Dr. César Morales was appointed today as the new Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. After conducting a nationwide search, the Ventura County Board of Education made the decision this morning by a unanimous vote. Dr. Morales will fill the vacancy created in February when Stan Mantooth retired from the post.Dr. Morales currently serves as the Deputy Superintendent for the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE). Since Mr. Mantooth’s departure, Dr. Morales has assumed all duti...

Vaccine hesitancy, biodegradable plastic and ocean acidification are just some of the timely subjects of entries in the 2021 Ventura County Science Fair. The event, coordinated by the Ventura County Office of Education, was held entirely online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. While many students were unable to access the usual resources, tools and support that schools provide for science fair participants, this year’s event still drew several creative and innovative entries. &nb...

In a new sign of progress in the battle against the coronavirus, health officials have reduced the minimum required distance between students in a classroom from six feet to three feet. The change came quickly after the CDC announced the new three foot guidelines last Friday. The California Department of Public Health, which sets the baseline rules that Ventura County schools must follow, soon followed suit. Ventura County Public Health, which has the authority to impose stricter rules than the ...

For the first time since 2013, a team from Ventura County is the first place winner of the California Mock Trial Finals. Trinity Pacific Christian School in Thousand Oaks won the top spot in the statewide competition a few weeks after taking both first and second place in the Ventura County Mock Trial. Another Ventura County high school has reason to celebrate after the state finals. Jessica Zhou of Newbury Park High School took first place in the courtroom journalist portion of the competition....

More public schools will be reopening to in-person instruction now that Ventura County is moving to the less restrictive red tier in the State’s coronavirus monitoring system. The move from the purple to the red tier will take effect this Wednesday, March 17, as COVID-19 rates decline in Ventura County and after the State eased the threshold to switch tiers because of increasing vaccination levels.  The change opens the door for schools that had not reopened the last time the County w...

The Ventura County Office of Education is now accepting applications for the 2021 Ventura County Teacher of the Year. The competition is open to all TK-12th grade teachers at Ventura County public, charter and private schools. Nominees are selected by schools and professional organizations, but members of the public can suggest a teacher for consideration by contacting their principal.  “This has been a year when teachers, like all of us, have faced extraordinary new challenges,&rdquo...

California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the vaccination site at the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) in Camarillo Tuesday evening where thousands of local educators are being immunized against COVID-19. The Governor received a tour of the site from VCOE Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cesar Morales and Ventura County CEO Mike Powers.In remarks after the tour the Governor commended the County on its vaccine rollout, with its focus on equity, school reopening and saving lives. Newsom said...

Trinity Pacific Christian School in Thousand Oaks is the first and second place winner of the 2021 Ventura County Mock Trial with Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley taking third place. The winning teams were announced this evening after seven days of competition that were held entirely online for the first time ever due the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-six teams from 22 high schools throughout Ventura County participated in this year’s competition, which is coordinated by the Ventur...

The County of Ventura today announced a new goal of providing school employees with their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March, which is significantly sooner than had originally been anticipated. This will be accomplished by working with local health care providers to administer vaccinations to educators in addition to using the County’s existing vaccination infrastructure.  “We are very gratified to see that the people who work in our schools are receiving hig...

Ventura County has reached a COVID-19 case rate that allows all elementary schools to resume in-person instruction as early as today if they choose to do so and have taken required safety measures. At the same time, the County of Ventura will begin vaccinating teachers starting next Monday. “These two developments are encouraging steps in the effort to safely bring more students and teachers back to the classroom,” said Dr. Cesar Morales, Deputy Superintendent for the Ventura Co...