State Superintendent Tony Thurmond to Meet with Students, Families, and Education Leaders Affected by Caldor Fire

SACRAMENTO—Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, will join El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ed Manansala to gain a first-hand perspective of how the Caldor Fire is impacting schools in the area and to offer support to displaced residents, as provided by the California Department of Education Foundation’s (CDEF) Emergency Response Fund.

At the Placerville Library, Thurmond will share donations of books and gift cards that may be used for food, gas, hotel, or other needs by families affected by the wildfire. Program staff will showcase the family supports and student tutoring services offered to those displaced by the closure of seven school districts in the county. The El Dorado County Community Hub program, a partnership among First 5 El Dorado, the County Library, and the El Dorado County Office of Education (EDCOE), provides these offerings thanks to the support of volunteer educators and leadership of EDCOE’s Elizabeth Blakemore, Director of Early Learning and Family Support, and Jesus Cordova, Bilingual Family Engagement Specialist.

Superintendent Thurmond will visit Caldor Fire Incident Command at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds to receive a briefing from Incident Commander Jeff Veik of Cal Fire before joining a meeting of the superintendents of El Dorado County’s 15 school districts at the El Dorado County Office of Education. The gathering of district leaders will provide Thurmond with updates and first-hand accounts of fire-related school closures and evacuations, as well as a COVID-19 briefing from Dr. Nancy Williams, El Dorado County Public Health Officer.

Donations to CDEF disaster relief can be made to the CDEF GoFundMe web page . To support El Dorado County educators who have been impacted by the Caldor Fire, visit the Emergency Assistance for EDC Educators Fund web page which has been established by the El Dorado Community Foundation.

We respectfully ask that media do not attend this visit due to COVID and security restrictions. A follow-up news release will be shared. However, media inquiries and photo requests may be made through contacting EDCOE’s Director of Communications Dina Gentry at 530-295-2411 or by email at dgentry@edcoe.org, or CDE Communications at communications@cde.ca.gov.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100