| State: California | Number of Students: 10,795 |
| School Type: Public School District | Free and Reduced Lunch: 56.1% |
| Grade Level: K-12 | English Language Learners: 35.0% |
School Context
Student Equity: SCCOE aims to improve equity amongst students, making high quality education available for all.
Support: The county provides support to districts, schools, students, and families.
Boosting Effectiveness: The county aims to support districts and schools in improving their organization to impact botheffectiveness and efficiency.
SJ2020: The SJ2020 initiative was launched by the County Office of Education and the City of San Jose local businesses andcommunity organizations to eliminate the achievement gap for students in San Jose by 2020. The initiative was started inresponse to the growing number of students in San Jose testing below grade level. There is an SJ2020 e-newsletter that sharesnews for the initiative.
State of Technology
It’s Private: In 2015 the district hosted a Privacy Summit for educators andleaders throughout Santa Clara County to help support districts in navigatingissues involved with data privacy. Participants examined statewide andnational privacy concerns. The summit aimed to help districts think throughtheir approach to data and privacy with an emphasis on innovation andsafety.
A More Personal Approach: Santa Clara County is getting personal—withits education models. The County Office is hoping to spend the next coupleof years moving districts toward a more personalized learning model forevery student using blended learning strategies. What does this look like? ForSCCOE it means having a personal plan for all students, designing curriculumthat moves them ahead based on their individual strengths, challengesand pace. Various districts have begun this work by implementing portfoliosystems. SCCOE will continue to spread it through the professional learningservices offered to districts.
iPad Program: SCCOE’s special education program began piloting iPads withstudents earlier in 2014. The pilot included 40 teachers and continues togrow. The goal of the pilot is to personalize education for students who needpersonalized learning most.
Learning Edge Certification: SCCOE aims to provide support for teachersthat includes training and coaching. The county offers workshops, some ofwhich are pre-designed and some that can be customized. The county offersa few certification options through the national program Learning EdgeCertification. Certifications are available for Online and Blended Teacher,Administrator, Digital Educator and Professional Learning Leader.
STEAM: The county values STEAM Education and has a team that provides PDacross all STEAM content areas. The county offers on-site opportunities thattarget implementation for specific programs and integration of STEAM intothe classroom. PD experiences are customized based on the school and cancover topics such as STEAM Content, Project Based Learning, Universal Accessand Tech Integration.
I Support You: SCCOE supports its districts with a range of services, fromside-by-side coaching to grassroots level professional learning opportunitiesthat help each district achieve its goals. Recently, with its digital citizenshipprogram, both teachers and parents get support. SCCOE sets up an academyfor teachers to learn innovative practices and tools and also supports parentnights to complement what teachers are learning. Most of the County Office’straining focuses less on how to implement tools and more on pedagogicalpractices.
Tech Needs & Requirements
Current needs are more tools that support interoperability with data sharing and single sign on and knowledge of companies with clear and simple privacy policies.
Initiatives
The County Office will continue to host the Student Data Privacy Summit in 2016.