Riverside County Office of Education

The Riverside County Office of Education serves as an intermediary between the California Department of Education

California Department of Education

The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement...

and local school districts. The office provides a wide range of educational and administrative support services to the 23 school districts and the more than 423,000 students living in Riverside County.

Riverside County Office of Education

The Riverside County Office of Education has three components: the elected County Superintendent of Schools, who serves a four year term of office; the seven elected members of the County Board of Education, who also serve four year terms of office; and the entire body of employees in the organization—all of whom are employed directly by the County Superintendent.

RCOE, as the office is often referred to, has been serving students throughout Riverside County for more than 115 years. With well over 420,000 students, RCOE is California’s fourth largest county office of education. There are 23 school districts in Riverside County. These districts vary in size from Desert Center, which serves just over a handful of students to Corona-Norco, with more than 50,000 students.

County offices serve three legally mandated functions. The first is to meet the needs of those students who are outside of the educational programs and services of their local school districts. The second is to work with the local school districts to ensure they are providing students with the best educational programs and services possible and remaining financially solvent in the process. And third is the role of the Board of Education, which is primarily a policy and appellate role. Two other significant roles played by county offices are recognizing student achievement and educator excellence, and providing county-wide educational events that promote a focus on the success of all students.

At RCOE, approximately 1,900 employees work in one of six service divisions and the Office of the Superintendent. The six divisions are: the Division of Administration and Business Services, the Division of Educational Leadership Services, the Division of Personnel Services, the Division of Student Programs and Services, the Division of Educational Services, and the Division of Children and Family Services. Because the county is so extensive, both regional offices (located in Murrieta and Indio) are staffed with employees from a number of these divisions.

History

On March 11, 1893, California Governor Henry Markham signed the bill that took 7090 square miles (18,363 km²) from San Diego and San Bernardino counties – two counties in disagreement over many issues – to form the new County of Riverside.

San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse, built as an adobe building in 1856, is distinguished as the first school in the territory that became Riverside County. The original schoolhouse accommodated 25 to 40 students from grades one to eight and served the pioneer families as well as the temporary students of work crews on the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Well-documented history of Riverside County schools begins with the establishment of the county and consequent appointment of Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Lyman Gregory on May 9, 1893. Gregory’s office in 1893 was located in the original courthouse on the corner of Eighth and Lime streets in downtown Riverside. During the time of Edward Hyatt (1903), a new County Courthouse on Main Street was built. At that time, the superintendency remained an elected position, but the office was part of county government until it gained fiscal independence in 1975.

The Riverside County Office of Education has grown to nearly 2,000 employees working at offices in Riverside, Murrieta and Indio and with a budget of $257 million.

With the appointment of Kenneth M. Young as the 11th Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, enrollment in Riverside County schools has surpassed more than 400,000 students at 434 sites under the jurisdiction of 23 local school districts. There are more than 36,000 teachers and other school employees working in Riverside County.

Riverside County School Districts

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