Footsteps2Brilliance Parent Registration

For San Benito County residents interested in enrolling their child in the Footsteps2Brilliance program, please navigate to the URL listed below to register for an account.

https://www.myf2b.com/register/sanbenitocoe 

Footsteps2Brilliance provides a comprehensive curriculum of over 1,000 English and Spanish books, songs, and games that are fun for children and address the vocabulary gap. Most importantly, these educational resources can be accessed from any smartphone, tablet, or computer with or without an Internet connection. Research shows that more than eighty percent of parents own smartphones or mobile devices. In partnership with Footsteps2Brilliance, SBCOE is giving families, schools, and the community the high-quality educational tools they need to accelerate vocabulary, reading and literacy using the devices they already own.

Building Bridges 2 Literacy

San Benito County Office of Education Launches
A Free County-Wide Bilingual Early Literacy Initiative

Hollister, CA – April 11, 2017 – Superintendent Krystal Lomanto is hosting Building Bridges 2 Literacy, a Bilingual Early Literacy Innovation Summit on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PT at Spring Grove School (500 Spring Grove Road. Hollister, CA 95023). Atthis event, Superintendent Lomanto will unveil Building Bridges 2 Literacy, a county-wide English and Spanish early literacy initiative using smartphones, tablets, and computers. Together with members of the San Benito County Board of Education, Superintendent Lomanto will challenge the San Benito County community to read 3 million words by September 1, 2017.

This transformative literacy effort supports the White House Initiative on Educational
Excellence for Hispanic Students. Through this initiative, the San Benito County Office of
Education (SBCOE) has partnered with Footsteps2Brilliance, Inc., the creators of an innovative early learning mobile technology platform that enables San Benito County to provide – free of charge – libraries of eBooks, educational games and activities, and creative writing opportunities to every family with 0-5 year olds and Pre-K through 3rd grade students who reside within San Benito County.
 

Research shows that the greatest disparity of knowledge among children is the vocabulary gap –the number of words a child knows from birth through third grade. Children from low-incomefamilies hear 30 million fewer words before the age of 4 than their more affluent peers. This problem is compounded by the fact that 61% of low-income children have no books in theirhomes. No single strategy offers a greater return on investment than providing early learners with the tools needed to read proficiently by third grade. Every $1 dollar spent on quality early childhood interventions produces a $14 to $17 return.
 

Footsteps2Brilliance provides a comprehensive curriculum of over 1,000 English and Spanish books, songs, and games that are fun for children and address the vocabulary gap. Most importantly, these educational resources can be accessed from any smartphone, tablet, or computer with or without an Internet connection. Research shows that more than eighty percent of parents own smartphones or mobile devices. In partnership with Footsteps2Brilliance, SBCOE is giving families, schools, and the community the high-quality educational tools they need to accelerate vocabulary, reading and literacy using the devices they already own.
 

“When you have a kindergartener who starts school from a low, socioeconomic disadvantaged family, that does not have access to literature or is not read to, there is a 30-million word gap by age 3,” Superintendent Lomanto said. “When that happens, it takes a long time in that
child’s education to make up for that gap, if ever.”
 

San Benito County has 38.6% of its citizens speaking a language other than English at home, with the most common non-English language is Spanish. By becoming a Model Innovation County, SBCOE will serve as a blueprint for districts and counties around the nation to achieve early literacy success in dual language communities. Through this Model Innovation County Initiative, Superintendent Lomanto and her team are seeking to leave an invaluable mark, impacting the lives of children and families throughout the San Benito County communities for years to come.
 

“There is a lot of research available about the importance of reading, singing, and talking at an early age. SBCOE would like to target that group while our districts work with the Transitional Kindergarteners through third grade,” Superintendent Lomanto said.
 

“We are honored to partner with San Benito County Office of Education to give all children in San Benito County equal access to high-quality bilingual English and Spanish literacy instruction. By using devices that parents already own, such as smartphones and tablets, San Benito is able to provide all parents with the tools they need to prepare their children for success in school and in life. We believe this will be a powerful model for districts and counties across the nation to follow,” says Ilene Rosenthal, CEO of Footsteps2Brilliance.

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About San Benito County Office of Education:
The San Benito County Office of Education is a public agency operating a variety of programs for children, youth, and families, and supporting schools with academic, business, consulting, and vocational services. The County Office of Education serves as a facilitator in activities between other governmental and support agencies. Contact us at 831-637-5393. For more information
about us, visit http://www.sbcoe.org
 

About Footsteps2Brilliance, Inc.:
Footsteps2Briliance, Inc. is the breakthrough early learning platform that accelerates early
achievement by uniting the power of mobile gaming technology with the latest in cognitive
research. Footsteps2Brilliance provides enticing, interactive, 24/7 learning experiences that digitally link school and home to give students the edge they need for success in school today and the world tomorrow. www.footsteps2brilliance.com

California School Dashboard to be Released in March
 

Schools and Districts across San Benito County are looking forward to the launch of the new accountability measurement, the California School Dashboard, from the California Department of Education. In January, the State Board of Education approved the California School Dashboard.
 

The California School Dashboard, a web-based interface that looks at numerous measurements of how schools are performing, is a part of the California’s continuous improvement and accountability system that integrates rigorous state standards, online assessments and a new school funding formula.
 

Information contained on the California School Dashboard was released to districts in February and will be available to the public this month.
 

The California School Dashboard provides a more comprehensive and transparent picture of how schools are doing. It replaces the former accountability measure, the Academic Performance Index (API). The School Dashboard covers a range of areas that provide data on statewide measures, as well as local indicators.
 

Academic data for schoolwide and districtwide testing in English language arts and math from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) are a part of the School Dashboard. Statewide measurements also include rates for graduation and suspensions, English learner proficiency, college/career readiness and chronic absenteeism. Local indicators include school climate, parent engagement and the implementation of the new state standards. County offices of education also will provide data on coordination of services for expelled students and foster youth.
 

This will be the first generation of the new accountability model. The state Department of Education will take feedback from parents, educators and community partners. Look for the new Dashboard come mid-March at www.caschooldashboard.org

Krystal Lomanto, San Benito County Superintendent of Schools

THE SAN BENITO COUNTY

SCIENCE FAIR

WILL BE HELD ON

TUESDAY, March 21, 2017

VETERAN’S MEMORIAL BUILDING

649 SAN BENITO STREET

HOLLISTER, CA

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

For more information, Handouts, flyers, and entry forms please download the below files. 

Engage, Encourage, Empower…Educate!

Schools to be Evaluated on More than just Test Scores

Testing is an important tool for evaluating performance but as we all know test scores does not always capture the entire story about a school. Many other factors can show areas where schools are doing well and where they may need to improve.

As a result, the State of California is in the final phase of developing a new school accountability system that looks at a variety of criteria, including:

ü  Graduation and suspension rates

ü  Chronic absenteeism

ü  Parent Engagement

ü  School Climate

ü  College and career readiness

ü  Proficiency for English Learners

This new process that includes “multiple measures” is an extension of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces the No Child Left Behind act. ESSA maintains an emphasis on high-quality state assessments while expanding the types of measures that states can look at in considering their own accountability systems.

This system moves away from the program improvement model that was viewed as punitive. The new system focuses on providing assistance and support and that is a big shift from the prior accountability system.

The hope is that this new system will help schools better address students’ social and emotional needs to ensure they are ready to learn. It is also intended to make the data user- friendly for parents, students, educators, and the community.

The new accountability system is scheduled to take effect in the 2017-2018 school year.

The San Benito County Office of Education looks forward to supporting our districts through this process by providing assistance, support and guidance when needed.

Sincerely,

Krystal Lomanto

San Benito County Superintendent of School

Engage, Encourage, Empower… Educate!

The San Benito County Office of Education is excited to report positive news for the San Benito County students who completed the second year of state testing, according to data recently released by the California Department of Education.

All seven grade levels who took the English language arts/literacy portions of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) showed improvement. Six of the seven grade levels who took the mathematics portions of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress showed improvement. The San Benito County Office of Education is excited to share this wonderful news with our students, our families and our community.

Overall in state testing, county students in grades 3-8 and grade 11 improved 8 percentage points in English language arts/literacy and 6 percentage points in math. In English language arts/literacy, 46 percent of county students met or exceeded the state standards, while in math, 31 percent were at or above the state standards.

The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress categorizes results in four areas – standards exceeded, standards met, standards nearly met and standards not met. The standards exceeded and standards met categories are combined to measure overall student proficiency in each subject area.

It’s important to note that as our teachers and students continue to experience the rigorous standards, as well as the format of the tests, we expect to see continued growth.

I applaud the dedication of our teachers, administrators, students, families and community stakeholders who have collaborated to make sure our students are gaining the skills necessary for college and career readiness.

For complete results at the school, district, county and state levels on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, visit the California Department of Education’s website here. You may also contact your district or school directly for more information.

The San Benito County Office of Education hosted the annual San Benito County Science Fair last night. Over 300 projects were submitted for judging. Over 60 awards were given out. A big thank you to the following individuals and business owners who donated to this wonderful event- Round Table Pizza, M&M Farms, Teknova, California Mutual Insurance, Blinds by Design, Hollister Elks Lodge, Hazel Hawkins Hospital, Hollister Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, Dassel's Petroleum, Inc., Judy's Gifts and Awards, and Brent Redmond Transportation. A special thank you to Hollister Rotary for donating the grand prize that was worth close to $300. Thank you to Kim Dryden and Charles Oles for organizing this fantastic event! The SBCOE also honored Bill Coats for serving as a judge for 17 years!

The San Benito County Office of Education hosted the annual Joint Board Dinner and presentation on March 17, at San Juan Oaks. It was a fantastic turnout with over 80 board members and administrators in attendance. Nine of the eleven districts were represented and were able to mingle prior to dinner being served. The guest speaker was Dr. Mike Schmoker who is a former administrator, English teacher and football coach. He has written six books and dozens of articles for educational journals, newspaper and for TIME magazine. Dr. Schmoker received the Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of Secondary School Principals for his publications and presentations. He has consulted and keynoted throughout the US, Canada, Australia, China and Jordan. His presentation was titled “Leading with Focus. How to accomplish more by doing less.”  The San Benito County Office of Education wants to thank all of our board members and administrators for attending this powerful event.

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Late last week there suddenly emerged an issue concerning the release of private student information for analysis under a court order related to services to students with disabilities.  The California School Boards Association (CSBA) released a summary of the issue and recommended that school districts publicize the process parents can use to object to the release of the information for their children. Attched is more information on the issue.

Prop 30 Education Protection Account Estimated for Fiscal Year 2016-2017

Prop 30 Education Protection Account Estimated for Fiscal Year 2014-2015

Prop 30 Education Protection Account Estimated for Fiscal Year 2013-2014

Prop 30 Education Protection Account for Fiscal Year 2012-2013

San Benito County Board of Education..2013-14  SBCOE - EPA Revenue and Expenditures.

To find EPA reports for the Rural Districts please go to the Navigation list located to the left of this screen and select Districts & Schools. There you will find a list of the Districts and may select your district of choice. The EPA report is listed on their web page.