Shastacoe.org

SCOE BULLETIN
To provide leadership and assistance to the districts in Shasta County and ensure all students have equal access to a quality education. SUPERINTENDENT’S CORNER
225-0285
I hope you enjoyed our beautiful spring. In case you missed it, it was a beautiful day! Summer appears to have made its way to Shasta County with 90 degree weather after a very schizophrenic winter with unseasonably warm days in January, February, and March; then came April madness with heavy rain and high winds. Yet our lake is full and it is a beautiful time to enjoy the outdoors in Shasta County! This month we are highlighting the SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area). SELPA, although governed separately, is a SCOE program where we serve as the LEA (Local Education Agency). In 1977, all school districts and county offices of education were required to join to form geographical regions of sufficient size and scope to provide for all of the special education service needs of children residing within the region boundaries. Each region developed a local plan describing how it would provide special education services. The SELPA governance structure varies in form. The Shasta County SELPA comprises 25 school districts, SCOE, and three charter schools that are LEA’ for special education purposes. Each SELPA must have an Administrative Unit, the legal entity that receives funds and is responsible for seeing that every eligible child receives appropriate services. SCOE is the Administrative Unit for Shasta County. SELPA responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
 Budget Review and Planning  Community Advisory Committee Support  Curriculum and Program Development  Ensuring Program Availability for all Children with Disabilities  Fiscal Management  Interagency Coordination  Legal Assistance  Management Information Systems  Program Specialists  Staff Development  Transition Planning There have been some significant changes this year within the SELPA. We have a new governance system that is comprised of regions where large districts serve as their own region and smaller districts are also part of a separate region. We've moved from a voting system where every district receives a weighted vote and therefore just a few large districts could dictate changes without the voice of small districts. In addition to the changes in the governance system, recent legislation in California (AB 114, June 2011) repealed the interagency responsibilities between schools and the Department of Mental Health. Now SELPAs are responsible for providing a continuum of mental health services and interventions to meet the needs of students with social emotional difficulties. Unfortunately, about 20% of children in the United States experience mental, emotional, and/or behavioral problems (National Academics Press, 2009). For children, mental health is not seen as residing solely within the child, but within a web of interactions among the individual child, the family, the school, health and other child service systems, as well as neighborhoods and communities in which the child lives (SAMHSA, 2007,6). Many students’ needs for emotional or behavioral services can be met by universal or selected targeted interventions available in the school. Effective July 1, 2012, the Shasta County SELPA will contract with a new agency called Kings View to provide Educationally Related Mental Health Services to special education students. To prepare the districts, the Shasta County SELPA Office will also sponsor a four-day seminar on Educationally Related Mental Health Services at the Shasta Builders Exchange on June 4-7, 2012. For more information, go to www.shastacoe.org/selpa. SELPA's main role is to ensure that students with special needs are served in the least restrictive environment. We are very fortunate that under the leadership of Conde Kunzman and a talented staff that consist of Betsy Madison, Program Specialist; Kim Washburn, Administrative Assistant; and Cindy Ostrander, Accountant III students in Shasta County receive exceptional special educational services!
HUMAN RESOURCES
225-0280
Summer is just about here!
This is just a friendly reminder that this summer the Magnolia Office hours will be as follows: June 4 through August 10, 2012
 Please discuss staffing and work schedules within your department with your immediate supervisor and work with your supervisor/manager regarding your specific work schedule and entrance into the building on Fridays if necessary.  US mail and Courier Service will not be picking up or delivering mail on Fridays. The US mail usually picks up
around 11:00 a.m. and the Courier usually picks up between 3:00-3:30 p.m., please plan accordingly.
In the event, you have a need to send mail on a Friday, please make arrangements to deliver it to Nor Cal
Presort, 835 Industrial, Redding. You may want to call in advance (221-6895) to let them know that you
will be delivering mail.
 There may be an occasion that a public member needs to conduct business or has an appointment with someone in the building on Fridays. Please be sure to assist these people as we would any other time. Your assistance and customer service is always appreciated.  We hope that you will take advantage of the flexible schedule and enjoy some relaxing, fun times with your WELCOME TO SCOE
Obioma Officer, Sign Language Interpreter Benjamin Souza, Site Liaison-Project SHARE OPEN POSITIONS
Current job openings are posted on the EdJoin website which is accessible through our home page at http://www.shastacoe.org/page.cfm?p=2717 . Please note that in-house positions, if any, are now listed on our website at the link provided above, they are not posted on EdJoin. Open Enrollment
All enrollment forms and rate sheets including the online calculator are available on the HR website under
“Open Enrollment 2012-13” http://www.shastacoe.org/page.cfm?p=3768
If you attended an open enrollment meeting, you are aware that our JPA and our prescription company Envision Rx
Options will be making a concerted effort to motivate another 7% of JPA insured members to use Generic Brand
Pharmaceuticals. The importance of this task is relevant when you know that just 7% more people using generics
would capture an additional $250,000 in savings. $250,000 relates directly to premium cost, $250,000 is 1% of the
premium.

66% of drugs now being used are generic, 34% of drugs are name-brand. On the face of it, it seems like we are doing
a good job, but take a look at this. Of the $4 million spent, 18% was used to purchase the generic drugs and 82% was
used to pay for the name-brand drugs. For those who like nice round numbers, this means that $720,000 bought the
generics and $3,280,000 bought the name-brands.
Below is an example of a member’s mail in maintenance prescription cost (Costco):
Brand-Name
Cost for 90 days mail
Generic Alternative
Cost for 90 days mail
Glucophage
Cost to Employee
Cost to JPA
Total Cost
As you can see by this example, it does not take long to make up the $250,000 savings and don’t forget that $250,000 is a 1% premium savings to the employee. To relieve any doubts you may have about Generics you should know that: Generic Drugs are as strong as Brand-Name Drugs. FDA requires the generic to be high quality, strong,
pure and as stable as the brand-name drug or it cannot be sold. The generic must have the same active
ingredients, but they must look different from their brand-name counterparts. Generics have the same risks
and benefits as the brand-name drugs. In addition, generic drugs do not take longer to work in the body.
FDA requires that the drug works the same way in the same amount of time as a brand-name drug.
Unfortunately, not all drugs have a generic counterpart.

In the past there has been no incentive for people using name-brand drugs when generic alternatives are available.
This year will be different. If your doctor insists on your using brand-name drugs, they must write a letter of need to
Envision Rx Options. If they do not, then the subscriber will be obligated to pay both their co-payment plus any cost
over the contracted price. For example, an employee being prescribed Zestril at $144.48 whose doctor has not
written a letter of need, will now pay the $40 co-pay plus $90.77, the difference between $104.48 and $13.71.

AS A REMINDER, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND AN OPEN ENROLLMENT MEETING TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE WELLNESS INCENTIVE PLAN. IN ADDITION, BY ATTENDING YOU
WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS and THE NEWLY LOWERED CO-PAY FOR
GENERICS.

Notice Regarding Automatic Deposits/Check Stubs

A new feature available through Escape (our new integrated financial system) is the ability
to e-mail an electronic copy of your ACH (check stub) rather than printing and delivering
by hand or by mail. In keeping with our goal of using less paper, using SCOE e-mail for
communication with employees and leveraging technology, we plan to implement this
feature beginning with the July 31, 2012 regular payroll.
Beginning July 2012, employees who have automatic deposit of their payroll check will
receive their check stubs via SCOE e-mail account. You will no longer receive a hard copy of your ACH (check
stub). The e-mail will have instructions on how to access your check stub. If you are not already enrolled in the
automatic deposit feature, you can sign up by completing the Direct Deposit form available at the following link
http://www.shastacoe.org/uploaded/Dept/hr/Forms/EFT_Authorization_(Escape).pdf.
One more step in the right direction - less paper!!!
INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES 225-0211

Project SHARE at It Again
Our after school programs have been very busy this month. Sites were well represented at the Public Schools Week event held at the Mt. Shasta Mall. 17 school sites demonstrated their knowledge of technology and computer programming through their “robots”. Robots displayed included snakes, tanks, and garden rakes. Students were able to collaborate with students from other school sites to learn the “tricks” of programming. Every school site had a board displaying their sites’ unique offerings and the mall was hit with the Project SHARE “Flash Mob”. Way to go to the many people who brought this event together. Our team is incredible and goes above and beyond to highlight student activities. On Friday, May 4, 2012, a group represented our programs at the Multicultural Day at Shasta College and on May 22nd we will be out at the Project Homeless Connect event. As our year ends, we thank the many departments and people who support our program. THANK YOU! Shasta County Math Task Force
One of the goals of the REACH HIGHER Shasta Initiative is to have all students successfully complete Algebra 1 by the end of their 9th grade year. In order to begin work on this goal, Chris Dell and I led a group of approximately 30 teachers who represented 23 districts and all of the high schools in Shasta County. There were several key agreements we made this year across the county with the following being developed:  Common criteria for identifying students who are ready for Algebra I in Grade 8 as well as a PowerPoint and other supporting resources to explain why this change from all students in Algebra 1 to those who were ready for Algebra 1 was an important change for students' success in math in high school and beyond.  Common expectations for students in the new California Common Core Grade 8 Math course through agreement to a common pacing guide and benchmark exams.  Common expectations for 8th grade students in Algebra 1 so they can successfully transition to the next course of study in high school, including a common assessment to determine if students have mastered the needed Algebra 1 concepts. The teachers involved in the Math Task Force spent several after school sessions together in the fall and three full days this spring, with substitutes covered by the Gear Up grant. They were eager to come together and collaborate, since so many of them are the only one teaching 8th grade math at their site or in their district. This group is willing to continue learning and sharing together as many will teach the new Common Core math this fall. They are sharing resources on a common website and plan to come together throughout next year to collaboratively plan for this new course. We are excited to see how these county-wide agreements will help to support all students so that they experience success in Algebra 1 the first time they take the course by having the needed skill set when they are enrolled. We have several other collaborative efforts in the planning stages for next year, but the groundwork has been laid with this successful effort! It was great to have such broad involvement from our districts! SCOE Summer Science Camps 2012

Schreder Planetarium Summer Science Camps is the premier Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Camp
of Northern California. Now, eight seasons later, we are still delivering the relevant, fun, science savvy experiences
that you have come to expect.
The world is evolving rapidly and there has never been a better—or more critical—time to engage in STEM
education. Imagine making commercials, building robots, designing future theme parks, exploring volcanoes,
spelunking caves, and listening to distant sounds from space at the Allen Telescope Array in Hat Creek — all the
while gaining skills that are both fundamental and FUN.
Highlights for you to consider for your children or grandchildren!
Available for ages 7-17 with five different theme weeks. A different fieldtrip every time, something new to build each
day, and many hands on labs where you students are the SMART Scientist. Beginners through advanced learn
awesome new topics from LEGO robots, NASA missions, SETI discoveries, local caves and mines, environments,
and more.
The core of our instructional model is intellectually stimulating hands on activities, cool tech tools, team groups,
quality staff, and we take a lot of field trips! Live the collegiate experience as we hold our camps on the Shasta College
campus. Kids, tweens, and teens can choose sessions to attend, gain the social, problem-solving and technical skills
needed for an edge in school and in life.
For further information go to: www.shastacoe.org/planetarium or, call 225-0241.
 
PLANETARIUM 225-0241
Friday, May 18, 2012 @ 7:00 PM
 The first show will be “NEW HORIZONS”
From breathtaking landscapes, to violent volcanic eruptions, to the sheer beauty of Saturn’s rings, explore the planets and moons of the solar system in a majestic journey through our celestial neighborhood. Travel down to the surface of all the planets and experience what life would be like on those brave new worlds. Our journey begins as we follow a comet as it travels through interplanetary space. On each of our exotic ports of call, real data and images from modern space probes are transformed into stunning 360° photo-realistic 3-D animation.  Followed by “SECRETS OF THE SUN”
An intimate look at the role the sun plays in the life of our solar system. From the nuclear forces churning at the heart of the sun to the mass ejections of solar material in to surrounding space, we will experience the power of the sun and its impact on the planets and ultimately life on Earth. We will trace the life cycle of the sun itself, going back to its beginnings and moving forward in time to its eventual death. WHEN: Friday, June 1, 2012 @ 7:00 PM
 The first show will be “SECRETS OF THE CARDBOARD ROCKET”
Embark on an outstanding adventure as two children spend a night touring the solar system alongside their ships navigator…an astronomy book. Produced with state of the art 3-D animation and a 5.1 soundtrack with spectacular effects created at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch.  Followed by “BIG BIRD”
Explore the night sky with your favorite friends from Sesame Street in One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure.
Follow along with Big Bird, Elmo and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, as they take you on a journey of
discovery to learn about the Big Dipper, North Star, Sun and Moon.

WHEN:
Thursday, June 28, 2012 @ 7:00 PM
 The first show will be “TWO SMALL PIECES OF GLASS”
This program was produced to engage and appeal to audiences of all ages. Two Small Pieces of Glass traces the history of the telescope from Galileo's modifications to a child's spyglass—using two small pieces of glass—to the launch of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the future of astronomy. It explores the wonder and discovery made by astronomers throughout the last 400 years.  Followed by “STARS OF THE PHARAOHS”
Travel to ancient Egypt to see how science was used to tell time, make a workable calendar, and align huge buildings. You’ll learn about the connection the ancient Egyptians felt with the stars and various astronomical phenomena. See some of the most spectacular temples and tombs of the ancient world recreated in all of their original splendor. TICKETS: Tickets on sale NOW for $7.00 and may be purchased at www.schrederplanetarium.com or contact the Shasta County Office of Education, Monday thru Thursday, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Advance purchase is recommended. CONTACT: Schreder Planetarium Digital Theater (530) 225-0295 Recorded Shows & Times (530) 225-0200 Public Show Ticket Information

Source: http://www.shastacoe.org/uploaded/Dept/supt/SCOE_Bulletin/SCOEBulletin_5-11-12.pdf