Ventura County parents and educators have a new opportunity to learn about the performance of local schools and districts that goes far beyond what has previously been available. The California School Dashboard is a new website that uses multiple indicators to give a more complete picture of how schools are serving our diverse student population.

La Reina High School is the winner of the 2017 Ventura County Mock Trial. This is the sixth time in the past seven years that the Thousand Oaks-based private school has won the competition. The Mock Trial results were announced this evening at an awards ceremony at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. Here is how the top eight teams placed:1. La Reina High School2. Westlake High School - Blue Team3. Newbury Park High School - Gold Team         &nbs...

The winner of the 2017 Ventura County Mock Trial competition will be announced at an awards ceremony Monday at 6:00 p.m. at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center at 800 Hobson Way. La Reina High School and Westlake High School's Blue team are in contention for first and second place. Newbury Park High School's Gold team and Westlake High School's Orange team are vying for third and fourth place. The four remaining teams are among 34 from throughout Ventura County who participated in...

Four local high school teams emerged victorious from Wednesday night’s semifinals of the Ventura County Mock Trial competition. The final four teams that will face off in tonight’s last round are:-La Reina High School-Westlake High School (Blue)-Newbury Park High School (Gold)-Westlake High School (Orange)La Reina and Westlake Blue will compete for first and second place. Newbury Park Gold and Westlake Orange will compete for third and fourth place. The four remaining teams are among...

The eight high school teams that will advance to the semifinals of the Ventura County Mock Trial were announced today by the Ventura County Office of Education. The semifinalists received the eight highest scores of the 34 teams participating in this year’s Mock Trial. Listed in order of their scores, the final eight teams are:1. Westlake Blue2. La Reina3. Newbury Park Panther4. Westlake Orange5. Oaks Christian Gold6. Newbury Park Gold7. Santa Susana Teal8. Adolfo Camarillo InstarA complet...

High school students at the Ventura County Office of Education’s Career Education Center in Camarillo will have the chance to build hardware that could end up in space thanks to a new partnership with NASA. The Ventura County Board of Education Monday approved an agreement with NASA that will make the NASA HUNCH program available to local students. HUNCH (High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware) is a nationwide program in which students build equipment to NASA’s specificatio...

More than two dozen local high schools will field 34 teams in the Ventura County Mock Trial competition, which begins Monday in Ventura. The public is invited to watch the courtroom drama come to life as students take on the major roles of a criminal case, including attorneys, witnesses and even bailiffs. The students will present their cases before actual local judges who volunteer for the competition. Local attorneys serve as coaches.WHAT: 2017 Ventura County Mock TrialWHEN: The competiti...

With a major storm headed to the region, the Ojai Unified School District has decided to close its schools on Friday, February 17. As a result, a teacher in-service day that had been scheduled for March 13 will instead be a regular school day at Ojai USD schools.The storm is expected to drop more than seven inches of rain in parts of Ventura County through Saturday evening. The latest National Weather Service advisories about the storm are available here.As we become aware of any addit...

In light of potential changes at the federal level, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and education law firm Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost have created a fact sheet with answers to key legal questions about undocumented students. This resource for administrators, teachers and parents is available here. In addition, the California School Boards Association has developed a new legal guidance, a pair of sample policies and a sample resolution addressing the right ...

In 1994 Dr. Victor J. DeNoble, a former research scientist for the tobacco industry, became the first “whistle-blower” to begin tearing down the wall of secrecy built by the tobacco industry. He was a key witness in the federal government’s case against the industry and testified before congress.Today, Dr. DeNoble continues to raise awareness of the highly addictive nature of tobacco and other drugs. On March 1, 2017, Dr. DeNoble will be in Ventura County giving an informative,...