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- Written by: Editor
SONOMA, Calif. – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-1) joined by university leaders and students, on Wednesday hosted a roundtable discussion at Sonoma State University on college affordability and student loan interest rates.
If Congress does not pass legislation by July 1, seven million students across the country would see their interest rates double on need-based student loans.
During the roundtable discussion, Thompson highlighted the impact a rise in interest rates would have on students and families who must borrow to attend college.
“If interest rates for students double to 6.8 percent on July 1, more than 572,000 students across California will see their debt load increase by more than $476 million,” said Thompson. “If our nation is going to continue producing the world’s best entrepreneurs and innovators to compete in the global economy, then a college education must be an affordable option for working families. College is already costly, and our government doesn’t need to make the price tag even higher by allowing interest rates to double. Congress needs to act now to keep this from happening.”
If Congress doesn’t act, more than seven million students will incur an additional $6.3 billion in repayment costs for the 2012-13 academic school year.
That means college next year, and every additional year Congress doesn’t act, gets $1,000 more expensive for each student borrower.
In 2007, Thompson voted to pass the College Cost Reduction and Access Act which made historic investments in student aid.
The law halved interest rates on these need-based federal student loans to 3.4 percent, making them more affordable for low- and middle-income students.
Without Congressional action, the rate will jump back up to 6.8 percent on July 1.
Thompson is a co-author of legislation that would keep the interest rate on the need-based student loans at 3.4 percent.
To help make college more affordable, Thompson has also voted to increase Pell Grants to $5,550, and to create the American Opportunity Tax Credit which provides a $2,500 tuition tax credit to eligible families and students.
Thompson represents California’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, and Yolo. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and sits on the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – California’s Granada Hills Charter High School on Saturday, April 28, won the United States Academic Decathlon.
The team scored 54,081.8 points out of 60,000 possible, earning the school’s second national title and California’s 10th consecutive national title.
The team's score breaks the previous national highest score set in 2008 by Moorpark High School, which had 53,119.4 points.
The winners were announced before an enthusiastic crowd at the 2012 United States Academic Decathlon’s award ceremony at the convention center in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In Addition, Granada Hills took first place in the Super Quiz with 5,775 points out of 6,000 points.
Members of the winning team are (Honors) Lev Tauz, Sean Wejebe, Hamidah Mahmud, (Scholastics) Christian Koguchi, Priscilla Liu, Kimberly Ly, (Varsities) Jimmy Wu, Stella Lee, Julia Wall and coaches Matt Arnold, Spencer Wolf, and Nick Weber.
Overall, the team took home 53 individual awards and two team awards: Lev Tauz (2 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze); Sean Wejebe (highest scoring decathlete, 5 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze); Hamida Mahmud (1 gold, 3 bronze); Christian Koguchi (2 silver, 1 bronze); Priscilla Liu (3 bronze); Kimberly Ly (2 silver, 2 bronze); Jimmy Wu (highest scoring Varsity student and new record of 9,182.5 points out of 10,000 points, 4 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze); Stella Lee (1 bronze); and Julia Wall (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze).
In all, 32 high school teams representing 31 states from across the country and London, England, competed in this year’s national Academic Decathlon championship.
Decathlete teams are comprised of three Honor students (3.75 and above GPA), three Scholastic students (3.00-3.74 GPA), and three Varsity students (2.99 GPA and below).
California has won the last 10 national titles and has won fifteen national titles in the past 18 years of national competition. In 30 years of national competition, California has placed first or second every year but one.
To learn more about the California Academic Decathlon, visit the CAD Web site at http://www.academicdecathlon.org or visit CAD on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AcademicDecathlon .
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- Written by: Jade Fox
In preparation for the STAR tests the teachers at Carlé have started conducting what they call test chats.
The test chats are where the teachers review with their students what they need to work on and look at last year's scores.
The staff hopes that being on a close basis with their students will help their test scores rise even higher this year. The STAR test will be held in early May.
On April 23 a representative from The Arbor on Main named Jolene came to Carlé to talk about all the services her business has to offer.
The Arbor on Main is a youth center that helps students with taking extra classes, looking for work and many other things. They have a lot of wonderful opportunities for any student interested.
The student body is currently working on the yearbook. This year it will be $25, but there will only be a limited supply. The students Shawna Sample and Ashely Gravellee both worked hard to make sure this year book will be a good one.
On April 25 everybody at Carlé celebrated their favorite secretary Barbara Dye. April 25 is secretary Day, though the celebrations were saved for April 27, or the Friday before Dye's birthday. It was important to everybody at Carlé that Dye knows just how important she is to everyone.
On April 26 the Carlé students who earned gold level went on a field trip to Lakeside Lanes Family Center.
The students who went were Cameron Carillo, Chelsea Cherney, Jade Fox, Jr Garcia, Shania Jones, Anthony Montalvan, Chantilly Pannel, Monique Throop, Charels Trujillo, Trevor Wilson, Corissa
Schonderwoerd and Tonya Smith.
All of the students went bowling; played arcade games, dodge ball and lazer tag; and they were all treated to a wonderful meal afterward at the facility's food court. Teachers Verna Rodgers and Angie
Siegel were the chaperones and everybody had a wonderful time.
The staff at Carlé would like to thank students Kayla Addams, Camari O. and Trevor Wilson for helping out the school in the office during Barbara Dye's lunch period.
This week the media class flag contest comes to a close. The flags that were made were all wonderful. The class will now focus on the 46 final graduation plaques along with sustainability awards for the fifth grading period.
That is all for now, have a great week!
Jade Fox is a student at Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Calif.
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UKIAH, Calif. – Phyllis Curtis, a lifetime environmentalist and lover of the word “community,” put her money where her passion is.
She recently made a donation to Mendocino College’s Sustainable Technology program to purchase equipment for the solar classes.
“We are grateful for being able to purchase state of the art equipment,” said Orion Walker, coordinator of the program.
Curtis’ investment purchased solar panels, an inverter, a Solmetric SunEye and a Solar Pathfinder.
“Thank you for empowering our class with your gift to make our lab classes more worthwhile,” said Dick Jordan, solar installation instructor, to Curtis when she visited the class. He assured Curtis that the new solar panels were made in the United States. “The best ones come from Tennessee and that’s where these were manufactured.”
Jordan, who lives off the grid in Yorkville, has been “doing solar” for 35 years.
He explained how the new equipment works. “I try to help the class learn the skills and how to be competitive in this growing field.”
The Solmetric SunEye and The Solar Pathfinder each have unique programs that track the sun and forecast how many photovoltaic cells are needed as well as the best location to put them.
Curtis, who lives in a passive solar home, moved to Mendocino County in 1957. “I’m an environmental nut,” said Curtis, an avid hiker and founder of the Inland Mendocino County Land Trust.
“I was raised in Hollywood when it was the garden of Eden,” she said.
After her late husband, Dr. Hugh Curtis, got out of the Army, they looked for a place to live.
Both were from Southern California but they wanted to move to a place where growth wasn’t so rapid and the air was cleaner. Their mutual love of hiking drew the couple to Ukiah.
“In those days we could hike everywhere including to a waterfall that was near where the college is now,” said Curtis.
“Hugh was a general surgeon and brought modern medicine to Ukiah,” she said, recalling frequent dinner parties to recruit medical specialists to move here.
A wing of the Ukiah Valley Medical Center is named after Dr. Curtis. They had two daughters, one of whom is a professor of sustainability at North Arizona University in Flagstaff.
“Our family backpacked every summer,” said Curtis, whose favorite season is spring when she loves to go on wildflower walks. “My father loved nature. This time of the year he and I hiked over the southern California hills to see the poppies and lupine and stop and eat the mustard seeds.”
In 1997 Curtis spearheaded the formation of the Inland Mendocino County Land Trust “after witnessing the enormous loss of agricultural lands and open space in California.”
The Land Trust solicits and manages conservation easements, which include 187 acres in Redwood Valley and 1100 acres in Potter Valley.
“We raised $1,100 to help preserve the redwoods on Ridgewood Ranch,” she said.
After taking a college tour and seeing the house the Sustainable Technology students use for their hands-on instruction, Curtis made her donation to the program.
“I wanted to do something to inspire the students at Mendocino College to have passion for helping the environment,” she said.
“We learn so much in a short time,” said Christy Brittany, a contractor from Redwood Valley and student in one of the classes. “The school has the latest equipment and we get to learn how it works after our classroom instruction.”
“The health of our planet is at stake and should be our priority,” said Curtis, “It’s to our economic advantage to keep Mendocino County pristine by being sustainable. Solar power is one of the tools.”
For more information on the Sustainable Technology program or to donate to this or another Mendocino College activity, contact the Mendocino College Foundation at 707-467-1018 or email Katie Fairbairn at