Jose Alamillo – Stanislaus State
Melissa Assphor – Cal State Channel Islands
Lindsey Brown – Northern Arizona, Boise State, Washington State,
University of Weber
Elizabeth Castandeda – University of Colorado Denver, Arizona State
University
Kasey Crawford – Dixie State
Alexia Rangel – Cal Lutheran University
Allison Recancoj – Vanguard University
Jairo Rios – Saint Mary’s College
Michael Sanchez – Humboldt State
Cali Wyand – Montana State University, University of Montana, Fairleigh Dickinson
Adrian Escobar – Cal State Channel Islands
Maria Fernandez – Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Channel Islands
Veronica Garcia – Western Washington University, Washington State, Cal State Channel Islands
Marian Gonzalez Padilla – Northern Arizona University, Hawaii Pacific University, University of Providence, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Concordia University
Sydnee Isom – Northwestern College
Efrain Perez – Cal Lutheran University
Maria Padilla – Mount Saint Mary’s University
Rosalina Ortega – Cal State Channel Islands
Ian Morris – San Diego State, Humboldt State, University of Oregon
Ashley Montano – Cal State Channel Islands

Fillmore Unified School District

The Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) met with representatives from the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA) on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 to negotiate. Negotiations were held at the District Office (627 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore, California) beginning at 9:50 AM.

Present for the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association:
Jennifer Beal Fillmore Middle School
Mary Jordan CTA Regional UniServ Staff
Tammy Ferguson San Cayetano Elementary School
Donna Wojciechowski Heritage Valley Independent Study
Marisa Martinez Fillmore Middle School
Kelley Hess Fillmore Middle School
Kassie Chambers Rio Vista Elementary School
Heather Milam Mountain Vista Elementary School District
Kristin Dewey San Cayetano Elementary School

Present for the Fillmore Unified School District:
Andrea McNeill, Chief Business Officer
Stefan Cvijanovich, Asst. Superintendent, Human Resources and Pupil Support
Todd Schieferle, Director of Human Resources
Dr. Adrian Palazuelos, Superintendent

Articles discussed today were as follows:
Article 5: Salaries
o FUSD provided FUTA with proposals
o FUTA provided FUSD with a counterproposal
Article 6: Hours of Employment
o FUSD provided FUTA with a counterproposal
o FUTA provided FUSD with a counterproposal
Article 8: Extra Pay Positions
o FUSD provided FUTA with a counterproposal
o FUTA provided FUSD with a counterproposal
Article 11: Evaluation Procedures
o FUSD and FUTA agreed to and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to
create a joint evaluation committee including a timeline for implementation
Article 19: Class Size
o FUTA remaining status quo with the exception of Article 19.1.5
Article 17: Leaves
o FUTA expressed an interest to sunshine Article 17

Today’s negotiations session ended at 3:07 PM. FUSD and FUTA have held two negotiation
sessions during the 2017-2018 school year.

Negotiations Sessions
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The next negotiations session for FUTA and FUSD is Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

Three additional local high schools will join the winner of the Ventura County Academic Decathlon in the statewide competition to be held in March in Sacramento. Calabasas High School was guaranteed a spot in the state competition after winning at the county level. And now, La Reina, Oxnard and Westlake High Schools have been invited to participate as “at-large” competitors. At-large teams are selected to fill open spots in the state contest based on how well they scored in their county competitions.

“Having four high schools represent Ventura County in the California Academic Decathlon is a great honor,” said Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Stan Mantooth. “It’s a testament to the hard work and countless hours of preparation students and coaches dedicate to the competition.”

The California Academic Decathlon will be held on March 23 and 24 in Sacramento. The winner of the state competition heads to the United States Academic Decathlon. Ventura County teams have made it to the nationals six times, placing second in 2000 and 2002, and taking first place in 1999, 2003, 2008 and 2009. A list of past winners is available here.
More About the Academic Decathlon

The Ventura County Academic Decathlon, coordinated by the Ventura County Office of Education, is an opportunity for local high school students to compete against like teams of students countywide. Students compete in ten academic events: essay writing, speech, interview, art, economics, language and literature, mathematics, music, science and social science. This year’s competition was held on January 27 and February 3.

High schools fielding teams this year were: Adolfo Camarillo High School, Buena High School, Calabasas High School, Channel Islands High School, Fillmore High School, Hueneme High School, La Reina High School, Moorpark High School, Newbury Park High School, Oak Park High School, Oxnard High School, Pacifica High School, Rancho Campana High School, Rio Mesa High School, Royal High School, Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley High School, Thousand Oaks High School, Ventura High School and Westlake High School.

A unique aspect of the competition is that it’s designed to include students from all academic backgrounds. A team consists of nine full-time students from the 9th through 12th grades at the same high school. Each team is comprised of three students whose grade point average falls into the “A” category, three students in the “B” category and three students in the “C” category. More information about the Ventura County Academic Decathlon is available here.

About the Ventura County Office of Education
The Ventura County Office of Education provides a broad array of fiscal, training and technology support services to local school districts, helping to maintain and improve lifelong educational opportunities for children, educators and community members. VCOE also operates schools that serve students with severe disabilities and behavioral issues, provides career education courses, and coordinates countywide academic competitions including Mock Trial and the Ventura County Science Fair. Learn more at: www.vcoe.org.

Fillmore Unified School District

Comprehensive School Safety Plan
Information presented by Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Pupil Support, Stefan Cvijanovich

Approve Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)
Board approved the Single Plans for Student Achievement for all district schools.

Notice of Completion for Roof Restoration
The Board approved a Notice of Completion for roof restoration projects completed by Midstate Sheet Metal, Inc.

Extension of Contract for Dr. Adrian Palazuelos
The Board announced the recent positive evaluation of the Superintendent and unanimously approved a contract extension for Dr. Adrian Palazuelos to continue as Fillmore USD Superintendent through June 30, 2021.

Personnel Recommendations
The Board approved all personnel recommendations including new hires, promotions, resignations, and leaves.

(l-r) are 2nd place runner up Presley McLain and 1st place winner Nadia Palazuelos, who will compete at the Ventura County Spelling Bee Final in March.
Enlarge Photo

Congratulations to all San Cayetano 3rd -5th grade students who were eligible to participate in the school Spelling Bee, which was held Monday, January 29th. After several elimination rounds the final contestant standing to represent San Cayetano is 5th grade 1st place was winner Nadia Palazuelos. Our 2nd place runner up was Presley McLain. Nadia will move on to the next round to compete at the County level. The Ventura County Spelling Bee final will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on March 3, 2018, at California State University Channel Islands. The county champion will fly to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Spelling Bee.

Submitted by Tricia Gradias, Principal, San Cayetano School.

The Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) met with representatives from the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA) on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 to negotiate. Negotiations were held at the District Office (627 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore, California) beginning at 9:00 AM.

Present for the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association:
Jennifer Beal - Fillmore Middle School
Tammy Ferguson - San Cayetano Elementary School
Donna Wojciechowski - Heritage Valley Independent Study
Marisa Martinez - Fillmore Middle School
Kelley Hess - Fillmore Middle School
Kassie Chambers - Rio Vista Elementary School
Heather Milam Mountain - Vista Elementary School District
Kristin Dewey - San Cayetano Elementary School

Present for the Fillmore Unified School District:
Andrea McNeill, Chief Business Officer
Stefan Cvijanovich, Asst. Superintendent, Human Resources and Pupil Support
Todd Schieferle, Director of Human Resources
Dr. Adrian Palazuelos, Superintendent

Articles discussed today were as follows:
•Article 5: Salaries
Tabled to February 7, 2018
•Article 6: Hours of Employment
FUTA provided FUSD with a proposal
•Article 8: Extra Pay Positions
FUTA provided FUSD with a proposal
•Article 11: Evaluation Procedures
FUSD provided a draft Memorandum of Understanding to create a joint evaluation committee
•Article 19: Class Size
FUSD provided FUTA with a proposal
Today’s negotiations session ended at 1:25 PM

The next negotiations session for FUTA and FUSD is Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program named Ventura College one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The prize includes $1 million dollars in prize funds, as well as Siemens Technical Scholars Program student scholarships, highlighting the critical importance of improving student success in America’s community colleges.

The Prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. The Aspen Prize recognizes institutions for exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings, and access and success for minority and low-income students. Ventura was also awarded the nomination honor for the 2017 award.

“I am grateful for the dedicated work of all our college employees,” said President David Keebler. “Their efforts directly help students succeed at Ventura College. It is very exciting to receive this recognition from the Aspen Institute and we look forward to completing our application for the 2019 award.”

Ventura College is one of 16 California Community Colleges eligible for the prize. A full list of the selected colleges and details on the selection process are available at www.aspenprize.org.

Ventura College is invited to submit an application to the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence containing detailed data on degree and certificate completion (including progress and transfer rates), labor market outcomes (employment and earnings), and student learning outcomes. The Aspen Institute will select ten finalists, from the 150 eligible nominations, to be named in fall 2018. The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data. A distinguished Prize Jury will select a grand prize winner and a few finalists with distinction in early 2019.

About Ventura College: Ventura College, an accredited two-year institution of higher education, has been a part of the beautiful seaside community of Ventura, California, since 1925. It is conveniently located approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Santa Barbara. The 112-acre campus, set in the rolling hills of Ventura, has an enrollment of 14,500 students. Ventura College offers Associate of Arts and Associate of Sciences Degrees in 33 majors, and Certificates of Completion and Proficiency Awards in 61 areas of study. Ventura College also has Transfer Guarantee Agreements with CSUCI, CSUN, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. Class schedules are posted at www.venturacollege.edu. For more information, contact the Ventura College Student Connect Center at 805.289.6420.

About the Aspen Prize: The prize is funded by the Joyce Foundation, the Siemens Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.

The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to advance higher education practices, policies, and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes. Through the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the New College Leadership Project, and other initiatives, the College Excellence Program works to improve colleges’ understanding and capacity to teach and graduate students, especially the growing population of low-income and minority students on American campuses. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org/college-excellence.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

A Camarillo couple’s foundation has made a $300,000 donation to California Lutheran University’s Center for Entrepreneurship to expand opportunities for students at the college and throughout Ventura County.

Entrepreneur Dave Gross and his wife, Cal Lutheran alumna Dawn Gross, provided the gift on behalf of NewCo Foundation, which they started to further entrepreneurship and career technical education for students in Ventura County.

Part of the five-year donation will fund cash prizes for the center’s annual New Venture Competition, which provides Cal Lutheran undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines with the opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills, experience the challenge of launching a startup business, and connect with mentors and investors. The gift will also cover expenses for students to travel to regional and national pitch competitions and to study entrepreneurship in other countries.

The donation will also enable the center to co-fund a pitch competition for elementary through graduate school students in Ventura County in collaboration with the Ventura County Office of Education and Aspire3, a Ventura startup that provides programs and tools for aspiring entrepreneurs. Cal Lutheran, which also runs a Start-Up Kids program, will work with other institutions that teach entrepreneurship to host the competition in May on the university’s Thousand Oaks campus.

Since 2014, Dave Gross has mentored student entrepreneurs at Cal Lutheran. He also volunteers daily and has taught engineering and entrepreneurship classes at Rancho Campana High School in Camarillo. A year ago, the Grosses launched RCMAKES, a student-operated makerspace and job shop at Rancho Campana.

Dave Gross co-founded and is a managing partner of Persistence Partners, a local early-stage venture fund. Its investments include cloud-based software company Procore Technologies, biomedical company Sirigen and wellness software platform BioIQ. He co-founded and served as CEO of digital advertising firm Connexity, which was bought by Shopzilla. He also co-founded internet advertising firm Fastclick, which was bought by ValueClick. He founded his first company after earning bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and working as an engineer for a decade.

Dawn Gross, a Braille transcriber and nationally recognized advocate of Braille literacy, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal Lutheran and is the Braille program manager with the Alternate Text Production Center of the California Community Colleges. She has served as treasurer or controller of Fastclick, Connexity, Persistance Partners and RCMAKES.

For more information on the center, visit CalLutheran.edu/entrepreneurship. For information on NewCo, visit newco.foundation.

The Fall Semester for Fillmore High School will be extended for three weeks from January 8th to January 26th. Final exams are now scheduled for January 23, 24, and 25, 2018 due to the Thomas Fire closure.

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is among the top 20 colleges and universities in the nation in terms of social mobility, a term synonymous with a low income students being able to improve their socioeconomic circumstances.

CSUCI is ranked number 18 out of 1,363 universities in the “Social Mobility Index” (SMI), which was developed by CollegeNET — a software company for higher education, and PayScale, Inc.an online salary, benefits and compensation information company.

The SMI measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically-disadvantaged students at a lower tuition rate, then graduates them into promising careers.

CSUCI Executive Director of Student Academic Success & Equity Initiatives Amanda Quintero, Ph.D. believes CSUCI excels at social mobility because the University takes special care to provide encouragement, tutoring and practical support to students and families who may not be familiar with the college experience.

“This recognition made me feel very proud of the work we’ve been doing,” Quintero said. “For a long time, I’ve been applying for funding available to Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Some of the criteria is that we have a minimum of 30 percent of students receiving Pell Grants. Over time, that number has skyrocketed to about 50 percent. Nearly half come from under-resourced communities and about 60 percent are the first in their families on a pathway to completing a baccalaureate degree.”

In fact, all 23 CSU campuses appeared in the top quartile of the listings, with five CSU campuses in the overall top ten.

Data was collected through third-party sources such as Payscale, Inc. and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The index measured five criteria when compiling statistics: tuition cost; the percentage of the student body from low-income households; graduation rates; and the size of a school’s endowment.

Quintero often works with students who are the first in their family to attend college, and these students are often from lower socioeconomic backgrounds reaping the greatest benefit from higher education as a tool for social mobility.

Quintero herself is the picture of social mobility. She rose from poverty to become the first of her family to attend college, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University.

“It was really tough. It was a hard, hard road,” she said. “I worked full time the entire time I was on this path. I had to work two or three jobs in order to go to school. At times it was very lonely.”

But in the end, she said, the sacrifice was more than worth it because she improved circumstances for her entire family, and for generations ahead.

Her advice to those who are seeking an education despite few economic resources is to “never give up,” she said.

“It’s not always going to be easy. Ultimately the sacrifice they’re making is going to change the trajectory of their family forevermore,” she said. “This is something much bigger than themselves.”

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CSUCI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CSUCI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CSUCI’s Social Media.

For the fourth time, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Nursing graduates scored a 100% pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), the state boards that allow them to practice nursing.

The latest 100% pass rate is for the 57 CSUCI Nursing graduates who took the state boards between July 1 and Sept. 30. All 57 passed on their first attempt.

CSUCI Nursing graduates also managed a 100% pass rate for the 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2015/16.

“We have not fallen below the 90% ever,” said Nursing and Health Sciences Chair Lynette Landry Ph.D., R.N. “The national pass rate was 81.4%. I’m very excited. To me, it’s reflective of the quality of our faculty and their commitment to student success.”

The average pass rate for the state of California for 2016 was 88.2%.

Landry said that integral to the success of the Nursing graduates is Professor of Nursing and former Nursing Chair Karen Jensen, who retired but still teaches part time.

Both Jensen and Landry credit the 100% pass rate in part to a remarkable faculty, who go above and beyond for their students, and always model professional behavior.

“There is a lot of student mentoring that goes on in the department,” Landry said. “More so than I’ve seen in other institutions. There is a collegiality and sharing among faculty, within the department and externally.”

This news is especially welcome because Nursing faculty had just streamlined the nursing program from 136 to 120 units of instruction at the direction of the Chancellor’s Office, and there was concern about how this would affect student outcomes.

“The faculty was very careful about not removing too much and still giving them a baccalaureate,” Jensen said. “This is the first class that went through the program with 120 units.”

Both believe the selection process for Nursing students is also a factor. Out of 400 to 500 candidates, just 40 are accepted.

“I think we do a really good job of selecting students,” Jensen said. “It isn’t all about grade point average. With our supplemental criteria for admission, we look at whether they have done volunteer work and know about nursing, whether they are bilingual, and we do give an entrance exam.”

“You have a strongly motivated group of people who are multicultural and they support one another,” Landry said. “They become lifelong friends.”

Jensen believes the support the Nursing students give one another can’t be underestimated. As an example, Jensen refers to her so-called “miracle class” at the Goleta campus a few years ago.

“We admitted 22, and graduated 22 on time,” Jensen said. “And all 22 passed the boards on their first try. I’ve been in educational administration for 30 years and had never seen that. Never. And they weren’t 4.0 students, either. They simply made a pledge that no one was going to be left behind. And when anybody had trouble, they all helped. It was absolutely phenomenal.”

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CSUCI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CSUCI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CSUCI’s Social Media.