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Focus on Education is your connection to the latest news and trends related to education in Ventura County. We invite you to read current and past issues below and to subscribe to receive Focus on Education by email.

In an Unsettled World, the Ventura County Class of 2020 is Ready to Lead

It’s safe to say there has never been a senior year quite like this one. In March, the coronavirus crisis abruptly forced students from their schools and into a strange new world of distance learning. Then at the end of May, the death of George Floyd and resulting protests threw important and difficult issues of racism and equity into the spotlight in a way most students have never experienc...
Keeping Students Safe and Healthy in Body and Mind

Ensuring that our students are safe and our schools secure is fundamental to the job of educators. It’s as a job that’s become more challenging in recent years for a variety of reasons. School shootings have become a horrifying reality of American life. The growing popularity of vaping among teens carries serous heath risks. And student mental health issues are on the rise as young people and th...
Get to Know Ventura County's School Districts

Ventura County is home to twenty different school districts, each one as diverse as the students they serve. The smallest – with just 59 students – is the Santa Clara Elementary School District with its iconic red schoolhouse building alongside Highway 126. The largest is Conejo Valley Unified, with more than 18,000 students in 27 schools. Some districts only have elementary schoo...
Remarkable Ventura County Graduates Triumph Over Adversity

For some students, high school graduation is a given. Others face a variety of obstacles that can put a diploma out of reach, no matter how badly they want it. But for nearly every challenge, there is a student who has found the inner strength to persevere. In this edition of Focus on Education, we're excited to introduce you to local graduates who have overcome challenges - some large, some small...
Media Literacy: Helping Students Make Sense of the Digital World

Kids today are shockingly ill-equipped to evaluate the information that comes rushing at them on their phones, tablets and computer screens. They may have grown up with the internet, but they lack the skills they need to tell legitimate news from advertising or propaganda. In this edition of Focus on Education, we show you how these skills, known as Media Literacy, are increasingly being taught in...
Inspiring Stories from Ventura County's Graduating Seniors

She lost her home to the Thomas Fire in the middle of her senior year, but it didn't stop her from achieving her dreams. He's a competitive snowboarder who's part of the first graduating class of Ventura County's newest high school. They're just two of the graduating seniors we're proud to introduce you to in this edition of Focus on Education.
Big Ways that Big Data is Reshaping Local Education

More than ever before, we have the tools to measure and analyze the performance of our students and schools at an extraordinary level of detail. Here in Ventura County, several initiatives are harnessing the power of information to benefit students starting in preschool and continuing through higher education. In this edition of Focus on Education, find out how Ventura County educators are pu...
Teaching Civic Engagement in a Divisive Political Era

Take a look inside the growing effort to teach civic education in Ventura County in the latest edition of VCOE's Focus on Education. From an elementary school program that teaches students about the inner-workings of Congress to a high school that's partnering with the Reagan Library, Ventura County educators are giving students the tools they'll need to be engaged and informed citizen...
Shining Stars from the Ventura County Class of 2017

From a young man who overcame the loss of his father to a budding film maker whose latest work is going viral online, the students graduating from Ventura County high schools this year are an impressive group. We're proud to introduce you to some of them in this edition of Focus on Education. Read it on your computer below or click here to view on your mobile device. &nb...
Focus on Education: Spring 2017 - Accountability and Funding

A new tool to gauge performance is the latest step in a comprehensive effort to reinvent the way schools are evaluated and financed in California. In the newest edition of VCOE's Focus on Education, find out how years of reform and innovation are coming together to build a public education system that better serves all of our students. Read it on your computer below or clic...