorities such as the California Standards in English/Language Arts and Math and the Next Generation Science Standards.

“Teachers are making adjustments to major shifts in education,” Wilson-Graham said. “Common Core is shifting more toward the 21st Century learner. Facts are less important; they’re readily available to us. Now students need more focus on skills and knowledge related to using information and collaborating with others.”

The Summit will feature two local educators who will do keynote “Ed Talks,” which are funny, poignant, informative or otherwise inspiring presentations designed to ignite group discussions.

Teachers will then participate in group discussions called “Ed Camps” in which professional educators pick topics ranging from technology in the classroom to improving literacy in early education to boosting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) training. Each participant can gravitate toward the session that best addresses his or her needs.

“As California embraces new ways of teaching and learning, teachers want more opportunities to connect with and learn from their peers,” said Ellen Moir, Founder and CEO of New Teacher Center. “Summit attendees will join a growing network of teachers teaching teachers, giving them the opportunity to be both the experts and the learners.”

The day is made possible through the unique partnership of New Teacher Center (NTC); The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (AICCU); and the California State University (CSU) system.

The inaugural “Better Together” summit in 2015 drew more than 15,000 educators statewide with about 250 filling every seat at CI’s “Better Together” summit.

The first summit was such a success, organizers are preparing for even more participation in this year’s event.

Wilson-Graham said organizers expect to draw at least 350 to the CI location.

“This event is well-timed to meet teachers’ needs to come together and learn with others. Teachers are learners themselves,” Wilson-Graham said. “When they get a little time off, they’re eager to learn more about their craft.”

If you are interested in attending this year’s Better Together summit, RSVP by clicking on: http://cateacherssummit.com/.

Photo of “Better Together” inaugural 2015 summit courtesy Ventura County Star

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more about CI by visiting CI’s Social Media.

After years of work and planning, CSU Channel Islands (CI) is announcing the launch of its own Engineering Program.

President Richard R. Rush and Assembly member Jacqui Irwin (D—Thousand Oaks) will make the formal announcement on July 20 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Sierra Hall on the CI campus.

“We could not be more proud to announce the addition of an engineering program at CI,” said President Richard R. Rush. “This University exists to serve the needs of the surrounding community, and now CI can deliver quality graduates to fill hundreds of engineering jobs available each year in Ventura County. On a personal note, I consider it privilege to welcome this long-anticipated program before my last day as President of this University.”

Rush, who retires on Aug. 8, worked with Irwin as she sought support in Sacramento.

Locally, Rush met with community leaders who stressed the need for an engineering program in Ventura County.

After Irwin was elected in 2014, the two began laying the groundwork to meet that need.

In 2012, University officials conducted a needs assessment study and discovered that about half of Ventura County companies planned to hire engineers. In addition, the state Employment Development Department indicated that almost 300 new engineers are needed any given year in Ventura County.

“I really pushed it last year in the Assembly,” Irwin said. “I was able to talk to budget chairs about the need in Ventura County. We have a military base and all of these companies in need of qualified engineers. But what really made the argument is that Channel Islands is heavily female and has a significant Latino population and both of those groups are under-represented in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields.”

In May of 2015, Irwin proposed that $1.5 million be allocated with roughly $500,000 per year used to cover three years of start-up costs, such as hiring faculty members and lab support. In June, the state legislature approved the use of $500,000 in the $117.2 billion state budget for CI to begin its engineering program.

The new major will be called “Mechatronics Engineering” and will be housed under the Computer Science Department ” according to Computer Science Chair Michael Soltys, Ph.D.

“Mechatronics is a fast-growing area of engineering that is interdisciplinary by nature, as it combines aspects of mechanics, control theory, computer science and electronics,” Soltys said. “This knowledge enables engineers to optimize the design and functionality of systems as well as making them more economical and reliable. Industrial robots and drones are quintessential examples of mechatronics systems as they include aspects of electronics, mechanics and computing.”

CI is strategically located on the so-called “101 Tech Corridor,” which includes companies such as Amgen, Haas, Teledyne Technologies, HRL Laboratories and many other tech companies, not to mention Point Mugu and Port Hueneme Naval bases, as well as Lockheed, Rocketdyne and other companies in the greater Los Angeles area.

Irwin said this investment in CI’s program is an investment in the entire region as these will be “home-grown” engineers who are more likely to stay in the area, strengthening Ventura County’s business environment.

“Ventura County becomes an ecosystem,” Irwin said. “Not only are they going to stay here, they will likely start their own companies and this ecosystem will attract outside companies who would like to come into this area.”

The program is targeted to begin accepting applications for fall of 2018. Graduates in a specialized engineering field can expect median annual wages of $92,680 as of May of 2013, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Irwin said she is pleased to be joining President Rush as he makes this announcement.

“It is so fitting this is his last major announcement,” she said. “He should get full credit. He is the one who reached out to the community and learned there was a great need. His leaving is bittersweet, but he leaves on a very high note.”

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more about CI by visiting CI’s Social Media.

CSU Channel Islands (CI), the University Preparation Charter School (UPS) at CSU Channel Islands (CI) and the Ocean View School District have been awarded a grant by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation to expand practice-based training for new K-8 teachers in implementing the state’s math and science standards.

University Prep School Director Charmon Evans said the grant will be used to formalize partnerships between CI and school districts, where future teachers are being prepared.

Among other things, the grant will support what’s known as a “residency model” of teacher preparation.

CI Interim Dean of the School of Education Merilyn Buchanan, Ph.D., said that means student teachers stay with the same school all year.

“The student teachers work as co-teachers in the classroom,” Buchanan said. “Right from the onset, they are introduced as the second teacher in the classroom. They get to attend parent conferences and other things that student teachers don’t get to do in the traditional student teaching model.”

The grant, which has a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) focus, will also support professional teachers as they pursue advanced National Board Certification.

CI is among 11 California State University (CSU) campuses earning S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation grants.

“Connection with the community is in our DNA at CI, and this program for our professional and student teachers is an excellent example of that” said CI President Richard R. Rush “Our long-term goal is to prepare highly qualified new teachers for schools throughout the region, and together, we can achieve our ambitious plan.”

The grant will fund a weeklong summer symposium for teachers who are integrating the new science and math standards into their classrooms, Buchanan said. It will also launch math and science evenings that will include parents.

CI Assistant Professor of Special Education Michelle Dean-Lorenzini, Ph.D., is lead teacher on the grant and has been working closely with Evans and Ocean View Superintendent Craig Helmstedter, Ph.D.

Investments made by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation will expand the CSU’s New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI), an initiative focused on preparing highly qualified math and science teachers for the elementary and middle grades – the formative years in the educational pipeline that lay a foundation for students’ long-term success and college and career readiness.

“We applaud CSU Channel Islands, University Prep School and the Ocean View School District for this bold effort that will benefit students across the entire region for decades to come,” said Loren Blanchard, CSU executive vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs.

For more information on the NGEI, visit http://teachingcommons.cdl.edu/CSUNewGen/.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more about CI by visiting CI’s Social Media.

Amgen biotechnology pilot program a success for FHS students
Courtesy Steven Geddes
Teacher, Amgen Biotech Summer Experience 2016

The week of June 20th Fillmore High School completed a successful Amgen biotechnology pilot program, the “Amgen Biotech Summer Experience” (ABSE). ABSE serves incoming freshman students from diverse backgrounds who are preparing for their first year at Fillmore High School. The intensive course lasts five full days, during which students are introduced to biotechnology theory, practice, and laboratory techniques.

In a safe and controlled laboratory setting, students used sophisticated procedures (including the use of micropipettes, gel electrophoresis, gene cloning, transforming bacteria with recombinant plasmids, and verifying results using column chromatography) to produce bacterial cultures that glow with a red fluorescent protein (rfp) normally found in sea anemones. Using recombinant DNA in bacteria for rfp production reflects, albeit on a smaller scale, the process used by Amgen in its production of human insulin for the treatment of illnesses, such as diabetes.

ABSE was a fun and productive learning experience for everyone involved. Our 28 students completed the program with fantastic results. Throughout the week, they received help from four well-trained and effective incoming sophomores, Ariana Schieferle, Mireya Avila, Savanna Garcia, and James Chandler. Carol Fujita, a former AP Biology teacher and current Amgen Biotech Experience site coordinator, provided instruction and distribution of equipment and materials. Karin Steinhauer provided much-needed technical and distribution support throughout the week. Leading up to the ABSE week, FHS biology teacher Nichia Huxtable was not only crucial to bringing ABSE to the high school, she also provided the classroom space for the program. Fillmore Middle School’s eighth grade science teachers, Emily DuBois and Ashley McClain, were instrumental in providing incoming freshman students an opportunity to apply for ABSE. Finally, FHS Principal Tom Ito supported the program throughout its inception and execution.

Ultimately, this experience offered students who wouldn’t otherwise have been exposed to sophisticated biotechnology an opportunity to learn from and contribute to a challenging classroom laboratory, which will directly and positively impact their ability to engage in their future college and career pathways.

It’s that time again – REGISTRATION TIME!!!

We need help again this year, so if you have a day or two or even a couple of hours we can use all the help we can get .

Wednesday, August 10th – 8:30 – 3:30

Seniors: A-H 9:00 a.m.
I-P 9:30 a.m.
Q-Z 10:00 a.m.

Juniors: A-H 10:30 a.m.
I-P 11:00 a.m.
Q-Z 11:30 a.m.

LUNCH BREAK 12:00 – 1:00

Sophomores A-H 1:15 p.m.
I - P 1:45 p.m.
Q-Z 2:15 p.m.

Thursday, August 11th - Freshmen Orientation & Registration

The 9th graders will have an assembly in the morning . They will begin to register at 11:00

Registration 11:00 – 3:00

We need help beginning at 10:30. We will not get a lunch break that day (I’ll see if we can get the firemen to add a few extra hot dogs on the BBQ – They are feeding the freshmen!)
 
Please let me know via email if you are able to help! The office will be closed until July 25th, but I will check my emails during my time off.

I know that registration coincides with fair again this year. I am sorry, but at least students will be back from fair in time to start school the following week. If your student is at the fair, and he/she has any free time on Wednesday from 9 – 2:30 or Thursday from 11 – 2:30, please feel free to have them come in to get their picture taken and turn in their paperwork. They might not be able to get their books, but they will be able to get their ID card and turn in all the paperwork.