This week, we learned that Tesoro High School music teacher Keith Hancock will get to attend this year’s Grammy Awards after winning the prestigious Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation. Amazingly enough, there were 3,300 nominees, and two OC teachers finished in the top 10 for this prestigious national honor.
Here are some other education stories we’ve been following:
- A year after being introduced to the violin through Orange Unified’s visual and performing arts program, a seventh-grader from El Rancho Charter School performed with an orchestra at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
- The Orange County Register posted a few photos from the latest Astounding Inventions competition at Irvine Valley College. The event annually showcases innovations from K-8 students in the Irvine and Tustin unified school districts.
- Valencia High School in Placentia re-opened its auditorium after a $2.5 million makeover, celebrating the occasion with music, drama and dance performances.
- A student from Beckman High School in Tustin Unified is one of four recipients of the Young Innovators to Watch award after developing an app that helps emergency responders locate disaster victims.
- The Capistrano Unified School District announced its three Teachers of the Year with surprise visits to their classrooms.
- Tommy Lasorda, the former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, delivered an inspirational message to El Toro High School baseball players, urging them to work hard to achieve their goals.
- And finally, OCDE’s central offices in Costa Mesa will be closed on Monday, Feb. 13 in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Some other OC districts will be dark as well, so you may want to check the website for your child’s school or district.