I have had the pleasure, the luxury, and the honor of studying at, working at, and teaching at some of the greatest of California community colleges. In 1977, I moved across country from back east with two suitcases and 300 dollars, to take advantage of the educational system in California in general and of California community colleges-for starters-in particular. Not only were they at the time unbelievably affordable but remarkably reputable as fine preparatory, or transitional, institutions of higher education. In fact, my first semester at College of Marin, for example, besides buying my texts, I paid only $3.00 for the whole semester. That was for the Health Fee.

California community colleges are not quite so inexpensive-though they are still affordable-these days, but they are still wonderful first- and second-year colleges and trade/occupational training sites. People graduating from the neighboring high schools or returning to college after years away attend courses and programs in almost all of the major disciplines and/or take vocational courses such as those in the Automotive Mechanics or Cosmetology divisions at almost all of the 72 regions’ California community colleges.

As the Chancellor of the California community colleges reveals in the mission statement (at http://www.cccco.edu/faq_cccco.htm#mission), basic aims of all of the California community colleges are to offer “essential and important functions” such as basic skills instruction, English as a second language (ESL, or, English for speakers of other languages, ESOL) education and practice, adult non-credit instruction, and student and community support services.

While funding is the contingency (and often the bane), some California community colleges engage in research, outreach, and other related projects and programs. They often provide a small degree of health services, offer social and academic guidance and support (for honors charters, for example) and extracurricular access (by way of, for example, sports teams and student associations and clubs).

While I taught and worked at and am therefore partial to select California community colleges in the Bay Area (in Northern California), there are some of the best kept secrets throughout the state. Here is a partial list with individual colleges you can get more information on by typing in the name of the college and dot net, or dot cc dot ca, or dot edu, usually:

American River College, Sacramento
Butte College, Oroville
College of San Mateo, San Mateo
Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill
East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park
Feather River College, Quincy
Grossmont College, El Cajon
Hartmon College, Salinas
Imperial Valley College, Imperial Valley
Laney College, Oakland
College of Marin, Kentfield
Ohlone College, Fremont
Palomar College, San Marcos
College of the Redwoods, Eureka
Skyline College, San Bruno
Taft College, Taft
Ventura College, Ventura
West Hills College, Coalinga
Yuba College, Marysville

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Arizona Community Colleges
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Information On Unified Messaging
... members are held on a yearly basis. Called community conversations, these conferences have allowed the school district to hear the thoughts and opinions of over 6000 people. In addition, annual surveys for parents, teachers, and students help identify the issues to be resolved and help all members of the California Community Colleges community feel a commitment to the success of the San Jose Unified School District. Improvements in student achievement across the board are clear in the 30 California Distinguished Schools and 11 National Blue Ribbon Schools in the district. In addition, the new relationship with the community has also had its rewards. First a $165 million bond issue and then a $429 million one have shown overwhelming public support for the San Jose Unified School...

Getting A Degree For Life Experience
So, what do people in my situation do? They don’t have the time, energy or money to go back and attend college. Besides, why should I take classes to get a degree in a field that I already know inside and out? Sure, I self taught myself most of what I needed to know in my field. My company and my mentors taught me everything else? I was researching online colleges one afternoon and found something even more interesting – a life experience degree. Much to my shock and disbelief, there are a few online and real life colleges that are willing to look at your life experience and actually California Community Colleges award a degree for your knowledge!

Adventure Tours In California
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Best Western Blue Sea Lodge
The hotel chain is noted for its friendly, relaxed atmosphere and amenities. The Best Western Blue Sea Lodge has all this and the advantage of a great location. Guests can California Community Colleges unwind in the pool and spa and go for coffee and snacks at the Coastal Café. More on Best Western Blue Sea Lodge

California Vacations
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Monterey California
... fortune to visit and stay for a weekend in Monterey, California, about twenty years ago when a group of us registered for one of many conventions and reserved rooms at the great Monterey Marriott, a few steps away from the stunning Monterey Conference Center. It was June; the weather was unusually favorable; and we were free from work and school for the weekend. None of us had ever been to the famous area, so we didn't know California Community Colleges what to expect. Our first afternoon/night in Monterey, California, we dumped our luggage, jumped on the beds, changed clothes, and headed to the conference center where we were astounded by the capaciousness, cleanliness, and accommodating nature of the Steinbeck Forum Theatre-where we had a main meeting. We were to dress up and dance in style and natural and glamorous surroundings of the De Anza...

Guide To So Cal A Great Resource For Southern California Attractions
... for some attraction in Southern California and ran across http://www.guidetosocal.com/ which has some great information on it if you are looking for Southern California attractions. Here is a short snippet from an article about Angelos Vincis restraint in Fullerton, CA. You can find the full post at http://guidetosocal.com/angelos-vincis-restaurant-review-fullerton/. If you enjoy classic Hollywood items, there are a ton of items related to Hollywood in the main dining area. “The main dining room has tables on the floor and balcony seating around the perimeter of the room. The room has the feeling of eating in an Italian marketplace. Every inch of the walls and ceilings are cover with relics from Italian arts and mock Italian storefronts. Words can’t describe the scene, everywhere you look there are puppets, statues, paintings, flags, faux blocks of cheese and...

College Grant Money
... loans and scholarships? College grant money is actually a type of student aid that is awarded to deserving individuals. The Federal Government, nonprofit civic groups, and private institutions may offer these moneys to students usually based on economic need. But contrary to what some people think, college grant money is actually different from a student loan. One difference is that when you have qualified for a grant, it means you no longer have to pay back the money you receive. On the other hand, when you apply for a student loan, it means you are obliged to repay the money within a certain specified period, depending on what has been agreed upon between you and your loan provider. Because of that, parents and students alike...

Welcome To The Best California Snorkeling
... the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States. In the last decade, five of the islands were made into the Channel Islands National Park, with the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary encompassing 60% of its enclosure. Santa Catalina Island is the only one of the eight islands with a significant permanent civilian settlement-the resort city of Avalon, California. Lover's Cove is a short walk east from Avalon. This protected marine preserve is an excellent area for snorkeling. Some glass bottom boats cruise there to feed the fish, making the Lover's Cove resident fishes unnaturally tame. So tame are the fishes there that you could actually pat them and feed them by hand. Within easy swimming distance of the Cove, snorkelers can...

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The online tools are California Community Colleges usually cheap, convenient, and best of all, can be used from the comfort of your very own house. It might be months before you really can spend the time to learn Polish in a class, but that does not mean that you can not start studying it in some form this very day. Of course, if you can learn Polish from a class, by all means you should do so. Many community colleges have Polish courses which you can take for a reasonable price. They are geared around professionals who learn Polish in their spare time, and as such, they often have good night time courses at convenient times. That way, you can learn Polish without having to completely rearrange your schedule, by going to the classes once a week, or maybe twice. This is not the ideal way to learn Polish either, although it is a pretty good way to study it. If you are really...

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