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...

The Ventura County Office of Education is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Ventura County Academic Decathlon, which was held virtually over the past few weeks for the first time ever due the COVID-19 pandemic. The three teams with the highest overall scores this year are: 1st Place: Westlake High School Team A 2nd Place: Adolfo Camarillo High School Team A 3rd Place: Oxnard High School Team AA video of the awards presentation is available at this link. The twelve high schools that par...

Plans to begin reopening schools operated by the Ventura County Office of Education for in-person instruction are being postponed. This was a difficult decision that came after careful evaluation of the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases and expected delays in the distribution of the vaccine. For the time being, we feel it is safest to continue serving students with distance learning. We recognize the continued closure of school campuses creates many difficulties for students and families, and we w...

Stan Mantooth today announced his intention to retire from his position as Ventura County Superintendent of Schools effective February 1, 2021. Mantooth has served as Superintendent of Schools since he was appointed to the position in 2008. He was then elected to the office by voters three times in 2010, 2014 and 2018. “After more than 45 years in education, I feel privileged to have been – and will continue to be – an advocate for children, and I’m ready to begin the nex...