Tag archives: education

Nature Lab to Officially Debut
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   November 9, 2021

Montecito Union School will host a ribbon-cutting event this week, to showcase its unique 2.5-acre Nature Lab, a facility that allows its students to grow their own crops, learn outside, and even interact with a tortoise and some chickens. The students at the enviable elementary school were a big part of the process about how […]

A Letter of Appreciation for Our Schools
By Sigrid Toye   |   November 9, 2021

It’s autumn in Santa Barbara and the landscape is painted with a golden glow as falling sycamore leaves carpet the ground. Halloween is just around the corner. And, at long last our kids are settled back in school and ready to celebrate the season. During these uncertain times, “back in school” has become an event […]

Riding the Rollercoaster That Is College Admissions Trends
By Mentors 4 College   |   October 26, 2021

Don’t you wish there was a cute, little dog like Toto who could just pull back a curtain and reveal the secret to how this confusing, murky college admissions process works? So you could see that the smoke and mirrors and prestidigitations involved weren’t so scary and intimidating after all. That lurking behind the collegiate […]

Lovin’ Literacy
By Richard Mineards   |   October 12, 2021

Santa Barbara’s 36-year-old Education Foundation hosted its first Love of Literacy lunch at Godric Grove at Elings Park, attracting 150 guests and raising $50,000 for the cause. The boffo bash, the first in-person event since March 2020, featured Montecito uber philanthropist Sara Miller McCune, who said she became “angry and upset” when she read about […]

Laguna Blanca School Opens New Science Center
By Joanne A Calitri   |   October 5, 2021

It’s open – and it’s beautiful. On Monday, September 27, there was a ribbon cutting and VIP guest reception for the new 5,500-square-foot Center for Science and Innovation at Laguna Blanca School’s Hope Ranch campus, which houses the Nakamura STEM Research and Innovation Lab, the updated Jackson Physics Labs, the Mosher Foundation Outdoor classroom, Gainey […]

Embracing our Community’s Children
By Cassie Lancaster   |   September 7, 2021

Imagine a kid. He’s your son, and he has big plans. He wants to attend college, launch a startup, and make it big. He wants to change the world. He’s always been like this. He always aims high, and he usually succeeds, even when the odds are stacked against him, which they always seem to […]

Santa Barbara’s New Schools Superintendent Makes Her Way From Fire to the Frying Pan(demic)
By Gwyn Lurie   |   August 31, 2021

When I arrived at the Montecito Journal, I received some push back for writing about affairs outside of Montecito. But I felt strongly then, and still do, that many aspects of life in greater Santa Barbara are integral to the lives of Montecitans. That goes for healthcare, social impact work, the development of downtown, the […]

Talented New Students Welcomed in Person
By Scott Craig   |   August 31, 2021

About 410 new students, who include 58 new transfers, begin their journey at Westmont Thursday, August 26, moving into residence halls and enjoying several days of welcoming activities during Orientation.  “This class has persisted through the pandemic and arrives with high energy and optimism to live and learn in person in real community,” says Irene […]

Stellar Young Life Students Earn Full Scholarships
By Scott Craig   |   August 24, 2021

Westmont College and Young Life Southwestern Division have awarded full scholarships to Arath Gomez of Santa Barbara, Destiny Mitchell of Victorville, and Serena Nohmeh of Reseda. Young Life Urban Leadership Scholarships provide funding for each student to attend Westmont for four years. This joint effort encourages students who have benefited from Young Life to remain […]

Applying for College? Yeah, We Feel Your Pain — But Help is Here
By Mentors 4 College   |   August 24, 2021

Years ago, after graduating from college, I went through a six-month period where I suffered from blood-curdling, ghastly nightmares — where I dreamed that I hadn’t really gotten my diploma after all. I’d wake up in a cold sweat, covers tangled on the floor, breathing heavy at 2 am, convinced I’d forgotten to do something […]

It’s Time to Require Vaccines: Our Students, Teachers, and Staff Deserve Healthy and Safe Schools
By Kate Ford and Laura Capps   |   August 12, 2021

As members of the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) board, we understand that our paramount responsibility is to ensure the health and well-being of our students. Incorporating all we’ve learned about COVID-19, we are determined to open schools safely for all staff and students on August 17. Sadly, our community is still in a […]

Santa Barbara Unified Mulls Mandated Vaccines for Staff, Teachers
By Nick Masuda   |   August 5, 2021

With the school year less than two weeks from starting, a pair of Santa Barbara Unified School District board members are calling for all district staff and teachers to be vaccinated or be tested for COVID at least once per week. The proposal from Board President Kate Ford and Board Member Laura Capps will be […]

Out Goes Another SBCC President; In Comes New Identity for Private School
By Nick Masuda   |   July 22, 2021

The seemingly revolving chair that is the top job at Santa Barbara City College is turning over yet again — the latest presidential resignation a partial byproduct of ongoing disagreements over COVID protocols as the school sets to reopen August 23. In an abrupt announcement after a Board of Trustees special meeting on July 12, […]

Marymount To Become “The Riviera Ridge School”
By Nick Masuda   |   July 22, 2021

Christina Broderick has been receiving plenty of congratulatory calls from her predecessors at Marymount Santa Barbara — er, The Riviera Ridge School (RRS). After years of discussion, the K-8 private school on Santa Barbara’s Riviera — which serves roughly 20-25 students from Montecito per year — has a new brand for the 2021-22 school year, […]

Get Your Priorities Straight
By Montecito Journal   |   July 22, 2021

To the Mayor, City Council Members: 4th of July my family and I took a walk down upper State Street in Santa Barbara. As we walked, we had concerns about the planning by the city to provide a safe sidewalk. We also wondered if there would ever be another parade down State Street. The heritage of […]

Changing Course: United Way Alters Path to Help Serve More
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 15, 2021

For a relatively large and well-established nonprofit organization in our community, United Way of Santa Barbara County over the last few years has demonstrated the ability to respond quickly to current circumstances — not so much as an about face or even a course correction, but more of an adapting to changing needs to meet […]

Education Department Earns Accreditation, Praise
By Scott Craig   |   July 12, 2021

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has given full accreditation to the Westmont College Department of Education. The site visit team report says through interviews with stakeholders and school partners, it is clear that the local school community benefits from graduates of Westmont’s education department. “Employers consistently spoke of their desire to hire Westmont program […]

A Commitment to Youth: Storyteller Children’s Center Withstood the Pandemic
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 8, 2021

Santa Barbara has been all awash with talk about the reopening of public schools ever since the pandemic shut them down last spring. Parents of school-age children have had different desires and needs in this area as the situation and responses including various methods of remote learning shifted, with some schools reopening earlier than others, […]

A Gift to the Community: SBCC Foundation Receives $20 Million Donation
By Zach Rosen   |   July 1, 2021

It was recently announced that Santa Barbara City College and the SBCC Foundation will receive a $20 million donation from MacKenzie Scott. This gift is one of 276 donations to universities and community colleges that total to $2.7 billion and marks the largest gift in the 112-year history of SBCC. The donation was made directly […]

Our Town’s 19th Annual Graduation Issue: Part II
By Joanne A Calitri   |   June 24, 2021

The total local student graduates for this week are 120 — with 74 at Cate School, 11 at Laguna Blanca Lower School, and 35 at Crane Country Day School. For the year, there were 246 graduates at all Montecito schools. We at the Montecito Journal wish all the 2021 graduates success going forward and congratulations […]