For the first time, Dr. César Morales has been elected by voters as Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. He was initially appointed to the role in 2021 by the Ventura County Board of Education to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of former Superintendent Stan Mantooth. Upon his appointment, Dr. Morales made history by becoming the first Latino and first person of color to hold the office since it was created in 1873. Dr. Morales ran unopposed in yesterday’s primary electi...

Nate Padilla had a difficult family life as a boy. After his mom and dad split up, he bounced between his parents’ distant homes and by the time he got to middle school, he was angry. “It was always easier to be angry than any other emotion,” he says.

Kendall Brown learned about loss at a young age when his father was infected by a life-threatening flesh-eating bacteria. The doctors said the only hope for survival was amputation. But his dad, who had re-learned to walk after surviving a plane crash when he was in the military, couldn’t bear to give up his legs.

Carolina Martinez will be the first person in her family to attend a four-year university – and not just any university. She was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley, which is consistently ranked one of the nation’s best. “I started screaming, and my family thought something was wrong,” she recalls of the moment she got the good news.

With all the pressure to make friends, get good grades and get into college, high school is often a stressful experience. Throw in a worldwide pandemic that’s lasted for years, and it’s no surprise that students are feeling it.

When schools were closed due to the pandemic, Alex Loza decided to make good use of the extra time he had on his hands. He got a job delivering meals to the elderly and remembers how some of the recipients were so grateful they were brought to tears. “That really made me feel good about myself,” he says. “It made me realize the good I was doing in my community.”

Dr. César Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools, is pleased to announce that Shannon Klemann from Adolfo Camarillo High School (ACHS) in the Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) is the 2022 Ventura County Teacher of the Year. Klemann and her students found out about the honor today when local school administrators made a surprise visit to her classroom.Klemann is a veteran educator who has taught in OUHSD schools for 23 years. She currently teaches biology in grades 9 thr...

He hasn’t even graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School yet, but Hans Bach-Nguyen has built an enviable resume that spans five pages. In addition to stellar grades and test scores, it lists an impressive array of activities and achievements. 

Maggie Melendez’s road to high school graduation hasn’t been an easy one. The daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, she started school without knowing a word of English. When her family lost their housing in Fresno, she moved to a converted garage in Simi Valley with her mom and brother – the place she still calls home.

In light of the horrific school shooting in Texas, many students will have questions and fears about their own safety. We are offering the following resources to help parents and educators respond in the most appropriate way.