The Ventura County Office of Education is proud to announce that a veteran educator known for sparking a love of learning in some of our most at-risk kids is the 2015 Ventura County Teacher of the Year. Kathy Elliott teaches ninth to twelfth grade English and art at Pacific High School, a continuation school in Ventura. She has been an educator for 30 years and taught at Pacific High School for 12 years.Elliott found out she won on Wednesday morning when family, friends and education officials c...

The Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) has received a $10.2 million grant from the California Department of Education’s Career Pathways Trust program that will fund an unprecedented effort to provide career and technical education to local students. VCOE is one of only ten education agencies in the state to be awarded grants at this level in a highly competitive application process. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced the winning applicants today in San Jos...

Congratulations to the 263 beginning teachers who celebrated the completion of their "induction" training in a ceremony at VCOE on May 19. This is one of our largest induction groups and it comes at a time when there is a great need for new teachers.

Twenty-three teachers from throughout Ventura County are receiving $10,750 in grants for developing innovative lessons for their students. The 2015 IMPACT II grants are awarded by VCOE to teachers from nine schools in four local districts.

All nine teacher credentialing programs offered by the Ventura County Office of Education have received full accreditation from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Every seven years, the CTC’s Committee on Accreditation conducts a thorough review of the programs that includes a site visit and extensive interviews with program administrators and participants. Today in Sacramento, the Commission unanimously approved the accreditation of the VCOE programs.According to the Comm...

Ventura County saw improvement in its high school graduation and dropout rates according to data released today by the California Department of Education. The graduation rate for the 2013-14 school year was 83.2 percent, which is up from 79.2 percent in 2009-10. Over the same period, the dropout rate has decreased from 13.2 percent to 9.3 percent.Ventura County’s graduation rate in 2013-14 exceeded the statewide rate of 80.8 percent. The County also enjoyed a 2013-14  dropout rate that’s bette...

In this edition of Focus on Education, we're taking a special look at careers in education. With California facing a serious shortage of teachers, there's never been a better time to encourage bright young minds to apply their skills and passion in local classrooms.

The Ventura County Office of Education is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2015 Ventura County Academic Decathlon is Westlake High School. This is Westlake’s fourth consecutive victory. Oak Park High School came in second place, and third place went to Westlake High School’s B team. Oak Park high school won the “Super Quiz” portion of the competition, which was held on Saturday. The winners were announced this evening at a ceremony at Pacifica High School in Oxn...

Note: This opinion piece authored by Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Stan Mantooth appears in the February 5 edition of the Ventura County Star.In a famous Supreme Court case in 1919 (Schneck v. United States), Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said that "the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting ‘fire' in a crowded theater and causing panic." He went on to point out that such an action would endanger others and, ther...

There are currently ten confirmed cases of measles in Ventura County. None of those cases are at elementary, middle or high schools within Ventura County. If a case of measles should develop at a school site, the Ventura County Health Care Agency will be notified. The agency may then decide to order all under-immunized students at that school to stay home for up to 21 days.Measles is highly contagious, but easily preventable with proper vaccinations, which have been proven to be safe and effecti...