Superintendent Gundry delivers first annual State of the COE address
 Superintendent Gundry kicked off a new tradition at the January 21 SCCOE Leadership Team meeting by delivering an inaugural State of the COE address. The speech touched on the office's recent accomplishments, challenges, and previewed upcoming projects and initiatives in 2016.
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Third annual Heart & Soles 5K supports healthy food options for students
(Please note: This article has been updated to include the corrected sum for the cost of each salad bar.)
122 salad bars were funded in 2014 and 2015 to help local K-12 students have healthy food choices in regional schools. However, there are still many students that don't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Studies show that kids who eat healthy meals have better educational outcomes and perform better on standardized tests, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that there is a 15% reduction in school absences when kids eat nutritious lunches.
In the last 30 years, the percentage of overweight or obese children in America has tripled, but increasing children's intake of fruits and vegetables will help address this epidemic. New federal nutrition standards have doubled the amount of fruits and vegetables required to be served in school lunches, and salad bars are a simple way for schools to comply, but each salad bar station costs $3,100.
Register today for the Heart & Soles 5K and support healthy options for all students. Proceeds from registration and sponsorships will provide salad bars to schools across the county that want them.
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Santa Clara County students named as finalists in Intel Science Talent Search
Five high school seniors from Santa Clara County have been selected as finalists in this year's Intel Science Talent Search, the nation's oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition. The following students will be honored in Washington, D.C. in March:
Karthik, Anjini
St. Francis High School, Mountain View, CA
Rapid and Selective Detection of Viruses Using Virus
Imprinted Polymer Films
Ma, Jonathan
The Harker School, San Jose, CA
Genomics-Based Cancer Drug Response Prediction through the Adaptive Elastic Net
Sayana, Anin
Bellarmine College Preparatory School, San Jose, CA
Accelerating Cancer Immunotherapy: Optimization of an EGFRvIII-based Cancer Vaccine via Computationally-Aided Analysis of Proteasome Processing for Improved Glioblastoma Prognosis
Srinivas, Pranav
Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, CA
Boolean Network Modeling for Systematic Identification of Deregulated Pathways and Anticancer Drug Resistance
Varma, Maya
Presentation High School, San Jose, CA
A Wireless Smartphone-Based System for Diagnosis of Pulmonary Illnesses
All five students are past or current participants of the Synopsys Championship, Santa Clara County's Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held this year on March 17 at the San Jose Convention Center.
"The standards set by the Synopsys Championship are helping students understand how to engage with
science authentically, and this is being recognized by the Intel Talent Search," said Sandi Yellenberg, Science Coordinator with the SCCOE. "This success is a testament to the excellent work of the students and teachers in our local schools."
The Intel Science Talent Search, a program of the Society for Science & the Public (SSP), encourages students to tackle difficult scientific questions and develop skills to help solve some of the world's greatest challenges. This year, 40 finalists will travel to Washington, D.C. in March to compete for $1,012,500 in awards, including the three top awards of $150,000 each.
Submissions were judged on the originality and creativity of their research projects, along with their academic achievement and leadership both inside and outside the classroom. Finalist projects are distributed among 15 categories, including behavioral science, biochemistry, bioengineering, bioinformatics, chemistry, computer science, earth science, engineering, environmental science, materials science, mathematics, medicine, microbiology, physics, and space science. View a full list of this year's finalists to learn more about their individual research projects.
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Asian American & Pacific Islander Educators Meeting, Feb. 10
The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) will host the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Educators Network Meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
With the goal of providing professional networking opportunities for AAPI educators, the meeting will focus on family mental health issues in the AAPI community and best practices for supporting the teacher and administrator pipeline.
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Updates from the County Board of Education
Here's a summary of actions taken by the Board at its recent meetings.
Jan. 13:
- Recognized Employee of the Month, Kelly Brewer from Purchasing Services;
- Held a public hearing for a proposed Legacy Academy charter school site; and
- Announced trustee appointments to board subcommittees.
Jan. 20:
- Held public hearings on the charter petition renewals of ACE Empower Academy and Downtown College Prep Alum Rock;
- Heard updates on the Strong Strong Start early learning initiative and the Alternative Education Department's WASC visitation; and
- Held a public hearing on the use of Educator Effectiveness Funds for professional development, coaching, and support services for educators.
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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9th Annual Migrant Education Parent Conference showcases holistic approach to student
success
 The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) hosted more than 500 migrant students and families from six cou nties Saturday, January 23 at the 9th Annual Migrant Education Program Regional 2016 Parent Conference.
"Our Migrant Education Program's Parent Conference is a rare opportunity for parents and students to learn side by side about successfully navigating the public school and college admissions system," said County Superintendent of Schools Jon Gundry. "I am proud that our office is offering this valuable resource for a ninth year as part of our commitment to success for all students."
The SCCOE's Migrant Ed. program serves families in Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, and the Parent Conference has grown to be one of the largest such events in the state. The event is designed to highlight the many ways in which parents can advocate for their children and create a "college-going" culture at home.
Session topics included the legal rights of undocumented students, how to stand out in the college admissions process, demystifying the special education system, and how to recognize signs of mental illness in children.
Event organizers placed a special emphasis on helping families build relationships with local community organizations and empowering parents to take advantage of their services throughout the year. Nine partner organizations from the education, behavioral health, social service and law enforcement sectors participated in the Parent Conference, connecting families with the tools to support their children academic, emotional and physical well-being.
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Future attorneys strut their stuff at the Mock Trial Invitational
The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) jump started the Mock Trial competition season by hosting more than 24 high schools from across 15 California counties during a Mock Trial Invitational on Saturday, January 16.
"This annual competition is a unique opportunity for high school students to learn how to prepare and present a legal case before the court," said Melissa Christie, Director of Curriculum & Instruction.
Each team performed two trials, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, allowing students to practice as both the prosecution and defense. The Invitational allows participants to practice their trial statements, arguments and examinations against teams outside of their respective county, and receive feedback from experienced attorney judges. The teams will then go on to perform in a bracket-like competition throughout the month of February until one team, the county champion, is selected to go on to the State Finals March 18-19. Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Jon Gundry will recognize county winners and participating teams during a ceremony on March 10.
"We are thrilled to be able to provide this experience to so many young citizen scholars," Christie added. "Students who participate in Mock Trial engage in authentic learning experiences that lead to essential life skills."
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SCCOE co-hosts student-teacher digital media conference
Building a successful foundation for students to become the next generation of creative entrepreneurs was the focus of an all-day digital media conference on January 14. The event, organized by the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) and co-hosted with
SVCreates (formerly Adobe Youth Voices) and The Studio, brought together 95 high school students from the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education Center, Mount Pleasant, Overfelt and Independence high schools with 10 local digital artists at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose.
"The expert panelists were strategically chosen to be young, hip professionals with diverse backgrounds that can relate well to our youth," said Jeff Schmidt, Career Technical Education Coordinator at the SCCOE. "We wanted students, particularly those that might be from lower socio-economic areas, to see themselves as being successful from a young age and media arts provides all students a chance to tell their story."
The day kicked off with a keynote presentation by Nick Maher, a San Francisco and Los Angeles based cinematographer and photographer, and continued with two break-out sessions covering topics including computer coding to develop user-friendly design interfaces for websites and Apps, videography and photography. While the students were busy learning in their workshops, professional development was provided to teachers in the areas of professional learning communities (PLC), and how to assess creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.
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SCCOE gearing up for CDE Global Education Summit
 The Super Bowl isn't the only big event coming to town in February. The Santa Clara County Office of Education will be the home of the California Global Education Summit hosted by the California Department of Education (CDE) on February 11, 2016.
The summit will bring together educators, institutes of higher education, policy makers, community leaders, and business partners to investigate the status of efforts that are promoting global education in California and to develop an action plan with recommendations for expanding and improving our students' global competencies statewide. Over 150 leaders from throughout California will be attending this event, including Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Superintendent Gundry will provide a welcome and Dr. Yee Wan, Director of Multilingual Education Services, will serve as a moderator for a panel discussion on the statewide Seal of Biliteracy program. The event will also feature additional special guests and announcements. For more information, visit the California Global Education Network.
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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 SCCOE 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 SCCOE is committed to serving, inspiring and promoting student and public school success.
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