TCOE | News Gallery Week

New Children First special featuring Tulare County esports team to air Sunday, November 23

esports students On Sunday, ABC30 will air a new Children First program entitled All Kids Belong – a half-hour special about the benefits of programs that include a wide variety of students.

This summer, TCOE launched its Esports League competition and an Esports Community of Practice (COP) to support teams throughout the county. El Monte Middle School in Orosi is one of the teams participating in the league and the COP. In one segment of the special, El Monte students describe feeling like they are part of something cool. While an organized county program is new to Tulare County, multi-year studies of esports programs found that participating students showed improvements in academic achievement and attendance, with decreases in discipline issues.

In another segment, reporters visited the Tulare Joint Union High School District Community School. Part of the growing number of Tulare County schools building community schools, the Tulare center supports students and their families with a variety of resources – from school supplies and food to English language classes. The philosophy behind California’s community school program is that by providing students and families with the support they need, the more likely they are to succeed.

Tulare Joint Union High School District Community School

Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire also sat down with ABC30’s Stephen Hicks to discuss strategies to help students feel more included at home, and at school through extra-curricular activities.

Other segments include stories about a new book about epilepsy published by Valley Children’s Hospital and Parlier High School’s Conjunto Pantera banda music group. Statewide, in another segment, Big Brothers Big Sisters is launching a service challenge to enroll 10,000 men to serve as mentors, coaches, and tutors to boys and young men.

News anchors Stephen Hicks and Sydney Berger will host All Kids Belong, airing Sunday, November 23 at 6:30 p.m. and streaming on www.abc30.com/ChildrenFirst.

Photos above:

~ Members of the El Monte eSports program will be featured in the upcoming Children First special, entitled All Kids Belong. The special will air Sunday, November 23 at 6:30 p.m. on ABC30.

~ Parents attend a PIQE training at the new Tulare Community School Center. The new center supports families with services ranging from English language classes and leadership training to food and school supplies.

Slick Rock Student Film Festival accepting entries, deadline March 6

Video entries for the 2026 Slick Rock Student Film Festival are due March 6. Middle and high school students living in Tulare, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, or Merced counties may enter videos in a total of 16 categories, ranging from documentaries and blockbusters to public service announcements and music videos.

A “Best of Show” winner for both middle and high school categories will be selected from all films entered in the festival.

Visit tcoe.org/SlickRock for information on film categories, deadlines, and the awards ceremony, which will be held live at the Visalia Fox Theatre on May 8.

TCOE’s College and Career Readiness receives Secondary Education Redesign Project grant

TKCCC logo Last week, the TCOE’s College and Career Readiness received notice that it was one of 13 educational agencies awarded a grant as part of the Secondary Education Redesign Project.

Administered by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE), the grant is designed to support California middle and high schools in transforming learning environments from factory model institutions to student-centered environments that drive deep learning for application in complex, real-world challenges. The grant also intends to support the development of personalized student support, measurements of student engagement and learning, and structures that are maintained over time.

In Tulare and Kings counties, the project will be implemented by the Tulare-Kings College and Career Collaborative. Participating districts include Corcoran Unified School District, Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District, Dinuba Unified School District, Exeter Unified School District, and Woodlake Unified School District. The Tulare Kings Secondary Redesign Plan was awarded $550,000 to assist districts in developing college and career initiatives.

For more information about the Secondary Education Redesign Plan, contact Bill Davis at bill.davis@tcoe.org.

Editor: Robert Herman, Communications Director
Contributors: Nayirah Dosu, Jennifer Fisher, Jaime Burnitzki, Paula Terrill, Kathleen Green-Martins, Bill Davis

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