Ventura County Star Stories: Education

Kids head to camp, little money for summer school

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Instead of hitting the books at summer school, more children have flocked to local day camps this year, but not necessarily by choice.

School districts in Ventura County and throughout the state have cut back on summer school, sometimes completely canceling it, in response to steep budget cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"We're trying our best to maintain regular education programs," said Joseph Richards, an assistant superintendent for the Ventura Unified School District. "We did not have the funding" to keep all summer programs.

Dropout rate has doubled, data find

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

State officials Wednesday released revised statistics for high school dropouts that show the rate last year was nearly twice the previous year's figure for Ventura County and elsewhere, but some local educators questioned the new numbers.

In program at CLU, kids create video games, design Web sites and learn programming

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Kids and computers fill a room in California Lutheran University's Nygreen Hall, creating digital army tanks, animals and landscapes for the computer games the students are making at iD Tech Camp.

UC faculty seeks admissions overhaul

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The University of California's admissions standards would undergo their most far-reaching overhaul in decades under a faculty proposal that would allow students who have not completed the prescribed college-prep courses or earned minimum test scores to have their applications considered.

Long-awaited merging of 2 schools marked

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

A 40-year goal to provide K-12 education on one site has finally become a reality for the Conejo Seventh-day Adventist community. About 80 people, including church and city officials, gathered Sunday afternoon to celebrate the grand opening of Conejo Adventist Elementary School in Newbury Park on a site above and next to the Newbury Park Adventist Academy.

Auction will benefit CLU programs

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The Community Leaders Association's 2008 auction to benefit academic programs at California Lutheran University will be Nov. 8 in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center at the Thousand Oaks university.

Schools plan to reduce busing

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Hundreds of Ventura County students used to hopping on a bus to get to school will be out of luck when they head back to classes this fall.

Educator 'demystifies' teaching

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Aspiring teachers read all kinds of textbooks filled with lessons on how to teach complex subjects, maintain order in the classroom and grade students. But in her new book for teachers, "What Teachers Should Know But Textbooks Don't Show," Stella Erbes offers something different: life lessons, along with a peek in to school culture.

Fliers touting schools miff other districts

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

One Central Valley school system has stirred the ire of neighboring districts by sending out promotional fliers to lure students away from other Fresno-area schools.

Not stating race for college entry a growing trend

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

When Amanda Totten applied to California Lutheran University, she decided not to answer one question on her application, the one asking her to identify her race. Totten, who is white, didn't think it should matter what her race was.

Oak Park schools weigh bond measure

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Oak Park Unified School District officials will decide Tuesday whether to put a bond measure on the November ballot to raise money for repairs and renovations at the district's aging campuses. The last time district voters approved a bond measure for school construction or renovation was in the late 1970s, when the district was first formed.

School's now out for Superintendent Weis

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Charles Weis was destined to be a firefighter. His father and grandfather were firefighters, and when Weis turned 21, he took the tests and got a job offer. But the college senior chose a bachelor's degree at UCLA instead. It was "a big disappointment" for his family, he said, but a move that eventually led him to become Ventura County schools superintendent — a position he has held for the past 15 years.

Students are driven to log on to classes

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Cathryn Mann wanted to take a political science class this summer, but she didn't want to commute to Moorpark College several times a week. So, like thousands of students nationwide, she's taking the class online.

Schools focus on acceleration policy

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Matthew Goodkin-Gold thinks he got lucky. The 12-year-old has "great teachers" and a "great principal" at Ventura's Cabrillo School who let him do more challenging assignments when his regular class work gets too easy.

Weak dollar means studying abroad in Europe not as likely

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The weak dollar, already prompting world travelers to think twice about pricey Europe, has now started affecting study-abroad programs. These days, college students are reconsidering old favorites like London and increasingly opting for nontraditional destinations in Asia, Africa and South America.

Two school district principals departing

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Two principals in the Oxnard Union High School District will be leaving their positions July 1.

Schools cut repairs out of budgets

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

This summer, schools badly in need of new paint will go without. Asphalt areas won't be repaved, and other major repairs might be put off for at least a year.

Class of 2008: 12 graduates praise their small school

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Ventura County Christian School's senior class was so small that all the members could sit in the front row at their graduation ceremony Saturday morning. The dozen students — eight boys and four girls — faced a packed auditorium at their Washington School campus in midtown Ventura.

Class of 2008: 186 break up close-knit group

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

A class familiar with togetherness came together one last time for the St. Bonaventure High School graduation Saturday afternoon at the Ventura College gymnasium. The class of 186 seniors sat in the gym's center while roughly 2,500 family members and friends filled the two-tiered bleachers that surrounded the green- and gold-clad graduates.

Instructors learning new ways to teach reading

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0000

A first-grader wrote in a journal inside Melinda Carrillo's first-grade classroom at Rio Del Norte School in Oxnard, another shaped letters and words out of string, and several sorted through a pile of word cards to find different vowel sounds. Carrillo, walking around the class, stopped to listen to a student read from his journal. "Good job," she said, holding up a hand for a high-five. For Carrillo, teaching children to read is more than just her job. "It's my passion," the veteran Rio School District teacher said.