Press Release

Metropolitan Education District 760 Hillsdale Ave San Jose, CA 95136 October 31, 2007 Joyce Monda, Public Information Officer 408-723-6461

Contact: Michelle Alaimo Public Information Office (408) 723-6464 malaimo@metroed.net

CCOC Hosts Law Enforcement Summit in Partnership with West Valley College

Central County Occupational Center (CCOC) will host a Law Enforcement Summit on November 7, 2007 from 9 a.m. to noon in partnership with West Valley College.

The summit is a gathering of secondary, post-secondary, police academy, and law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The goal is to learn more about what the education field can do to improve the quality of candidates including increasing the pass/fail rate of applicants in police agency pre-tests.

“There is an urgent need for qualified men and women in the field of law enforcement and related support positions such as records and communications,” CCOC’s Law Enforcement Instructor, Rico Sciaky, said.

Sciaky, along with Ken Colson, chairman of West Valley College’s Administration of Justice Department said that police agencies are currently looking at other areas outside of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties for qualified law enforcement candidates.

“We believe this summit can produce a change in the direction of CCOC’s program and other administration of justice programs so that we all can work together to prepare our students for careers in law enforcement,” Sciaky said.

CCOC-a unit of MetroED, has one of the most advanced Law Enforcement Regional Occupational Programs in the state and uses a Firearms Training System similar to what law enforcement agencies use in police academies, Sciaky said.

CCOC’s Law Enforcement class is open to high school juniors and seniors from six high school districts: Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, Campbell Union High School District, East Side Union High School District, San Jose Unified, Milpitas Unified, and the Santa Clara Unified District. Students learn the nuts and bolts of law enforcement through similar methods used at police academies using a variety of hands-on methods.

If you are employed in the law enforcement field or administration of justice education field, and would like to attend the summit, contact CCOC Law Enforcement Instructor Rico Sciaky at (408) 723-4240 or rsciaky@metroed.net.

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MetroED is the largest career-oriented educational organization in Santa Clara County, comprised of high school and adult occupational, academic and community programs.

MetroED annually provides 50,000 diverse students with the skills to help them be productive, income-earning and tax-paying contributors to Silicon Valley.