Amador County – At its June 8 meeting, the Amador County Office of Education board of trustees heard a report on the county’s proposed “13th Year” program.

Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Chapin-Pinotti introduced the concept, which is a “post-secondary educational opportunity for the students and citizens of Amador County.”

She said members of the Amador Community College Foundation have been brainstorming on the “13th and 14th year” being developed through the Office of Education, to see “what we can do for higher education opportunities, without the presence of a local community college in the county.

ACCF president, Supervisor Chairman John Plasse last week said that colleges have needed a demand of 500 students in the county, in order to create a presence in a satellite campus. He said they are in a money-losing situation in Amador.

Chapin-Pinotti said school trustees might consider: “What if the Office of Education had a community college for students to participate” in, which they could start in their senior year. She said a Chico State honors program was a model program, with two parts for students. One is for an academic group of students, and the other is for a vocational group. Such a vocational program was in the works a Prospect Motors, before its closure.

She said students cannot leave the county sometimes, due to high college costs, and then there is the issue of admissions. Federal grants can fund programs for master’s degrees, credentials, and agri-tourism, and the county narrowly missed a grant in the last cycle, and will soon reapply.

“We missed out last year by 2 points,” Chapin-Pinotti said. The science technology and math education grant period opened in early June and closes in July, and those programs “wouldn’t even be that hard to implement.” She said students are not limited by age, so it could be a good program to launch second careers.

She said “this is something that would be tiered,” and partnerships could be forged at U.C. Merced or Davis. They can “figure out how to educate our children,” and keep them in the county. She said a “banner welding program” could be popular and relevant, because “oilfields in Bakersfield, that’s who’s hiring in California right now.”

Trustee Pat Miller gave thanks to Chapin-Pinotti for her work, and said as a member of the Amador Community College Foundation board, he hopes the Foundation will support, and continue to support, the 13th and 14th Year efforts.

Board President Wally Upper said “basically you want to start our own college.” Chapin-Pinotti said yes, adding that they need to build on the programs they have, and youths “need as many local opportunities as you can get.”

She said she would like to send an invitation that “any college that wants to come, should come.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.