Students from across the US are turning in their swimsuits for backpacks and heading back to school. Soon summer will evaporate, school will start and the school bell will ring in the new school year.
Students will show up on the first day back to school with new expectations and new hope. The start of the new school year is an exciting time.
I have been fortunate to witness this amazing yearly rebirth firsthand for the past 26 years. As I enter my 27th year in education I could not be more excited about the possibilities that are abound for Shasta County Students.
Our schools, despite all the budget cuts and pressures that come with high stakes testing continue to academically out perform other students in counties throughout the state of California. We have safe schools and we continue to offer some of the finest arts programs in the nation.
In addition, we have a new initiative titled Reach Higher Shasta to ensure all Shasta County students will achieve success beyond high school. Our mission is: “All Shasta County students will receive an education that successfully prepares them, without remediation, for multiple postsecondary options with a focus on high skill, high wage employment.” Through partnerships with College Options, Shasta College, Chico State University, UC Davis, First Five, Public Health the school districts of Shasta County and through the leadership of the Shasta County office of Education we have embarked on a journey to help ensure our students are ready for the challenges of the 21st century work force.
During these very tough financial times educators have come together with local agencies to take a step toward improving how we prepare our students for a career beyond high school. Some may question that during these recent economic woes, where family incomes have dropped and the cost to attend schooling beyond high school has increased, why we would take on such an initiative? The answer is quite simple. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), forecasts increasing trouble for high school graduates not planning on attending a post-secondary program and a looming education deficit if the nation cannot increase overall post-secondary graduation rates.
Current research, such as the recent study out of Georgetown University, project the creation of 46.3 million new jobs by the end of 2018, with 63% requiring a post-secondary degree or certificate. According to the study, “75-90 percent of [these] jobs… will require post-secondary education or training.” This translates into roughly 30 million new jobs for those with a post-secondary education.
No longer can a student leave high school and expect to walk into a decent paying job. It happens, but it is not the norm and we would be remiss if we set our sites so low for our students.
As the new school year is upon we are excited for the students of Shasta County and have committed ourselves to the Reach Higher Shasta Initiative. We are excited that new opportunities are in the works for Shasta County students and encourage you to visit our website: www.reachhighershasta.com and/or call Charlene Ramont at 229-8219 to learn more.
Tom Armelino, Shasta County Superintendent of Schools and former district superintendent of Enterprise Elementary and Millville Elementary School Districts, has served as a public educator for the past 26 years. 18 years as an administrator and 8 years as a teacher. He has served 24 years in Shasta County schools. In addition, he has taught for Chico State University, Simpson University, and National University.
During his 12 years as principal, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, and Superintendent of the Enterprise Elementary School District his 7 schools received 6 California Distinguished School and 14 Title 1 High Achieving School awards! Enterprise Elementary School District’s high poverty schools continue to lead the county and the state with 6 of the 7 schools at 800 or above and the middle school just points away from meeting a district goal of all schools at 800 or above! Due to the hard work of staff, strong leadership, and a systematic approach using highly effective schools research, the district continues to grow and maintain the research based themes or characteristics of highly performing districts.
Tom, in his second term as Shasta County Superintendent of Schools, continues to work with district and school leaders helping them work on continuous school improvement. In addition, he has recently started a local campaign titled “Reach Higher Shasta” to help ensure students are prepared for the rigor of post-secondary education and able to obtain success in a career after high school. He is committed to serving the children of Shasta County through partnerships with local districts and is passionate about student learning. He recognizes the need for district and site leadership to work collaboratively together to use research practices system-wide to improve student learning.
