OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

OCDE NEWSROOM

Inside the Outdoors marks 50 years of inspiring environmental stewardship in Orange County

This 2024-25 school year, ITO is celebrating its golden anniversary with a series of events designed to reconnect the community with its mission. From volunteer opportunities to special field trips, the program invites past participants, educators and the public to join in commemorating 50 years of environmental education.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/inside-the-outdoors-marks-50-years-of-inspiring-environmental-stewardship-in-orange-county/

WATCH: OCDE Mental Health Summit doubles attendance from previous year

The Orange County Department of Education hosted its second annual Mental Health Summit at the Hilton Orange County on Thursday, Aug. 22. The daylong event, which aimed to broaden access to mental health resources for educators and other professionals, drew about 400 attendees — or twice as many as the previous year.

https://newsroom.ocde.us/watch-ocde-mental-health-summit-doubles-attendance-from-previous-year/

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Learning, enrollment keep growing at Santiago Canyon College

Santiago Canyon College has a lot to celebrate as it approaches the 25th anniversary of its official accreditation. Enrollment continues to climb, and this year the college ranked eighth among California’s 116 community colleges based on academic quality, affordability and student retention rates, among other factors, by the independent college ranking research organization EDsmart.org.

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/08/27/learning-enrollment-keep-growing-at-santiago-canyon-college/

Orange Unified is back to the business of learning

The Orange Unified School District welcomed thousands of students back to its campuses in Anaheim Hills, Orange and Villa Park recently, leaving summer fun in the rearview mirror for the launch of a new exciting school year.

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/08/26/orange-unified-is-back-to-the-business-of-learning/

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Caltech’s latest STEM breakthrough: Most of its new students are women

In a milestone breakthrough, more than half of Caltech’s incoming undergraduate class this fall will be women for the first time in its 133-year history. The class of 113 women and 109 men comes 50 years after Caltech graduated its first class of undergraduate women, who were admitted in 1970.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-27/caltech-long-male-bastion-to-enroll-majority-women-for-first-time

EDSOURCE

How parents can limit children’s harmful cellphone use at home

Increasingly, school districts are banning cellphones and other personal devices to keep students focused on school work and to encourage them to interact more with their teachers and peers. But what can parents do to ensure their children have a healthy relationship with their cellphones and other devices?

https://edsource.org/2024/excessive-cell-phone-use-can-harm-children-heres-how-parents-can-limit-use-at-home/718105

SAT cancellations fuel anxiety for students nationwide

Ten SAT testing locations throughout the state closed at the last minute, stirring anxiety among students who are preparing to apply for college, KCRA reported.

https://edsource.org/updates/sat-cancellations-fuel-anxiety-for-students-nationwide

Getting students back to school: Addressing chronic absenteeism

New research from the University of Southern California shows strong relationships between absenteeism and poor mental health. Can providing mental health services and working closely with families change the dynamic? What else can schools, communities and parents do to get students back into the classroom?

https://edsource.org/broadcasts/getting-students-back-to-school-addressing-chronic-absenteeism

KPBS

A new poll reveals the worries of Gen Z kids — and how parents can support them

A recent Gallup poll offers parents fresh insights into the emotional landscape of Gen Z youth, just in time for the new school year and all the changes it may bring.

https://www.kpbs.org/news/health/2024/08/27/a-new-poll-reveals-the-worries-of-gen-z-kids-and-how-parents-can-support-them

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS

Efforts to boost youth voting awareness highlight

Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David Gordon is pushing for more civic education nationwide. He said he would like civic education to start earlier than in high school.

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-east/politics/2024/08/27/civic-education-pre-register-to-vote-students

LA Unified is still struggling with chronic absenteeism years after the pandemic. Here’s why this matters

A week before classes at Los Angeles Unified began earlier this month, attendance workers tasked with fighting chronic absenteeism fanned out across the city, visiting the homes of children to make sure they’d show up for the first day of instruction.

https://www.laschoolreport.com/la-unified-is-still-struggling-with-chronic-absenteeism-years-after-the-pandemic-heres-why-it-matters/

Schools stare down fiscal cliff as federal pandemic aid runs out

School districts across the country received the largest infusion of federal cash ever to pull themselves out of the throes of the pandemic. But now that money is set to expire and districts are slashing jobs, increasing class sizes and cutting programs to keep their schools afloat.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/21/schools-pandemic-aid-fiscal-cliff-00175065

1st free supermarket inside CA school opens doors in SF low-income community

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- In San Francisco's Portola neighborhood, a free grocery store is making sure students don't go hungry anymore.

https://abc7news.com/post/1st-free-supermarket-inside-california-school-opens-doors-san-franciscos-portola-district/15233312/

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