District II - The members and officers of District II extend a special invitation to educators and support staff to participate in the Annual State Conference which will be held in Sacramento on April 30, May 1, 2, 1999. The members are also preparing for their ongoing student contests: Essay, Art and Spelling Bee and are encouraging more continuation education personnel to join and support our organization by becoming a member.

District III - The officers are working on increasing memberships, updating their directory and plan to increase the number of newsletters in order to provide better communication throughout the district. Plans are in the works to support the continuation of the Districtwide prom which will be in its 5th year in 1999. Also, their sports program continues to increase through a variety of invitational tournaments hosted by member schools.

District V - The district joined forces with District VI to once again host their Fall Conference at the Cambria Pines Lodge. There were over 85 in attendance, with 5 schools attending for the first time. In addition to workshops, the keynote speakers were Larry Powell from the Fresno Unified School District who spoke on Taking a Positive Attitude in Continuation Education and Joe Stits, past State CCEA President, who spoke on Accountability. In addition, there were fabulous prizes and recognition of those doing an outstanding job.

District VI - Besides partnering up with District V for the Fall Conference, this district has been working on membership and communication. Last spring several of the schools joined together for the First Annual Continuation School Olympics. There was friendly competition in basketball, volleyball and Frisbee golf, followed by a barbeque. Staff and students had such a good time that they are planning to continue this event in the spring of 1999.

District IX - There are many exciting things happening in district IX: brand new schools (Garfield High School in San Diego), located on the campus of San Diego City College; Digital High School Grant planning (Abraxas High School in Poway); experimentation with a six period day (Chaparral High School in El Cajon), which allows students the flexibility to attend school Monday through Thursday and enjoy a three day weekend; a $350,000 grant from the CDE (A.L.B.A. Community School in San Diego), which targets first time youth offenders, age 15 and under with counseling and probation services; a multi-faceted instructional program based on technology enhanced curricula utilizing computer assisted courseware (Desert Oasis High School in El Centro), through INVEST Learning Corporation; a School-to-Career Internship Program praised by Attorney General Janet Reno (Palomar High School in Chula Vista) because of its partnership with the U.S. Navy; and a strong mentor program (Mark Twain Jr./Sr. High School in San Diego) which utilizes partners from the University of San Diego, San Diego Parks and Recreation, and Social Advocates for Youth.

District XI - The Annual Fall Conference theme this year revolved around a Festival of Knowledge. Other events in the district this year have, or will, include museum tours, their Annual Awards Ceremony which recognizes their Teacher of the Year, planning for a Hospitality Suite at the State Conference and participation in the Students Run L.A. which they started 10 years ago. They are also hoping to continue their Options Colloquium, a day of staff development.

District XII - This district will co-host two conferences with California State University, Chico: The Annual Fall At-Risk Youth Conference and the Spring School Safety and Violence Prevention Conference, both held at the Cal Neva Resort on the shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe. They are organizing fall and spring competitive sporting events with schools throughout their district. Life all of the other districts, they will focus energy on membership and networking.

Valley Vista High School in Fountain Valley (District X) has enjoyed enormous success with their growing community partnership list. The Optimist Club of Huntington Beach sponsors their Back-To-School Night and Awards Night barbeques for students and parents. The Rotary Club of Fountain Valley sponsored the Career Fair this year. Students had an opportunity to visit with a variety of professionals in the fields of real estate, construction, insurance, medicine, human resources, engineering, print design and recreation. The Rotary Club also recognizes the school's Most Improved Student each month at a breakfast. The Exchange Club of Huntington Beach recognizes Valley Vista's Students of the Quarter at a luncheon and has provided several hundred dollars of scholarships for graduates continuing their education. The City of Fountain Valley has provided support by attending many site events and involves the staff in its monthly Mayor's Breakfast Meetings.

Other happenings at Valley Vista include a field trip in January to the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance. This was to be one of the activities in the reading and research related to Tolerance and the Holocaust. The school has organized several campus projects to improve student reading skills. The most successful is the Word of the Week. It sounds like Valley Vista High School is doing relevant and meaningful things for their students. Congratulations on all your successes!

Kent Kraemer, who teaches at Mt. Toro High School in Salinas, has added one more jewel to his crown of accolades. He was selected as a member of the USA Today 1998 All USA Teacher Team. The announcement was made October 15, 1998. Kent was the only teacher on the team of 60 chosen who is not teaching in a traditional program. As is typical of Kent, his response was one of humility: "I am overwhelmed by the accolades, because there are so many good teachers out there." Congratulations, Kent, on this latest honor!

If you haven't already mailed your dues to our State Treasurer, Marion St. Amant, do so today. For just $35.00 you can help support our organization and take a positive step for continuation education. Perhaps you are already a school member. Why not make that small contribution which gives us a greater force in Sacramento. This coming year promises some interesting results which will affect all of us in continuation education. In addition, Professional Members receive extra perks at the State Conference and you receive a nice plaque with your name, designating you as a Professional Member.

Even though the weather is still cold and rainy, Spring is just around the corner and that means it's time to think about State Office Elections. The positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer are all open for nomination. If you are interested in any of these state-level CCEA officer positions, please call, fax or mail a statement of candidacy no later than April 16, 1999 to:

Bill Lincoln, Nominations Committee Chairperson
Robertson High School
4455 Seneca Park Avenue
Fremont, CA 94538
(510) 657-9155 - Phone
(510) 657-5535 - Fax

At the request of many in our organization, there will be a Round Table discussion relating to the SAT-9 and the implications for Continuation Schools and their students at our State Conference. Come prepared to share your ideas and concerns, what is working and what is not. Also, if your have developed resources, study guides or any other materials which you believe will help, please bring copies to share with your colleagues.

If we could, at this time, shrink the Earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human rations remaining the same, it would be like this:

There would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere (North and South) and 8 Africans.
70 would be non-white; 30 white.
70 would be non-Christian; 30 Christian.
50% of the entire would wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people.
All 6 would be citizens of the United States.
70 would be unable to read.
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
80 would live in sub-standard housing.
Only 1 would have a college education.

When one considers our world from such an incredibly compressed perspective, the need for both tolerance and understanding becomes glaringly apparent.