Tag archives: MUS
“There’s something refreshingly human about making music together.” – Liz Caruso MUS Music Montecito Union School has a long history of a strong music department headed by top tier music faculty. When I started covering local news in 2002 for the Montecito Journal, I met the multitalented Pamela McClendon (MUS, 1971-2012). Under her expertise and […]
The Montecito Union School Foundation (MUSF) held its annual fundraiser gala at the Rosewood Miramar Resort on Friday, May 1. The guests arrived in the gala theme of “An Evening in Olympia,” women arriving in stunning gowns adorned with a gold floral headpiece, men arriving in suits topped with a toga scarf and Caesar-head piece. […]
The Montecito Union School (MUS) Board of Trustees has announced the approval of a $7.5 million settlement to resolve litigation stemming from alleged sexual abuse by a former staff member between 1972 and 1978. The settlement, which includes no admission of liability, was reached after careful consideration of the financial risks posed by continued litigation. […]
With the #metoo movement born out of sexual harassment and sexual assault charges made against a slew of well-known media heavyweights, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 218, known as the California Child Victims Act. This bill significantly extended the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits related to childhood sexual assault, allowing individuals to […]
Dear MUS Staff and Families, In March 2023, we shared with our community that MUS had been served with a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse from 1972-1976 by a former employee. While we are limited in what we can discuss due to the ongoing litigation, the Montecito Union School District Board has asked me to communicate […]
For the 7th year, the lives of the 23 Montecito residents who lost their lives in the 2018 mudslides were honored in a solemn ceremony, Raising Our Light, on Thursday, January 9, outside in the Montecito Union School parking lot. There, with the Montecito Fire Department Engine as backdrop, was the podium for the speakers […]
The completion of several anticipated renovation projects – some a decade in the making – brought together Montecito Union School students, parents, and educators for a ribbon-cutting celebration. Using a set of giant ceremonial scissors, MUS Principal Nick Bruski cut the ribbon leading to the school’s newly refurbished Towbes Library and Innovation Laboratory – a […]
Bustling laughter and a sense of nostalgia filled Lower Manning Park on May 30th, as Montecito Union School alumni and their families reunited after six years, amidst an array of parent-provided sweet treats. The class of 2018 MUS graduates, now the class of 2024 high school graduates, woke up bright and early on a school […]
Crane Country Day School Graduation The Crane Country Day School 2024 Eight Grade Graduation – “Go Coyotes!” – was held on Wednesday, June 12, at 10:30 am. The walkway to the graduation setting on the sports lawn showcased pencil drawing portraits of the graduates on easels. Parents and families sat at round tables with formal […]
The Montecito Union School Foundation (MUSF) annual gala fundraiser was held on Friday, April 12 at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito. This year’s formal affair – Côte d’Azur: A night in the French Riviera. The important fundraising gala assures that the resources of MUS will continue and be added to. It awards grants towards the […]
This week I met up with Emily Stone, an MUS alumna and current graduate student at the University of Oxford. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Barnard College, Columbia University studying Environment Sustainability and Human Rights, Emily made the move to the U.K. to pursue her passion for conservation science. In our conversation, Emily introduced […]
As MUS superintendent Anthony Ranii mentioned to the Montecito Association earlier this month, AHA!, a local nonprofit serving teens, families, and educators in Santa Barbara County, is now utilizing MUS’s Nature Lab for its Littlest Little Farm. The Littlest Little Farm, launched in fall 2019, is one of the nonprofit’s afterschool programs, teaching participants about […]
This graduation issue has, in order of occurrence: the YMCA Preschool, Cold Spring School, Laguna Blanca Lower School, Montecito Union School, the El Montecito Early School, and Crane Country Day School. The Montecito Journal wishes much success and congratulations to our graduates, school faculty, staff, and parents! YMCA Preschool 2023 Graduation The YMCA Preschool 2023 […]
During community reports at this week’s MA meeting, Montecito Union School’s Anthony Ranii said the school’s largest fundraiser, the MUS Carnival, is slated for October 22. The fundraiser for the MUS Foundation raises funds to enhance the school’s academic, athletic, and arts programs; enrich the student experience with technology, curriculum, and improved classroom resources; and […]
Just days before school goes back in session following summer break, Montecito Union School is busy getting classrooms rearranged in order to accommodate what will ultimately be two years of construction in order to modernize campus infrastructure. The project, which is 15 years in the making, includes improving infrastructure and accessibility in Building D (over […]
At last week’s Montecito Association (MA) meeting, the Board discussed what has become a hot topic in many communities across the country: fractional home ownership via Pacaso, a Bay Area-based company that buys homes and then sells fractional interests in them to second-home buyers. After the sale – in which the company makes a profit […]
At a quiet Montecito Association meeting earlier this week, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi reported on crime in Montecito over the last month. There have been several residential burglaries including near the Polo Fields, on Romero Canyon, Tiburon Bay Lane, School House Lane, East Mountain Drive, and on Ortega Ridge. Lt. Arnoldi said […]
Last summer, just a couple of months before Montecito Journal’s 2nd annual The Giving List book was published, Clean Coalition’s work to stage a Community Microgrid in Montecito – a first step toward establishing renewables-driven energy resilience for the vulnerable area – was still largely in the planning stage. The goal to establish individual Solar […]
‘Tis the season to celebrate the plethora of annual holiday concerts at schools around Montecito, with many restricted in-person events held outside due to ongoing concerns over COVID-19. Here is Part I of our roundup from Santa and me: Cate School Cate School’s motto is “Servons” (we serve), which is noted in its holiday tradition […]
Last Wednesday evening, hundreds of Montecito Union School parents, kids, teachers, staff, and members of the Montecito community came out to celebrate the grand opening of its Nature Lab, a project which has been in the works for nearly 15 years. “I want to thank the Montecito Union School board members, past and present, for […]



