Issue: #65                                                     		January
 2016
In This Issue
Governor's Budget
Suicide Prevention
Preliminary Admin Credential
Safe Routes to School
LearnStorm
Stem Conference
EdCamp
We're on Facebook
Featured Article
Theresa Vallez-Kelly takes over as Coordinator of Safe Routes to School
Governor's Budget Proposal Gives 
Increase to K-12 Education
 

Governor Jerry Brown's budget proposal, released on January 7, 2016, reveals mostly good news for California public schools. While the state continues to do well, thanks to a booming economy, the Governor remains cautious, warning of the possibility of another recession in the future, and the need to be conservative with state funding while avoiding any proposals for new programs that would incur ongoing expenses.

The proposal includes a 5.6 percent increase in ongoing spending for K-12 education, which translates to an additional $500 in per pupil spending, and adds $2 billion to the state's rainy day fund.  Most of the new money for K-12 education would go to the Local Control Funding Formula.

As part of overall education funding, the budget proposal includes $3.2 billion for Early Education Programs, of which $1.6 billion would consolidate resources into the Early Education Block Grant targeted to low-income children, and flexibility for current state funding for transitional kindergarten and preschool.  This is a significant policy proposal, and would be a substantial change to the established programs currently administered by the California Department of Education.

An additional $1.2 billion in one-time funding would go to school districts as local discretionary funding, which could be used for such things as technology, implementation of content standards, deferred maintenance and new teacher induction programs.

In general the proposal has little effect on County Offices of Education, which are held harmless with funding under Prop. 98. However, the San Mateo County Office of Education remains at the same level of funding it had in the 2012-13 school year, so its spending power is diminished due to rising costs.

"The Governor continues to support education and provide funding to implement the LCFF,"notes Denise Porterfield, Deputy Superintendent at SMCOE. "He is preparing for a downturn and reminding us not to add to ongoing spending."

The Governor noted in his press conference that he is not in favor of two initiatives in their current form that could have important implications for California schools--a proposal that would  extend Proposition 30's tax on wealthy taxpayers for another 12 years and a $9 billion school construction bond.  

Proposition 30, a temporary tax due to expire in two years, has provided K-12 education with significant funding. Without Prop. 30 money, school revenues are expected to flatten in two years, at the same time that school districts face an additional $2 billion per year in added pension costs for teachers and administrators within the next four years.  The current draft of the Prop. 30 extension is now awaiting approval from the state Attorney General's office to begin collecting signatures in order to place it on the November ballot.

The budget proposal now goes to the state legislature for further negotiation, and will be revised in May based on updated state revenues.

 
 

Sequoia District Educates Staff 
About Suicide Prevention

 
A packed room of crisis response team members, administrators, counselors, teachers, nurses, community agency staff, parents and community members gathered at the Sequoia Union High School District office on January 4, 2016 for a full day of professional development and learning about teen mental health, depression and suicide prevention. The goal was for staff and others to learn the signs of depression and warning signs for suicide, and to take concrete tools back to their school sites and the community.

The day was lead by Dr. Karen Li, SUHSD Wellness Coordinator, and professionals from Palo Alto who have
Dr. Shashank Joshi was the featured speaker at the SUHSD suicide prevention training.
addressed this issue in their school community, which has experienced a cluster of teen suicides in recent years. Lead presenter was Dr. Shashank Joshi, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Education at Stanford University and Director of School Mental Health Services at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

The morning session focused on recognizing the signs of depression, reducing the stigma around mental illness, and highlighted best practices for addressing depression and getting students the help they need. In the afternoon participants learned about the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Toolkit  that the Palo Alto School District has developed and the work that has begun to develop a San Mateo County Toolkit.

Dr. Joshi began the day by citing some alarming statistics about teen depression and suicide--more than 800,000 teens in the U.S. suffer from depression (about 20 percent of teens) and 60 to 80 percent go undiagnosed. One in 50 American teens (2 percent of teens) will attempt suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people, but it is preventable.

He then described some of the most common symptoms of depression: extreme irritability, significant weight gain or loss, sleeping too much or too little, decreased interest in activities, difficulty concentrating. Symptoms in the classroom to be on the lookout for include not completing assignments, excessive crying, withdrawal and persistent expression of boredom.

Dr. Joshi called on school staff members to be "the gatekeepers--the ones to watch over our youth." He urged attendees to become the "trusted adults" that teens suffering from depression can turn to when they need help. Teens, he said, need the support of parents, doctors, therapists, teachers and staff.

Attendees watched and discussed the powerful documentary, "Break Free from Depression," the story of a diverse group of teens, all of whom suffered from depression and were able to get help to address their illness. The film is part of a four-module curriculum on mental health, developed by Boston Children's Hospital, that  can be effectively used in the classroom.
 

 
 

SMCOE Offers Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (Tier 1) Program 
 

Beginning this February, teacher leaders will have the opportunity to earn a Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (Tier 1)  through a program at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE). This is the first time SMCOE is offering this California Teacher Credential Approved (CTC) program, designed for teachers considering taking the next step toward becoming an administrator.

For many years, SMCOE has provided coaching for teachers, embedded professional development, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program (BTSA), a coaches network and
(l. to r): Ching-Pei Hu, Lori Musso, Cheryl Agrawal.  (Heidi Joyner not pictured) will lead the training at SMCOE for the Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (Tier 1).
the Tier 2 Clear Administrative Credential for principals, but up until now there's been a missing piece for teachers in between being a coach and a full-fledged administrator, says Lori Musso, Administrator, Curriculum and Instruction Services at SMCOE. The Tier 1 credential will fill that gap.

"A lot of teachers are interested but not quite ready to jump into being a principal," adds Musso. "By completing  this credential program they will know what they are getting into--they'll learn the nitty gritty of running a school, governance, working with a school board and understanding the bigger picture of representing the school in the larger community. If they decide to become an administrator, they'll go into that position with their eyes wide open."

The first cohort of 32 teachers will begin in February, taking courses at night and online, and then for a week during the day in August, doing field work at school sites or the district office, working with an advisor, and showing proficiency in content expectations. By next February, once they complete the program, these teachers will be equipped to apply for administrative positions for the following school year.

"It's a huge undertaking for us and for the teachers, but we are very excited to offer this program here at SMCOE, and districts have expressed the need for this valuable service," says Musso. The theme of equity will run through the coursework--teachers will consider what it takes for every student to learn no matter what their background, where they live or what language they speak.

The bulk of the coursework will be taught by SMCOE staff. Guest instructors will include superintendents, chief business officials and human resources administrators. All the instructors will be practicing or veteran administrators, so the teachers will learn what it's like right now in the field.
To learn more about the Tier 1 Preliminary Administrative Services Credential Program at SMCOE, check here.


Vallez-Kelly Takes the Helm of 
Safe Routes to School
 

For Theresa Vallez-Kelly, becoming the Coordinator of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE), brings together her many skills, years of experience and personal interests in education, community health, and leadership. Most recently the program director for student leadership and student activities at Notre Dame High School in Belmont (where she worked for 20 years), Vallez-Kelly has also taught in public middle and elementary schools, and worked for two nonprofits.

While she was at Notre Dame,
Theresa Vallez-Kelly has hit the ground running as Coordinator of Safe Routes to School.
she also earned a Master's in Public Health with an emphasis in community health and education at San Jose State University and a Master's in Organizational Leadership and an Administrative Credential at the University of San Francisco. In pursuing these degrees, she was seeking a new challenge, even though she loved her job at Notre Dame. So when she saw the posting for the SRTS coordinator, she knew it would be a good fit.

"For me, pedestrian safety and education became more of a personal interest when a former student at Notre Dame was hit and killed by a car when she was crossing the street during her sophomore year of college," notes Vallez-Kelly. "It was completely preventable and I think about her a lot."

Since assuming the Coordinator position in December, Vallez-Kelly has been spending time meeting with the SRTS coordinators throughout the county, at schools, school districts and cities. There are currently 15 grantees who have received more than $600,000 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the City/County Association of Governments (CCAG) for SRTS projects this year. 
 
The goal of SRTS is to encourage children to walk, bicycle, carpool, and utilize transit as means of getting to school. Grants help with the implementation of projects and activities that decrease traffic congestion around school sites, reduce school-related travel emissions, and improve the health, well-being, and safety of student participants.

On February 4, 2016, Vallez-Kelly will bring together all the SRTS coordinators at a meeting at SMCOE to share ideas and engage with community partners and vendors including the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, YBike, the Alliance for Climate Education, Safe Moves and Wheel Kids, around ideas for activities in celebration of Earth Day in April and Bike to School Day in May.

In her spare time, Vallez-Kelly is a runner--she says "just for fun, not hard core,"--and loves to read. With her husband and 13-year-old son, she is an avid "road-tripper." In past summers they've taken to the road and visited sites and family in Missouri, Minnesota and eastern Tennessee. 



Khan Academy LearnStorm Celebrates Student Grit and Perseverance 
 


For the second year in a row, Khan Academy is sponsoring LearnStorm, a math challenge for Bay Area students in grades 3 through 12. It's a contest that rewards not only mastery in math but also grit and perseverance.

Last year's contest was a grand success with 70,000 students participating and completing 13 million problems.
In the LearnStorm math contest, students earn points for mastery and perseverance.
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) is promoting this math challenge, which kicks off on January 29, 2016 and runs through April 1, 2016, through its website, email blasts, and the Region 4 Math Group. "By participating, students get excited about math and build their confidence in math skills," says LaRita Williams, Mathematics Coordinator at SMCOE.

Students can sign up individually or through school leaderboards on the LearnStorm website. They can earn points for themselves and for their school. Teachers who sign up their classes are at liberty to decide how to use Khan Academy to supplement instruction: they can direct students to certain skills to work on independently or have groups of students work on skills in breakout sessions.  Since Khan Academy is web-based, students can work on LearnStorm from anywhere-- at home, at school, in the computer lab or at a library.

At the end of the contest, students who have won points for mastery and perseverance will have the opportunity to win prizes and participate in a mass math-athon celebration in mid-April.

For more information about LearnStorm, check the website and watch this video.
 
 
 



STEM Conference Coming to SMCOE
 

More than 150 energetic PreK-12 science and math teachers from San Mateo County are expected to attend the 40th annual STEM conference on February 6, 2016 at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE).

Participants will have the opportunity to choose from more than 30 workshops during three different sessions, all led by local science and education leaders. A sampling of the science lab many workshops, most of which are Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned, include "Predicting the Future of Our Local Endangered Species," "Effective Science Lessons Made Easy," "Math through Music," and "Buoyancy and Floating Clay Boats."

In addition teachers can network with fellow STEM colleagues and connect with local commercial and nonprofit exhibitors including the Marine Science Institute, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, RecycleWorks, IISME, RAFT and National University for this content-packed morning of sharing and learning. 

Sponsored by the Council of Math/Science Educators of San Mateo County (CMSESMC) and the STEM Center at SMCOE, this conference attracts veteran teachers who return year after year, as well as teacher trainees in credential programs at local universities. Teachers can earn one Continuing Education Unit (CEU) through St. Mary's College for attending and writing a reflection/critique of the sessions attended.

General registration is $40 in advance and $45 on site with discounts available for preschool and student teachers.  You can register online or learn more about the conference and see a list of workshops here.

 
 



EdCamp Silicon Valley Brings Teachers Together for "Unconference"
 

Described as an "unconference for educators," EdCamp Silicon Valley will bring teachers together from all over the Bay Area at Palo Alto High School for a day of inspiration and sharing ideas on Saturday, February 27, 2016.

Unlike traditional conferences for teachers which have schedules set months in advance by the people running
Teachers share ideas and ham it up at the EdCamp "unconference."
the conference, Edcamp's agenda is created by the participants at the start of the event. Teachers will gather in the Media Arts Center and write on post-its topics that they'd like to learn about and/or discuss. 

These topics will then be culled and projected on a screen for all to see. Participants can then go to breakout rooms for the topics that interest them. No one person will present on a topic but rather the sessions will be devoted to discussion and hands-on participation.

This is the third year that EdCamp is being held in Silicon Valley. The EdCamp concept began in Philadelphia in 2010 and has grown into a multi-city and country movement with its own foundation and website and more than 100 EdCamps held each year. 

The "unconference" is organized by teachers, and the local committee this year includes Stacey Tachiki, a special education teacher at the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE), and Joe Young, a teacher in Palo Alto, both of whom served on the ECET Bay Area conference planning committee at SMCOE last fall.

Young expects topics of interest this year might include flipped and blended learning, using social media in the classroom, changing up learning spaces, STEAM topics and navigating classroom management. "The conversations are organic," notes Young. "It's like a staff lounge without the venting, with lots of people learning about what they're interested in."

The conference runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with an after-party at Antonio's Nut House at 3:30 p.m. There is no fee to attend but educators are requested to register online.

To help spread the word, download the flyer. 
 
 
 

 
Check Us Out on Facebook

   
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) now has a page on Facebook. We'll be providing frequent updfacebook logoates on SMCOE events and education news of interest, adding groups of interest, and linking to other education organizations. Check us out and "like" us today on Facebook!  
  
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About the San Mateo County Office of Education
  
The San Mateo County Office of Education provides a variety of instructional, business and consulting services to the County's 23 public school districts, charter schools, the Community College District and County Office of Education staff. 
  
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