Education Bulletin - September 2013

Educare campaign raises $11 million

On Sept. 17, the Santa Clara County Office of Education and its community partners announced that just over $11 million has been raised to fund Educare of California at Silicon Valley's (ECSV) state-of-the-art early learning facility in San Jose.

First announced in 2011, ECSV has launched a capital campaign to raise the remaining $3 million needed to construct the building.

California's first Educare School will be co-located with Santee Elementary School in the Franklin-McKinley School District, and will serve children in Santa Clara County using a renowned model for early education that is closely aligned with several SCCOE initiatives.

A signature component of ECSV will be its Professional Development Institute, providing high quality training to early education providers and K-8 teachers throughout the Bay Area and northern California. The institute will also partner with the region's colleges and universities to guarantee that educators are bringing the latest evidence-based teaching practices back to their own schools and classrooms.

ECSV will focus on improving the quality of care for children from birth to age five, while ensuring that all children are ready to enter kindergarten.

Partners in ECSV include the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, First 5 Santa Clara County, Franklin-McKinley School District, East Side Union High School District and the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

Educare is a national network of full-day, year-round schools that serve at-risk children by providing the highest quality programming and instructional support that develops early skills and creates a solid foundation for lifelong learning.

Board holds public hearing on Alpha charter petition

Here's a summary of actions taken by the Board at its Sept. 4 and 18 meetings:

Held a public hearing on a petition by Alpha Charter School to open a middle school in the Alum Rock Union School District
Recognized Migrant Education manager Gerry Lopez as Employee of the Month for September
Recognized Heather Bass as the SCCOE Teacher of the Year and Jessica Lura as the SCCOE charter school Teacher of the Year
Adopted a resolution in observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month

The Board of Education is the elected governing body of the SCCOE. Its seven members serve four-year terms and are elected by different regions of the county. Learn more about the members, and view their meeting schedule, agendas and minutes.

In This Issue

Educare launches capital campaign

Board actions in September

Young artists honored at annual showcase

Eliminating the Achievement Gap symposium

Young Artists Showcase highlights student works of art

Shining a light on student creativity, the SCCOE recognized 50 students for their incredible artistic talents at the 17th annual Young Artists Showcase earlier this month.

Coordinated by the SCCOE's Visual and Performing Arts team, the showcase offers recognition and praise to budding artists across the county.

Adding to the SCCOE's already impressive permanent gallery of student artwork, art submitted by students from 15 school districts will now hang at the SCCOE's Ridder Park office and Happy Hollow Park and Zoo.

A panel of 17 judges selected the winning pieces from more than 350 submissions this year.

In honor of the occasion, student artists and their families were treated to a gallery of their artwork, pictures with the Superintendent and a ceremony in their honor. Executive Director of the Happy Hollow Foundation Heather Lerner gave the keynote address for the event.

"The event improves each year, this year being the best I've seen so far," said Suzanne Oehler, Artspiration Advocacy & Communications Team Coordinator.

The COE's student art gallery of more than 900 paintings, drawings and collages is believed to be California's largest collection of permanent artwork from public school students.

View photos from the event here.

SJ/SV2020 symposium focuses on key drivers of student success

On Sept. 25, the Santa Clara County Office of Education and several of its community partners will host an action-oriented symposium for district leaders working to eliminate the achievement gap in schools across the county.

Part of the SJ/SV2020 initiative, Eliminating the Achievement Gap: What We Can Learn from World Class, High-Performing School Systems will focus on the six core drivers of student success that the world's highest performing school systems share. Structured around a study by Battelle for Kids, the symposium will look closely at these six key drivers and provide district teams with the tools and best practices necessary to implement these drivers and translate them into increased student success in Santa Clara County.

The six drivers are: early learning; personalization and pathways for student success; teacher selectivity, quality and growth; focus on learning; education linked to economic development; and cultural expectation of value. Several keynote speakers will address the symposium participants, while breakout sessions on each of the six drivers identified in the Batelle study will take place throughout the day. Click here for the full agenda.

Since 1852, the Santa Clara County Office of Education has provided vital services and resources to the county's 31 K-12 public school districts and more than 250,000 students. The COE strives to provide advocacy and leadership on education issues, student programs that are models of excellence and indispensable services to schools and community partners. The COE is commited to serving, inspiring and promoting student and public school success.