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“COCO” Close to Home
CONNECTING SOUTHERN ARIZONA
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Read Across Santa Cruz County
Mental Health Awareness Month
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People who “echo” Belinda St. John
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CREO Math Instructors Earn Yellow Belt in Six Sigma
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YCC-CREO Grants Reception
Border Eco Updates CONTENT We want to thank our readers and customers for their continued support. Your support helps us report on the great people, events, and organizations who make a difference in our community. Our goal is to help connect Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County is a unique bordertown rich in culture, and traditions. We are here to support our community. Please send us any information on any upcoming community events, meetings, and conferences. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for the latest events, people, and organizations who make a difference in Santa Cruz County. We are always looking for new talent. If you have an interest in sales, journalism, and photography send us your resume at contact@bordereco.com
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“COCO” Close to Home
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District Recognized for Increasing Access & Performance
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Cambridge District of the Year
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People that “Echo”Belinda St. John
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CREO Math Instructors Earn Yellow Belt in Six Sigma
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YCC-CREO Grants Reception
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Read Across Santa Cruz County
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Border Eco Magazine now offers TV advertisement. Contact us for rates and channels to help promote your business in Santa Cruz County. Our office is located on : 1071 N. Grand Ave. Ste. #122, Nogales, Arizona 85621 (520) 461-4880 Email: contact@bordereco.com
Please send us information on any upcoming events, meetings, or programs to share with our readers.
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Chief Editor: Adriana Romero Student Intern Reporter: Nadia Sandoval Student Intern Reporter: Chris Alcaraz Magazine Graphic Designer Consultant: Adriana Romero Sales Representative: Tony Montanez Information is correct at press time. Check www.bordereco.com for updates. Border Eco, LLC © 2018 copyright all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of Border Eco Magazine is prohibited. Any material produced is the property of Border Eco. Any material published is not necessarily the opinion of Border Eco and will not be held responsible. Border Eco Magazine accepts material from advertisers, clients, readers and various sources which are not necessarily the opinion of Border Eco Magazine in print or on Border Eco websites and will not be held responsible.
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Border Eco | May 2018
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“COCO� Close to Home To the delight of many wide eyed students, on Thursday March 29th, three lucky Santa Cruz County schools (Calabasas, Lincoln and Little Red} were treated to a personal visit from famed author Ms. Roni Capin Ashford-Rivera. Ms. Capin Ashford-Rivera, was invited by the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent Alfredo I. Velasquez and Ms. Patricia Barraza Preciado, to come to our county schools to read, and of course, sign the ever popular Coco book, in which she provided the translation for. Roni has also written the follow up book to the Coco movie, called Miguel and the Amazing Alebrijes.
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With the sponsorship of the SCC School Superintendent Alfredo I. Velasquez and SCC Attorney George Silva, 975 books were purchased and donated to each third grade student in the county. For those students who didn't get the visit from Ms. Capin Ashford-Rivera at their school, they were invited to a book signing event that same afternoon, at the Americana Hotel.
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There were approximately 100 people who attended the event and who also purchased samples of the other wonderful books that Ms. Capin AshfordRivera has written. We here at the sec School Superintendent's Office and sec Attorney's Office, believe that the time we spend reading to our children is one of the most important contributions to our community. It sets forth the foundation for a lifetime of success.
“COCO” Close to Home
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District Recognized for Increasing Access and Performance
Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 (SCVUSD35) in Arizona has been named a College Board Advanced Placement® District of the Year for being the national leader among small-sized school districts — defined as having fewer than 8,000 students — in expanding access to Advanced Placement Program ® (AP®) courses while simultaneously improving AP Exam performance. Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District students, teachers, district and school administrators, Arizona Department of Education officials, and College Board leadership celebrated these achievements with an event at Rio Rico High School on March 21, 2018. SCVUSD35 was one of 447 school districts across the U.S. and Canada that achieved placement on the annual AP District Honor Roll. From this list, three AP Districts of the Year — one for each category of district population size: small, medium, and large — were selected based on an analysis of three academic years of AP data. “The teachers and administrators in this district are clearly committed to ensuring that a more diverse population of students attains the benefits of AP—that they gain confidence, learn how to craft and defend arguments, earn college credit, and are ready to succeed in college,” said Trevor Packer, head of the College Board’s AP Program. “This award shows that Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District is challenging many students to achieve at the highest levels.
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Congratulations to all the educators, parents, and students whose dedication and hard work are behind this welldeserved recognition.” From 2015 to 2017, AP reported that Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District: · Simultaneously and continuously increased the number of students taking AP classes while improving successful outcomes (a score of 3 or higher) on AP Exams, with 51 percent of all AP students scoring a 3 or higher in 2017; ·Increased student participation in AP by 14 percent annually while the percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam increased from 38% to 51% since 2015; and ·Increased the percentage of traditionally underrepresented minority AP students earning a 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam from 39% to 51% — an increase of 43 students since 2015. (94 percent or more of the AP students in Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District are American Indian, African American, Hispanic/Latino or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. In addition, SCVUSD35 is a Title I District.) Increasing access to AP course work while simultaneously increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher is the ideal scenario for a district’s AP program, indicating that the district is successfully preparing a larger array of its students for the rigor of AP and college studies. Participating in AP course work can also lead to college savings for families because the typical student who scores a 3 or higher on two AP Exams has the potential to save, on average, $1,779 at a public four-year college and over $6,000 at a private institution.
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“This award exemplifies the hard work and dedication of our students, teachers and families,” said SCVUSD35 Superintendent David Verdugo. “Today we elevated our celebration to a national level demonstrating to others that we can achieve what many believe is unachievable. For this, I could not be more proud of our SCVUSD35 family.”In addition to celebratory events at the district level, all three winning districts will be honored in Houston, TX during the 2018 AP Annual Conference in July.
Cambridge District of the Year Award Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 (SCVUSD35) has been named a Cambridge District of the Year for being the national leader among small-sized school districts in expanding access to Cambridge courses while simultaneously improving Cambridge Exam performance. Every year Cambridge International awards students across the U.S. for their successful performance on the Cambridge International examinations. This year, in addition to presenting Learner Awards, Cambridge International is celebrating the districts that have ranked the highest in both increasing access to the rigor of the Cambridge curriculum while simultaneously sustaining or improving student performance based on the 2016/17 series.
For the 2016-17 exam series, Cambridge International awarded three districts as “districts of the year”: one from larger sized districts, another from medium sized districts, and finally one from smaller sized districts. Based on the above criteria, Cambridge International announced that Santa Cruz Valley Unified is being recognized for an exceptionally strong commitment to expanding and delivering a high quality Cambridge education with equally strong performance, as shown by students’ achievements, in the small sized district category. “SCVUSD35 has expanded access to Cambridge exams and has achieved phenomenal pass rates at 100 percent,” said Mark Cavone, Regional DirectorNorth America with Cambridge Assessment, Inc. USA.
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“SCVUSD35 has expanded access to Cambridge exams and has achieved phenomenal pass rates at 100 percent,” said Mark Cavone, Regional DirectorNorth America with Cambridge Assessment, Inc. USA. “We are very proud to be a part of their great work and of their students’ continued successes.” this.” SCVUSD35 also has 19 students who received a Cambridge Learner Award, three of which are “Top of the Nation. The District of the Year Award will be presented at the Cambridge Celebration at Rio Rico High School, April 18. “I could not be more proud of our teachers and students for their accomplishment,” said Rio Rico High School Principal Shelly Vroegh. “This award, and the College Board/AP District of the Year award we received earlier this year, shine the national congratulatory spotlight on our team’s focused commitment to excellence. They worked hard to earn this.”
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People who “echo”-Belinda St. John People that “echo” aims to highlight community members dedicated to public service. Few people have the opportunity to fully experience the true meaning of one’s calling but not Belinda St. John. She knew right from when she started working at theSanta Cruz County One Stop Career Center this was her true calling. Belinda has been working there for the past 10 years. She began as an eligibility specialist and then served as the Program Manager and EO Compliance Officer. “I have been given the opportunity to work with the Santa Cruz County Workforce Development, every participant enrolled in our program has successfully completed their educational and, vocational goals while obtaining employment it has been a rewarding experience. I am honored to be a part of that process,” said Belinda St. John.
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Belinda was born in Alabama. She attended the University of Memphis where she obtained a Mediation Certification in Family Law, and Commercial Law. Her grandmother was the inspiration as she led by example by working hard to help
others in a joyful manner. She has two daughters, Jennifer and Amanda, two sisters and a brother.
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Belinda St. John officially retired from her full time position in December, 2017 but continues to work with there on a part time basis. Irasema Olvera was promoted to the WIOA Office Manager and EO Compliance Officer position. Martha Sihas, Mary Castillo, and Nadia Martinez serve as Eligibility Specialists and Maria Fernanda Corella serves as the receptionist. “Our staff is dedicated to serving our community, assisting individuals and employers with their employment needs.I am extremely grateful for having the opportunity to serve my community,” said Belinda.
ARIZONA@WORK Creating Opportunities Santa Cruz County Workforce Development is one partner that comprises ARIZONA@WORK. The other partners in the Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center are Santa Cruz County Adult Education, DES Employment Service, and DES Vocational Rehabilitation Service. Our comprehensive One Stop allows individuals to seek educational services, employment services, and training services in one location. The Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center is a single point-of-entry for services and programs for individuals seeking employment and training. The center brings together various programs and services from local, and government organizations to help benefit both the employer and job seekers.The Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center goal is to provide the public with the necessary tools and skills to help them secure employment that will enable them to be self-sufficient.
The Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center serves under the jurisdictions of the Santa Cruz County Government providing services to Nogales, Rio Rico, Tubac, Tumacacori, Patagonia and Sonoita.It receives funding through the Department of Labor and Department of Education. The Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center has a computer lab open to the public. They also provide accommodations for people with disabilities and have special equipment designed to help meet their needs. The Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center has many partners within their site. Those partners are the Santa Cruz County Workforce Development, Santa Cruz County Continuing Education, the Department of Economic Security, Employment Services, and the Vocational Rehabilitation Program. All of these programs offer assistance with job search, career exploration, and training.
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For the past four years, the Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center hosted the “Santa Cruz County Career & Community Expo�the Expo has continued to grow and benefit the community resulting in employment. Expo 2017 hosted 120 exhibitors and 786 members of the community attended. The Santa Cruz County One Stop Career Center is here to meet the needs of the community. For more information about the types of programs or services they offer please contact them directly at (520) 375-7670.
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CREO Math Instructors Earn Yellow Belt in Six Sigma Earning a belt in Six Sigma is no easy feat. Especially for busy teachers who have a lot on their plate at the end of the school year. Lean Six Sigma is a methodology in process improvement. Much like martial arts, colored belts are earned by completing projects to solve workplace problems that are creating waste. CREO Math instructors continue to further their training in order to enhance the learning environment of their students. Eight teachers from SCVUSD #35 and NUSD #1, and CREO Program Director, Maya Donnelly participated in a 50 hour instructor’s training, plus an additional 18 hours in coaching to add a Yellow Belt certification to their resume.
This group of dedicated educators have already completed the training in the MetroMatematicas curriculum and the White Belt certification in Lean Six Sigma. The continued professional development is in response to the enhancement of the CREO/ Youth Career Connect Program which now features the MetroMatematicas curriculum and Lean Six Sigma Practicum offered as a course elective at Rio Rico High School and Nogales High School. Freshmen and sophomores can choose the two-year program as a pathway in to a related JTED or CTE Program.
As the YCC Grant funded by the U.S. Department of Labor comes to a close after four years, the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent’s Office, as a sub-recipient through Pima County, was granted a no-cost extension in the coming year to focus on developing an internship program. This will provide a workplace experience where CREO/YCC students can learn about business, industry, and employers, and put their Six Sigma training in to action by solving a real workplace problem.
Photo left to right: Mike Hughes, Grant Consultant, Alfredo I. Velásquez, Santa Cruz County School Superintendent, Nagesh Kumar, Maya Donnelly, Tom Maddock, Santosh Kumar, Prashant Verma, Carlos Valdes, Zigma Consulting, Sumalatha Udumula, Chris Young, Chief Deputy, Savita Naranj, and Chaitanya Mekala
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Healthy Student Grant/ YCC-CREO Grants Reception Alfredo I. Velásquez, Santa Cruz County School Superintendent, sponsored a Grants Reception on April 12, 2018. Participants from both Healthy Student and CREO/Youth Career Connect programs were honored as funding for both grants comes to an end. The Healthy Student grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education provided extensive training, program materials and counselors at each of the elementary schools in both Nogales and Rio Rico. Much of the focus was on school-wide programs which included Character Counts, Kelso’s Choice and support of “Be Kind” initiative.
Additional training and development for student support systems in small groups and individualized interventions was also included as part of the program. The CREO/Youth Career Connect program features the Metromatemáticas twoyear course elective at Rio Rico High School and Nogales High School, including the Lean Six Sigma Practicum. In addition to the course, students are prepared for future career awareness opportunities.
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The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor through Pima County, supported teachers and counselors who contributed to the success of the program. Local business and industry volunteers also provided valuable input and support. Grant program directors, Maya Donnelly and Teresa Sprigg organized the well-attended event.
Read Across America Read on Santa Cruz County Week Once again, the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent's Office and School Superintendent Alfredo I. Velasquez, celebrated, along with 35 Preschools, Private Schools, Charter Schools and Public Elementary Schools within our county, National Read across America/Read on Santa Cruz County Week. With the coordination of Ms. Patricia Barraza-Preciado (Santa Cruz County School Superintendent's Office,) they had over 130 volunteers from all across Santa Cruz County, read to each and every classroom in our educational community.
Once again, the Santa Cruz County School Superintendent's Office and School Superintendent Alfredo I. Velasquez, celebrated, along with 35 Preschools, Private Schools, Charter Schools and Public Elementary Schools within our county, National Read across America/Read on Santa Cruz County Week. With the coordination of Ms. Patricia Barraza-Preciado (Santa Cruz County School Superintendent's Office,) they had over 130 volunteers from all across Santa Cruz County, read to each and every classroom in our educational community.
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