Board recognizes Head Start's tradition of excellence
On Wednesday, April 9, the Santa Clara County Board of Education honored the County Office of Education's Head Start program for 100-percent compliance in their triennial federal review, conducted by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
 During a special recognition, Celebrating Head Start: A Tradition of Excellence for Children and Families, staff, parents, school district administrators and community partners were recognized for their individual contributions to the successful ACF review. Because of the exceptional support of these partners and the entire Head Start team, including Director Ana Trujillo, the County Office of Education has been able to provide consistent, high-quality early learning services to children for many years.
 The Board of Education was also recognized by Interim County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary Ann Dewan for its long tradition of support for Head Start. Among other things, she cited the Board's unanimous vote last May to lessen the impact of federal sequestration cuts on the program by allocating $1.27 million in general fund revenues to avoid teacher layoffs and a reduction in days of school site operation.
The SCCOE receives federal funds to provide Head Start services to more than 2,000 preschool-age children in Santa Clara and San Benito counties. Head Start sites are located in most cities in the two-county area, including San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, Mountain View, Milpitas, Gilroy and Hollister.
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SCCOE hosts Regional Migrant Parent Conference
The SCCOE's Migrant Education department will host the 7th annual Regional Migrant Parent Conference on Saturday, May 17.
 Designed to promote parent engagement, the conference encourages families to become actively involved in their children's educational needs throughout the year and seeks to improve communication between spouses and families as a whole.
This year's conference theme is "Todos Unidos Hacia el Exito," or "Together We Will Succeed," and Consuelo Kickbush will serve as the keynote speaker. Kickbusch overcame poverty, discrimination and illiteracy to found Educational Achievement Services, an organization geared towards preparing the leaders of tomorrow.
"Our hope is that the conference will bring families closer together and create leaders in the community, by empowering parents to work more with schools and their children," said Veronica Ramos, Director of Migrant Education.
More than 300 migrant parents are expected to attend the conference.
For more information or to register, contact Norma Flores at (408) 453-6507.
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Board initiates search for new superintendent
Here's a summary of actions taken by the Board at its April 9, 15 and 23 meetings:
- Began the process of selecting a new superintendent to head the SCCOE by forming a search committee consisting of members of the community and staff;
- held a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) workshop to discuss the SCCOE's programs and how the organization will develop its own LCAP;
- recognized Kim Boverio, Early Learning Services Specialist as Employee of the Month for April;
- and held a special recognition for the SCCOE Volunteers of the Year, participants from the San Andreas Regional Center (SARC) Foster Grandparent Program who have assisted children in SCCOE classrooms.
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.
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Mayoral forum will focus on San Jose's educational needs
 The Santa Clara County Board of Education (SCCBOE) will cosponsor the San Jose Mayoral Candidates Forum on Education on Saturday, May 10 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Pavilion, located at 1700 Alum Rock Avenue in San Jose, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Moderated by Dr. Terry Christensen, Professor Emeritus at San Jose State University, the forum will address the educational needs of children and families across the city.
"As an integral part of our goal to improve student equity while providing every student with a high quality seat at the educational table, we are excited about providing the community with this mayoral educational forum," said Leon Beauchman, SCCBOE President.
"This forum will provide voters an opportunity to hear where these candidates stand on the most important issue of our day, the results and quality of our publicly-funded schools for all of our children," said SCCBOE Trustee Joseph Di Salvo.
All candidates in the San Jose Mayoral race have been invited to participate; County Supervisor Dave Cortese, City Councilmember Rose Herrera, City Councilmember Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and City Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio.
The candidates forum is cosponsored by Educate Our State, People Acting in Community Together (PACT) and Working Partnerships USA.
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SJ Rotary breaks ground on PlayGarden for children of all abilities
 Last week, the San Jose Rotary Club broke ground on their Centennial Legacy Project, a PlayGarden where children and adults of all abilities will be able to play side-by-side.
Santa Clara County Board of Education (SCCBOE) Vice President Darcie Greena and trustee Joseph Di Salvo represented the SCCOE at the April 17 groundbreaking ceremony.
 At its March 19 meeting, the SCCBOE voted to approve a donation of $600,000 for construction of the PlayGarden. The $6 million project will turn 4 acres of the Guadalupe River Park into a colorful playground that will be accessible to children and adults in wheelchairs or with other special needs.
The SCCOE's Student Services branch will be able to utilize the PlayGarden as a support to its regular student programming. It is estimated that approximately 100 students per year will visit the PlayGarden for workability training, science activities and to work on Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals.
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Since 1852, the Santa Clara County Office of Education has provided vital services and resources to the county's 32 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.
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