 | | Featured Article | | The Sensory Motor Room at Tower Road provides a safe place to explore for infants and preschoolers with disabilities. |
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Upcoming Election Determines School Parcel Taxes and County Supervisor
On May 3, 2011, voters throughout San Mateo County will elect a County Supervisor, and voters in San Carlos, Daly City and East Palo Alto will consider school parcel tax measures.
For the first time in San Mateo County, this election is an all mail-in election. Ballots were mailed to all registered voters the week of April 4 and must be returned in the postage-paid envelope by May 3. Voters may also drop off their ballots at any city hall in the county or at either 40 Tower Road in San Mateo or 555 County Government Center in Redwood City on or before May 3.
The parcel taxes for the San Carlos Elementary School District, the Ravenswood City School District and the Jefferson Union High School District aim to maintain and improve education programs, and attract and retain qualified teachers. Each of these measures requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
See more about the upcoming election here. |
SMCOE Conducts Bond Oversight Committee Training
It was standing room only on March 31, 2011, in Board Room A at the San Mateo County Office of Education when about 30 community members from school districts around the county gathered for training as school bond citizens' oversight
 | | Kathryn Meola (r.) discusses COC roles and responsibilities as Anne Campbell (l.) looks on at the COC training at SMCOE. |
committee members. The free training was offered to new and continuing members of school bond oversight committees so that they would learn more about their roles and responsibilities.
Currently nine school districts in the county have school bond oversight committees. School districts that pass Proposition 39 school bonds are required to have a citizens' oversight committee (COC) to assure that bond funds are expended in the manner outlined in the district's bond resolution. The 2009-2010 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury recommended that the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) conduct mandatory independent training for the COCs, and develop and host a website with easy-to-access training materials.
County Superintendent of Schools Anne Campbell welcomed the trainees and introduced the panel. On the panel were: Kathryn Meola, San Mateo Deputy County Counsel, who discussed the COC roles, responsibilities and regulations; Steven E. Wescoatt, partner and CAO at Perry-Smith LLP, who described the performance audit standards and requirements of Proposition 39 bonds; Eric Olson, a citizen on the Menlo Park Oversight Committee,who gave his perspective "from the trenches" of being on a COC; Denise Porterfield, Deputy Superintendent of Fiscal Services at SMCOE, who moderated the question and answer period.
A video of the March 31 training will soon be available on the SMCOE website along with the written materials that were presented at the training.
Learn more about the school bond citizens' oversight training here. |
Siegel Receives Statewide Personnel Commissioners Award
Glenn Siegel, Administrator of Classified Human Resources for the Personnel Commission at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE), received
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Glen Siegel receives the Schulyer C. Joyner award for outstanding performance. |
the Schulyer C. Joyner award for outstanding performance and contributions at the annual California School Personnel Commissioners Association conference in Sacramento in February 2011.
"Most importantly, this award was presented to Mr. Siegel by his peers in the world of personnel," notes San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Anne Campbell. "There is no higher honor than to be so acclaimed."
Siegel has a long history working with personnel issues at SMCOE. He began his career here as an intern in 1979 while working on his master's in public administration at Cal State Hayward. Upon completion of his master's degree, he became a personnel analyst at SMCOE and then a director in 1989.
In his role at SMCOE, Siegel works with non-teaching personnel, administers the benefits programs, and works on employee safety and risk management issues. He has also been active with the California School Personnel Commissioners Association for many years, having served as Northern California representative on the board, secretary and president of the association.
"I'm gratified to receive this award," he says. "It's hard to think of a greater honor. It's humbling to be recognized by your peers and it's a nice recognition of many years of work."
Learn more about Glenn Siegel and the award here. |
Touch, Bounce, Buzz and Swing in the Sensory Motor Room
Peek into Sensory Motor Room 2 at the San Mateo County Office of Education Tower Road facility and you'll find infants and preschoolers with disabilities hiding
| | | Sensory Motor Room 2 provides a safe place for infants with disabilities to explore. |
among the plastic balls in the ball pit, resting and swinging in the peapod swing, rolling on the padded cylinders in the sausage jungle. It's a special place for young children who are visually, hearing or orthopedically impaired, and for children with multiple handicaps. Here they have a safe place to explore, engage, be stimulated and find calm.
Tish Teaford, school psychologist in early childhood education at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE), has worked for several years seeking grants from Medi-Cal and Wells Fargo Bank to create this haven for kids. She used grant money to purchase the equipment for the room, which opened in the fall of this year. The room now serves 90 children in SMCOE early childhood education programs, ranging in age from 18 months to 5 years, including the Early Start and San Mateo Toddler Education Program and Services (STEPS) Program (a program for infants and toddlers with communication and social skills delays who are referred by the Golden Gate Regional Center). Teachers in the early childhood education program sign up to bring their classes to the room.
Learn more about the activities in Sensory Motor Room 2 here. |
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About the San Mateo County Office of Education
The San Mateo County Office of Education provides a variety of instructional, business and consulting services to the County's twenty-three public school districts, charter schools, the Community College District, and County Office of Education staff.
Believe In Tomorrow: Think Green Today
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