Cyndi Soraoka, (fifth from left) with others from the internship program in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD (in dress white uniform, fifth from right).

By Cyndi Soraoka

I was one of only four Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Advisors, out of over 40 applicants, selected to do a one-week internship in the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States, this past July in Washington, DC.

I was privileged to learn about our public health system including the Medical Reserve Corps, the US Public Health Service, and the US Public Health Commissioned Corps, which is on par with the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard in service to our country. We visited the Department of Human Services, learned about the Emergency Management System that is deployed in case of a nationwide medical emergency and visited the Secretary’s Operation Center (SOC)—a 24-hour operation that serves as the “nerve center” for public health emergency preparedness. I learned how different medical career personnel can serve our country at the federal level. We visited the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) which houses a medical school and graduate nursing department funded by the federal government.

I am sharing what I learned during that week with the Dozier-Libbey Medical High School HOSA chapter and incorporating it into the 10th grade Health Science curriculum. It was a once in a life time experience!

HOSA develops leadership and technical skill competencies through a program of motivation, awareness and recognition. To learn more visit www.HOSA.org.

To learn more about the internship please check out our blog at http://2012internship1.blogspot.com/

Most of Antioch’s public schools are improving, but as a whole they are still below state and government education standards and assessments.

At the Wednesday, October 25 school board meeting, Antioch Unified School District Director of Educational Services Mary McCarthy gave a presentation that highlighted the targets the schools were supposed to hit. Antioch Unified, like every district in California, needs to meet certain state and federal standards.

There are several state tests that are used to determine whether students in a school are improving and meeting those standards, like the California Standards Test (CST) and the California Modified Assessment (CMA), for example.

Overall, Antioch’s students have done fairly well on these tests this year. The students that are tested – second grade through eleventh grade students – have increased their Language Arts CST scores an average of 2.5 percent over last year. And their CST Math scores, (only second through seventh grade were available) have increased about 3.33 percent over last year.

The States Academic Performance Index (API) takes tests such as the California Standards Test (CST) and the California Modified Assessment (CMA), in consideration when they determine a school’s API score.

The API is growth model, represented as a number, from a low of 200 to a high of 1000, which reflects a school’s performance level based on the results of statewide testing. It’s supposed to measure the academic performance and growth of a given school.

The API is calculated by converting a student’s performance on statewide assessments, into points on the API scale. These points are then averaged across all students and all tests. The state requires all schools and districts to achieve a score of 800 or higher on the API.

According to McCarthy’s presentation, the district as a whole has seen an average growth this year of +12 and a four year growth trend of +30 on average for their API scores.

Only 5 of the 24 schools have reached the state mandated score of 800 for the API, according to McCarthy’s presentation. However, one third of Antioch’s schools have seen at least some growth, something that is encouraging, McCarthy said.

Of the five schools that reached 800, including John Muir Elementary, Dozier-Libbey High, Orchard Park Middle, Diablo Vista Elementary, and Lone Tree Elementary, four of them saw growth of four or more. Only John Muir’s API score fell and by a significant 30 points, something McCarthy said she and John Muir’s staff are looking into.

In addition to state standards, schools must also meet federal government standards. One of the biggest government criteria is the Federal Accountability Adequate Yearly Progress, (AYP), standard.

The federal government’s goal is 100 percent of all tested students will demonstrate proficiency or better in English-Language Arts and Math by 2014.

AYP is determined for elementary and middle school students by using STAR testing. High school student’s AYP scores are determined through the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) scores and a minimum graduation rate.

In addition, all students must show a combined API score of 740 or at least one point of growth and a certain participation rate on those tests.

McCarthy said that it is very difficult to meet AYP because 46 individual criteria have to be met.

Not only do all schools and the districts as a whole have to meet the above minimum test and participation standards, but there are many additional subgroups that must meet them too. Student subgroups including African American, Asian, Filipino, Hispanic/Latino, White, Socio/Economically Disadvantaged, English Learners and Students with Disabilities, all have to individually meet the AYP targets for a school to pass.

For example, AUSD could have hit 45 of the 46 standards and they still wouldn’t pass because they’re target graduation rate is 76.01 percent and AUSD’s graduation rate was set by the AYP at 75.86 percent – a gap of just .0015 percent. They would have missed their goal by only about two students.

AUSD however, only passed 26 of the 46 AYP criteria and have not met the AYP criteria as a district for the last five years in a row.

Although the district is in its third year of steady improvement, they are still far below the required 78.4 percent efficiency in English-Language Arts and the 77.4 percent efficiency in Math. As a district, AUSD is right at 50 percent efficiency for Math and English.

The closest subgroups to reaching proficiency in English and Math are Asians, Filipinos and Whites, all of whom are at or above 60 percent proficient.

All other subgroups are lagging behind and are well below 50 percent proficiency.

Only Fremont Elementary, Mission Elementary and Marsh Elementary schools are meeting AYP standards in all areas.

Amber Chiang, Director, NCMPR District 6 and Barbara Cella, Director, Marketing & Media Design for Los Medanos College and the NCMPR District 6 Medallion Awards received by Los Medanos College

Los Medanos College has been recognized with eight Medallion Awards from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 6, which serves two-year colleges in southwestern United States. The NCMPR District 6 Medallion Awards recognize outstanding achievement in communications at community and technical colleges in District 6. It’s the only regional competition of its kind that honors excellence exclusively among marketing and public relations professionals at two-year colleges. The NCMPR District 6 Medallion Awards are awarded in levels of gold, silver, and bronze.

Los Medanos College was recognized for:

·Gold Medallion in the category of Banner or Outdoor Media – “Planning to Transfer?”

·Gold Medallion in the category of Website – “Los Medanos College Official Website”

·Silver Medallion in the category of Poster – “How I Learned to Drive”

·Silver Medallion in the category of Banner or Outdoor Media – “Be a Major Success”

·Silver Medallion in the category of Original Photo – “You Look Great”

·Silver Medallion in the category of Logo Design – “Vision 2020”

·Bronze Medallion in the category of Brochure/Flyer – “Career and Technical Education”

·Bronze Medallion in the category of Original Photo – “Committed and Proud”

The awards were presented Friday, September 28, at the conclusion of the NCMPR District 6 Conference in Santa Barbara, California. Los Medanos College was competing with more than 200 entries received from colleges in NCMPR District 6.

“The Medallion Awards recognize excellence in community college marketing,” said Amber Chiang, director of NCMPR District 6. “Often, community college marketing departments are designed to make other departments on campus look good. This is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of marketing staff and achievement in community college communications.”

District 6 includes community colleges in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Territory of Guam.

The National Council for Marketing & Public Relations is the only organization of its kind that exclusively represents marketing and public relations professionals at community and technical colleges. As one of the fastest-growing affiliates of the American Association of Community Colleges, NCMPR has more than 1,550 members from more than 650 colleges across the United States, Canada and other countries.

Los Medanos College is located in Pittsburg with an extension in Brentwood. For more information visit www.losmedanos.edu.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

D’Juan “De’shawn” Woolridge from his campaign’s Facebook page.

A success story on the Los Medanos College (LMC) website about current candidate for the Contra Costa Community College Board of Trustees, D’Juan “De’shawn” Woolridge has been removed.

The discovery of the story, made by this writer on Saturday, October 6, 2012, while doing an online research about the candidates for Ward V, which includes most of Antioch, resulted in the removal of it by new LMC President Bob Kratochvil, today.

An email to Kratochvil, college district Chancellor Helen Benjamin and all five trustees asking them if they were aware of the story that showed a photo of Woolridge with another person, and mentioned he “ is currently running for public office,” and what they planned to do about it, received two responses. The first was from Trustee John Marquez, who represents Ward I, covering West County.

Marquez stated in an email, “I don’t see any implied endorsement or promotion of De’shawn Woolridge by LMC over the other candidates for Ward V. I just see this as an expression of pride by LMC of the successes of its alumni. I was not aware of this write-up. And, I’m not concerned about it since the other candidates have not raised any concern. If they do, I might personally ‘consider’ removal until after the election.”

He also wrote in the same email, “I read the biography of De’shawn referenced by you, and concluded that the story did not

D’Juan “De’shawn” Woolridge that appeared with his Alumni Success Story on the LMC website, until its removal on Monday, October 8, 2012.

mention anything about his current candidacy for College Board Ward V. While I have not endorsed De’shawn, I have known him for many years and knew he has always had  political aspirations. As I read the biography, I noticed all the excellent steps taken by De’shawn and staff at LMC to see his goals achieved. By the way, his hair is not as long as shown on the photo, which implies the biography was written sometime ago. LMC should be proud of the ‘success stories’ of all its Alumni. Further reading of the LMC website reveals the successes of other alumni such as Dave Tollefson, football player during the Super Bowl XLVI, and Wade Harper, candidate for Mayor of Antioch, among others.”

“Just to be fair about the political process, I will ask for consideration of a policy change by the Board at our meeting in November,” Marquez added.

New LMC President Bob Kratochvil had a different response.

“The story about Mr. Woolridge that is on our website is among several ‘stories of success’ regarding students and programs at Los Medanos College, a series that has been in place for quite some time.  It is my understanding that the article about Mr. Woolridge has been on the web page for more than a year, apparently written initially upon his graduation from LMC (approximately Spring/Summer 2011) and coinciding his candidacy for a council seat in the City of Pittsburg.  Subsequently, information in the article was updated after he graduated from University of the Pacific,” Kratochvil wrote in an email.

“I acknowledge that, since Mr. Woolridge is a candidate for a seat on the Contra Costa Community College Governing Board, such a story should be pulled from our website until after the November election so there is no inadvertent perception of endorsement.  We will do so immediately at the start of business on Monday morning. Thank you very much for bringing this matter to our attention,” he added.

When asked about the website story, Woolridge stated “The article has been up there for awhile. It was up there before the election and written two years ago.”

However, the story has been updated in the past few months, because it included two new facts about Woolridge: “De’shawn has completed his bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of the Pacific…and is currently running for public office.” He graduated in May, 2012 and filed for office by August 16.

Woolridge spoke with LMC Marketing Director Barbara Cella regarding the website story. “She contacted me and asked me if I had graduated and I said ‘Yes’,” he stated.

Cella was unavailable for comment when contacted Monday morning.

“The fact that it doesn’t even say ‘the governing board,’ I don’t have a problem with it being on the website, since it was written two years ago. It’s not really highlighted for a campaign,” Woolridge added.

Regarding removal of the article, he said “I don’t really have a problem with it being removed. I’m not going to sit there and have a heart attack. I would hope it goes back up after all the work I’ve done at LMC. It’s an honor to have the article.”

In a review of the list of Alumni Success Stories on Monday morning, October 8, 2012, the articles on both Woolridge and Harper, who is currently running for Mayor of Antioch, had been removed from the LMC website.

From OnlineCollegeCourses.com

Pursuing an online education means that you probably hope to one day land a great job in your field of interest, but when entering the workforce, chances are you’ll be starting from the bottom and working your way up. A common way of working from the bottom up comes in the form of the internship. You probably know someone who’s interned, or perhaps you’ve been an intern yourself, and you know that sometimes internships seem like more trouble than they’re worth.

While internships are widely held to be a valuable way to obtain experience in your field of interest, when pursuing an internship, it’s important to take into consideration the relative costs and benefits to your own professional well-being.

Now, compared to as recently as a decade ago, more and more schools are requiring students to intern, and many companies won’t hire grads who haven’t completed an internship. But when students or post-grads are expected to intern without compensation, the experience can become noticeably less valuable.

Studies show that students who intern without receiving pay in return tend to learn less, perform more menial tasks, and be hired on full-time at a lower rate than students who are paid for their internships. The following infographic takes a look at the perils of the unpaid internship, and why you should think before you accept one.

Graphic by OnlineCollegeCourses.com. Posted with permission.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

The Antioch School Board by a unanimous vote at their July 25 meeting decided to try again in November to pass a bond measure to fund improvements at Antioch High School. That follows the failure of Measure J in June – by just 31 votes.

The 58-year-old school needs $56.5 million in upgrades, according to the amount of the bonds that will be floated if the measure is approved. It requires 55% voter approval to pass.

Unlike Measure J which included improvements at other school district campuses and facilities, Measure B, as it will appear on the November ballot, focuses all its funds on improving Antioch High.

“The funds will be spent on a new cafeteria, Career Center, library, administrative offices, renovations and remodeling to support the academy and linked learning program,” shared Antioch School Board Trustee Joy Motts.

There will also be upgrades in technology, as well as improvements to the athletic facilities, including a new field and all-weather track.

“We have 1955 plumbing and electrical,” Motts stated. “We have one of the last cinder tracks at a high school in Northern California.”

“Antioch High has strong bones. We’re going to keep all the old brick,” she added. “We’re hoping we can make it happen, this time. The need is dire. The school has done its job for 58 years and it’s in need of a serious upgrade.”

Trustee Claire Smith, who was first elected in 1995 and faces reelection, this year said “Antioch High is in need of renovation, that’s for sure and it’s going to be up to the people.”

When asked why the district hadn’t set aside funds to improve the school over the years, she replied “Actually we have spent money on that school all along – the maintenance, the upkeep, the new roof. But after 60 years there are just things that need to be done that the budget can’t afford.”

The official language on Measure B in the ballot pamphlet is as follows:

To modernize Antioch High School by renovating classrooms including science and computer labs, improving critical safety and security systems, building a library and cafeteria, upgrading athletic facilities, replacing inefficient building systems, and improving student access to classroom technology, shall School Facilities Improvement District No. 1 of Antioch Unified School District issue $56.5 million in construction bonds at legal interest rates with funds monitored by an Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee with no funds spent on Administrators?

A pro-Measure B website has been set up for more information at www.YesonBondB.com.

Dozier-Libbey Medical High School Interact Club says “I Love Interact!” at their first meeting this school year on September 4, 2012 – photo by Ariel Parra

By Erin McDaid

Be the change you want to see in the world. Though the man who said this may have been old, grey and wrinkled, his words were immortalized the moment they left his lips. Gandhi’s message has been an inspiration to people all over the world, including those here in Antioch.

Dozier Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS) is very proud of their very active Interact Club. Interact stands for international action. It is the high school level of Rotary International, a well known and distinguished service organization of highly generous members.

Starting with just over five members two years ago, the DLMHS Interact Club now holds over 30 active members, and had over 95 sign-ups at this fall’s registration. Our Interact Club has served the city of Antioch by participating in monthly neighborhood cleanups, lending help at local schools, participating in Relay For Life and much more. On an international level our club has sent cards and supplies to our brave soldiers overseas during Christmas, and raised money for Little Flock Orphanage in India. If you are ever in need of a great group of dedicated volunteers feel free to contact us at anytime!

The Antioch Rotary Club has been greatly supportive of the DLMHS Interact Club, especially with the help of President- Elect and Interact Advisor, Lillian Razavi. We are currently working with Superintendent Dr. Gill to revive the Interact Club of Antioch High School and start one at Deer Valley High School. Interact is more than just a community service club. It is a second family, a place where students can come together and experience the joy of bringing service to others. If you are interested in starting an interact club at your school please contact me at erin_mcdaid@comcast.net.

Everyone has something to offer, and no contribution is too small. Dr. Suess once said, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s really not.”

You are somebody, and you can make a difference in the world. Whether that’s performing a random act of kindness, or donating a million dollars towards finding the cure for cancer, you matter, you make a difference, and you, can be the change!

McDaid is President of the Dozier-Libbey Medical High School Interact Club