Your County Superintendent, Nancy Kotowski
Elected just 3 years ago, she 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