Giving Thanks for Educational Partnerships • Student Logo Contest Winners • Volunteer for Student Competitions • New Podcast Episode: School Libraries • Equity Conference Registration Now Open • Bringing Warmth for the Holidays • Youth Mental Health Conference • VCOE Hosts Student Art Exhibition • Upcoming Events and Workshops

The first week of November isn’t one we’ll soon forget in Ventura County. On the same morning we were digesting the results of the bitterly contested national election, we woke to howling winds and hoped there would be nothing to spark a fire while the Santa Anas blew. But our worst fears were soon realized when the Mountain Fire erupted and quickly ballooned into an inferno that destroyed some 200 homes and other buildings. 

VCOE Launches New Education Podcast • Student Cell Phone Use Survey Results • Logo Contest Deadline is Oct. 18 • Students Invited to Enter Arts Showcase • Industry & Education Summit on Oct. 25 • Spelling Bee Registration Now Open • Supporting Students’ Emotional Wellbeing • Hispanic Heritage Month • Serving Young Adults with Disabilities • College Credit for High Schoolers • Spotlight on After-School Programs • Celebrating Our School Libraries • College Classes for Incarcerated Youth

A Back to School Message • New School Bookmobile Hits the Road • Financial Literacy for High Schoolers • High School Voter Education Weeks • Hands-On Learning at the LMNOP Lab • Take the Survey: Student Cell Phone Use • First-Ever Ethnic Studies Conference • Preparing Students for Local Jobs • California Community Schools Initiative • Upcoming Events and Workshops

Find out what's new for the 2024-25 school year from Dr. César Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools.

They started high school in their bedrooms and at kitchen tables in front of computers, taking classes over Zoom. They’re coming of age at a time when our nation is politically divided, our world is facing war and unrest, and artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of education and work. But the students graduating from Ventura County high schools in 2024 are not deterred. They’re facing the future with a sense of optimism that will take them far as they enter the next stage o...

The high school years can be challenging for anyone, but it was especially tough for Ricardo Vasquez. His dad was in and out of his life, which left a significant void. “It was very hard learning certain things that you need a father figure for,” he says.

It was her freshman year, and Flor Rivas was failing all of her classes at the large urban high school she attended in Las Vegas. The situation at home wasn’t good and she never imagined she’d earn her diploma. Then a lifeline came from her brother Elios, who suggested she come live with him and his family in the small Ventura County town of Fillmore.

When Danny Smiley was in 10th grade, he decided to write some notes for his little sister Katie who was getting ready to join him as a student at Ventura High School. “I took a lot of really challenging classes and I loved them, but they were a lot to handle,” he recalled. “I wanted to give my sister the best chance she could possibly have to succeed.”

In March, Marlen Oviedo stood in front of a panel of judges and presented a speech on a topic that had just been given to her, with no time to prepare. She gave her speech in English, a language she had only started learning three years earlier. She went home with the first-place prize.