Dateline Masthead
Contra Costa County Office of Education Summer 2010
Table of Contents
Contra Costa Public Information Network
Verification Process for Special Settings
Ensuring Effective Teaching for Every Classroom
PEAK Student Energy Actions Teacher Training
English Learner Support
FreeRice.com
Eukel Teacher Trust
26th Annual California Costal Cleanup Day
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
Greetings!  
 
Welcome to the summer issue of Dateline.  This informative newsletter is for all those in Contra Costa County who work in education.  Please tell your fellow teachers and administrators, as well as your friends who would be interested to join our mailing list (see link button at the left column).  
Professional Development / Opportunities
Contra Costa Public Information Network (CCPIN)
Just Because You Can, Should You?: Using Social Media will be the topic of the upcoming CCPIN presentation.  This free professional development program will examine Social Media, and will answer questions of who is using it and how, and whether it's something your organization should be utilizing.
Date and location: July 15, 10:00 a.m.-12 noon; CCCOE, Pleasant Hill
Info: Contact Peggy Marshburn, CCCOE, at (925) 942-3420
Fee: Free
Verification Process for Special Settings (VPSS) Training
VPSS is a state-approved advanced certification process by which teachers in "special settings" have an additional option to become compliant with No Child Left Behind legislation. VPSS combines subject matter coursework from an accredited college or university and professional development that is intensive and focused on the subject matter content specified in the California standards, frameworks and Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) subject matter assessments.  Summer courses are offered in the following areas: VPSS Social Science Tier I and Tier II, VPSS English Tier I and Tier II, and VPSS Math Tier I and Tier II.  Each week-long course is comprised of 36 hours of class time.
Dates and locations: Multiple offerings between the months of June and August, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; all courses will be held at Brandman University, in Walnut Creek
For Info: Contact Jeannine LaBoy, CCCOE at (925) 942-3371, or visit the programs' website
Fee: $550 per course
Ensuring Effective Teaching for Every Classroom: Expanding Teacher Feedback
Increase your understanding of an alternative approach to supervision that de-emphasizes looking for and evaluating high-yield instructional strategies and emphasizes creating cultures in which:
* A common language of instruction is shared among teachers.
* All teachers are collaborating to use strategies effectively and creatively.
* Teachers are receiving feedback to help them increase their identified areas of teacher expertise.
Presented by Debra Pickering, Ph.D., this program is primarily directed to district superintendents, curriculum and instruction administrators, and site leaders.
Date and location: May 18, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.; Martinez Adult Education Center
For Info: Contact Eva Davis, CCCOE, at (925) 942-3392 or download an application  
Fee: $100 (Suggested teams of three or more attending)
PEAK Student Energy Actions Teacher Training
PEAK Student Energy Actions is an exciting standards-based program for 3rd -7th grades that teaches the science of energy and empowers students to become smart energy managers through hands-on lab and action activities.  As a PEAK teacher, you'll receive our curriculum, a toolkit with the materials to do our labs, and ongoing support
Dates and Locations: San Francisco; May 13; Oakland, May 18 and July 17; and San Bruno August 23
For info: Contact Leah Anderson at (866) 455-0715 or visit PEAK's website
Fee: Free - PEAK even pays for substitutes so that you can attend one of our in-service workshops
English Learner Support
Get Out and Stay Out of Program Improvement, is the title of this three-day institute that is designed to assist schools/districts that are in Title III and/or Title I Improvement to work smarter, not harder, and to ensure the success of all students, including English learners.  Presenter, Dennis Parker will teach attendees six proven strategies that will create a big enough gain to meet your school's AYP target.  Participants will also practice effective data driven dialogue with school and classroom data. 
Dates and location: June 28-30, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; CCCOE Stewart Building, Pleasant Hill
For info: Contact Elvia Telixeira at (925) 942-3357 or register online, at ed1stop
Fee: $295 per person, $250 per person of teams of 4+ from the same school
Resources / Contests
FreeRice.com
This Web site provides quizzes for kids on geography, math, science, vocabulary, and more.  What's intriguing is that for every correct answer, the site donates 20 grains of rice to the U.N. World Food Program.
Info:Visit FreeRice.com
Grief Support Summer Camp
Camp Erin is designate to help children and teens (ages 6-17) express their grief, build trust and self-esteem, and learn to cope with their loss through age-appropriate therapeutic activities, recreation, and relaxation at the beautiful 216-acre retreat.  The program is directed by Hospice by the Bay bereavement counselors and trained volunteers.
Date and locations: Weekend of August 13-15; CYO Retreat Center in Sonoma County
For Info: Contact Hospice by the Bay at (415) 526-5699 or download an application 
Fee: Free for Bay Area children
American Red Cross Leadership Development Center
The Leadership Development Center (LDC) is a four-day conference designed to empower youth (grades 9-12) to serve their communities through service learning and education.  Delegates attending LDC will be provided with learning experiences focused on leadership development, community involvement, and disaster preparedness. 
Date and locations: July 16-19; The YMCA Point Bonita Outdoor & Conference Center, Sausalito
For Info: Contact The American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter at (415) 427-8150
Fee: $215 (scholarships are available)
Grants / Scholarships
Eukel Teacher Trust
The Warren W. Eukel Teacher Trust Fund annually distributes three separate $10,000 grants to outstanding teachers.  The Trust will select nominees who exhibit extraordinary commitment of personal time and energy on behalf of their students.  Teachers can self-nominate, or be nominated by an administrator, colleague, or student.  The award may used in any manner the recipient wishes.
For info: Contact (925) 945-0200 or visit their website
Deadline: June 30
Upcoming Events / Field Trips
Museum Reception Celebrating Educators
Celebrating its re-opening, the Oakland Museum of California is inviting educators to a very special open house and reception.  This is an outstanding opportunity for attendees to experience the recently renovated museum and explore the new galleries of California Art and History.   The evening will include museum tours given by the staff, live music, refreshments, gallery talks and demonstrations, and hands-on creative arts activities. Teachers are also welcomed to bring family and friends to this event.
Date and Location: May 21, 4:00 - 8:00 p.m.; 1000 Oak St., Oakland
For info: Contact The Oakland Museum of California at 510-238-6942 or visit their website
Fee: Free
Constitution Day
A 2005 act of Congress states that all educational institutions receiving federal funding must observe September 17 as Constitution Day, which celebrates the 1787 signing of our founding document.  According to the guidelines put forth by the Department of Education, teachers and schools are free to design Constitution Day programming that best addresses the needs of their students.
Date: September 17
Info: Visit their website
Fee: Free
Career-Focused Summer Camps Looking for Teachers
The CCCOE and the Contra Costa Economic Partnership (along with numerous professional partners) will once again be producing two outstanding hands-on education career camps, offered to incoming high school juniors and seniors this summer.  The week-long camps are looking for teachers to support student learning.  Instructors will earn professional development hours and a small stipend for each camp, while also being exposed to a full range of industry experts.  The camps are scheduled for these dates: Construction and Engineering, June 21-25, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill and Biotechnology, July 26-30, CSUEB, Concord.
Info: Contact Louise Barbee, CCCOE, at (925) 942-3385 or visit the camp's website
John Muir Hospital Docent School Programs
Hospitals can be overwhelming places for young children and can create additional stress to any medical problems they may be experiencing.  To help young children feel more comfortable and informed about hospitals, John Muir Hospital Docents have created two one-hour classroom presentations for second- and forth-grade students: "Hospital Adventures" (second grade) and "Meet the Germs" (fourth grade).
Dates and location: Held year round; John Muir Hospital, Walnut Creek
For info: Contact Patti Sparks at (925) 939-3000, ext. 35208
Fee: Free
Countywide School Shelter-in-Place Drill 
Put this event on your school's calendar now!  Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) invites all schools to practice and improve their site emergency procedures for shelter-in-place by taking part in this 9th annual county-wide exercise.  Guidelines for this program will be sent out to all districts and school principals in September.  Schools can use the time for training, running brief drills, or conducting more detailed emergency exercises.
Date: Nov. 3, 2010, 11:00 a.m.
For info: Contact Lori McDonald (925) 313-9296 or visit CAER's website
26th Annual California Costal Cleanup Day
California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier volunteer event focused on the marine environment in the country.  In 2009, more than 80,600 volunteers worked together to collect more than 1,300,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes, and waterways. California Coastal Cleanup Day has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as "the largest garbage collection" (1993).  Since the program started in 1985, over 800,000 Californians have removed more than 14 million pounds of debris from our state's shorelines and coast.
Date and locations: September 25; various water sites
For info: Contact The California Coastal Commission at (800) COAST-4U or visit their website
 
DatelineLogo 
 
Published by the Contra Costa County Office of Education Communications Office
77 Santa Barbara Road, Pleasant Hill, California 94523
Joseph A. Ovick, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
Editor: Peggy Marshburn; Writer/Layout: Jonathan Lance, (925) 942-3429;
Diane Morrell, Designer; Tony Ellis, Web Developer
 
Dateline is distributed during the school year to all public schools in the county by the Communications Office. Information must be received by the first of the preceding month. Publication does not signify the Contra Costa County Office of Education endorses the event or program mentioned
.