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- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A local father and son will present their experiences on living with autism on Monday, March 14.
The presentation will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Marge Alakszay Center at the Lakeport Unified School District campus, 250 Lange St.
The Lake County Office of Education is hosting the presentation by Hank Smith, a local teacher, and his son, Ian, a nationally ranked yo-yo champion, juggler, math wizard and college student who happens to be autistic.
The Smiths travel around California giving talks at colleges, schools, parent groups and education conferences about the joys and challenges of autism.
Hank Smith also has written a book, “Sticks and Stones: A Father's Journey Into Autism,” which has been featured in Autism Parenting Magazine and reviewed by Building Blocks magazine.
Join them to learn about living on the autistic spectrum or with someone who is on it, and teaching children on the spectrum.
Parents and educators of children on the autistic spectrum are encouraged to attend.
For more information, visit www.thisautisticlife.com .
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- Written by: Editor
Students who take career technical education courses to maintain or add to their job skills experience median wage increases of 13.6 percent, or $4,300, according to a new student performance measurement developed by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
Statewide, total wage gains for these students measured in 2013-14 were $498 million, which benefited not only the students and their families but the California economy.
Previously, these students had not been counted in state and federal accountability systems because they did not earn a certificate, degree or transfer to a four-year institution.
“These students come to us seeking to keep their skills current or move ahead in their careers and after finishing a few courses reap significant rewards,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris. “We finally have a way to measure these successes and demonstrate the tremendous return on investment that these courses provide. A wage gain of $4,300 for courses that cost $46 a unit is a phenomenal value for students and the state.”
"California's work on skills builders leads the nation in innovation and cutting-edge thinking," said Jeff Strohl, director of research at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
"State after state has been focusing on understanding sub-baccalaureate education, but very few, if any, have jumped into evaluating the population of non-completers in this way,” Strohl said. “The work on skills builders — the identification of how course clusters bring significant value to individuals and the state — is forcing a pause and reset in how we think about college dropouts by revealing that many students have figured out how to effectively engage the postsecondary system at low cost with high returns."
A new cohort definition for these students, dubbed “skills builders,” will be added next month to the California Community Colleges’ Student Success Scorecard, which provides the public with easy to read performance outcomes for all 113 community colleges.
The general definition of a skills builder is a student who wants to improve their professional skills for ongoing employment.
Most skills builders tend to be older and take only one or two career technical education courses.
“This new metric reveals a more comprehensive view of how community colleges are enhancing workers’ skills in discreet and tactical ways that pay significant dividends for students and businesses,” said David Rattray, executive vice president for education and workforce development for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. “We now have another window into the economic benefits that community colleges provide our state.”
Many students saw significant earnings gains after taking only a couple of courses.
Skills builders are commonly found in fields such as administration of justice (7.7 percent median wage gain); child development education (15.7 percent gain); accounting (20.8 percent increase); fire technology (12.5percent gain); business and commerce (25.4 percent wage gain); information technology (18.4 percent gain).
The addition of the skills builder metric to the Student Success Scorecard advances a goal of the Board of Governors’ Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation and a Strong Economy, which calls for measuring student progress against common metrics among and improving the quality and accessibility of student outcome and labor market data.
For a complete breakdown of the skills builder median salary changes by colleges and job fields, visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Portals/0/DocDownloads/skillsbuilder_top_feb16.xls .
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- Written by: Brianna E. Legg and Candice Safreno
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – On Feb. 26 and 27, 16 students from Carlé High School volunteered their time and effort in helping with the seafood boil hosted by the Rotary Club at the senior center in Clearlake.
The students participating included Jesse Adams, Destiny Parlet, Robert Chandler, Nick Begins, Nick Stricklin, Samantha Miller, Kayla Doyle, Vanessa Bigelow, Kedwin Russell, Ryan O’Bryan, Matt Madrigal, Alyssa Garnett, Maria Pineda, Andrew Astorga and Kevin Hazelwood.
“The students kept busy hustling and providing whatever the patrons desired. Jesse Adams and Robert Chandler were two student that went above and beyond,” said teacher Dan Maes, who is very proud of all of his students.
Last week’s student of the week was Kayla Doyle. Congratulations! Kayla is an excellent student who takes what she does very seriously. She represents Carlé very well when she is on the Lower Lake High campus participating in choir.
Thank you Rich Mellott for your long-term subbing at our school. We welcomed our new math teacher Suzanne O’Rourke and presented her with a welcome mug and keychain designed and made by Candice Safreno and Brianna E. Legg.
Carlé High School is having a school wide flag contest. All flags designed and made by students will be flown around our quad for 3 weeks and then given to the artist to keep.
This week Carlé is going to be visited and reviewed as a school by WASC. Student Destiny Cypert made mugs for each of the three members of the visiting committee.
The winner of the yearbook covers competition was Candice Safreno. Students Brianna E. Legg and Candice Safreno were presented with a plaque made by Sam Miller that were made from their very own year book designs.
A few more changes on campus. Samantha Miller and Destiny Blevins are now in charge of the recycling. Nick Begins is now in charge of the morning bulletin, and the new writers of the Carlé Chronicle are Brianna E. Legg and Candice Safreno.
Brianna E. Legg and Candice Safreno are students at Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Editor
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – On Saturday, March 12, from 10 a.m. until noon the Lake County International Charter School (LCICS) in Middletown will hold its annual Kindergarten Round-Up.
LCICS is a free, public school option open to all K-8 students in Lake County, providing an inquiry/project based, enriched education in a small-school environment.
Potential kindergartners will participate in fun, standards-based kindergarten activities and crafts. The kindergarten teacher, staff and the school’s director will be on hand to answer all questions you may have about the school and the curriculum.
The round-up will be held in the current Kindergarten/first grade room in the yellow house building at 15850 Armstrong St. in Middletown, across the street from the Methodist Church.
To reserve your child’s participation please call 707-987-3063 or email
LCICS is a free, parent-founded and parent- driven public charter school open to all K-8 students in Lake County. It strives to provide students with an inquiry/project-based, enriched education in a nurturing environment as well as a place to grow into confident and capable individuals able to succeed in a rapidly changing global society.
Often mistaken as private schools, charter schools are free and government-funded public options, held to the same educational standards to which all public schools are accountable, that allow parents to have a greater voice in school governance, operations, and educational programs.