May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month!
This year’s theme is ‘A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience’ and celebrates the foundational work of AANHPI leaders, whose efforts have paved the way for future generations to flourish and navigate challenges. The 2025 AANHPI Heritage Month poster features bamboo, a symbol of strength, resilience, and endurance, capable of withstanding adversity. Its strong roots allow it to bend but not break, standing tall after hardship. The bamboo also subtly acknowledges the "bamboo ceiling," representing the systemic barriers hindering AANHPI advancement in the workplace.
The Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) pays tribute to:
Celebrating all of our Classified Professionals!
College of the Siskiyous (Siskiyous) proudly joins California Community Colleges in celebrating the invaluable contributions of our classified professionals. You are the dedicated individuals who are the backbone of our institution, ensuring its smooth operation and fostering a supportive environment for our students, faculty, and staff.
As classified professionals, your expertise and commitment touch every aspect of our college. You are the problem-solvers, the organizers, the welcoming faces, and the steady hands that allow us to fulfill our mission of providing quality education and serving our community.
This week offers us a special opportunity to recognize your hard work, your adaptability, and your ongoing dedication. Your contributions often happen behind the scenes, yet they are absolutely essential to the success of our students and the overall functioning of Siskiyous. You create a safe, welcoming, and efficient environment where learning and growth can flourish. A resolution acknowledging classified professionals will be read at the May 20, 2025 regular Board Meeting.
Additionally, we will be acknowledging our classified professionals as well as our recent retirees at the Employee Appreciation Event scheduled on May 29, 2025. The event includes Egg Limpias and Wiping of Tears facilitated by Carla Charraga, Mexican Indigenous Healing Practitioner.
Statement Regarding Financial Aid Standard of Excellence (SOE) Review
College of the Siskiyous recently underwent a proactive Standards of Excellence (SOE) review of our financial aid programs which was conducted by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). While the peer review confirmed our ongoing commitment to providing crucial financial assistance to our students, it also identified areas of compliance challenges and provided proper recommendations.
Integrity and adherence to all applicable regulations are paramount to our mission of ensuring equitable access to higher education. We understand the importance of responsible stewardship of financial aid resources and are fully committed to implement recommended changes swiftly and effectively.
Upon receiving the peer review results, we immediately initiated a Financial Aid Taskforce and contracted with NASFAA to update our Policy and Procedures manual. We are working diligently to develop a detailed corrective action plan that will address the identified challenges. This plan will include specific steps, timelines, and responsible parties to ensure full compliance is achieved and maintained.
Our commitment to our students remains our number one priority. We want to assure our current and future students that we are taking all necessary steps to resolve these issues and ensure the continued integrity and availability of financial aid resources. We will provide updates to our community as progress is made.
College of the Siskiyous is dedicated to providing accessible and affordable education, and a well-managed and compliant financial aid program is essential to achieving that goal. We are confident that through our focused efforts, we will strengthen our financial aid processes and continue to serve our students effectively and ethically.
Fall 2025 Convocation and Flex Day
Fall Convocation and Flex Days are scheduled Thursday, August 14 and Friday, August 15, 2025. The agendas are now posted on our Flex Committee web page. The highlight of this fall's convocation day is the Difficult Conversations Project facilitated by Kern Beare.
Kern Beare is a former Silicon Valley communications executive who, throughout his professional career, maintained deep roots in the fields of interpersonal communication and conflict resolution. Today he leads non-profit seminars and workshops on how to heal relationships and unleash our capacity for creative collaboration.
Kern’s work in this field began in the 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, when he received a two-year fellowship from the Beyond War foundation, a fellowship that led to running educational programs on the obsolescence of war in the nuclear age and the imperative of learning to resolve conflict without violence.
In the 1990s, Beyond War became the Foundation for Global Community, extending its mission to include social and environmental issues. He served on the board of the new organization and helped to develop and expanded offerings of educational workshops.
In the early 2000s, Kern co-founded Global MindShift, a nonprofit enterprise that offered facilitated online workshops on the essential skills we need to survive and thrive in today’s interconnected and interdependent world.
In 2017, following the U.S. Presidential election, Kern launched the Difficult Conversations Project, an initiative to help address our national divide. Kern holds a BA in psychology from the University of California at Los Angeles. He and his wife Amy have two grown sons — Joseph and Will — and live in Mountain View, California.
Spring 2025 Term Report
The Office of research has been busy recently working on new dashboards for the website. We just recently published the dashboard for the Spring 2025 term, which can be see below and is published on our research webpage.
We continue to refine each iteration of the term dashboards. The current dashboard provides a comprehensive breakdown of all demographic information for Spring 2025, including age, ethnicity, and gender. These data points are presented in a variety of formats. The section above also presents some interesting insights.
In the first chart, we can see that Career, Technical & Education (CTE), Health/Physical Education/Kinesiology, and Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) have all experienced enrollment growth since Spring 2021, despite a decline in CTE from Spring 2024 to Spring 2025. Regarding age groups, there has been a fairly consistent increase in students aged 19 or younger from Spring 2021 to Spring 2025.
We also analyzed other data points, such as student types, class division enrollments, and modes of instruction. All of this can be viewed on the Research web page.
Scholarship Application
Another project we're excited and proud to have developed is an application to help identify which scholarships students are eligible for. The app allows college staff to input a list of students to determine (automatically) which ones qualify for all possible scholarship opportunities. It then automatically generates an email with the list and sends it to the appropriate recipients. Here's an example of the email the app generates.
We are excited to share COS scholarship opportunities that may be a great fit for you! Based on your major and background, we have identified the following 2025-26 Academic Year scholarships for which you may be eligible for:
- Jack and Mary Linville
- Re-Entry Scholarship
- Shelly Green
- Don Stensaas
- Bernard Osher
- John Scroggin
Scholarships for Students has more detail about the scholarships as well as additional scholarship you may be interested in. Continuing COS student Scholarships start on page 2.
Application Deadline: March 31st
How to Apply: 2025-2026 COS Foundation Scholarship
2025-2026 COS Foundation Scholarship - College of the Siskiyous, 2025-2026 COS Foundation Scholarship Deadline to Submit Applications: March 31, 2025 at 4:00 pm . 800 College Avenue, Weed, CA 96094, www.siskiyous.edu
We encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities and submit your applications before the deadline. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to the Foundation Office. Best of luck!
Refreshed Enrollment Reports
We have refreshed our Enrollment Report process by creating a python application to generate accessible friendly charts and tables. Here's an example of one of the charts, but to see the output in action, you can visit Enrollment Reports.
Future Plans
Our office is continuing to work on long term projects such as a comprehensive visual enrollment management report, enhancing efficiency for student centered funding formula (SCFF) data collection, and an application that will automatically identify possible degrees or certificate of achievements (COA's) for students that may have earned them but did not petition for them. We are excited about the progress we are making on these long-term projects and will share out more information as we get closer to completing them.
Graduation 2025
Students who have petitioned to graduate will be sent information about the event and what to expect. The first email will be going out the week of April 15. If you have questions about Graduation 2025 or would like to help with the event should send an email to pio@siskiyous.edu. Graduation will be held at the Weed Campus Football Stadium on Friday, May 16 beginning at 6:00 pm. All students who plan to participate in the ceremony should also plan to attend rehearsal to be held earlier in the day at 1:00 pm.
Stay Connected
Sign up today for COS Connect. This is a free system used to notify students and staff of emergency-situations, campus closures, or general information. To sign up click on the COS Connect button located on the COS homepage and follow the directions to get signed up.
Upcoming Activities & Events:
Event dates, times, and locations based on information available at the time of publication and are subject to change.
May 2025
June 2025
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Projects
Campus Testing
Fire alarm testing is scheduled for May 27 -29 at the Yreka and Weed campuses.
Summer Groups
Thank you to all for your patience as the Maintenance Department works diligently to dial in our unique campus cooling system. There is still much work needed to repair the system for it to work properly. Funding will be prioritized toward HVAC replacement and away from the ground cooling system in the future.
April and May are always a blur in higher education. So much is happening as we approach Graduation. Last month we had a wonderful 8th Grade Inspiration Day followed by Kinder Caminata last week. The events are so different and each so much fun. Kinder Caminata makes my heart happy because these little kids find so much joy and fun in the little things and I love how much the staff makes it special for them.
I want to acknowledge two individuals that will be leaving us. Issy Hale, Assistant Director of Student Housing & Student Life will be moving on from the college and her last day on campus is May 17. Issy has been at Siskiyous for about a year and has accomplished much in that short time. For the first time in years, we will have a Student Trustee for the next academic year and that is thanks to Issy as our ASB Advisor. Thank you, Issy, for your contributions to College of the Siskiyous. We wish you well in your next adventure.
Ty Speck, Student Services Specialist in the Lodges, has announced her retirement effective June 1. Ty has been with College of the Siskiyous for over 17 years. Most of that has been in the Lodges and we have been fortunate to have her. I have really enjoyed working with Ty. She is someone that I appreciate, value, and will miss. Ty is ready to also move onto the next chapter in her life and she deserves it. Thank you, Ty, for taking care of thousands of students in the Lodges over the years. "Mama" Ty will be missed.
Finally, Graduation is right around the corner and our numbers look really good for those receiving degrees and certificates and for those planning to participate in the Commencement Ceremony. We’ve made great strides this year and in every category of the Supplemental and Success Allocations of the Student-Centered Funding Formula we have increased from the year before. Thirty percent of our funding comes from the Success and Supplemental allocations and these increases can be attributed to many things but some for sure come from increased outreach & retention. Student Services has increased financial aid outreach this year. We have provided orientations for all of our CTE academies. Counselor and Advisors actively try to enroll students into math & English and 9 units of CTE in their first semester with us. We have programs focused on adult reentry students and helping them to return. We have a big push to ensure students get all the degrees they are eligible for. Support services in the ASC help to ensure students succeed in their classes. Basic needs support and special population programs provides resources for students that are essential. Quality instruction that happens in the classroom. It is not an understatement to say that it takes the entire campus to make these kinds of strides. We are trending in the right direction with our FTES and this will require reevaluating our FTE targets but I am happy to have that conversation.
It has been a really tough year but it has also been a year full of great achievements. I am looking forward to many more years celebrating our successes. In the meantime, looking forward to my favorite day of the year and celebrating our graduating students. Can’t wait!
Housing Applications for the 2025-2026 school year are live. Students can choose between a full year or a semester only contract.
Lodge staff are actively recruiting students to fill positions as Summer Conference Assistants. This is a great opportunity for students looking for a place to live over summer. Interested students should contact the housing office for details.
ASB elections were held earlier this month. We are excited to announce we had a student run for Trustee and multiple people run for senator positions for the next academic year.
The Eagle Rec Room in the Student Center recently opened. ASB was very happy to help in the purchasing of new equipment for this space.
The Office of Outreach & Retention has been busy! Our Eagle Ambassadors attended the March Board of Trustee’s meeting and spoke about creating a recreational space to play games and hang out in a centralized location. The Board, as well as many staff and ASB supported the idea. The Eagle Ambassadors created a proposal and we worked with ASB and Executive Cabinet to establish the Eagle Rec Room in the Student Center. You may have been seeing the changes over the last few weeks as we set everything up. A 'grand opening' of the new space was held May 5. Now, on a daily basis, there are students enjoying the new games, hanging out, studying, and more.
On the first Monday of each month, we collaborate with the library to host Library Game Night! We plan to resume this activity in the fall.
The annual 8th Grade Day was held April 10, and all in attendance had an amazing time! Folks from all parts of campus, both staff and students helped make this amazing event run smoothly and showcase the awesome departments. A HUGE thank you to all who participated, whether front and center or behind the scenes! Outreach has also been hosting lots of campus tours. If you see us out and about, please feel free to say hi! We recently hosted Mistletoe Elementary School with 65 eighth grade students, the California Conservation Corp, Klamath High School, and many more.
On Wednesday, April 23, Outreach and Retention hosted an International Pancake event where the UK went toe-to-toe with Argentina. Big shout out to Food Services for supporting us! We had 48 students attend this event. Later that week, Sam Dean – Director of Outreach and Retention, attended CTE Day hosted by SiskiyouWORKs CTE Day at the Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds in Yreka, along with others in attendance from the college. During the day, we were able to connect with almost 400 middle schoolers from across the County. Lots more is scheduled to take place over the summer. Stay tuned!
Fire & Rescue Training Highlights… Catching Up for the Last Two Months
Over the past two months, the Fire Technology Program has delivered a series of advanced training courses, helping firefighters build essential skills and certifications for today’s demanding fire service roles. Courses offered included Elevator Rescue, Rope Rescue Technician, Trench Rescue Technician, and Structure Collapse Specialist 1…each one offering realistic, hands-on instruction in technical rescue operations. Students also completed Water Rescue Awareness and Operations, preparing them to respond safely and effectively to flood and Swiftwater Emergencies.
In addition to rescue training, Firefighters from all over the State earned critical operational certifications such as Driver/Operator 1B and S-236: Heavy Equipment Operator, equipping them with the knowledge to safely operate apparatus and heavy machinery in emergency settings. Students also engaged in regional preparedness efforts, including the North and South Siskiyou County Drills in partnership with CAL FIRE, gaining valuable experience in interagency coordination and live-scenario response.
A special congratulations goes out to Fire Academy 46, which proudly graduated 22 cadets this cycle. Many of these graduates have already received job offers and are preparing to launch their careers in fire service across the region. Their success is a testament to the strength of our program and the commitment of our students, instructors, and partners.
Our continued partnership with CALFire makes many of the above classes possible as we provide the highest level of training for our Firefighters.
We are also excited to finally dedicate our new fire tower to our dear friend and mentor Chief Mike Wilson.
Hello everyone.
As the semester winds down and graduation approaches, the month of May always seems to pass in a blur. This month is especially meaningful for me, as it marks the end of my term as Academic Senate President. It’s been quite a journey over the past three years—with its share of ups and downs, and I’ve done my best to lead with fairness and to keep both faculty and student needs at the forefront. I hope that intention came through in my actions.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the faculty who served alongside me over the past three years: Ann Womack, Tyler Knudsen, Sarah Kirby, Carly Zeller, Ron Slabbinck, Patrice Thatcher, and Jayne Turk. The work of the Senate Executive Committee is a team effort, and I deeply appreciate your contributions and thoughtful counsel.
Special thanks go to Ann Womack, who served as Secretary, but truly was so much more. Her advice and insight were invaluable, and I can honestly say I couldn’t have been President without her.
I also want to acknowledge Tyler Knudsen, who served first as At-Large Representative and then as Vice President this past year. Tyler has a rare gift for clarifying issues by asking thoughtful questions and considering all perspectives. His guidance, especially during a difficult time a couple months ago, meant a great deal to me. And to those work friends who offered support and advice when I needed it most (you know who you are), thank you!
Looking ahead, I’m excited about the new Senate Exec team: Mike Tischler – President, Michelle Gaddini - Vice President, Chris Vancil – Secretary, Jenny Heath - At-Large Representative, Chris Clother - At-Large Representative, and myself… continuing on as Past President
I look forward to working with you all as we begin this next chapter. Have a wonderful summer!
Congratulations to Sarah Kirby. Opal Michelle Steger was born April 26. Welcome to the Eagle Family Opal!
Thanks for listening.
Andrea Craddock, President Academic Senate
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