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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Terry Dereniuk and Margaret Eutenier, members of the Lake County California Women for Agriculture, recently presented mini-grants to teachers in Riviera Elementary School and Kelseyville Elementary School for ag projects in their classrooms.
Lesa Turner, kindergarten teacher at Riviera, plans to use the grant money to purchase an incubator and warming equipment so that her class can learn about the lifecycle of chickens.
The project will be self-funding in future years allowing more than one class of kindergarteners to benefit.
Fourth grade teacher Sara Yurosko of Kelseyville Elementary School will use the grant funds to purchase supplies for her project. She is planning to teach her class how to care for plants by growing vegetables.
In addition to providing plants to the school garden, Yurosko plans to send home a vegetable plant with each student.
Agriculture is a prime economic driver for Lake County and has been a way of life for many families for generations.
Lake County California Women for Agriculture works to promote agriculture in future generations through scholarships for graduating seniors and students enrolled in college level studies related to agriculture and the mini-grant program for kindergarten through eighth grade.
The mini-grant program was started in 2013 as another avenue to support education and agriculture in Lake County.
Grants are available for kindergarten through eighth grade classes. Grants applications will open again in the fall of 2019.
Lake County California Women for Agriculture is a dynamic, grassroots, all-volunteer organization established in Lake County in 1976.
The goals of CWA include advocacy, education, and promotion of agriculture. Membership is open to anyone interested in protecting and promoting agriculture.
For more information, visit www.lakecountycwa.org.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
NORTH COAST, Calif. – More than 300 Mendocino and Lake County students from grades nine through 12 accompanied by their teachers, counselors and chaperones attended the 31st annual Latino Student Retreat at Mendocino College on Friday, May 3.
High Schools in attendance included Accelerated Achievement Academy, Anderson Valley High School, Fort Bragg High School, Kelseyville High School, Laytonville High School, Lower Lake High School, Middletown High School, Potter Valley High School, Redwood Academy, Ukiah High School, Upper Lake High School and Willits High School.
The purpose of the Latino Student Retreat is to promote social and cultural awareness to high school students from Mendocino and Lake counties and it includes motivational speakers, workshops, entertainment, and lunch.
The event has increased in popularity since its inception over 30 years ago, and it continues to draw well-known and excellent Latino role models as presenters from educational, political, legal, business and artistic fields.
The theme for this year’s retreat was “Hecho en Mendo/Made in Mendo.”
This year’s key note speaker was accomplished poet and speaker Yosimar Reyes. Born in Guerrero, Mexico, and raised in Eastside San Jose, Reyes explores the themes of migration and sexuality in his work. The Advocate named Reyes one of "13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World" and Remezcla included Reyes on their list of "10 Up And Coming Latinx Poets You Need To Know.”
Students enjoyed a variety of workshops with topics including Financial Literacy, Hands on Biology, Music and Meaning, How to Pay for a College Education, Understanding Demographic Shifts, and more.
Students completed an evaluation at the end of the event with comments like, “I loved the speaker Yosimar; he was very inspirational”; “This place is genius”; “I like the classes and all the support you offer us”; and “This experience was amazing”.
“The Latino Student Retreat serves to not only expose students to the infinite possibilities found within higher education, but to give campus staff, faculty, and participating outside organizations a chance to interact with the incredible high school students we are privileged to serve in our area. Thank you to all participating schools for supporting this event,” said Mendocino College FYI/HIS Grant Program Manager Monica Flores.
Sponsors for this event included Career and Technical Education, the First Year Institute, the College Assistance Migrant Program, and the High School Equivalency Program at Mendocino College, Redwood Credit Union, and Migrant Education Region 2.
The Mendocino College Ukiah campus is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah. Visit the college online at www.mendocino.edu.
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- Written by: California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
A collaborative effort between the Chancellor’s Office, the Foundation for California Community Colleges and Immigrants Rising, the report reveals the most pressing needs for undocumented students are financial aid, legal services, and mental and emotional health supports.
The Dreamers Project Report is the result of an online survey taken by 111 colleges and four regional meetings attended by 87 representatives from 50 college campuses.
Combined findings provide a better understanding of the challenges undocumented students face in earning certificates, associate degrees and/or transferring to a four-year college or university and identified where supports are inadequate in addressing these barriers.
Of the 111 surveyed, 40 colleges indicated they had zero full-time staff dedicated to undocumented student services and just 11 campuses indicated having a full-time staff member whose time was allocated to supporting this population.
At the conclusion of the survey in November 2018, only 35 colleges had Dream Resource Centers with 16 of those not providing dedicated support staff, showing most of the primary contacts for undocumented students are supporting them informally and on top of competing job responsibilities.
“Though California leads the way in serving this vulnerable student population, survey results show there is still much to be done,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “It is vital that the California Community Colleges continue to support undocumented students and we are committed to implementing the recommendations and promising practices featured in the Dreamers Project Report.”
Six main categories of challenges related to serving undocumented students surfaced through the research, with each accompanied by a specific recommendation to address the barrier, including strengthening communication around resources and supports available for Dreamers, providing more sufficient institutional support and campus-wide trainings, expansion of student retention strategies and more.
Challenges include:
1. Inadequate ability to outreach to undocumented students
2. Insufficient institutional support and campus-wide training
3. Need for dedicated stakeholders, staff and space at each campus
4. Need for better access to financial support
5. Need for increased student engagement and direct services to increase student retention
6. Need for definitive guidance from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
A 14-member advisory group was established to facilitate the project and analyze survey and regional meeting data, with the group including a college president, two community college student advocates, a Dream Resource Center consultant, two Dream Resource coordinators, an UndocuAlly trainer, members of the Chancellor’s Office governmental relations team, an immigrant rights activist, an immigration legal expert and the Director of Higher Education from Immigrants Rising.
“In the spirit of the Vision for Success, our Dreamers Advisory Group aims to address equity and ensure our colleges support everyone we serve. In order to actualize that Vision, we need to be committed to understanding and supporting the success of undocumented students,” said Tammeil Gilkerson, President of Laney College and a member of the Dreamers Advisory Group. “The data-driven recommendations and promising practices from the Dreamers Project Report provide concrete steps we can implement to become true allies with our undocumented students as they strive to achieve their educational and career goals.”
Report findings are being disseminated across the system via list-servs, hosted webinars, conference presentations and through college presidents who have been encouraged to engage their Board of Trustees and campus stakeholders around implementation.
The Dreamers Project also partnered to host four regional report-backs between April 29 and May 6 at San Diego Mesa College, East Los Angeles College, Chabot College and Sierra College.
More than 100 representatives from community colleges in the region attended, including leadership, administration, front-line staff and student leaders that most often work directly with undocumented students. The report will be presented to the Board of Governors of California’s Community Colleges on May 20.
These recommendations for implementation follow a preceding set of state commitments to Dreamers. Through the California Dream Act, undocumented community college students may be eligible for institutional scholarships and state-based financial aid at California colleges.
As the nation transitioned to a new administration, the California Community Colleges also created a list of resources for undocumented students and colleges, helping them navigate the uncertainty surrounding immigration policies.
The report is a component of the Dreamers Project, supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation beginning October 2017 to lay the groundwork for a longer-term program and initiatives to meet undocumented students’ needs.
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- Written by: Chadron State College
More than 240 candidates are scheduled to receive their undergraduate degrees in the Chicoine Center at 10 a.m. Attorney Trevor Schmidt, will speak at the undergraduate ceremony.
Chadron State College, which was founded in 1911, is the only four-year, regionally-accredited college in the western half of Nebraska.
As a public institution with its roots in teacher education, Chadron State takes pride in its accessibility and affordability.
Nearly 3,000 undergraduate, graduate and online students currently attend Chadron State and its curriculum has grown to offer programs and courses in more than 50 majors and endorsements and eight master's degree programs.