SBCOE Awards Early Literacy Certification

As part of San Benito County Office of Education’s Building Bridges to Literacy Initiative, 18 daycare providers and preschool teachers earned their Early Literacy Certificates on April 13, 2024.  The Early Literacy Certification Program is the first of its kind in San  Benito County, bringing early literacy classes to daycare providers and preschool teachers throughout San Benito County.  It is designed to help participants learn new skills and strategies around reading and literacy.

Developing literacy skills before the age of 5 helps ensure children are ready to read by kindergarten. 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.

Dr. Danielle Thomas led the Early Literacy training, which consisted of a series of workshops covering six components of literacy and five areas of reading necessary to help young children learn. As part of the requirements to receive their certification, participants created an Early Literacy Plan that they implemented with the children in their care. Dr. Thomas and SBCOE’s Educational Services Department staff will continue to support the providers.  Click here to see a list of Early Literacy Certification Recipients.

The Early Literacy Certification Program 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.

SBCOE Hosts SBC Arts Showcase

San Benito County Office of Education partnered with the San Benito County Arts Council to host the 8^th Annual San Benito County Arts Showcase on April 10, 2024, at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in downtown Hollister. San Benito County’s Arts Showcase gives students in grades TK-12 the opportunity to show off their artistic talents in both visual and performing arts.

This event was an unforgettable celebration of local art and creativity. Attendees were able to view a total of 3,775 pieces of art from students in preschool to 12^th grade and watch thirteen different groups perform.  Performers included: Black Bonsai, Hollister Elementary School District Band, San Benito Stage Company, Enterprise Martial Arts, the Poetry Out Load Champion and Runner Up, Animation Dance Company, Rancho Maze Concert Band, Flying Colors, San Benito stage Company, San Benito High School Dancers and Yamamoto Hula Ohana. This was the largest showcase to date and offered a unique opportunity for students to showcase their talent and share their passion for the arts with the community.

The Women’s Club of Hollister gave prizes to several student artists. A list of winners can be found here .

Thank you to the American Legion Post 69 for the use of Veteran’s Memorial Building and for providing food for sale as well as free cookies for attendees. We are grateful to all the teachers and instructors who supported our young artists and to the students who performed and submitted their artwork that made this event possible.

April Newsletter

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to share our April 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 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

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to present our 2022-23 Annual Report to the Community. This report provides a summary of key accomplishments during the 2022-23 school year, as well as an overview of the programs and services offered by the San Benito County Office of Education.  

Please join us in celebrating the many ways our schools, districts, community agencies and county office work together to support student learning.  We are committed to Engaging, Encouraging, and Empowering families and educators across San Benito County with the resources they need to Educate ALL students.  

Thank you for your continued support and interest in the education of our children.  Your ideas, suggestions, and feedback are welcome and appreciated. Please contact the San Benito County Office of Education at 831-637-5393 with any input you have that would help us to further the success of children in our county.

Meet SBCOE's Administrative Team

Meet San Benito County Office of Education's Administrative Team. Whether you are a parent, student, educator or community member, SBCOE is here to assist you. Find out who to contact about the many educational programs and services we offer.

San Benito County Office of Education released its revised COVID-19 Safety Plan on February 7, 2022.  The plan contains the safety protocols and procedures used by the San Benito County Office of Education to keep staff, students, and the community safe. Schools must publish a COVID-19 Safety Plan and the plan must follow the most recent guidance from the California Department of Public Health and the State of California.  Click here to view the SBCOE COVID-19 Safety Plan.

The San Benito County Office of Education is committed to supporting San Benito County schools, staff, students and families throughout the emergency response to COVID-19 in California. Since the pandemic began in early 2020, we have learned valuable information about transmission of the disease, which has resulted in improvements to safety protocols and procedures. As a result, we have made revisions to our earlier Reopening Plan for SBCOE Instructional Programs published October 30, 2020. The revised plan is aligned to the California Department of Public Health's COVID-19 and Reopening In-Person Instruction Framework & Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California; California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy and Assembly Bill 86/Senate Bill 86. In addition to the reopening plan, SBCOE has developed and posted its COVID-19 Safety Plan which can be found on our website at www.sbcoe.org.

Click here to view the Reopening Plan for SBCOE Instructional Programs.

The San Benito County Office of Education is proud to present our 2019-20 Annual Report to the Community. This report provides a summary of key accomplishments in 2019-20 as well as an overview of the programs and services offered by the San Benito County Office of Education.  

Please join us in celebrating the many ways our schools, districts, community agencies and county office work together to support student learning.  We are committed to Engaging, Encouraging, and Empowering families and educators across San Benito County with the resources they need to Educate ALL students.  

Thank you for your continued support and interest in the education of our children.  Your ideas, suggestions, and feedback are welcome and appreciated. Please contact the San Benito County Office of Education at 831-637-5393 with any input you have that would help us to further the success of children in our county.

San Benito County Office of Education and the San Benito County Public Health Department in collaboration with the eleven district superintendents, charter school and private school administrators in San Benito County have developed the Reopening of San Benito County TK-12 Schools.  This document is designed to assist in planning for the safer reopening of schools in San Benito County for the 2020-2021 school year. Although schools may begin the school year with a Distance Learning model, we recognize the importance of returning students to school campuses for in-person instruction, as well as the overarching need to protect the health and safety of our students, school staff, and broader community. The goal of this document is to help schools plan for and implement measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission in the school setting, while meeting the educational needs of all students. This document is intended to be applicable to all TK-12 schools, public or private, throughout San Benito County.

Click here to access the document.