SBCOE Hosts STEAM Expo

San Benito County Office of Education (SBCOE) was excited to hold the 2024 STEAM Expo, which featured the County Science Fair and will send top projects to the California State Science and Engineering Fair. The Expo was held on Wednesday, March 13th from 4 pm to 7 pm at the Veterans Memorial Building in Hollister and showcased over 200 student projects in Math, Science, Engineering, Art, and Technology from across the county. 

This year’s STEAM Expo provided an excellent platform for students to showcase their innovative projects. With the guidance of parents, teachers, and club advisors, students from TK to 12th grade completed science experiments and research.  They then had the opportunity to display their projects for judges, industry professionals, and the community. The 2024 STEAM Expo also featured demonstrations, information, and hands-on activities from various organizations, including The Tech Museum's Tech Challenge and Tech Academies, Julia Robinson Math Festival, Pinnacles National Park, Abbot Medical, Nu U Institute, Ecology Action: Resilient Central Coast, San Benito Robotics, Deep Space Robotics, RAFT (Resource Area for Teaching), Recology San Benito County, San Benito Arts Council, and San Benito County Integrated Waste. 

Rotary-sponsored science Fair trophies were awarded at the end of the evening. The top two winners in each category are eligible to participate in the CA State Science and Engineering Fair on April 16.  Other partners including IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), Nu U Institute, Cal State Monterey Bay, and SBCOE gave additional awards and special recognition, creating a more inclusive and equitable event that encouraged students to bring their best projects to the Expo. The STEAM Expo and County Science Fair was a fantastic event that brought together students, educators, and industry professionals to celebrate the power of STEAM education.

SBCOE STEAM Expo Awardees

March Newsletter

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our March newsletter with you. Each month, we update you on programs, events and news in the county office and the districts we serve in San Benito County. In addition, we invite you to stay connected through our various social media platforms.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and our students across San Benito County as we Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate!

SBCOE Begins Early Literacy Certification Program

As part of its Building Bridges to Literacy Initiative, the San Benito County Office of Education began a new Early Literacy Certification Program on February 3, 2024.  The program brings early literacy classes to daycare providers and preschool teachers throughout San Benito County and is designed to help participants learn new skills and strategies around reading and literacy. A total of 19 participants attended the first in a series of three workshops that run through April 13, 2024.

Developing literacy skills before the age of 5 helps ensure children arrive to kindergarten ready to read. Research indicates that students who do not have adequate literacy skills when they enter school are significantly less likely to meet College & Career Readiness benchmarks throughout their entire academic career, putting them at risk of dropping out of school, engaging in high-risk behaviors, and becoming involved with juvenile protection and law enforcement agencies. SBCOE’s Early Literacy Certification Program’s goal is to support educators as they work with our youngest children to develop those  critical literacy skills.

Led by led by Dr. Danielle Thomas, the workshop series covers six components of literacy and five areas of reading necessary to help young children learn. Participants received four children’s books, as well as a set of Alphabet paired cards that were incorporated into the training.  As part of the certification, participants will create an Early Literacy Plan that they will implement with the children they work with currently.

Although the Early Literacy Certification Program is full at this time, it will be offered again next Fall.  If you are interested in earning your Early Literacy Certification, please contact Keith Thorbahn at kthorbahn@sbcoe.org or Mai Cruz at mcruz@sbcoe.org.

Students Qualify for State Spelling Bee

The 2024 Countywide Spelling Bee was hosted by the San Benito County Office of Education on February 6, 2024, at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in downtown Hollister. SBCOE Coordinator of Instructional Support, Tony Balbas, coordinated the Spelling Bee. Twenty students qualified for the event in two age groups. Students in grades 4-6 competed in the elementary division while 7^th-9^th grade students were eligible for the middle school division. After more than 15 rounds in each division, the top three spellers were finally selected, a testament to the strength of the competition this year.

The top two spellers in each division qualified for the California State Spelling Bee hosted by the San Joaquin County Office of Education in Stockton, California on April 27, 2024 at the Wentworth Education Center.  This year’s winners are:

4-6^th Elementary Division

1^st place               Marley Murillo*               Accelerated Achievement Academy

2^nd place              Fox Westphal*                 Hollister Dual Language Academy

3^rd place               Elise Gonzalez                  Hollister Prep School

7-9^th Junior High Division

1^st place               Lyla Pulizzi*                       Accelerated Achievement Academy

2^nd place              Miraclin Jebastian*         Hollister High School

3^rd place               Anthony Mirrione           Spring Grove Elementary School

*State Qualifier

The San Benito County Office of Education would like to thank our judges: Mayor Mia Casey, Supervisor Angela Curro, Supervisor Mindy Sotelo and Assistant Superintendent Shannon Hansen and our Spelling Bee Master, Kim O’Connor as well as the VFW Post 9242/American Legion Post 69 for allowing us to use their facility.

February Newsletter

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our February newsletter with you. Each month, we update you on programs, events and news in the county office and the districts we serve in San Benito County. In addition, we invite you to stay connected through our various social media platforms.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and our students across San Benito County as we Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate!

SBCOE Hosts Literacy Summit\

The San Benito County Office of Education (SBCOE) hosted the county’s first Literacy Summit on January 25, 2024 at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in downtown Hollister. SBCOE Director of Curriculum & Instruction and Equity & Access, Mai Cruz, coordinated the event, which featured nationally renowned speaker and educator, Dr. Kate Kinsella. The Summit brought together parents, educators, and community members to learn how they can support literacy for students throughout San Benito County.

Literacy is arguably the most crucial factor in determining whether a student will succeed in school and beyond.  Research indicates that students who do not arrive to kindergarten with adequate literacy skills are significantly less likely to meet College & Career Readiness benchmarks throughout their entire academic career. Moreover, those who are not reading at grade level by fourth grade are highly unlikely to meet any College & Career Readiness benchmarks by high school graduation. These students are at the highest risk of dropping out of school, engaging in high-risk behaviors, and becoming involved with juvenile protection and law enforcement agencies.

San Benito County office of Education is actively working to improve literacy in the county through its Building Bridges2Literacy Initiative. As one part of the initiative, SBCOE’s Literacy Summit seeks to improve student literacy by educating the adults around them on strategies and activities they can use to build literacy skills throughout each student’s academic career. Attendees heard from keynote speaker, Dr. Kate Kinsella and participated in Roundtable Discussions led by local educational leaders and partners including Hollister Elementary School District, Navigator Schools, North County Joint Union School District, San Benito High School District, Footstep2Brilliance, and Scholastic. Roundtable discussions focused on how to support literacy for preschool, elementary, middle, and high school students as well as for multi-lingual learners and struggling readers. The highlight of the evening was the recognition of the top 15 readers from SBCOE’s Winter Reading Challenge who were honored at the event. See Top 15 Readers

San Benito County Office of Education would like to thank our sponsors: California Mutual Insurance Company, Footsteps2Brilliance, LG Sign Co., Mechanics Bank, Mindful Healing Therapeutic Services, Nexus Ed Solutions, Scholastic and VFW Post 9242/American Legion Post 69 with special appreciation to the VFW Post 9242/American Legion Post 69 who provided the venue and catered the event.

January Newsletter

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our January newsletter with you. Each month, we update you on programs, events and news in the county office and the districts we serve in San Benito County. In addition, we invite you to stay connected through our various social media platforms.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and our students across San Benito County as we Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate!

December Newsletter

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our December newsletter with you. Each month, we update you on programs, events and news in the county office and the districts we serve in San Benito County. In addition, we invite you to stay connected through our various social media platforms.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and our students across San Benito County as we Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate!

November Newsletter

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our November newsletter with you. Each month, we update you on programs, events and news in the county office and the districts we serve in San Benito County. In addition, we invite you to stay connected through our various social media platforms.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and our students across San Benito County as we Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate!

October Newsletter

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our October newsletter with you. Each month, we update you on programs, events and news in the county office and the districts we serve in San Benito County. In addition, we invite you to stay connected through our various social media platforms.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and our students across San Benito County as we Engage, Encourage, Empower...Educate!