Dateline Masthead
Contra Costa County Office of EducationSeptember  2014
In this issue
The Second Annual California STEM Conference
3rd Annual...Distinguished Speaker Series
2014 San Francisco Bay Area Common Core State Standards Summit
Empowering Educators
Leading Edge Certification for the Administrator
Leading Edge Certification for Online and Blended Teacher
5th Annual San Francisco Bay Area STEAM Colloquium
MyVote
10th Annual Shelter-in-Place Day
30th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day
The California ShakeOut
2014 Dow Community Grants Program
The Lowe's Toolbox for Education Grants
Constitution Day
Driver Safety Education Class
The American Association for the Advancement of Science
YouSTEM
Basic Legal Research Skills
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
Welcome to Dateline!
 
Greetings!

 

Welcome to the September 2014 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 in joining our mailing list (click here, or the link button at the left column). 

Professional Development / Opportunities

The Second Annual California STEM Conference 

2014-2015 Annual Distinguished Speaker Series

 - The Best Practices in Teaching Leadership

The Best Practices in Teaching Leadership Saturday seminar series provides a broad range of opportunities for professional educators to learn research-based techniques and strategies from local and national professionals. Keynote and breakout sessions cover a variety of topics and grade levels, and provide practical and purposeful tools for both general and special educators to improve teaching practice. Networking opportunities with educators from other schools and districts are another key benefit. The program meets BTSA Induction professional development requirement. Graduate academic credit or continuing education units may also be earned. 

Dates and location: October 25, November 15, January 31, February 28, March 21, and May 2, all seminars are held 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; 

Saint Mary's College, Moraga

For info: Contact Jeannie Harberson at 925-631-4836, or visit their

website

Fee: $275 for entire series; $65 for individual sessions 

(academic credit available)

2014 San Francisco Bay Area Common Core State Standards Summit

Strengthening The Core

The Contra Costa County Office of Education is excited to host the 3rd annual San Francisco Bay Area Common Core State Standards Summit. Featured and keynote speakers include: Dr. Karin Hess, Senior Associate, The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment; Dr. Lily Wong-Fillmore, Professor Emerita, University of California, Berkeley; and Sarah Brown Wessling, Teacher Laureate, The Teaching Channel.

Dates and location: October 28-29; The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Concord

Fee:Early Bird Registration before September 19, $150 per participant; after September 19, $185 per participant
For info: Contact Sharon Marks at (925) 942-3356 or vist the Summit's registration page

Empowering Educators

Empowering Educators is a teacher-training program designed for educators who work with at-risk students who fall within the gaps of our schools and our communities. Join a cohort or attend public workshops focused on supporting educators in creating classroom cultures that help everyone to thrive!

For info: Visit their website

Fee: Free

Leading Edge Certification for the Administrator


Do you want to enhance your digital leadership skills? Are you interested in supporting students and staff in developing 21st Century college and career readiness? Are you ready to be a transformative leader? Leading Edge Certification for the Administrator focuses on site, district, and regional leaders and is based upon the National Education Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS). Participants will learn how to effectively unitize technology tools, resources, and innovative solutions to advance student achievement, foster educator productivity, and extend learning opportunities for all. Upon successful completion, the certification will give schools, districts, and other prospective employers assurance that Leading Edge Certified administrators have the skills to effectively lead schools through the 21st Century and provide visionary leadership among all stakeholders of their organization. 

Dates: Two 8 week cohorts will be offered beginning October 6 and February 23 (Includes one synchronous meeting on the first day and 45-60 hours online training)

For info: Contact Eileen C. Walters at (925) 942-3435, or visit the program's website

Fee: $750, includes course, as well as portfolio review and certification

Leading Edge Certification for Online and Blended Teacher

Are you interested in teaching online, but unsure where to start, or are you already teaching online and want to enhance your skills? The Leading Edge Alliance and a group of county offices of education, nonprofits, universities, and governmental bodies have developed a certification program for K-12 teachers. The certification is a national program to prepare instructional leaders for online learning. Content includes building community, moderating discussions, supporting diverse learners, and implementing frequent formative assessments.

Dates: Three eight-week cohorts will be offered beginning September 22, January 26, and April 20, (One synchronous meeting on the first day and 45-60 hours online training)

For info: Contact Eileen C. Walters at (925) 942-3435, or visit the program's website

Fee: $450, includes course, as well as portfolio review and certification

5th Annual San Francisco Bay Area STEAM Colloquium 

CALENDAR IT NOW! 

Presented by the CCCOE, the STEAM Colloquium is a forum to discuss and share best practices in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) education. This event brings together numerous K-12 educators, administrators, professionals, legislative policy makers, college and university educators, community organizations, and businesses to present and discuss how to advance STEAM education into our classrooms.

Date and location: January 30, 2015, San Ramon Conference Center, San Ramon 

For info: Stay tuned to the STEAM Colloquium Web page, and watch updates on Twitter: #STEAMCOLLOQ

Upcoming Events / Field Trips

MyVote 

To encourage students to become active voters once they are old enough to cast a ballot, this program is inviting high school and middle school students, teachers and principals to participate in the MyVote California Student Mock Election. Working with the California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and the Constitutional Rights Foundation, in coordination with the MyVoice National Student Mock Election, the Student Mock Election will stir students' interest in voting by tapping into the excitement of the campaign season. As students learn about the candidates and issues, they discover how government and politics affect every part of their lives. They gain firsthand knowledge of how citizens make their voice heard in our democracy, and experience the power of their votes when they are joined by thousands of California students and millions more across the United States who will vote in student mock elections this year.

For info: Contact MyVote at (916) 651-3070 or visit their website
DateOctober 28, (Just one week before California's November 4 General Election)
Fee: Free

10th Annual Shelter-in-Place Day

Put this date on your calendar today! 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 10th annual county-wide exercise. Guidelines for this program will be sent out to all districts and school principals later this summer (reminder post cards have recently been mailed out). Schools can use the time for training, running brief drills, or conducting more detailed emergency exercises.

Date: November 5, 11:00 a.m.

For info: Contact Lori McDonald at (925) 313-9296 or visit the CAER website 

30th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day

California Coastal Cleanup Day, an annual beach and inland waterway cleanup, is the state's largest volunteer event. In 2012, over 65,544 volunteers removed more than 769,607 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes, and waterways. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events in the world.  

Date and locations: September 20, 9:00 a.m.-noon; various water sites

For info: Contact The California Coastal Commission at (800) COAST-4U or visit the event's Web page 

The California ShakeOut

The California ShakeOut drill is held annually on the third Thursday of October each year. (Other states are also holding ShakeOut drills.)  More than 9.6 million Californians participated in 2013, practicing Drop, Cover, and Hold On, as well as other aspects of family, school, and organizational emergency plans.

Date and location: October 16, 10:17 a.m.; throughout the state of California

For info: Visit their website 

Grants / Scholarships
2014 Dow Community Grants Program

The Dow Community Advisory Panel (CAP) Grant Program is now accepting applications. Dow values the opportunity to provide charitable giving to communities in Eastern Contra Costa County a total of $30,000 to support eligible non-profit organizations, schools, municipalities, or county governmental agencies and departments. As a valued community member, the Dow CAP invites you to submit grant proposals for specific projects between $2,500 and $5,000, depending on the scope of the project

For info: Visit their website

Deadline: September 19  

The Lowe's Toolbox for Education Grants

The Lowe's Toolbox for Education Grants (up to $5,000 per school) are now accepting their fall-cycle applications. These funding requests should have a permanent school-site impact, such as facility enhancement (both indoor and outdoor), as well as landscaping and/or clean-up type projects. Projects that encourage parent involvement and build stronger community spirit will be favored.

For info: Visit Lowe's Toolbox for Education website

Deadline: The fall 2014 application grant cycle closes October 15

Resources / Contests

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 (This will be the 227th anniversary of our nation's founding document.)

For info: Visit their website

Driver Safety Education Class

The California Highway Patrol, Contra Costa Office conducts a two-hour driver safety education class called Start Smart, which targets new and future licensed teenage drivers 15 through 20 years of age and their parents or legal guardians. 

For info: Contact the California Highway Patrol, Contra Costa Office at 925-646-4980 or visit their office in person at 5001 Blum Road, Martinez. You can also follow this program on Facebook and Twitter.    

Fee: Free

The American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) website lets users create and administer online tests to their students and then compare their students' performance to national norms. You can assemble tests by selecting questions from more than 700 items that have been developed by AAAS Project 2061 to measure what students know in 16 key science topics. 

YouSTEM

YouSTEM is a free web resource for K-12 students to find out about local STEM Programs. From lectures to internships, the site lists opportunities for students to explore different areas of interest. 

Basic Legal Research Skills

Law librarians from the Contra Costa Law Library continue to offer a Power Point presentation in county high schools' computer labs about the Law Library and its online legal resources. After the presentation, students will be able to log on to do legal research assignments, e.g., how to find legal information on curfews, driving laws, emancipation, and others. The research section of the program will conclude with a class discussion about their search results.  

For info: Contact: Contra Costa County Public Law Library Director

Carey Rowan at (925) 646-2783 

Fee: Free

PBS LearningMedia™
PBS LearningMedia™ is the go-to destination for instant access to tens of thousands of classroom-ready, digital resources including videos, games, audio clips, photos, lesson plans, and more! You can search, save, and share with ease. 

For info: Visit their website

Fee: Free

The Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society

The Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society will gladly organize an astronomy night for your school, youth group, or community organization. Their members volunteer their time and their telescopes to bring the universe to you. They also provide knowledgeable speakers and activities on various astronomy topics, either in a classroom or in a meeting setting.

Fee: Free

For info: Contact the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society or visit their website

Lindsay Wildlife Museum's Educators' Resource Fair
Learn more about Lindsay Wildlife Museum's school programs and other workshops at the Free Educators' Resource Fair. Enjoy food and wine while you explore the museum and meet other organizations that offer educational resources. Bring your calendar to book a field trip of schedule a program.
Date and location: September 30, 3:30 - 6:00 pm.: Lindsay Wildlife Museum (No reservations are needed) 

For info: Contact Melissa Strongman at 925-627-2914

Fee: Free

CCCOE Logo

Published by the Contra Costa County Office of Education Communications Office
77 Santa Barbara Road, Pleasant Hill, California 94523
Follow us on Twitter: @cocoschools 
Joseph A. Ovick, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
Editor: Peggy Marshburn; Writer/Layout: Jonathan Lance, (925) 942-3429;
Diane Morrell, Designer; June Stephens, 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.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Lance
CCCOE