An official news publication of the Los Angeles County Office of Education, 9300 Imperial Highway, Downey, CA 90242, 562/922-6360.

  Board of Education: Douglas R. Boyd, President; Rudell S. Freer, Vice President; Katie Braude, Gabriella Holt, Maria Reza, Thomas A. Saenz, Rebecca J. Turrentine

Produced by LACOE Communications Dept.:
Frank Kwan, Director
Margo Minecki, Editor
Contributing writers:
Rick de la Torre, Dan Pollock and Nimfa Rueda
Graphic design: Timothy Cox

PIN # 2012-01-12-NEWS-21

LACOE has opened a new resource library to support community organizations and school districts and help ensure they continue to operate topnotch preschool programs.

 

The library, located at the LACOE Head Start-State Preschool Division offices in Santa Fe Springs, offers teachers and staff members a virtual playpen of reference publications, media materials, instructional kits and equipment, including laptop computers.

 

"It's a dream realized," said County Superintendent of Schools Arturo Delgado at the Jan. 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the library, known formally as the Early Care & Education Resource Center. "We're hoping it will be something that will serve the community well. I'm very proud to be a part of this."

 

The first-floor Resource Center, which encompasses 5,000 square feet, features a light color scheme and a breezy assortment of browsing areas, workstations and big-screen viewing cubicles. There is also a conference room featuring an interactive whiteboard and a health screening area featuring an electronic body mass scanner.

 

The center is currently open for limited hours during weekdays. But plans call for an expansion of hours and the addition of online reference services when the center swings into full operation sometime in February. 

 

For general information about the center, call 562/940-1770.

 

LACOE is one of the nation's largest Head Start grantees, administering $220 million annually in early education programs through 25 delegate agencies that serve 24,000 children and families around L.A. County.

 

Read the full story, with an update on LACOE's Head Start grant. 

Photo: Presiding at the ribbon-cutting for LACOE's new resource library were Keesha Woods, director of LACOE's Head Start-State Preschool Division, and County Superintendent of Schools Arturo Delgado.

LACOE Superintendent Arturo Delgado was named by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 29 to chair the committee overseeing educational reform in the county's juvenile detention facilities. The post previously was held by the county's chief probation officer.

 

Formed in 2007, the Comprehensive Education Reform Committee includes representatives from key agencies that serve the county's incarcerated youth, including Probation, LACOE and Mental Health, among others.

 

"Each day, more than 2,000 incarcerated youth depend on the educational services provided primarily by LACOE," said Delgado, who took over as CEO of the Office in July 2011. "There is some great work being done but improvements are needed."

 

Delgado has made educational reform in LACOE's Juvenile Court Schools his top priority and identified four key goals that are guiding this work:

• provide students with a clear path for graduation;
• identify what works and eliminate what does not;
• employ and train a staff that embraces and embodies the mission of providing hope for the future through education; and
• help students re-enter mainstream society with the skills for success in education and in the workforce.

"I look forward to continuing to work with the Probation Department's leadership and other key stakeholders to achieve these key goals for the youth in our care," Delgado added.

 

In 2008, the Education Reform Committee put forth 35 recommendations aimed at offering incarcerated youth the greatest chance for success upon return to their communities. Among the recommendations are enhancements to career technical education programs and student information data systems. To date, 13 of the committee's recommendations have been implemented and 22 are partially underway.

The whiteboards in Richard Bernard's classroom may look blank but instruction is flourishing at this special education program for teens with hearing impairments.

 

Bernard has embraced the iPad tablet computer as the preferred mode of instruction for his students with special needs, allowing them to design their own curriculum, self-monitor their progress and access subject matter in ways that traditional methods cannot provide.

 

"This is the way education is going," said Bernard, who runs one of LACOE's six classrooms for special populations of students piloting the iPad tablet computer with the support of funds from the Enhancing Education Through Technology program, Title III and Fee for Service grants.

 

Click here to read the full story.

 

Photo: Special education teacher Richard Bernard has embraced the use of the tablet computer to help develop the critical skills young people need to succeed in today's job market.

Motivating and engaging incarcerated youth are ongoing challenges for LACOE Juvenile Court School educators.

 

A recent effort showing promise is the use of interactive whiteboards at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar. All classrooms in the LACOE-run school at Nidorf now feature these learning tools, which facilitate multisensory, hands-on learning.

 

"The technology has increased students' interest and engagement 100-fold," said teacher Melissa Morch, who along with her colleagues receives ongoing, personalized training on effective use of the whiteboards.

 

Interactive whiteboards enable activities such as multimedia lessons and presentations, collaborative problem solving, virtual field trips, recorded lessons that can be used by substitute teachers and documentation of student achievement.

 

Principal Norberto Perez recognizes the value of technology in enhancing learning for incarcerated youth and is committed to assuring that it is infused to the greatest extent possible at Nidorf.

 

Photo: Teacher Jerry Perttula uses the interactive whiteboard to enhance a science lesson at LACOE's school serving youth incarcerated at Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar.

A partnership among educators, law enforcement and the military is helping students with severe emotional disturbance address behavior issues through physical education.

 

"Life Skills Through PE" is a collaboration of the Office of Education, the San Gabriel Police Department and the U.S. Army. It benefits middle and high school students in the San Gabriel Valley enrolled in LACOE Special Education programs that are part of the Horizon Principal's Administrative Unit. 

 

"It's been a great success," said Horizon's Acting Principal Royal Lord about the program, which features lessons from the "Character Counts!" program followed by standards-based physical education activities that aim to reinforce the character trait discussed.

 

Among the life skills/character-building topics covered at the weekly, hour-long sessions are teamwork and cooperation, honesty, discipline and respect.

 

"Our police and Army partners lead the PE activities and our students love to work with them," Lord said. "We've seen a dramatic reduction in discipline issues and behavioral crises, and an increase in students taking responsibility for their own actions."

 

Teachers continue to reinforce the life skills in classroom lessons and assignments with the goal of improving students' overall academic performance and social-emotional well-being.

 

Photo: U.S. Army Sgt. Lee Sang volunteers to help build character in the Life Skills Through PE program for youth with special needs.

A new guidebook by LACOE will help California educators use civics lessons to improve reading and writing skills.

 

LACOE curriculum officials believe the innovative publication is the first of its kind in giving English language arts teachers a civic education context to aid students in their literacy. It also offers history-social science teachers an instructional framework to provide students with literacy competencies for civic life.  

 

"Although we don't know for sure the path our students will take, one thing is certain -- wherever they live or work in our nation, they also need to be prepared to become informed, responsible and engaged members of our democratic society," said Michelle Herczog, LACOE's history-social science specialist. "In other words, in addition to being prepared for college and career, they also need to be prepared for citizenship."

 

Herczog wrote the 80-page publication in partnership with the Trinity County Office of Education and the California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools.

 

The publication, which was introduced by LACOE at a state academic conference in November, is titled "Preparing Students for College, Career and Citizenship: A California Guide to Align Civic Education and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts."

 

Herczog said the guidebook integrates the goals of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a nationwide effort that seeks to bring diverse state curricula into alignment with each other, and the goals of civic education. 

 

LACOE, with Herczog serving as the partnership's main author, has also developed a companion publication. It's a national guidebook to align civic education and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects.

Both guidebooks, along with other related materials, can be downloaded by clicking here.

For more information, contact Michelle Herczog.

State schools chief Tom Torlakson announced this month that California schools may apply for the inaugural Green Ribbon Award to receive federal recognition as a high-performing green school.

 

"California is proud to participate in this new federal program to recognize schools with environmentally sustainable learning spaces that have boosted student performance," Torlakson said. 

   

The U.S. Department of Education unveiled the Green Ribbon Schools award in September. The program recognizes schools that save energy, reduce costs, feature environmentally sustainable learning spaces, protect health, foster wellness and offer environmental education to boost academic achievement and community engagement.

 

The California Department of Education has developed the application. Applicants will be judged on whether their facilities have a net zero impact on the environment, whether their green facilities have had a positive impact on the health and performance of students and staff, and whether their students are literate on the environment and sustainability.           

 

The deadline to apply is Feb. 17. After a rigorous review, the CDE will forward up to four nominees to the U.S. Department of Education by March 22. Winners are expected to be announced on Earth Day, April 22.

 

Click here for more information and to download an application.

It has not always been the norm in public education, but schools are now increasingly taking on the role of providing health services to students.

"As schools ensure that the health needs of students and their families are met, the federal government has recognized that they deserve the same reimbursement of health care costs that is provided in the private sector," said Cathy Bray, LACOE coordinator of Medi-Cal Administrative Activities.

 

MAA and the Local Education Agencies Billing Option are the two Medicaid programs that allow school districts to be reimbursed some of the costs of providing health care to students. So far, 63 districts in L.A. County are participating in these programs.

 

Under the MAA program, school districts are reimbursed for administrative activities, including outreach to students, facilitating Medi-Cal applications, referral and monitoring of Medi-Cal services.

 

Reimbursements for this program come back to the districts as unrestricted funds. For the past two years, $24 million in unrestricted funds has been reimbursed to participating school districts each year. Bray expects this amount to increase this school year since more districts have decided to participate.

 

LACOE has been involved in the MAA program since 1998. To reduce costs, LACOE joined forces with four other county education offices in 2010 to provide MAA services through a Joint Powers Authority. The nonprofit JPA keeps vendor fees at a minimum and ensures that the maximum dollar amount is returned to the district. So far, 10 districts in L.A. County have joined this JPA and Bray anticipates more will get on board.

 

For more information about the program, email Cathy Bray or call 562/922-6144.

 

Photo: Cathy Bray coordinates the Medi-Cal Administrative Activities program for LACOE, helping districts get reimbursed for millions of dollars in health care costs.