Dubroff: October surprises add up for Central Coast educators
This article was originally published by the Pacific Coast Business Times.
Improving educational opportunities for Central Coast residents isĀ aboutĀ the only way the region will be able to cope with our sky-high housing costs.
Announcements in recent weeks from Cal Poly, Cuesta CollegeĀ andĀ the Ventura County Community Foundation pointĀ the wayĀ toward progress in raising skill levels from pre-school to college degrees.
In one of theĀ biggestĀ awards announced this year, Cal Polyās School of Education announced $8 million in federal grants to recruit and train some 1,500 teachers.
The grants focus on bilingual students, students with disabilities and closing a credential gap that sees roughly 1 in 10 teaching jobs āunfilled or filled with individuals without certifications,ā according to data by WestEd, an organization quoted in the release announcing the big grant.
āWeāreĀ reallyĀ trying to change the local educational environment inĀ a variety ofĀ synergesticĀ ways,ā said Chance Hoellwarth, director of the Cal Poly school in the same release.
MajorĀ beneficiaries will be school districts in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara countiesĀ asĀ well asĀ Cuesta and Allan Hancock College.
Also included is outreach to the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project or MICOP, which serves large populations in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
MICOP is a twenty-three-year-old nonprofit organization thatās gotten much better visibility in recent years.
There are now roughly 45,000 people of Mixteco heritage in the region withĀ largeĀ clusters in Oxnard and the Santa Maria Valley; they emigrated legally from Mexico seeking work on Central Coast farms as far back as the 1970s.
Of the $8 million, $4.7 million will go to a program called INSPIRE to recruit and train teachers. SomeĀ $3.3 million will train bilingual educators statewide.
āWeāre seeking to develop a workforce that is Ready Day One,ā said Tina Cheuk, the Cal Poly professorĀ who is aĀ co-principal investigator of the grant.
Meanwhile, in Santa Maria, Allan Hancock College has finally achieved provisional approval from the community college Chancellorās office to offer a B.S. degree in applied professional studies.
The college still needs to get final approvalĀ butĀ itĀ is aĀ majorĀ milestone in the very long quest to provide an affordable, public option for local governmentĀ workers,Ā agriculturalĀ and industrial workers to get a bachelorās degree.
Hancock President Kevin Walthers called the approval āa defining moment for our college and the region.ā
The approvalĀ kicks openĀ the door for thousands of workers who have gone as far as they can in their current jobs toĀ getmove up to supervisory positions or otherwise qualify for higher paying jobs.
The city of Santa Maria, financial institutions, manufacturers, aerospace firmsĀ andĀ others have been clamoring for a lower-cost option.
ThisĀ is a big break that will make North Santa Barbara Countyās economy much more attractive as a place to work.
In Santa Paula on Oct. 19, more than 680 peopleĀ turned outĀ at a local elementary schoolĀ to visitĀ 48 different booths at Ventura Countyās inaugural Childrenās Festival.
The event was a kickoffĀ of sortsĀ for the Isabella Project, an experimental program in early childhood education thatās trying toĀ make sureĀ every child in Santa Paula has access to high-quality childcare and early education.Ā Ā FirstĀ convened by Ventura County Community Foundation, the Isabella Project now has a long list of partnersĀ includingĀ First Five, KidStream, the County Office of EducationĀ andĀ CSU Channels IslandsĀ justĀ to name a few.
āWeāre excited to bring this festival to the people who are helping to make the dreams for our youngest Santa Paulans possible,ā said Dr. Gabino Aguirre, co-chair of the Isabella ProjectĀ inĀ a statement.
Finally, a shoutout to CSU Channel Islands President Richard Yao, recipient of the Community Empowerment Corporate Award at the Ventura County NAACPās annual banquet earlier this month.
Yao was citedĀ for improving relations between CI and several Ventura County youth organizations and local Churches.
Henry Dubroff is the founder, ownerĀ andĀ editor of the Pacific Coast Business Times. HeĀ canĀ be reachedĀ atĀ [email protected].