 | | Featured Article | | Nancy Magee brings an array of talents to her SMCOE post. |
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Bullying Prevention Efforts Continue
at SMCOE
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) continues to spearhead efforts to focus attention on bullying prevention in the schools throughout San Mateo County. Following the kick-off Anti-Bullying Symposium on September 16 at SMCOE attended by 75 administrators, counselors and school psychologists, the SMCOE Council on Instructional Improvement (CII) at their meeting on October 14, 2011 focused on the critical issue of cyberbullying in more depth.
Plans are in the works to continue the focus on bullying throughout the year with sessions focused on other manifestations of bullying behavior such as those based on students' special needs or sexual orientation, for example.
Administrators from districts throughout San Mateo County attended the October 14 CII meeting to discuss cyberbullying and to share best practices. "The issues around bullying warrant thoughtful conversation that leads to proactive systemic solutions," said Gary Waddell, Deputy Superintendent at SMCOE. "Everyone realizes their importance but it's easy for them to get lost in the shuffle with all of the other demands facing school personnel on a daily basis, but these are not trivial issues for the students who are affected by bullying behavior. It is our intention to circle back and focus on exploring various aspects of the complicated issues related to bullying at different points in the year."
"Cyberbullying is a complex problem for schools. Our plan is to give administrators resources but not to inundate them or focus on the fear factor," added Nancy Magee, Administrator, Board Support and Community Relations. "We want to put technology in context and not have policies that keep kids away from technology but rather help them to use it in proper ways. Technology moves faster than our policies, so we have to be nimble in how we respond."
At the October 14 CII meeting, administrators also devoted time to discussing their work on updating school policies to included an anti-bullying component, based on the model school policies that were shared at the September 16 kick-off event.
Mefula Fairley, Director of Compliance, Assessment and Special Projects at SMCOE, will be the point person at the County Office of Education to manage ongoing needs around anti-bullying policies and practices.
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Nancy Magee Brings an Array of Talents to SMCOE
Nancy Magee has been a teacher, school librarian, administrator, grant director, AVID coordinator, emergency and school safety plan coordinator,WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation
coordinator and water polo coach. Her array of talents and experience are already serving her well in her new post as Administrator, Board Support and Community Relations at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE). The position requires a lot of juggling and includes a variety of responsibilities from public information officer for SMCOE to grant writing to secretary of the County Committee on School District Organization, just to name a few. Although Magee had spent most of her education career in San Diego, she is not a stranger to SMCOE. Last year she served as Library Services Coordinator at SMCOE. Having that position gave her the opportunity to work with school district personnel throughout San Mateo County, and to get to know her colleagues in curriculum services at SMCOE. "It was a great learning year for me," she says. "So many library programs are under budgetary stress and benefit from the support that SMCOE provides. I really got to learn about the personality of the Peninsula and about school districts in the county." Magee began her new role at SMCOE on July 1, 2011. In the short time in her new office, she's been busy with many projects. She was the lead coordinator for the Anti-Bullying Symposium at SMCOE in September. She provides support to the County Board of Education, and reviews and edits all the material that goes out to the board, including every board packet, board agenda, and public notice. As compliance officer she oversees public records requests and ensures SMCOE meets timelines and public information responsibilities responding to charter school petitions. She also coordinates all the recognition events, including the San Mateo County Teacher of the Year and the employee of the month recognition events. She's working on an emergency preparedness plan for SMCOE, as well as providing leadership in this area for school district personnel. She's assisting the County Committee on School District Organization with school district boundary changes. In addition, she's working with Superintendent Anne Campbell on developing a systematic professional development plan across the county for teaching algebra. "My plate is pretty full," she adds. "But there is always room for something extra, as things come up." Learn more about Nancy Magee's background and her work at SMCOE here |
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SMCOE's BTSA Project Goes Viral
When the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program (BTSA) at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) joined forces a year ago with the National Equity Project to strengthen professional development for new teachers, little did the staff imagine that their partnership would go viral on YouTube.
It all began when Ruth Keefer, Director of the BTSA Induction Project at SMCOE, called in a videographer to document how teachers regarded the training they had received through the National Equity Project. The videographer filmed teachers talking about the partnership, interviewed teachers individually and inserted classroom shots. The teachers shared specific examples of how the equity training changed their teaching practices.
Once the SMCOE video was completed, the National Equity Project asked to see it, and then their marketing director asked if the organization could use it to share with other BTSA programs around the state. The National Equity Project took the video, added to it and posted it on YouTube. Then the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) posted it on their Facebook page. And the rest is viral history.
Learn more about BTSA and the National Equity Project here
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Camp Glenwood Book Club Stretches
Minds of Teen Boys
By day Kris Cannon serves as School Library Services Coordinator at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE), providing outreach and assistance to  school library programs throughout the county. In her spare time, one evening a week, she volunteers and leads a book club for male teen residents (ages 13 to 18) at SMCOE's Court School Program at Camp Glenwood.
Cannon is a book club veteran, having led groups for both teachers and students when she was a school librarian at Mills High School in Millbrae. She finds the book club at Camp Glenwood, which she began last May, to be rewarding. And her students are stretching their minds and gaining confidence in themselves as a result of their participation. "It's a real high for me," Cannon says. "The students look forward to coming and they enjoy it." Cannon notes that the book club for these teens is not a unique idea. County libraries have sponsored similar book clubs in the past at Juvenile Hall.
Learn more about the Camp Glenwood Book Club 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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