Highlights

• Grants: TCOE Mini Grant Applications Now Open!
• Legal: New Legal Guidance Regarding Health
• Events: Qualtrics Training and more!
• Learning Corner: CTE in the North State
• Professional Development: So many options it's a little overwhelming!!

TCOE Dispatch 2024-04 by Jeff Morris

On the evening of April 16, Hayfork Elementary School hosted local families to dinner and an evening of fun activities for the community’s “Little Learners”!

Sponsored by the Trinity County Local Childcare Planning Council, local kids and their families were treated to dinner (courtesy of Casa De Castellanos) and explored and participated in a wide variety of activities including early literacy, brain development, the importance of play, water safety, and oral health and nutrition. Kids received life jackets, books, sensory bins, dental hygiene kits, and piggy banks.  All part of the Little Learning Spaces program.

“This event was so much better than I expected”, said one local parent, “I couldn't get my kid to leave! I even bribed him with ice cream and sprinkles, but that didn't compare with the fun he was having. Great fun for the whole family."
 
Many local partners contributed to this event to support stronger community connections, improve safety, and share early learning resources.

Participating agencies and partners included the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department, Human Response Network, Trinity County Public Health, Trinity County First 5, Mountain Kids Therapy, UC Cal Fresh, Far Northern Regional Center, Barnes PlayCare, Ready Set Goal, Trinity County Office of Education and Hayfork Elementary School.  Special thanks to Sadie “Book Butterfly” Fagen and the Workability Squad from Mountain Valley USD.

Burnt Ranch Elementary will be hosting their own Little Learning Spaces event on Tuesday, April 30.  

Spread the word!!

    Grants: ECybermission Mini Grant
    Legal: Artificial Intelligence for Public Agencies
    Events: Trinity County Annual STEAM EXPOs
    Learning Corner: Why It Matters - The Morning Meeting
    Professional Development: Neuroscience: Transformative Education Practice Sessions

TCOE Dispatch 2024-03 by Jeff Morris

March of 2024 was a FULL month of events, planning and coordination for our team at the Trinity County Office of Education!!

From planning for and facilitating History Day, the Countywide Spelling Bee and the Love & Logic parenting classes, to planning for the upcoming STEAM and Young Artist Showcase events, TCOE’s Ed Services team has had a power packed month of activities.

History Day at Burnt Ranch Elementary
Nestled above the wild and scenic Trinity River, Burnt Ranch Elementary School hosted this year’s Trinity County National History Day competition. Competitors included 4th – 8th graders from two participating Trinity County schools competing for medals and a chance to attend the National History Day state finals at California State University Sacramento on April 19 –21. Within the theme “Turning Points in History”, out of the 57 projects that were entered, Naiya Tamura, Brayden Cooney, and Kelsea Allen from Burnt Ranch Elementary were chosen as the top finalists. Sensi Sullivan and Oliver Stewart were chosen as finalists from Trinity Center Elementary.

Spelling Bee at Hayfork Elementary
Student word gladiators from six local school districts dug into their vowels and consonants battled it out, with a hearty few becoming this year’s spelling champions

Grades 4 -6 / 1st Place: Brodie Reid, Weaverville Elementary / 2nd Place: Finn French, Weaverville Elementary / 3rd Place: Aevaley Connor, Hayfork Elementary
Grades 7 -9 / 1st Place: Aedan Grepo, Junction City Elementary / 2nd Place: Tulianna Briddle, Burnt Ranch Elementary / 3rd Place: Wesley Dresselhaus, Douglas City Elementary

Love and Logic at Trinity County Library, Weaverville
A robust number of families attended the first in a multi-session series to further develop their parenting and relationship skills.  Throughout the sessions attendees will learn how to turn parenting into a rewarding teaching activity while also learning practical tools for adults to use with children of all ages and help to create health relationships and maintain them over the long haul.  

Don’t miss these upcoming events!!
 

Young Artist Showcase - Saturday, April 06
4:00 – 8:00 pm, Highland Art Center, Weaverville

STEAM Events
Hayfork – Thursday, May 30
9:30 am – 12:00 pm, Hayfork Elementary School    

Weaverville – Wednesday, April 11
4:30 – 6:30 pm, Weaverville Elementary Gym
  

Highlights

    Grants: Applications Available for Extreme Heat Facilities and Planning Grant  
    Legal: Purchasing and Procurement Guidance Webinar
    Events: County Spelling Bee and STEAM Nights Coming Up!
    Learning Corner: Recommended Literature List Update Now Available
    Professional Development: California Dyslexia Initiative Virtual Training, June 11 - 12

Monday, February 11 marked an evening of strong poet performances as this year’s countywide Poetry Out Loud competition featured “potential Emily Dickinsons and Edgar Allen Poes” from across Trinity County.  These young word artists recited and performed works of prose and poetry in hopes of moving forward to state level competitions.  
 

While decisions with art competitions are not always as clear cut as other disciplines, one winner was chosen from among this year’s 8 participants with Mercedes Thao from Hayfork High School rising to the top.  Judah Ottem-O’Connell from Trinity High School was a close 2nd place.  
 

Organized by the Trinity County Arts Council, the Trinity County Office of Education and other local organizations, this annual event did not disappoint with performances from students from across Trinity County.
 

Joanne Tucker, instructional coach from the Trinity County Office of Education describes the benefits of Poetry Out Loud that include inspiring students, “with the confidence to make themselves heard using one of the most powerful tools at their disposal - Art.  Participating in this program is an impactful and often life-changing experience for young artists.  Students interact with the words of the masters, build personal relationships with their works, and create a sense of shared ownership over their artwork, branded by the student's own technique of volume, pitch, pace, and personal point of view.” 
 

The Poetry Out Loud competition begins with school teams and classroom practices that lead to a school-wide poetry recital competition. The top-ranking participants from each school compete at the county level.  Trinity County winners receive $100 and the opportunity to compete at the California state level, where they perform 3 memorized poems.  At the state and national levels, contestants are also invited to submit their own original poems. With more than 40 contestants in the state competition, the top scorer will win $200 and a place in the National Finals competition. The national champion wins $20,000 in college scholarship funds.  
 

We hope to report back on Ms. Thao’s performance at the state level competitions and encourage all students to apply for next year’s competition.

Trinity County Office of Education is offering a FREE Love and Logic Parenting Class Series beginning in March as part of our Adult Education Program.  We will be providing dinner for families and FREE childcare for children aged 5-12.

Location:  Weaverville Elementary School Library

Dates:      March 21st, March 28th, April 11th, April 18th & April 25th

Time:        5:00 - 6:00 pm Dinner for families and a school topic
                 6:00 - 8:00 pm Parenting Class

Class Details:  Parents from all walks of life will be able to utilize the Love and Logic Curriculum to help create happy, resilient, and responsible kids.

Parents will learn tips for all ages of kids on how to:

• End arguing and manipulation
• Neutralize defiance
• Replace anger and frustration with empathy
• End bedtime battles
• Set kids up for success by allowing them to make small mistakes when the price tag is small
• And much more!

Want to Participate? Please register in person by completing the registration form available at TCOE or complete your registration online via http://bit.ly/42nhSd2

For additional information, please contact: 
Jessica Bickle by email jbickle@tcoek12.org or by phone 530-623-2861 ext. 239

TCOE Dispatch 2024-01 by TCOE Communications

Built through a mix of grant funds and TAUSD allocations, the Wellness Center at Trinity High officially opened, adorning a student-produced logo.

What Is a Wellness Center?
Trinity High isn’t the first school in the county to open a Wellness Center. There is a center at Weaverville Elementary and Wellness Rooms at Burnt Ranch, Douglas City, and Lewiston. These are multi-purpose mental health spaces. Students can join learning groups, work on individual plans for self-improvement, or use the space temporarily to manage their behavior.

“It has been terrific to have an opportunity for students to have a space to decelerate their emotions, sort out challenges that they may be having in the school day, and a location where students can confide in other caring adults on a periodic basis, as needs arise,” said Trinity High Principal Corey Helgesen.

The Trinity County Office of Education (TCOE) is working with Trinity County Behavioral Health and hoping to get more grant funding. They want to expand and add Wellness Centers to more schools that are part of TCOE’s Wellness programs.

Students Choosing to Visit
For general visits, students are welcome to sign in to the Wellness Center during breaks such as lunch and after school. Trinity High also implemented a software program called Sown to Grow, which provides multiple social-emotional tools for students and also allows students to request a visit at the Wellness Center, according to Helgesen.

During class periods students can come to the center with their teacher’s permission. The student must have a specific reason to speak with Wellness Center staff or can use the space to regain control over their behavior. Once Wellness Center staff have determined that a student’s needs have been met, the student is sent back to class. 

“We are vigilant that Wellness Centers are used as a support, not an escape from their behavior or enabling,” said Jade Tyner, TCOE director of special programs. “These Centers are about providing a way to support students through overwhelming feelings while still holding students accountable to attend class and meet the expectations of their teachers, staff and campus.”

Student Learning Groups
The Wellness Center also hosts learning groups, which last typically 6-8 weeks in length and have no more than 15 students per group.  The first group at Trinity High, for example, will focus on peer support, with the goal of identifying and training lead students to attend and co-facilitate other Learning Groups throughout the school year.

The Learning Group topics for the school year can include topics like: managing anxiety, digital citizenship, discrimination, life skills and self-care, anger management, depression, and relationships.

Restorative Programs
Students can also be referred to the Wellness Center by staff when experiencing difficulties and are in need of support through a restorative program.

A restorative program is educationally focused, in which a student works with a Wellness Liaison from TCOE to have an explorative conversation to assess the student’s understanding of the issue, social-emotional history, and any other factors as it relates to the topic and behavior of the student. This conversation is used to determine if the student needs further support or resources from a clinician.

The Wellness Center can also be used by administration to enact restorative practices when a student exhibits behavioral concerns and/or violates school policy. These could be short- or long-term agreements that aim to restore harm that may have been a result of the student’s choices or actions.

If you have questions about Wellness Centers in the county, you can contact TCOE Director of Special Programs Jade Tyner at jtyner@tcoek12.org or 530-623-2861 ext. 244.

SACRAMENTO—The 2023 California School Dashboard is now online with data showing statewide improvements in student outcomes in several areas. The Dashboard is a key component of the state’s school accountability system, which includes the latest data on graduation rates, suspension rates, test scores, English Learner progress, the college/career indicator, chronic absenteeism, and local indicators. 

Among other highlights, the 2023 Dashboard shows that students in California are graduating at higher levels than before the COVID-19 pandemic and are missing less class time year-over-year.
 
The four-year cohort graduation rate for the class of 2023 is 86.2%. While this represents a slight decrease from the class of 2022 (less than one percentage point), California’s overall graduation rate is still higher than pre-pandemic levels. The slight decrease is likely due to the phase-out of Assembly Bill 104, which allowed for temporary flexibility in graduation requirements and course grading policies for high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The 2022–23 four-year adjusted cohort also included more graduates who meet the University of California/California State University admission requirements than prior to the pandemic, with 223,727 students (50.4% of graduates) graduating eligible for admission at California’s public universities. 

Additionally, 219 school districts and county offices of education that were previously eligible for differentiated assistance have made significant improvements in student outcomes and are no longer eligible for differentiated assistance. Only 68 school districts and county offices of education became newly eligible for differentiated assistance based on “needs to improve” outcomes for specific student groups. This statewide improvement comes after a record 617 districts and county offices of education were eligible for differentiated assistance in 2022 (following the pandemic). 

This statewide improvement is primarily due to improved outcomes on the Chronic Absenteeism indicator, which indicates a reversal of a concerning trend in school attendance that began during the pandemic. The Chronic Absenteeism rate, which measures the number of students who missed 10 percent of the days they were enrolled for any reason, declined to 24.3 percent in 2022–23, which is a 5.7 percentage point decline from an all-time high of 30 percent in 2021–22. California’s reported decrease is greater than the 11-state average reported in October and, notably, equity gaps in Chronic Absenteeism are becoming smaller, with the most vulnerable students improving fastest and no student groups any longer in the lowest “red” or “orange” categories. 

“This is encouraging news—and our work is not complete,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. “We have made an unprecedented investment in services that address the needs of the whole child. We can see that those efforts are paying off, but this is only the beginning. We need to continue providing students with the tools they need to excel, especially now that we are successfully reengaging our students and families, so we can close gaps in achievement in the same way that we have begun to close the equity gaps in attendance and absenteeism.”