RISING TO THE CHALLENGE In this difficult time, LACOE remains committed to improving the lives of students and our educational community through service, leadership and advocacy. Here, we share best practices, tips and success stories from the county’s 80 districts as we innovate and adapt together to ensure continuity of learning and safety of students, staff and families.

Follow us on social media for more frequent updates:

‌ ‌ ‌

Lessons from the field: Las Virgenes USD

Join LACOE Superintendent Debra Duardo on a visit to Lindero Canyon Middle School in the Las Virgenes Unified School District. One of the first districts to reopen for in-person instruction, Las Virgenes provides an outstanding full-inclusion program for students with disabilities. Watch the 2-½ min. video

Vaccine town hall for parents: May 18 @ 6pm

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has affirmed the Food & Drug Administration's recommendation to expand the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12 to 15 years of age. LA County vaccination providers are now administering the vaccine for this age group at sites that offer the Pfizer vaccine. On Tuesday, May 18 at 6 pm the LA County Department of Public Health will hold a vaccine town hall for parents to provide the latest update on COVID-19 vaccines, including information for children. It can be watched on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Questions may be submitted here. Download town hall flier in English Download town hall flier in Spanish

LACOE continues campaign to honor teachers

Celebrating the great work of LA County's dedicated, caring educators is the focus of a LACOE campaign in honor of Day of the Teacher on May 12. The campaign features illustrated comics showing how some of the county's outstanding teachers are rising strong during the pandemic. Among those featured are LACOE's own Teacher of the Year Theresa Gonzales (Visions Learning Center) and LA County Teacher of the Year Dan Calma (Johnston Elementary in Norwalk La Mirada USD) Read the story about Theresa Gonzales Read the story about Dan Calma

Mountain View SD celebrates school lunch heroes

Nutrition services professionals have been hard at work on the frontlines since the start of the pandemic to ensure students have uninterrupted access to healthful school meals. In honor of School Lunch Hero Day on May 7, the Mountain View School District has created a video to celebrate their dedicated Nutrition Services staff, highlighting all aspects of meal service. “Nutrition Services Director Susan Delgado is a champion school nutrition professional,” said LACOE Nutrition and Wellness Coordinator Maryam Shayegh. “She and her team have really stepped up during COVID-19 to ensure students continue to receive nutritious meals while complying with numerous federal, state and local regulations to ensure health and safety.” Watch the video

Students cited for excellence in bilingual education

The power of language to build bridges and unite diverse cultures inspired two Sierra Vista High School English Language Development students, freshman Melina Estrada and sophomore Zihua Yu, to pen eloquent essays about their dreams and struggles as they pursue a bilingual education. Estrada’s and Yu’s essays have been recognized for their excellence, winning first place among high school students in the National Association for Bilingual Education and the California Association for Bilingual Education student essay contests, respectively. Both students received cash prizes and certificates. Read more

Leaders look at future of work, role of community colleges

The Los Angeles/Orange County Regional Consortium Governance Council's Annual Spring 2021 Retreat convened community college leaders, thought partners and practitioners — including LACOE Superintendent Debra Duardo — to discuss the future of work and how the 29 community college institutions could be bolder and more responsive to the economic and employment needs of LA and Orange counties in a post-pandemic environment. View the discussion

Students published in school leadership magazine

Two 8th graders at Royal Oak Middle School in the Charter Oak Unified School District had their work published in the Student Voices section of the Association of California School Administrators Leadership Magazine. Alejandra Chavez and Patrick Melendy wrote about their perspectives on distance learning and overcoming the challenges of COVID-19.  Read their articles here

See more tips, messages and graphics you can share with your education communities in our "Learning Together Safely" communications toolkit

Resources for Families & Schools

Don’t forget, LACOE is regularly updating several pages of resources: COVID-19 Resources for Schools Resources for Children from Birth to Five Educational Resources for Parents & Teachers Distance Learning and Mental Wellness Toolkits School Reopening Planning Framework

FOLLOW US:

‌ ‌ ‌

Share photos, tips or experiences from your school or school district: communications@lacoe.edu