COVID-19 Response

When Governor Newsom put the Shelter in Place Executive Order in place, Shasta County Office of Education (SCOE) employees were able to transition over a very short time period to work remotely. Our Information Technology Department stepped up to support this transition for our staff. It has been great to hear about how the work continued and connection opportunities were created through online meetings that were held across each of our departments.

We had staff who saw needs during this time and stepped in to fill those needs. It has been great to hear of the impact of the efforts of our SCOE family for educators, students, and families.

american indian advisory

Beginning in March 2019, Superintendent Judy Flores began meeting with education leaders within the Native American community as well as key participants from within the Shasta County Office of Education. This Advisory has met on a monthly basis since that time. In April 2020, the group expanded with a formal representative from each of our Shasta County tribal groups.

During the 2019-20 school year, a full-day training was offered: “Understanding the Realities of our Native American Students and Their Families.” The October 2019 training was so well received that it was repeated on March 6, 2020. Plans are currently underway to have the session repeated in Pit River Country in the fall, or as soon as gatherings of 50 or more are allowed. Throughout the year, to follow up on the initial training, evening events were offered:

• Dr. Benjamin Madley, UCLA Professor came to the Cascade Theater and shared key concepts from his book An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873. Our office played a key role in preparing for and sponsoring this event.
   
• CSU Chico Student Voice Panel: Rachel McBride, Director of Tribal Relations at Chico State, brought a panel of Native American students who shared their experiences in getting to Chico State, including challenges and successes throughout their educational journey. 
   
• Unconscious Bias: Donnell Jordan from the California Teachers’ Association provided a 2-part series to guide participants through a journey of personal exploration for an awareness of the perceptions we make about people and our surroundings. It provided increased awareness of cognitive biases and intervention strategies were offered. 
• 
  “The Science of Ceremony” - our final session of the year was canceled due to the coronavirus, but will be rescheduled as soon as gatherings of 50 or more are safe.

This work began because of the data which showed our Native American students were chronically absent at very high rates, with almost one in four missing more than ten percent of the school year. One of the realities that was uncovered is that our Native students do not see themselves within history as portrayed by textbooks. With support from the Shasta County Board of Education, the Lumina Foundation, and United Way of Northern California, teachers from across Shasta County are coming together to develop lessons at grades 3 (Shasta County history), grade 4 (California history), and grades 5 and 8 (United States history). These lessons will share the story of our local tribes and are being written with a Culture Consultant from each tribe to make sure what is written accurately depicts the tribe. The goal at the end of phase one is to have two lessons at each of the identified grade levels for three of our local tribes: Pit River, Winnemem Wintu, and Wintu Tribe of Northern California.

This work is continuing and holds great promise for improving the background and understanding of our educators which we hope in turn will improve attendance and outcomes of our Native American students.

We had staff who saw needs during this time and stepped in to fill those needs. It has been great to hear of the impact of the efforts of our SCOE family for educators, students, and families.

Instructional Services has the goal to provide service, leadership, and professional development to improve student learning. There are three departments within Instructional Services: Student Programs, Professional Learning and Leadership Support Services, and Early Childhood Services. Instructional Services provides an array of training, support, resources and services for educators and families in Shasta County and the nine surrounding counties throughout Region 2. Support services such as preschool, juvenile court school, after school programs, Special Education classes, Independent Study School, administrative credentialing, countywide counseling services, safety plan development, district support, charter school and charter authorizer support, assessment and accountability, curriculum and instruction, coordination of Foster Youth and Homeless Youth services, and professional learning opportunities are just some of the programs we offer to the schools in the north state. In addition, Instructional Services is uniquely positioned to share information from state level committees and the California Department of Education with schools, districts, and counties in the North State. We coordinate various programs and projects to enhance teaching and learning from preschool through high school. We are willing to customize our services to meet the needs of individual schools and districts. We strive to support and assist schools with building the necessary foundations to prepare students to be college and career ready. For more information, see the web page: https://www.shastacoe.org/instructional-services-division.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP SUPPORT SERVICES

The Shasta County Office of Education Professional Learning and Leadership Support Services Department provides guidance, support and high-quality professional development to help our districts develop effective instructional systems that support students in our schools. Department staff members work with teachers, instructional coaches, and education leaders at both the school and district levels to develop the knowledge and skills needed to engage in a systematic and sustainable improvement process.  The principles of improvement guide our work with districts in Shasta County identified for Differentiated Assistance and our work as a Geographic Lead Agency for California’s System of Support. The shift to understanding the system and exploring options for improvement is a hopeful direction for positive change. As we provide professional learning opportunities for teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators, we are building some improvement principles into the application of new knowledge as we ask, “What did you learn today that you will try? What are you hoping it will accomplish? What evidence will you gather to know whether it was an improvement?”  Additional services include support for the development and the implementation of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), federal entitlement programs that include Title I, II, III, IV and V, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements, School Leadership Team professional development, policy and governance guidance, implementation of curriculum, improvement in instructional practice, and assessment support.

Under the leadership of Executive Director, Renee Menefee, the Early Childhood Services (ECS) Department is the central access point to providing education and support services for children, families, and early education professionals in various settings in Shasta County. ECS is a department of Instructional Services, and is composed of five separate divisions: Health and Nutrition, Early Education and Instruction, Inclusive Early Education, Family and Community Support Services, and Strategic Planning and Workforce Development. A few of the ECS programs include subsidized child care, resource and referral services, parent and provider trainings, part and full-day preschool programs, the Early Intervention Program, Help Me Grow, Bridges to School Success, Quality Counts North State, the Local Child Care and Development Planning Council and nutrition education. 

Family and Community Support Services provide Resource and Referral (R&R) and the Alternative Payment (AP) child care subsidy programs and the Emergency Foster Bridge program for both Shasta and Tehama counties. A current list of Licensed Family child care providers is maintained in order to assist families in finding child care that meets the needs of both child and family. R&R provides parent and provider trainings and is the early care link to services available in our community. Subsidy programs help pay for child care services while parents work, seek work, or attend education programs. The Emergency Foster Bridge program provides child care vouchers for up to 6 months of care, to resource families (foster parents) who are working and need care for the foster child. The families and child care providers receive training in Trauma-Informed Practices, to better support the child’s mental health.

STUDENT PROGRAM DEPARTMENT

The Shasta County Office of Education Student Programs Department offers a variety of support services at the request of school districts, including but not limited to: interpreters for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Orientation and Mobility training for the Visually Impaired, and Excel Academy for students with behavioral and emotional disabilities. The Juvenile Court School for incarcerated youth is also part of Student Programs. Our Youth Support Services Program provides assistance to Shasta County districts to support Foster Youth Programs, Homeless support, and Tobacco Use Prevention Education. Our program partners with Shasta County Family Services, Shasta County Probation, Shasta County Health and Human Services, and Shasta County Mental Health Services. Shasta County Independent Study is an alternative to conventional educational settings, allowing students to complete coursework independently under the supervision of a credentialed teacher. Students meet individually with an assigned teacher a minimum of one time per week. This program is voluntary and provides the flexibility to meet students’ specific needs, interests, and learning styles. School Attendance Review Board (SARB) works directly with students and their parents to resolve issues in the area of attendance. Shasta Health, Academic, and Recreation Enrichment (SHARE) is a collaborative effort between Shasta County Office of Education, school districts, and support agencies to provide safe and structured activities for our students outside of the regular school day.

THE NORTH STATE STEM SHASTA COUNTY ACTION COMMITTEES ESTABLISHED TO PURSUE THE GOALS ARE:
 

ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS / SHASTA COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Tier 2 Induction Program

Shasta County Office of Education’s Tier 2 Induction program, in partnership with Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), is designed to provide new administrators the opportunity to clear their preliminary administrative credential through a job embedded induction experience. The program was developed in response to the state’s change in how administrators clear their credentials. Upon acceptance into the 2-year induction program, preliminary administrators are paired with a trained, veteran administrator who serves as their coach, in a process that is designed to be highly individualized and tailored to build on strengths. Through on-site observations and one-on-one meetings, the coach and candidate develop and implement an Individual Learning Plan (ILP). Additionally, these candidates will attend professional development classes and will collect evidence that demonstrates they have applied the California Professional Standards for Educational Leadership (CPSELs) in their daily work. Shasta County Office of Education in partnership with ACSA, serve new leaders in the longest running coaching-based Clear Administrative Services Credential program in the state. This work continues to be led by Dr. Kim McKenzie. Our program is designed to support and accelerate school leadership practice to positively impact student learning. Through targeted coaching and timely and ongoing professional development, our program participants build capacity to develop positive and collaborative school cultures. Currently, we have 52 candidates enrolled in our induction program with 30 administrator coaches. We have 2 enrollment periods fall and winter for candidates to enroll in the program.

SHASTA COUNTY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE REVIEW BOARD (SARB)

Shasta County Office of Education has continued an ongoing commitment to both local and county School Attendance Review Boards (SARB). County and local SARBs were established by Education Code 48321 in order to: 

• maximize the use of all available resources and services

• avoid unnecessary duplication of resources to resolve attendance and behavior problems; and

• divert students from the juvenile justice system with school-related problems. 

The Shasta County Office of Education County SARB provides services to all local school districts to support the reduction of truancy and behavior problems within the elementary, middle school, and high school students. Our goal is to return students to positive attendance and behavior through an early intervention process utilizing positive messaging, sending letters, making phone calls, utilizing local community resources, and parent meetings to find solutions to resolve the issues hindering school attendance and behavior. Our local SARB boards require all available interventions to be held prior to bringing a student to the SARB Board. A School Attendance Review Team (SART), Student Study Team (SST), Student Success Team (SST), and Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), are some examples of pre-SARB meetings held to offer all available services to the family prior to SARB. 

Our County SARB Board consists of individuals from the Shasta County Office of Education, Law Enforcement, District Attorney’s Office, Probation, Health and Human Services, Youth Service Providers, Public Defender’s Office, and members of the community. 

The SARB process serves students by recommending changes in the school program, directing the student and/or family to counseling, connecting them to community resources, tutoring if needed, alternative teacher assignments when appropriate, education, and support in navigating roadblocks creating the attendance or behavior problems and ultimately referring to the court system if the attendance problem is not successfully resolved. 

Ed Code 48321 guides the work of the County SARB. According to California Department of Education’s website: Although the goal of SARBs is to keep students in school and provide them with a meaningful educational experience, SARBs do have the power, when necessary, to refer students and their parents or guardians to court.

(5) (A) If a county school attendance review board exists, the county superintendent of schools shall, at the beginning of each school year, convene a meeting of the county school attendance review board for purposes of adopting plans to promote inter agency and community cooperation and to reduce the duplication of services provided to youth who have serious school attendance and behavior problems.

(f) A county school attendance review board may provide guidance to local school attendance review boards.

The Shasta County SARB will meet to provide training to Local SARB Chairs, Co-Chairs, and any SARB panel members also able to participate. Training will be provided in mediation and restorative practices in the context of the work of a SARB panel. Data from the local SARBs will be reviewed to determine if additional resources are needed to meet the needs within the county, whether those resources are for a student group, an intervention gap in the system of support, or for a district/school who is sending a much greater percentage of students forward to SARB.

County SARB hears local SARB appeal cases-If a parent/guardian appeals their SARB hearing at their local SARB and due process is not followed, the County SARB Chair reviews the appeal and if granted County SARB hears the appeal.  Appeals are not heard on the basis of dissatisfaction with the outcome, only if it appears there was a breach of due process.  County SARB will provide the local SARB Chair and the school with recommendations to rectify the situation of a breach of due process is verified. 

REACH HIGHER Shasta is a local initiative that works to create clear pathways from our children’s first day in the cradle to their first day on the job. We ensure they are ready for kindergarten, motivated and supported through elementary, middle, and high school, and assisted in the transition to career training or college. Along the way we connect them to caring adults and generous business partners who serve as mentors, guides, and coaches. We collect data that measures what’s working and what needs to change. We believe every student deserves every option open for their future following high school, and we know that their success will change the future of our community. 

The mission is: "Working together as a community to provide all students with all options for education and training after high school to pursue a successful, fulfilling career." 

At the Shasta County Office of Education, we truly believe that bringing all schools and districts from across Shasta County together around a single focus helps us to improve outcomes for students collectively. Because of this opportunity to support all schools through this work, we have heavily invested our staff in the work of the Reach Higher Shasta Initiatives.

LITERACY INITIATIVE The aim of the REACH HIGHER 

Literacy Initiative is “All 3rd Grade Students in Shasta County reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade as measured by the CAASPP ELA Standard Met or Exceeded.” The committee, in joint collaboration with the REACH HIGHER Shasta Early Literacy Partnership committee, has identified six main drivers to focus the work of the committee toward achieving the aim. 

The drivers are:

• Partner Better Together
• Maximize Opportunities
• Empower Families
• Identify, Coordinate, Improve Known 3rd grade Literacy Actions in the Community
• Drive Improvement Through Data
• Communicate a Common County-Wide Focus. 

A driver diagram has been created that maps the primary and secondary drivers of systems and potential actions discussed throughout the year.

 “Did you know reading 10 minutes a day makes a lifetime of difference?” Shasta Reads is the name of this initiative with plans for billboards, information on RABA buses and other forms of communication with the goal of helping families understand the importance of reading daily.

The committee has created a Summer Reading Program with a flyer directing families to a collection of resources to promote reading throughout the summer with access to programs and books through the Shasta County Library. Resources are available: www.reachhighershasta.com or http://reddingschools.net/summer-reading-programs/ 

The Library began a pilot program with Munchkin University with children and families receiving books and book bags to increase reading at home.  

The committee also revisited Little Free Libraries to update maps and information to whom the LFL belongs and with plans to have Rotary Clubs  build more that could be placed in areas of the community where none exist.  Unfortunately, COVID-19 hit and the work was put on hold until a later date.

COUNSELING INITIATIVE

We are completing the fourth  year of the Reach Higher Shasta (RHS)Counseling Initiative.   We’ve had a lot to celebrate this year!   The school counselors and administrators received a Golden Bell Award for Student Support Services sponsored by the California School Boards Association.  The RHS Counseling Initiative was the first county wide school counseling program to have ever received a Golden Bell Award in the 40 years of the program’s existence.

Another celebration has been that the Shasta County Office of Education (SCOE) has become the 4th of 58 county offices of education to promote a School Counselor of the Year  recognition program.  Tara Schwerdt, from West Valley High School has the honor of being named SCOE’s inaugural School Counselor of the Year.  Tara’s picture and School Counselor of the Year plaque has been placed alongside the Teacher of the Year  plaque in the main hall at the SCOE downtown office.  Tara is also featured on the SCOE’s website under  recognition.

The RHS Counseling Initiative team also has some impressive data to report!  Due to our intentional efforts to promote post-secondary  ready graduates,  the RHS campuses can boast a 70.1%  Prepared status on the College/Career Readiness Indicator (CCI) for the 2019 CA School Dashboard.   The chart below demonstrates our phenomenal growth from 2017-2019 in promoting college/career readiness and how we have outperformed the state average each year!

When COVID-19 forced school closures, a Shasta County School Counselor Collaborative (SCSCC) was established and the first meeting held on March 20th. The SCSCC has provided an opportunity for school counselors spanning across grades K-12 to collaborate with regard to creating virtual school counseling programs, sharing updates at the local, state, and national levels, as well as celebrating school counselors’ efforts in providing virtual support through lessons, small groups, and information to families and staff members.  The SCSCC has included administrators, school social workers, school psychologists, and Shasta College administration as well.  We are very proud of the collaboration from this unique group!

Looking ahead to the 20-21 school year, we know that school counselors will be heavily involved with student mental health/wellness and support of families. RHS school counselors are adjusting their Tier 1 core curriculum to include more social/emotional lessons, preparing for increased Tier 2 support with small group counseling, and revisiting our protocols for Tier 3  supports and crisis response in light of anticipated increase in student mental health needs.  That being said, school counselors will continue to provide curriculum and activities to promote postsecondary and career development

SCHOOL COUNSELOR

EDUCATORS

CLASSIFIED

NORTHSTATE EDUCATE

Shasta County Office of Education (SCOE) partners with Tulare County Office of Education and the California Center for Teaching Careers to address the educator shortage in the North State. The northern section has been nicknamed North State Educate and serves Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity County Offices’ of Education. Our office has been a liaison to all County Offices of Education and districts in this region and represented at local and virtual job fairs. Statistics to attract educators to our region include a higher than average income and lower than average housing costs, not to mention the many geographic features such as lakes, rivers, mountains and oceans. Efforts have established outreach to over 500 candidates and will have long-lasting impact on the provision of quality education for north state youth. 

Through these grants and programs, we are able to offer more services to students and teachers in Shasta County.

The Shasta County Office of Education provides a wide range of services to 25 school districts in Shasta County. They include business services data processing, personnel, administrative, psychological, nursing and community health, curricular assistance, instructional, information technology, and many other services.

School districts in Shasta County operate autonomouslywith their own elected governing boards and appointed Superintendent.

The Shasta County Office of Education is a service organization and an intermediate unit between local school districts and the California State Department of Education. Programs are offered for at-risk youth, early childhood, special education, and after-school.

For more information about these programs, please visit our website at www.shastacoe.org. The general information line for our main administration office is (530) 225-0200.

Judy Flores
ShastaCountySuperintendentofSchools
1644 Magnolia Ave.
Redding, CA 96001

The following figures are from 2019-20

The SBAC Math Data compares results of Shasta County students versus California for the period of 2015 to 2019. In 2015, 34% of the county students meet or exceeded the states by 1%. In 2016 that 1% difference remained constant with the county reporting 38% vs the states 37%. In 2017 & 2018 both the county and the state results tied at 38% and 39% respectively; both entities increasing performance by 1%.  In 2019, 40% of the county students meet or exceeded the states by 1%.

In 2019, Shasta County and California both had 39% of students meet or exceed standard in math but the breakdown in proficiency levels is different. 16% of the county's students exceeded while the state had 19%; 23% of the county's students met while the state had 26%. 30% of the county's students nearly met standards why the state had 26%. Lastly, the county had 31% not meeting standards while 35%.

SBAC math data of Shasta County's students by grade level. Third, fourth, & fifth graders whom met or exceeded standards were 47%, 43% and 37% respectively. Six, seventh and eighth graders scored at 32%, 42% and 48%. There is no data available for ninth and tenth graders; eleventh graders whom met or exceeded standards were 36%.

The SBAC ELA Data compares results of Shasta County students versus California for the period of 2015 to 2019. In 2015, 44% of the county students meet or exceeded standards; which is equal to the states population. In 2016 fell below the state with a reported 47% compared to the states 49%. In 2017 the county continued its improvement projection with 48% of the students meeting and exceeding while the state results dipped to 48%, equal to the county. In 2018 the county improved another point while the state posted a two point improvement; wrapping up with the county reporting 49% and 50% for the state.  In 2019 the county stayed the same at 49%, and the state improved to 51%.

In 2019, Shasta County had 49% of students meet or exceed standard while California had 51%. 19% of the county's students exceeded while the state had 23%; 30% of the county's students met while the state had 28.6%. 25% of the county's students nearly met standards why the state had 23% missing the mark. Lastly, the county had 26% not meeting standards while California had 27%.

SBAC ELA data of Shasta County's students by grade level. Third, fourth, & fifth graders whom met or exceeded standards were 47%, 47% and 49% respectively. Six, seventh and eighth graders scored at 45%, 51% and 46%. There is no data available for ninth and tenth graders; eleventh graders whom met or exceeded standards were 57%.

The 2019 California Child Care Portfolio, the 12th edition of a biennial report, presents a unique portrait of child care supply, demand, and cost statewide and county by county, as well as data regarding employment, poverty, and family budgets.  The child care data in this report was gathered with the assistance of local child care resource and referral programs (R&Rs).  R&Rs work daily to help parents find child care that best suits their family and economic needs.  They also work to build and support the delivery of high-quality child care service in diverse settings throughout the state.  To access the full report summary and county pages, go to our website at www.rrnetwork.org

The overall people in poverty in 2018 within the county is 15% compared to 14% within the state. The source data is from the .American Community Survey 2018.

Child Care and Family Budgets
 

The below charts compare the uses of income eligible families with or without care subsidies to median family income households. The source of the data is either American Community Survey 2016 1-year and 2015 5-year estimates; U.S. Housing and Urban Development rent for 2-bedroom 50th percentile; 70% of 2015 State Median Income for a family of three; 2016 Regional Market Rate Survey, Network estimate 

As determined by Resource & Referral child care referrals from April thru June 2019, 24% of those requests were made for children under two, 48% for those between 2 to 5 years of age, and 28% for children 6 years and older.

Licensed child care slots were available for 70% of children between the age of 0-12 with parents in the labor force. This is an estimate based on 4,910 licensed slots and does not include license-exempt programs.

The majority of child care centers, 45%, have one or more federal, state, or local contracts.

The languages spoken at the family homes of those requesting child care consist of 90% speaking Engish, 6% speaking Spanish, 3% speaking an Asian or Pacific Island languages, with the remaining 2% speaking some other language.

Licensed child care centers employing at least one staff speaking the following languages are 100% speaking English, 18% speaking Chinese, and 5% speaking sign language. In comparison, licensed family child care homes employing at least one staff speaking a variety of languages are 100% speaking English, 10% speaking Spanish, and 5% knowing sign language.

For more information about child care in Shasta County: Early Childhood Services at the Shasta County Office of Education. Phone 530.225.2999 or www.shastacoe.org. 

Shasta County School Districts & Superintendents

Shasta County Charter Schools