Please visit the media room to read my Oath of Office remarks and learn about my goals for education in the next four years.

Your County Superintendent, Nancy Kotowski,
is bringing needed change to prepare Monterey County’s 70,000 students for success.

FOUR PILLARS OF SUCCESS FOR MONTEREY COUNTY SCHOOLS

Fiscal Accountability

• Reduced the County Office of Education’s excessive spending and returned $6.4 million to the local control of school districts
  
  
• Brought accountability and transparency to the County Office and upgraded all aspects of business operations, record keeping and reporting, and student information to 21st Century standards
  
  
• Secured more than $40 million in State, Federal, and other grants for Monterey County schools, to make sure Monterey County gets its fair share
  
  
• Works closely with school districts to cope with the State’s economic downturn
  
  
• Serves on the Board of Directors of the State’s Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team

Student Achievement

• Raised the graduation rate to 86%, surpassing the state rate of 80%
  
  
• Reduced the drop-out rate to 12%, far below the State’s rate of 20%; kept chronically truant students in school with a model truancy mediation program
  
  
• 95% of Monterey County’s most at-risk students, served by the County Office of Education, earned their High School Diploma or GED
  
  
• Increased the number of students achieving proficiency in reaching California’s high academic standards
  
  
• Providing literacy development initiatives in schools with students facing the challenges of poverty, limited English language skills and migrant mobility
  
  
• Established long-term community partnerships that are raising student literacy levels
  
  
• Successfully transitioned 1,900 incarcerated youth back to school in the last three years
  
  
• Received state awards for the County Office school programs for at-risk students at Rancho Cielo Youth Campus and Silver Star Resource Center
  
  
• Secured $4.9 million for Career Technical Education facilities at four high schools to prepare students for the 21st century workforce
  
  
• Created a modern Media Center at the County Office where students and teachers engage in relevant, innovative teaching and learning projects using state-of-the-art technology
  
  
• Supports art, music, and physical education as core components of a balanced curriculum

Effective Teachers and Leaders
Over the next 10 years, nearly a third of California’s teacher workforce is expected to retire.

• Created systems and conditions to attract and retain the most highly qualified teachers, administrators, and staff
  
  
• Provides high quality professional development opportunities locally for teachers and administrators
  
  
• Provides comprehensive instructional training and leadership development programs that are proven to increase student achievement
  
  
• Built a local program to help instructional aides become credentialed teachers
  
  
• Secured State funding that has supported 5,000 beginning teachers since 1993

Student Safety and Health

• Helped establish and train Incident Command Teams for the County’s 140 schools
  
  
• Instituted hostile intruder and emergency drills
  
  
• Implemented a county-wide instant communication system to notify staff and parents in case of emergencies
  
  
• Partnered with county agencies to address gang violence
  
  
• Ensured physical fitness, health, and nutrition of our students as important components of school programs