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 schools, one (Oxnard Union) has only high schools, and nine have the whole range from kindergarten throug...

The Ventura County Office of Education is committed to ensuring the safety of our students and school employees in the event of a wildfire. We have created a web page at www.vcoe.org/fire where you can find links to information about current incidents, precautionary power outages and air quality. There are also resources to help students, families and employees cope with the impacts of wildfires as well as important fire-related information for school administrators. During active...

Ventura County students slightly improved their scores on the statewide California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) test, according to new data released by the California Department of Education. In the 2018-2019 school year, 50 percent of Ventura County students met or exceeded the state standards for English language arts (ELA), which is up one percentage point from the year before. In math, 39 percent of Ventura County students met or exceeded the state standards, which...

Dr. Cesar Morales, Associate Superintendent of Student Services at the Ventura County Office of Education, is one of just 17 educators nationwide to receive the 2019 Excellence in Educational Leadership Award from the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA).  The Excellence in Educational Leadership Award is an annual recognition for school administrators who have made significant contributions to the improvement of school administrator preparation. Each year, UCEA invites ...

The Ventura County Office of Education’s Department of Comprehensive Health and Prevention Programs (CHPP) was recently honored for its efforts to teach students about the dangers of opioid use, vaping and other risky behaviors. The department received the Pillar of Prevention award from Ventura County Behavioral Health (VCBH). The award was established to honor exceptional contributions to the field of prevention by those who are working to preserve and protect community health. The award...

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 - to reach their goal of high school graduation.

Alex Gonzalez had just started his freshman year at Simi Valley High School when he found out his mom, dad and little sister would all be leaving the country while he stayed behind and lived at a friend's house. It was part of the process for his mom to become a US resident and it was only supposed to last for three weeks.

Amara Baker's road to high school graduation has been anything but ordinary. Her journey has taken her from Santa Susana High School to an international school in Italy to a year of home schooling and finally to one of Ventura County's most unusual public high schools.

Sowon Lee's lucky number came up four years ago when she was selected to attend Foothill Technology High School in Ventura. Admission to Foothill is through a random lottery and there are always more students who want to attend than spots available.

Mauricio Gonzalez's father earns a living picking crops and his mom cleaning hotel rooms. It's hard work that's paying off as they prepare to watch their son graduate from Santa Paula High School and enroll at one of the nation's top universities.