A Message From all Superintendents and Charter Leaders of Santa Cruz County
The Santa Cruz County school community stands in solidarity against violence, intimidation, and racism towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and all communities of color. Anti-Asian violence has significantly increased since the start of the pandemic with more than 2,800 hate incidents recorded in the United States in 2020. These recent acts of hate, including the attacks upon elderly community members in the San Francisco Bay Area and the shootings in Atlanta, are symptomatic of long-standing systemic racism toward Asian American communities. These recent killings of 8 victims in Atlanta also underline the intersection of racism and misogyny and violence. Our hearts are with those who have been directly affected by these attacks and with our students and staff who are enduring the emotional impact of these racist events and fear for their families’ safety.
We strongly believe that there is no place for racial hate, discrimination, or violence in our schools nor in our community. Santa Cruz County schools are determined to ensure educators engage in cultural competency training and resources to build structural awareness about racial violence in our classrooms and create safer and supportive spaces for students. The Santa Cruz County Office of Education has compiled a library of anti-racism resources for educators and our community, which is available on our website at justice.santacruzcoe.org.
As a community, we can and must take action to build a more racially-just future. One important action we can take is to listen and learn about the lived experiences of Asian American communities and the ways in which the effects of systemic racism continue to harm all communities of color. Racial justice movements of this past year have prompted direct dialogue about the harmful effects of white supremacy and emphasized an urgent need for equitable transformation in our institutions. Santa Cruz County schools are committed to deepening our responsibility to continued learning and racial justice as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis and thereafter.
In Solidarity,
Santa Cruz County Superintendents and Charter School Leaders
Vaccination
Thanks to our partnership with Dignity Health, Dominican Hospital, and Kaiser Permanente, Santa Cruz County Public Health as of the end of the first week of March, we will have vaccinated over 6,000 educators who work in Santa Cruz County. These vaccinations will be provided to all Public School employees (including charters), Private Schools, Cabrillo College, preschools/childcare providers, and Educators who live in Santa Cruz County and work in other counties. This vaccination effort has precipitated our school plans for reopening and bringing students back to the classroom.
Foster & Homeless Education Summit
May 13th, from 9-2 will be the annual Central Coast Foster & Homeless Education Summit. This free, virtual Summit will bring together educators, students, social workers, higher education, CASA, caregivers, mental health agencies, and community based organizations from Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. Drawing on the theme “Re-imagining Equity”, there will be 2 student keynote speakers and 3 workshop blocks for participants to choose from, with the hopes that we will come away with concrete ideas on how to deeper our educational support for students in care and/or students experiencing homelessness. To learn more, or register for this event, please contact Kim Corneille at kcorneille@santacruzcoe.org.
Alternative Education
Beginning April 5th all Alternative Education and CAC School sites returned to in-person services via Hybridized Programs. We are now providing in-person learning to all students who wish to return, and we continue to accommodate students requesting distance learning.
Alternative Education Highlights
Watsonville area school sites have been buzzing with excitement as we welcome back students for hybrid learning! Students, staff and families are eager to participate in the in-learning person options, and students are attending in high numbers. Sequoia Schools is extending its services beyond the classroom and into the community by hosting Dientes and the COVID-19 Vaccine clinic. We look forward to continuing to support students, families and the community!
At Cypress High School, We welcomed back 45+ students to in-person last week with great success. Students are currently divided into 2 groups – An A Day group and a B Day group. This week we’ll start our in-person clubs and elective activities on Wednesday (QSA, Environmental Club, Yoga, Art, etc.). We hope to be able to increase the number of days students attend starting this Monday.
In addition to returning to in-person learning, Alternative Education is soliciting stakeholder feedback for our LCAP and expanded Learning Opportunities grant. We are working closely with all districts and charter schools to update the Countywide Plan for Expelled Youth. We are preparing for our upcoming Federal Program Monitoring (FPM) in May, planning for in-person graduations, and gearing up for Summer School, which will begin June 14th.
Career Advancement Charter
The Career Advancement Charter is now offering increased in-person learning opportunities to students. We are providing educational services for a small group of adult learners experiencing homelessness at the Vet’s Hall Watsonville and Santa Cruz. We are working towards expanding and making those services more comprehensive and consistent.
CAC is currently reaching out to all students to offer input for our Local Control Accountability Plan. Information gathered will directly guide programming for the 21-22 school year and beyond.
The SCCOE and Cabrillo are collaborating on our Continuous Improvement Plan, setting new SMART goals for the upcoming year that specifically relate to literacy/digital literacy, contextualized instruction, and post-secondary training and/or workforce re-entry.
SCCOE CAC is participating in Equity Conversations on a monthly basis. CAC teachers are invited and planning to attend the California Council on Adult Education (CCAE) 2021 later this month.
Career Technical Education Partnership (CTEP)
CTEP is also offering increased in-person learning opportunities at our various programs across the county. CTEP teachers continue to work with Stepanie Sumarna, Distance Learning Expert, on Google Classroom, technological tools, and student engagement. She is also supporting the creation of a resource library for both current and future CTEP instructors. We are working to advertise and fill our Adult Medical and Dental Classes for the 21-22 school year as well as our county-wide Magnet classes in Fire Technology and Culinary Arts. The K-12 Computer Science and Information Technology Initiative is excited about several projects that are taking place. On May 6th, in partnership with Santa Cruz Works, we are looking forward to our first Think Big! Series featuring best selling author, Shawn Tomson. In addition, the first edition of the new student newsletter, “Student Corner,” also in partnership with Santa Cruz Works, was published. The Network Career Pathway continues to grow in enrollment at both our Cruzio and Digital Nests sites and will be hiring an instructor for the upcoming school year.
Career Advancement Charter
The Career Advancement Charter is now offering increased in-person learning opportunities to students. We are providing educational services for a small group of adult learners experiencing homelessness at the Vet’s Hall Watsonville and Santa Cruz. We are working towards expanding and making those services more comprehensive and consistent.
CAC is currently reaching out to all students to offer input for our Local Control Accountability Plan. Information gathered will directly guide programming for the 21-22 school year and beyond.
The SCCOE and Cabrillo are collaborating on our Continuous Improvement Plan, setting new SMART goals for the upcoming year that specifically relate to literacy/digital literacy, contextualized instruction, and post-secondary training and/or workforce re-entry.
SCCOE CAC is participating in Equity Conversations on a monthly basis. CAC teachers are invited and planning to attend the California Council on Adult Education (CCAE) 2021 later this month.
Career Technical Education Partnership (CTEP)
CTEP is also offering increased in-person learning opportunities at our various programs across the county. CTEP teachers continue to work with Stepanie Sumarna, Distance Learning Expert, on Google Classroom, technological tools, and student engagement. She is also supporting the creation of a resource library for both current and future CTEP instructors. We are working to advertise and fill our Adult Medical and Dental Classes for the 21-22 school year as well as our county-wide Magnet classes in Fire Technology and Culinary Arts. The K-12 Computer Science and Information Technology Initiative is excited about several projects that are taking place. On May 6th, in partnership with Santa Cruz Works, we are looking forward to our first Think Big! Series featuring best selling author, Shawn Tomson. In addition, the first edition of the new student newsletter, “Student Corner,” also in partnership with Santa Cruz Works, was published. The Network Career Pathway continues to grow in enrollment at both our Cruzio and Digital Nests sites and will be hiring an instructor for the upcoming school year.
Career Technical Education Partnership (CTEP)
CTEP is also offering increased in-person learning opportunities at our various programs across the county. CTEP teachers continue to work with Stepanie Sumarna, Distance Learning Expert, on Google Classroom, technological tools, and student engagement. She is also supporting the creation of a resource library for both current and future CTEP instructors. We are working to advertise and fill our Adult Medical and Dental Classes for the 21-22 school year as well as our county-wide Magnet classes in Fire Technology and Culinary Arts. The K-12 Computer Science and Information Technology Initiative is excited about several projects that are taking place. On May 6th, in partnership with Santa Cruz Works, we are looking forward to our first Think Big! Series featuring best selling author, Shawn Tomson. In addition, the first edition of the new student newsletter, “Student Corner,” also in partnership with Santa Cruz Works, was published. The Network Career Pathway continues to grow in enrollment at both our Cruzio and Digital Nests sites and will be hiring an instructor for the upcoming school year.