Tag archives: students

Are we doing all that we can to keep our students in school and safe from Delta variant?
By Laura Capps and Kate Ford   |   September 22, 2021

By Laura Capps and Kate Ford, Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education Our world is not the same, and we’ve learned so much since COVID-19 struck nearly 20 months ago. Above all, we must do everything possible to keep students and staff in school, safely.  We are 150% committed to doing so, as […]

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 […]

Raab Writing Fellows Develop Writing Skills as a Form of Personal Discovery
By Zach Rosen   |   July 22, 2021

Writing is oftentimes a multidisciplinary creative process, combining the mechanics of English with one’s understanding of the subject matter. Since 2017, the Raab Writing Fellows Program at UCSB has been giving students the opportunity to express their range of interests and explore the multidisciplinary skills that writing requires. Supported by author and educator Diana Raab, […]

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 […]

Honoring the Persevering Class of 2021
By Scott Craig   |   May 13, 2021

Westmont’s determined and resilient class of 2021 will walk across the stage and celebrate Commencement in person on May 8, at 9:30 am on Thorrington Field in a special, socially distanced layout.  Sandra Richter, Westmont’s Robert H. Gundry professor of biblical studies, delivers the address, while President Gayle D. Beebe will present the Westmont Medal […]

AHA!
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 21, 2021

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that to many folks in our community, everyone who works at AHA! could be called a hero. After all, the Santa Barbara nonprofit equips teenagers – and often their teachers and parents – with social and emotional intelligence, using the five pillars of mindfulness, awareness, connection, empathy, and […]

A Bald(ridge) New World of Theater at SBHS
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 5, 2020

For some, stepping in as Santa Barbara High School Theatre’s new director might have included imagining the daunting task of filling the oversize shoes of predecessor Otto Layman, who retired last spring after 25 years at the helm. But Justin Baldridge doesn’t see his role as trying to duplicate what the beloved Layman accomplished in […]

College Bucks National Virus Trends
By Scott Craig   |   October 21, 2020

Very few Westmont students have tested positive for the coronavirus since returning to campus in mid-September, and faculty and staff are finding innovative ways for students to thrive while staying safe. More than 90 percent of students chose to return to campus rather than learning remotely in their homes. All students were tested for the […]

Hoping to be Back in Class
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   September 3, 2020

As local students settle into virtual or distance learning, school administrators and teachers are working hard to reopen campuses, working within the guidelines set forth by the State of California and the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department. Last Friday, August 28, both Cold Spring School and Montecito Union School superintendents submitted applications for a […]

United Way of Santa Barbara
By Zach Rosen   |   August 13, 2020

With so many schools having to turn to online classes, students in need are having an even tougher time getting the educational resources they need. One organization, United Way of Santa Barbara, has been helping at-risk and low-income students and members of the community since 1923. Of their many community programs, two of their educational […]

Laura Capps Launches Re-Election Bid for County Education Seat
By Nick Schou   |   July 30, 2020

In a video clip released July 27, former First District Supervisorial candidate Laura Capps officially announced her re-election campaign for the Santa Barbara Board of Education. In her case, “re-election” is somewhat of a misnomer, as Capps is the first to point out. “We got two new Board members in 2018, but the three of […]

SBCC Foundation Helps Hundreds of Students With Financial Burden
By Valerie van den Broek   |   July 23, 2020

These days, Geoff Green‘s bed is more than just a place to sleep. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s now his office. Since he also sleeps there, he spends about 20 hours a day in his bedroom, exiting the cave only to eat or spend time with his family. His life is consumed by not only […]

Kindergarten Instructor Honored
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   July 2, 2020

“Creative. Passionate. Dedicated.” These are the words most frequently used to describe Laguna Blanca’s Kindergarten Instructor and 2020 Faculty Excellence Award winner, Mieke Delwiche. Since 2009, Delwiche has ushered in scores of youngsters to Laguna while opening their hearts and minds to a love of learning. Always holding herself to the highest expectations, Delwiche has […]

SB Sunshine Tutors
By Victoria Chow   |   June 18, 2020

Lesley Drucker, a sophomore at Cate School, recently started SB Sunshine Tutors, a tutoring service to support students who are struggling with homework during the pandemic. Lesley saw how students were no longer able to meet with their teachers after class for help. “I really relied on getting help from teachers after class, but all […]

College Reopening Plans Include In-Person Classes
By Scott Craig   |   June 11, 2020

Westmont plans to reopen for the fall semester and bring students back to campus for classes, which begin August 31. The college will comply with every state, county and national health mandate regarding social distancing and other practices to keep everyone safe. Several task forces and 50 subcommittees are working to create protocols requiring appropriate […]

Hard Work Pays Off for Local Scholars
By Nick Schou   |   May 21, 2020

In an otherwise dismal end to the academic year, there’s some late-breaking good news for nearly 2,000 local students heading on to college or graduate-school. On May 15, the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara awarded college scholarships totaling more than $6 million, providing an average $3,357 per recipient. The foundation is the nation’s largest community-based […]

‘A Time of Innovation’: Santa Barbara-area Schools Wade into the Uncharted Territory of ‘Remote Learning’
By Nick Schou   |   May 17, 2020

On Friday, March 13, yes Friday the 13th, all schools in California, public and private, closed their doors for the foreseeable future. Then Santa Barbara, like much of the rest of the state, had at most a single week to switch to an entirely new, online model of education, by now known to most as […]

MUS Parade
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 30, 2020

On Wednesday, April 22, hundreds of Montecito Union School students, Montecito residents, and members of the community came outside their homes and businesses to wave to dozens of MUS teachers and administrators, who drove their cars in a “parade” throughout Montecito. “Our teachers and staff miss seeing the students’ faces on a daily basis, and […]

SB County’s Educators are United
By Anthony Ranii   |   April 9, 2020

When Gwyn Lurie approached me to write an occasional series on education, I jumped at the chance. It combines two things I love: thinking about education and working with Gwyn (she served on the Montecito Union School [MUS] Board during my first two years and made me think almost as much as she made me […]

All Saints’ Padric Davis
By Sigrid Toye   |   April 2, 2020

Entering the campus of All Saints-by-the-Sea Parish School was actually a homecoming of sorts for a variety of reasons, the most recent being that our granddaughter, now 10 and a big fifth grader, attended the Parish School as a toddler. Not that long ago she could be seen hopping around the playground laughing, playing, and […]