“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” Shakespeare employed that now famous line in his play Romeo and Juliet to imply that the naming of things is irrelevant. The Riviera Ridge School might beg to differ.  The highly-esteemed independent educational institution that serves […]

Our town’s schools held their 2022 graduation ceremonies from May 29 through June 10. The eight local school graduations are covered in order of occurrence, in two news reports, part one today and part two on June 16. This issue has Cate School with 66 grads, Montecito YMCA Preschool with 14 grads, Cold Spring School […]

Nearly 40 local high school students enrolled in an AP physics course visited Westmont on May 16 for a hands-on exploration into how the universe behaves. The event, Understanding Physics from Galaxies to Particles, was led by Ben Carlson, Westmont assistant professor of physics. “We are asking the fundamental questions: What is the universe made […]

Commencement speaker Michael Shasberger, between stints of conducting the Westmont Orchestra, told the 2022 graduates they’d attain their greatest happiness when they discovered how to give away what they valued most. Coincidentally, President Gayle D. Beebe introduced Shasberger with news about the newly created Michael Shasberger Student Scholarship Fund for Music.  “It’s a fitting tribute […]

The Santa Barbara Unified School District is making a public effort to attract and recruit more substitute teachers as COVID-19 continues to deplete staff across most places of employment throughout Santa Barbara. The district has raised its pay for substitutes, including $190 per day for daily subs, $210 per day for designated site subs, and […]

While Superintendent Hilda Maldonado knows there is plenty of work to come, a three-year-long court battle with Fair Education Santa Barbara (FESB) concluded last week, with the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) and Just Communities Central Coast (JCCC) victorious after a three-justice appellate court panel ruled in their favor. The lawsuit filed by FESB […]

The accused is one of seven former Cate faculty members that were named in a damning and exhaustive investigative report released by the private boarding school on Wednesday afternoon. Amongst other improprieties, the report details how the accused was allowed to remain on campus for nine additional years despite facing sexual misconduct claims on campus […]

Marianne D’Emidio-Caston, who served the local education community for more than three decades, received the Westmont Education Department’s 2021-22 Excellence in Education Award.  D’Emidio-Caston, who most recently directed student teaching at Antioch University Santa Barbara, spoke to Westmont education students, encouraging them to find a trusted, long-term professional partner to “grow with and, more generally, […]