The San Benito County Office of Education would like to congratulate the recipients who were honored on April 26th, at the SBCOE Certificated and Classified Employees of the Year celebration. Thank you, Congressman Jimmy Panetta, for the certificates, Anna Caballero’s representative who attended, the San Benito County Supervisors, the City of Hollister and the San Benito County Office of Education Board for helping honor our recipients last night.

Classified Employees of the Year:

Arturo Lara- R.O. Hardin Elementary School

Carmen Beijines- Rancho San Justo Middle School

Carol Heiderich- San Benito High School

Cindy Brown- Hollister Dual Language Academy & Gabilan Hills

Enrique Zendejas- Ladd Lane School

Esther Esqueda- Spring Grove School

Jean Hinkel-Taluban- Hollister Dual Language Academy & Gabilan Hills

Jose Munoz- Sunnyslope School

Karen Whitney- Bitterwater-Tully School District

Kristine Rosales- Marguerite Maze Middle School

Michelle Pasillas- San Andreas Continuation High School and Santa Ana Opportunity School

Robert Beltran- Cerra Vista School

Thelma Buckley- San Juan School

Yolanda Villalon- Calaveras School

Certificated Employees of the Year:

Alli Mahler-Aromas School

Amanda McCraw- Jefferson Elementary School

Dr. Anne Marie Faria- Pinnacles Community School, San Benito County Office of Education

Carole Lewis- Willow Grove Elementary School

Deb Armstrong- Rancho San Justo Middle School

Denise McNett- Accelerated Achievement Academy School

Donna Johnson- Spring Grove School

Frank Perez- San Benito High School

Hilda Baldovinos- Calaveras School

Jan Grist- Marguerite Maze Middle School

Julie Castaneda-Hicks- San Juan School

Ken Johnson- Cerra Vista School

Lizsette Jimenez- Hollister Dual Language Academy

Mandee Corea- Ladd Lane School

Mark Lange- Sunnyslope School

Mary Villegas- R.O. Hardin Elementary School

Robert Huneywell- Anzar High School

Stephanie Sobeslavsky- Gabilan Elementary School

News from the San Benito County Office of Education

In the 2015-2016 school year the state budgeted $50 million for network infrastructure improvement for schools and districts with the Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grant (BIIG). Funds from the grant were assigned through a grant application process, and vendor bids to provide services funded by BIIG were reviewed by the K-12 High Speed Network, in consultation with the Department of Education and State Board of Education. Roy Sims, Director of Technology for the San Benito County Office of Education, felt that BIIG could provide an amazing opportunity to meet the needs of the school districts for the move to computerized standardized testing, and he submitted grant applications for every school site in the county that qualified for this one-time funding. As the bidding process began for vendors hoping to provide the needed improvements, Director Sims assisted vendors with understanding the unique topography and layout of the county. To Sims’ delighted surprise, each of the districts received bids over the following two years, which began to translate into successful systems deployments across the county.
In the summer of 2016, Mathew Safford joined Sims as the Coordinator of Technology, and with the continued support of County Superintendent Krystal Lomanto, this solid team was formed to accomplish the huge task of deploying these largely needed systems. The SBCOE technology team began overseeing and assisting with the configuration of vendor solutions to fit the sites’ myriad specific needs and their unique topographies. Trenches for fiber optic cables, the erection of microwave towers, electrical and low-voltage systems, as well as various hardware installations, are some of the ongoing and completed tasks.
Some of the major highlights of these projects include: a 10 GB redundant circuit installed at SBCOE which allows for districts with higher data demands to receive one GB connections while lower demand districts receive 100 MB connections. For the SBCOE this is 10 times the speed previously available and for some districts this has resulted in internet speeds up to 1,000 times faster. Also negotiated as part of the BIIG, is a next generation firewall that can handle a 10 GB passthrough as well as filter out illegitimate traffic and intrusions. Prior to these improvements, some school sites struggled to test one classroom at a time. Now an entire school can test simultaneously while all other required technology systems will continue to operate as intended.
Bronson Mendes-LoBue, the superintendent and principal at Tres Pinos Union Elementary said: “The BIIG grant has made a tremendous impact on Tres Pinos School in becoming technology literate. We have moved from internet that never was reliable to internet that is never down or interrupted. Staff can teach curriculum in a way that it becomes alive for the students on a daily basis. Students are
exposed to 21st century technology skills which increased our CAASPP scores within one year. We have been able to incorporate a student information system which allows teachers and office personnel immediate access to a wide scope of student information from demographics to discipline and grades. We at Tres Pinos School are grateful for this grant.”
The total cost of these projects falls between approximately $1 million and $1.5 million, with all costs covered by the BIIG. Included in that, specific site costs range from approximately $350,000 at Jefferson Elementary School District to $55,000 for Southside School District. Director Sims is quoted as saying “every student’s ability to be educated matters, regardless of where they live or what school they attend in our county. At the SBCOE we believe equity of access is at the core of our work. It does not matter if a school has 10 or 3,000 students, all children of this county deserve a chance to compete at the highest degree possible and we think we have taken these major steps to achieving this.”
The San Benito County Office of Education is excited to share this news and we are proud to serve our districts across the county.

For the second year in a row, the San Benito County Office of Education is serving as the Region 5 lead for the California Scale Up MTSS Statewide (SUMS) Initiative designed to scale-up a sustainable Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in schools across the state.  Region 5 is one of eleven county office regions in California and consists of San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.  As the Regional Lead, San Benito County Office of Education trains district personnel, provides technical assistance and acts as a liaison between the state of California and the Region 5 County Offices of Education and each district.

Currently, nine of the eleven districts in San Benito County are working with SBCOE to develop a strong Multi-Tiered System of Support in each of their schools.  Through the support of the SBCOE, nine of our districts applied for and received a grant of between $25,000 and $50,000 to train staff and develop MTSS at their sites.  One final round of grants will be offered to other districts next fall. The SBCOE is hopeful that all eleven school districts in San Benito County will receive grant monies to implement MTSS.

What is MTSS?

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) is a framework which organizes and systematizes existing supports for students and provides a system for schools to identify additional ways to help students.  The purpose of MTSS is to guarantee ALL students have access to an equitable inclusive education.  Because MTSS is designed to support the whole child, supports go beyond simple help with academics and include behavioral and socio-emotional strengths.  Students come to school with a variety of strengths and needs.  A multi-tiered system allows schools to provide students support, as they need it.  Every student is provided with general supports and students who need additional supports are given more help.

What makes MTSS different from other approaches?

Unlike other many other approaches in education, MTSS looks at the entire system, focusing on the strengths of each student and building upon what is already working in a school.  Schools do not do the work alone but work with families and community organizations to gather feedback and build partnerships.   As part of the work, districts refine and develop policies and procedures to support students, staff and administration with the goal that every student will become a successful, productive member of the community.

For more information about the SUMS Initiative, MTSS or how to be part of this initiative, please contact Jennifer Logue, SBCOE Assistant Superintendent, at jlogue@sbcoe.org.

The San Benito County Office of Education is hosting the 2018 Annual County Science fair in March. Click for Sign Up forms, Flyers, and more information...

1. Date and Location:
     a. The San Benito County Science Fair will be held on March 19 and 20, 2018 at the Veterans’ Memorial Building, 649 San Benito Street, Hollister CA 95023.
     b. We would love to see all the schools participating this year!

2. Schedule of Events:
     a. Monday, March 19, 2018—Set up; projects can be dropped off from 8:00am-6:00pm
     b. Monday, March 19, 2018—Judging from 6:30pm-9:00pm
     c. Tuesday, March 20, 2018
i. Gallery Walk from 6:00-7:00pm
ii. Awards ceremony from 7:00pm- 8:00pm.
All projects must be taken home after the awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

3. Judges:
     a. Do you love Science? Do you work in the Field of Science? Are you an Engineer or a Science Major? Would you like to contribute to your community?
     b. The San Benito County Office of Education actively recruiting volunteers to assist with judging. If you are interested, please contact our office A.S.A.P. (see below)!

4. Contact:
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:
San Benito County Office of Education
Attn: Rosa E. Coronado Ed.D., Director, Special Projects
460 Fifth Street, Hollister, CA 95023
(831) 637-5393 ext. 113
rcoroando@sbcoe.org
San Benito County Office of Education
Krystal Lomanto, County Superintendent of Schools
• 460 Fifth Street • Hollister, California 95023 • (831) 637-5393 • FAX (831) 637-0140

Click "read more" for additional info and entry form

Governor’s Budget Proposal Includes Increases to Education                                                                                                                                          
Governor Jerry Brown released his budget on January 10, 2018 and has proposed an increase of $3.8 billion for K-12 schools with the largest part, $3 billion, going toward fully funding the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
Five years ago, when the LCFF was created, Brown estimated that it would take eight years until 2020-2021 to fully fund LCFF, therefore the funding increases this year is a welcome surprise. Educators have cautioned, full funding is not adequate funding. California still ranks 46th in the nation in per pupil spending. 
Brown was cautiously optimistic about the state’s economy but warned of a looming economic recession and reserved much of the tax increase revenues for the rainy-day fund.
Brown addressed funding by providing full LCFF funding to districts, funding for County Offices to assist school districts, increase funding for early learning (State preschools/childcare), funding for California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, one-time funding to recruit and train special education teachers, funding for SELPAs and ongoing money to extend career technical education programs.
Moving forward, it was recommended that districts be cautious in predicting education funding in the years to come, now that LCFF will be fully funded. Going forward, districts may only see COLA increases which will not be adequate to fund pension liabilities and step and column increases. 
The budget will go before the legislature for further negotiations. A final budget is predicted to be passed on time in June.

Krystal Lomanto
San Benito County Superintendent
 

Footsteps2Brilliance

The San Benito County Office of Education is excited to announce that our students across the county were challenged to collectively read 3 million words over the summer and CRUSHED that challenge by reading 6,451,127 words which equates to 18,338 books.

The San Benito County Office of Education provided awards to students with our partnering districts from across the county.

The following awards were provided:

• A trophy was provided to the student who read the most words county-wide
• A pizza party was provided to the school who on average read the most words (Spring Grove)
• A “brag tag” charm and necklace was provided to the student who read the most words from each school
• A reading champion charm/necklace was provided to the top reader from each class
• A certificate was awarded to the teacher who had the most words read combined from their class
• A reaching trophy charm/necklace was provided to each student from the class that read the most words combined

The highest student reader in the county was Emma Reyna from North County School with a total word count of 565,011.

The Second highest student reader in the county was Flor Sandoval from San Juan school with a total word count of 313,316.

Congratulations to both young ladies for being reading champions!

School Results:

Aromas School:

The highest student reader in the school was Arlo Burke-Raymond

The following students were the highest readers from each class:

The teacher with the class that read the most words was Mr. Schmidlin

The students that were a part of that class:

San Juan School:

The highest student reader in the school was Flor Juarez Sandoval

The following students were the highest readers from each class:

The teacher with the class that read the most words was Mrs. Flores.

The students that were a part of that class:

Spring Grove School:

The highest student reader in the school was Emma Reyna (and top reader across the county)

The following students were the highest readers from each class:

Parents of Students in High School:

Recently, the Aromas San Juan School District, San Benito County Office of Education Alternative Education programs and San Benito High School District received the California Learning Communities for School Success Program Grant.  As part of this grant we will be creating a Parent University to support parents on various topics of interest.  Please take a few minutes to complete this survey so we can offer the Parent University topics that most interest you.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1o9f5dh_nsMy-NjbaiYEsLvFM-kaYzG4qHiZhZovjlMA/edit

Watch this great video about the new Footsteps2Brilliance literacy program in San Benito County!!!

The San Benito County Office of Education honored outstanding classified employees and teachers of the year from across the county on May 1^st, 2017. These amazing employees have dedicated their lives to our students across the county. We are proud of their passion, dedication and support of our students.

Employees of the Year

Aromas-San Juan School District                           Joe Barros

Calaveras School                                                  Jesse Ortiz

Cerra Vista School                                                Cheryl Weir

Gabilan Hills                                                          Rosa Maria Casas

Hollister Dual Language Academy                        Julie Shaw

Ladd Lane School                                                 Yvon Hernandez

Marguerite Maze Middle School                             Ana Gonzalez

North County Joint Union School                          Nelson Moreta

Rancho San Justo School                                    Susan Valenzuela

R.O.Hardin School                                                Nancy Halterman

Sunnyslope School                                               Sandra Lopez

San Benito High School                                        Kevin Byers

San Benito County Office of Education                 Lydia Chapa

Willow Grove School                                             Danyell Ortez

Teachers of the Year

Anzar High School                                                  Emily Scettrini Tinajero

Aromas School                                                       Joyce Medeiros

San Juan School                                                    Jayne Ferreira

Calaveras School                                                  Julie Fontaine

Accelerated Achievement Academy                      Cynthia Ito

Cerra Vista School                                                Tami Ortiz

Gabilan Hills School                                              Michelle Talavera

Hollister Dual language Academy                         Natividad Martinez Cegarra

Ladd Lane School                                                Maylani Mahler

Marguerite Maze Middle School                            Christine Wahl-Dukes

North county Joint Union School                           Addie Hain

Rancho San Justo School                                    Erica Robledo-Dickens

R.O.Hardin School                                                Jaime Garcia

Sunnyslope School                                               Paula Jacob

San Benito High School                                       Jim Zuniga

San Benito County Office of Education                Nick Lust

The San Benito County office of education video showcases some of our our wonderful districts, schools, administrators, teachers, students and parents.  

Full Video

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