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New Xplore Solano App
Education Advocacy & Leadership SCOE Partners to Create Xplore Solano App
SCOE has partnered with the Cities of Fairfield and Vacaville, the Solano Land Trust, Solano County Parks and Solano Transportation Authority to create Xplore Solano, a community app for Solano residents. Using the Outerspatial app, each partner organization will populate the Xplore Solano community account with events, activities, trails, parks, and destinations. Xplore Solano offers families one location to find where to go and what to do outdoors in Solano County. More information and download links. plore Solano
Leading Forward with Environmental Literacy
SCOE is part of a statewide innovation hub serving as a community of practice (COP). Hub members collaborate with other county offices of education to solve common issues related to expanding access to environmental literacy and sustainability education. Across Solano County, SCOE supports access to sustainability lessons and outdoor learning experiences for students, by working with community-based partners like Solano Land Trust and Solano Resource Conservation District. SCOE continues to support efforts to implement the integration of environmental literacy and sustainability into the curriculum, campus, community, and culture of Solano schools.
SCOE has created an online environmental literacy resource hub for local educators, showcasing activities for learning.
Discover adventure close to home. Discover adventure close to home.
One App for Everything Xciting events, activities, trails, parks and destinations in one convenient place. X
Jump start your new year!
Xplore Solano brings adventure to your fingertips with an app filled with local events, activities, trails, parks and open space destinations. Download the app today and start your adventure!
Graduations and Program Completions
SCOE Adult Program
SCOE’s Adult Program serves 18-22 year old students with intellectual disabilities and/ or autism as they transition to adulthood. The Adult Program serves young people from Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield-Suisun, Travis, and Vacaville unified school districts. The Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) Workability I program is an integral part of the Adult Program and provides job placements, job coaching, and ongoing support for the adult students who work at local businesses. We are so proud of the young adults who completed the Adult Program and are transitioning into their next phase in life.
Congratulations Graduates!
SCOE extends heartfelt congratulations to our hard-working and incredible young people who have graduated from high school in December 2021. We can’t wait to see what these remarkable students will accomplish next.
Improvement science is explicitly designed to accelerate learning-by-doing. It’s a usercentered and problem-centered approach to improving teaching and learning. Over the past five years, SCOE’s district and school support team has worked with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to build capacity in teaching and coaching Improvement Science for Solano educators. SCOE’s staff has worked collaboratively with school districts to support their development of solutions to practical problems that affect classrooms, schools, and districts. These teams known as Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) closely measure the results of these change ideas and use the expertise of its team members to ensure the local conditions drive improvement cycles.
Some examples of district improvement initiatives are outcomes for English learners, student engagement in school, and decreasing chronic absenteeism. These are challenging initiatives, however, by using collaborative teams we can create improved outcomes for students in Solano County.
Improvement Science in Action
High Quality Teaching & Learning Environments Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program (IEEEP)
It’s All About a Farm
The SCOE Early Learning Inclusion program enhances how early learning and special education teams work together to build high-quality classrooms and opportunities for children of all abilities. Early childhood inclusion supports the rights of every child, regardless of his or her ability, to fully participate in school and community. Bringing children with disabilities into early childhood programs, together with their peers who are without disabilities, has great benefits. Children gain a sense of belonging and positive social relationships. Inclusion creates an environment where all children can grow, learn, and flourish. SCOE was awarded $1.8 million from the Inclusion Early Education Expansion Program (IEEEP) grant. This program plans to increase access to inclusive early learning and care programs for children with disabilities, including children with severe disabilities. The funding is used for initiatives like inclusive playgrounds to help all children participate in outdoor play and practice the social skills developed through peer interactions. SCOE will continue this work in partnership with local organizations over the next few years.
Animals have a unique way of bringing happiness and a sense of connection to those around them. Each fall, SCOE brings All About a Farm to share their animals with students and families at the Irene Larsen Center in Vacaville. The day creates many firsttime opportunities for students to meet and touch a variety of animals. It is a tradition that brings smiles and joy to students, parents and staff each year.
In collaboration with early learning partners, including First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission, Solano Family & Children’s Services, Solano Community College, and Child Start, Inc., SCOE’s early learning team presented the 35th annual Solano Early Childhood Education Conference in September 2021. Early learning professionals from throughout Northern California, and from as far away as Hayward, Butte County, and Del Norte, joined together virtually for a full day of learning, personal and professional development, and networking.
Engaging and interactive sessions were offered on topics like creating early childhood curriculum, culturally sustainable environments, trauma informed care, anti-bias education, challenging behavior and more. Several of the sessions were presented in Spanish as well.
High Quality Teaching & Learning Environments
Visit SCOE’s Professional Learning Hub
SCOE has created a web page to showcase professional learning opportunities available to Solano educators. SCOE’s Professional Learning Hub features events hosted by SCOE as well as opportunities provided by other educational partners, providing a current resource of wide-ranging courses available to school employees.
Job Readiness & Skill Development Enhancing Education with Social-Emotional Learning
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an essential part of a well-rounded quality education and welcoming school environments for students. SCOE launched a community of practice (CoP) for SEL to convene teams of educators who were wanting to lead SEL integration in their school(s). California’s SEL Guiding Principles provide a platform for the education communities to work together and build SEL practices already happening in schools. SCOE CoP supports SEL integration that leverages the expertise of educators in the region to build capacity for all.
CoP workshop topics included: • Creating a culture of belonging. • Addressing trauma & adversity. • Committing to equity, inclusion, & cultural responsiveness. • Teaching for social, emotional, & academic development. • Supporting SEL with diverse families & communities.
More information at: Edservices@solanocoe.net
SCOE’s Construction Trades Classroom
SCOE holds a construction trades course for students in the juvenile court and community schools. In the course, students learn a variety of skills to prepare them for a career in construction trades. Units covered include safety, concrete, electrical, plumbing, masonry, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) and woodworking. Students are exposed to work-based learning activities such as virtual field trips and guest speakers. The course also offers micro enterprise opportunities in which students can create woodworking items and sell them.
Career Exploration Virtual Field Trips
SCOE created a series of videos offering students virtual field trips to businesses across Solano County in order to continue career readiness and exploration. The videos toured facilities, interviewed professionals and explained what to expect.
We appreciate our business partners who collaborated with SCOE on the virtual tours. I-80 Forklift Fairfield Ford Lincoln Ron DuPratt Ford Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 343 Operating Engineers Local 3 Solano Sports Physical Therapy Iron Workers Local 3
Videos
Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Transitioning Young Adults
SCOE’s Adult Transition program aids in the development of young adults with special abilities as they transition to adulthood. Our micro-enterprises program helps students create products that lead to entrepreneurial opportunities and experiences. Through entrepreneurship education, our young people learn organizational skills, time management, leadership, interpersonal skills, and point of sale experience, which are highly transferable skills sought by employers.
SCOE and the City of Vacaville partnered for a second year to house the This & That Gift Shop in the McBride Center as a pop-up holiday business featuring items made by students and staff. Our staff and students have furthered their connection within our community through the micro-enterprise projects.
