House approves bill to make college more affordable
Written by Editor
Sunday, 15 July 2007
WASHINGTON – On July 12, the House of Representatives passed the largest single investment in college financial aid in more than 60 years, which will help millions of students and families pay for college – at no cost to the American taxpayer.
The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (HR 2669) increases college aid by $18 billion over the next five years. This bill pays for itself by reducing the excessive federal subsidies being paid to the college loan industry. The House voted in favor of this legislation 273-149.
Among those voting to support the bill was Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA).
"The best way to grow our economy and strengthen our middle class is by helping more people attend college," said Thompson. "Unfortunately, every year, about 200,000 American students hold off on going to college or skip it altogether because they can't afford it. Our country was built on the principle that everyone can better themselves, and I'm proud that we are taking this step to make higher education accessible to more Americans."
This legislation reduces the cost of college in three important ways:
First, the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship will increase by $500 over the next five years. About 6 million low- and moderate-income students would benefits from this increase.
Second, this legislation would cut student loan interest rates in half, which will benefit millions of borrowers. Like legislation passed by the House earlier this year, interest rates will be cut from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent, saving the average borrower $4,400 over the life of the loan.
Third, this bill prevents student borrowers from facing unmanageable levels of federal student debt by guaranteeing that borrowers will never have to spend more than 15 percent of their yearly discretionary income on loan repayments and by allowing borrowers in economic hardship to have their loans forgiven after 20 years.
"Tuition prices have skyrocketed for years, meaning more and more students and families are taking on increasing amounts of debt," added Thompson. "Their debt burden makes it extremely hard to fulfill dreams of homeownership, a family and retirement security. This bill will make it easier for millions of Americans to achieve the goal of a college education."
The College Cost Reduction Act includes a number of other provisions that will ease the financial burden imposed on students and families by the cost of college, including:
Tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in the nation's public schools;
Loan forgiveness for college graduates that go into public service professions;
Increased federal loan limits so that students won't have to rely as heavily on costlier private loans;
New tuition cost containment strategies; and
Landmark investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and minority serving institutions.
LAKE COUNTY – Clear Lake Trowel and Trellis Garden Club is proud to announce the two winners of their annual "Elizabeth Whitehead Memorial Scholarship." Each student will be presented with $1,000 toward their education in college.
Heather Jameson is a junior at Sonoma State University. She is the daughter of David and Mei-Ling Jameson of Lakeport. Heather is majoring in Environmental Education and plans to continue to obtain a teaching credential. She is on the Dean's List, maintaining a 4.0 grade average. While attending Clear Lake High School she participated in many activities and was senior class president.
Eric Green is a senior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He is the son of Richard and Jane Green of Lakeport. Eric is majoring in Landscape Architecture. His goals are in the fields of landscape design and construction, sculpture, furniture design, and architecture design. He is active in supporting the homeless shelter, and he is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architecture, plus four other college clubs. He is holding down three paying jobs also.
Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club is a member of Mendo-Lake District, California Garden Club, Inc., Pacific Region, and National Garden Clubs Inc.
Pat Hopper is the Trowel and Trellis Club's scholarship chair.
LAKE COUNTY – The summer months offer fun time for kids, but education officials are encouraging parents to also make it a time of learning.
The state Parent Teacher Association and the California Department of Education have compiled dozens of ideas for free or low-cost summer learning activities.
1. Encourage reading. Help establish a love of reading at an early age. Reading helps improve writing and communication skills as well as improve learning throughout the summer. Parents may access two California Department of Education (CDE) literature databases. The Recommended Literacy Search contains a list of 4,743 publications, searchable by author, title, keyword, grade level, language, culture, genre, curriculum connection, and even by which award they won. Another 663 math and science publications will be added to the database this summer. To access the database, please visit Search List, Recommended Literature for Reading and Language Arts, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, at www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/ll/ap/litsearch.asp.
Another CDE database can help parents tailor a list of appropriate reading materials based on their child's reading level as assessed on the state’s standardized tests. This list is tied into the Recommended Literature Search and covers a range of subjects and interests. To access the California Reading List, please visit California Reading List (CRL) – Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR), at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/readinglist.asp.
Take your children to the public library where they can obtain their own library cards, learn how to find books, and check them out free of charge. Many public libraries offer free summer reading programs as well. Ask your local librarian about the schedule of events at your library and the resources available to you and your children.
2. Participate in community summer programs. Many local education agencies, nonprofit organizations, governments, and businesses offer interesting summer events, such as music, singing, cooking, sports, cheerleading, forensics, engineering, and robotics summer camps. For summer camp locations and other activities near you, please visit CDE’s Summer Activities for 2007 Web page at California Reading List (CRL) – Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR), www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/readinglist.asp.
3. Encourage the use of math. Give your child practical experience using mathematics at home. Put your preschool child's counting ability to work. In preparation for meals, let the child count out the number of forks or dinner napkins needed for the table, the number of servings from a meal, or any other quantity. Mention the size of containers, such as pints of cream and half gallons of milk. Allow your child to measure ingredients when you cook or add up costs when shopping.
4. Encourage creativity with art. Keep your child supplied with sheets of paper, crayons, finger paints, modeling clay, burlap, paste, marking pens, scraps of cloth, yarn, scraps of wood, and water colors. Provide a workspace for your child and encourage the creation of works of art. Proudly display your child's best creations on the wall, door, or bulletin board. Give frequent opportunities for the expression of artistic ability, like making birthday and greeting cards. Encourage help with holiday decorations. Encourage musical activity in the home or on family trips. Let the child be a music maker as well as a listener. A toy piano, drum, tuned bells, or harmonica can help teach the rudiments of rhythm and tone.
5. Have fun with science. Work with your child on projects such as making bird feeders, caring for pets, setting up a home weather station, observing the night sky and preparing a family vegetable or flower garden. Talk with your child's science teacher and get useful tips to help you reinforce your child's formal science training. Summer is an ideal time to visit museums and zoos in your community. Many of these are free or low cost for young children. For a list of zoos and museums, please visit Summer Activities for 2007 – Hot Topics, www.cde.ca.gov/nr/re/ht/yr07summer.asp.
6. Get active. Contact your local city or county offices to find out what free or low-cost summer programs are available for your children. Often local parks and recreation departments offer programs throughout the summer that provide both recreation and education opportunities like youth sports leagues, swimming, baseball, basketball, soccer, cheerleading, tennis, white water rafting, dance, drama, the arts, sports for children using wheelchairs, enrichment classes, concerts and other youth programs.
7. Volunteer for a good cause. Local zoos, animal shelters, and senior community centers often need volunteer help. For example, teenagers can explore animal-related careers while gaining work experience, and help teach children and families about animals, the environment,and conservation. Another option is to search an area of interest and volunteer through the California Volunteer Web site at www.californiavolunteers.org/index.asp.
8. Start writing. To encourage creative writing, jot down stories your child tells or songs they make up. Show them to the child later. Suggest they be illustrated and "published" for grandparents or other relatives as gifts.
9. Encourage social studies. Discuss current events. Read newspapers and periodicals. Watch the local and national newscasts. Provide your child with social studies research materials, including a dictionary, atlas, globe, and almanac. A map of the city and road maps are excellent for plotting trips and helping the child understand geographic relationships. Keep the research items conveniently close to the TV for use during news and documentary programs.
10. Helping out at home. Teaching children early and often about doing chores around the house helps them learn important skills like cooperation, teamwork, fairness, patience, responsibility, and values. It also helps free up some time so you can just enjoy being with your children.
In addition to these top 10 tips, the California State PTA Web site also has a number of suggestions at www.capta.org.
Clear Lake Campus offers Administration of Justice classes
Written by Editor
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
CLEARLAKE – For the first time, Yuba College, Clear Lake Campus is offering Peace Officer and Corrections Officer courses this fall semester.
To meet the growing demand for correctional and peace officers, Clear Lake Dean, Bryon Bell, worked with the Yuba College Public Safety department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to implement this program for Lake County residents.
“This program is a great way for students to begin their climb up the law enforcement career ladder. In working with representatives from the Sheriff’s Department I learned that there are numerous well-paying job opportunities for the students that complete this program,” said Bell.
The Peace Office program (AJ-54RA and RB) meets the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).
In the RA portion students will learn about the laws of arrest, search and seizure, and arrest and control techniques. This class is taught every day (Monday-Friday); 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 20-24.
This class is followed up with the RB portion-Peace Officer Orientation-Firearms. This class also is POST certified. It will be taught Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A portion of the class will be held in the classroom and a portion will be held at Highland Springs Range. This class will be held August 27, 28 and 29.
The Corrections Officer Core Course (AJ 70R) teaches the theory and application of corrections officer training. It meets the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation requirements. This class is taught Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 4 through Oct. 3.
Students will study the criminal justice system, codes and statutes, supervising, managing and transporting inmates, emergency procedures and much more. All students must pass a medical, background and fingerprint check.
For a complete information packet, contact Yuba College, Clear Lake Campus, 15880 Dam Road Extension, Clearlake, 995-7900.
DeMeulenaere named Mendocino College Foundation development director
Written by Editor
Friday, 15 June 2007
Mark DeMeulenaere is hte new director of development for the Mendocino College Foundation. Photo courtesy of Mendocino College.
UKIAH – Mark DeMeulenaere has been named as the director of development for the Mendocino College Foundation Inc. He assumed his new position earlier this year, Foundation officers announced recently.
DeMeulenaere has a long relationship with Mendocino College, including service as a director and president of the Foundation’s volunteer board, and work on various college advisory committees.
His professional experience includes 30 years of varied financial activity for businesses in Mendocino County. Most recently, DeMeulenaere has operated his own consulting business, offering financial and management services to clients that include wineries, manufacturers, grape growers, and a public agency.
His community participation includes service on the Mendo Lake Credit Union board, the Mendocino Private Industry Council, and the City of Ukiah’s Master Plan financial impact committee. DeMeulenaere has also coached youth sports.
“Foundations must be innovative about reaching out to donors and connecting with their community,” said Wilda Shock, president of the Mendocino College Foundation board. “Mark DeMeulenaere’s professional experience, personal integrity, and knowledge of the Mendocino-Lake Community College District make him uniquely qualified to assist our board of directors in implementing the Foundation’s mission.”
DeMeulenaere holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trinity College, and a master’s of business administration from the University of Santa Clara. He and his wife, Wendy, a teacher at Frank Zeek Elementary School, live in Ukiah. Their daughter Amy is graduating from the University of California, Davis.
The Foundation’s mission is to “cultivate support and raise funds for the benefit of the students of Mendocino College. These funds will be used to support the College’s vision of delivering innovative educational programs, focusing on student success and contributing to our communities’ vitality.”
The Mendocino College Foundation was formed in 1984 with $5,000 in seed funds. Today, the Foundation serves the Mendocino-Lake Community College District with assets of more than $6.8 million. More than $550,000 in scholarships has been distributed to students, and other educational programs and district-wide projects have been supported by the Foundation.
“The board expects that Mark’s energy, ideas, and enthusiasm for education at all levels will help it elevate awareness of the Mendocino College Foundation and our programs to assist students,” said Shock.
For more information, contact the Mendocino College Foundation Development Office, 467-1018, or visit www.mendocino.edu.
