California students posted a 97 percent participation rate on this year’s statewide English and math assessments, education officials announced Tuesday.
And the numbers were just as strong locally.
OC Pathways, an initiative that's bringing together schools, colleges and businesses to create new career paths in targeted industry sectors, just capped its first year — and it was quite a year.
Click through to read the latest column from the desk of Dr. Al Mijares, Orange County's superintendent of schools.
How’s this for recognition? State Superintendent Tom Torlakson recently cited the Laguna Beach Unified School District as one of the three leading digital districts in California.
“These bright spots serve as lights of encouragement and guidance for our state,” Torlakson wrote in this letter to district leaders about technology and equity. [...]
Astronaut Leland Melvin, who voyaged to the International Space Station in 2008 and 2009, was the keynote speaker at the inaugural OC Pathways Showcase, held in Hangar 244 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine.
The event, featuring innovative displays from local schools, colleges and businesses, drew about 300 educators and business leaders to celebrate the first year of OC Pathways.
A limited number of seats are still available for an upcoming showcase to celebrate the first year of OC Pathways, an initiative that's paving the way to college and career success and strengthening the 21st-century workforce.
Open to educators and industry leaders, the inaugural OC Pathways Showcase on Dec. 2 will feature innovative displays from local schools, colleges and businesses, as well as a keynote address from NASA astronaut Leland Melvin. “Equipping Students for the Global Innovation Economy” is the theme of the event, which will be held from 7:30 to 10 a.m. inside Hangar 244 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine. [...]
"The Hour of Code offers a global introduction to computer science with one simple call to action," writes Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Al Mijares. "It asks every single student and as many adults as possible to write code for one hour during the week of Dec. 7."
In his latest column for the OCDE Newsroom, Dr. Mijares explains how a campaign that makes it easy to write code is demystifying the field of computer science.
It’s the last Friday before Thanksgiving, and we've got a feast of local education stories you might have missed.
Click through for this week's headlines.
The Orange County Department of Education and Code.org are hosting a free workshop for K-5 educators interested in teaching computer science.
The one-day workshop will take place on September 12 at the OCDE offices in Costa Mesa. [...]
Perhaps you've been following the story of eight students from Santa Ana who earned the rare opportunity to be interns at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
On the day before they completed the program, we dispatched a video crew to talk about their experiences.
A paid summer internship that has eight talented Santa Ana students working with JPL scientists and engineers is "precisely the type of experience that was envisioned when the state Department of Education awarded our own OC Pathways initiative a $15 million grant to expand career pathways for students from kindergarten through college," writes Dr. Al Mijares, Orange County superintendent of schools.
Click through to read the superintendent’s latest column.