February 2021 In This Issue Sacramento Scene Department of Education Update News & Views Keeping Faith A Legacy of Leaders Built MJC Agriculture Ed Source: Dispute widens between Gov. Newsom, school employee unions over reopening campuses 5K for FFA

Sacramento Scene: February 2021 By: Matt Patton, CATA Executive Director With a surplus predicted in the overall California State Budget and in education and Prop 98 funding in abundance, attention has turned to returning students to in-person instruction. The Federal Government, state and local unions, legislators, the Governor’s Office, vaccine distribution capabilities, state and local health regulations and advocacy groups are all contributing to the conversation.  Read More California Department of Education Update: February 2021 By: Charles Parker, California Department of Education, State FFA Advisor The new year started off much like any other year: completing State Degree applications, helping students with scholarships and preparing for what will most certainly be a busy Spring. The following is provided in an effort to help you navigate the coming months. Read More Keeping Faith By: Jessica Chamberlain, Del Norte HS As I write this we just found out at my school that our plans for bringing students back on January 25, for the second semester, will not come to fruition. The Governor has created more rules for us to follow all in the name of our “safety.” Now don’t get me wrong, COVID-19 is very real and very dangerous for a lot of folks, including myself. We do need to have a vaccine and we do need to have safety procedures, I am not ignorant to these facts. But the way our world, state and country are working, I am beginning to believe that we are mere pawns in a game I had no idea we were playing. Read More A Legacy of Leaders Built MJC Agriculture  By: Anna Genasci, Farm News Editor, Stanislaus County Farm Bureau On the eve of its centennial, to be celebrated in 2022, the Modesto Junior College (MJC) Agriculture & Environmental Sciences Program was looking for a story that outlined the transformation of their teaching facilities to demonstrate the growth of the program over the last 100 years. However, after combing through old articles, pictures and speaking to retired instructors, what I found was this: the MJC faculty and its leaders created a program that has not only impacted the terrain of its school farm, affectionally referred to as just, “West Campus,” but also the lives of its students.  Read More Dispute widens between Gov. Newsom, school employee unions over reopening campuses Courtesy of EdSource Already-big differences on when to reopen schools became starker Wednesday when Gov. Gavin Newsom reiterated that campuses can open safely before vaccinating all teachers, while five unions representing California school employees set a new set of conditions that could make reopening less likely before the end of the school year. Read More

5K for FFA, March 21-28, 2021 The California FFA Foundation is proud to announce the 5K for FFA! The event will be a virtual 5K to celebrate National Ag Day, March 23, and promote health and well-being among the over 95,000 California FFA members across the state.

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