Santa Cruz County Education Digest

In his latest "Our Ocean Backyard" column, UCSC professor Gary Griggs looks back at the history of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center on Santa Cruz's far west side.

The original proposal would have mandated phonics instruction in K-12 classrooms. The latest version makes that optional.

Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah has send a letter critical of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees following a turbulent meeting considering an ethnic studies curriculum.

Following CalMatters reporting, California’s Republican representatives are calling for the U.S. Department of Education and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate how California’s community colleges are handling financial aid fraud.

Students living in UC Santa Cruz family housing were shocked to learn rents at the new housing facility would be $600 per month higher than they are paying now.

San Lorenzo Valley High School student Finn Maxwell has been named as the next Santa Cruz County youth poet laureate.

The UC has grown its enrollment of California undergraduates by 16,000 in the last five years. University officials say they won’t be able to continue that growth if state funding is cut.

This interactive map shows kindergartners’ vaccination rates at more than 6,000 public and private schools across California. According to the state health department, at least 95% of students need the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine to maintain herd immunity and prevent outbreaks. Yet in many parts of the state — including areas around Sacramento, Oakland, the Central Valley, and Los Angeles — vaccination rates fall short of that threshold, raising concerns about community vulnerability.

Federal programs offer financial aid and counseling to low-income and first-generation college students. California was allowed to include students without legal status, which the Trump administration is now ending.

Dual enrollment courses are growing on high school and college campuses but access gaps linger, particularly for students in rural areas of California as well as for Black and Hispanic male students.

Schools had until March 2026 to spend remaining COVID relief money. The U.S. Department of Education cut those funds, amounting to about $200 million for California K-12 schools.

In 1971 California’s Supreme Court issued one of its most important and far-reaching decisions, declaring that the state’s system of financing public schools — primarily via locally levied property taxes — was unconstitutionally unfair.

The 4th annual Live Oak Jack Rabbit fundraiser for local arts programs featuring a series of foot races and relays will be held at the Shoreline Middle School on April 26.

A look at the last year at the Pajaro Valley Unified School District following the appointment of Heather Contreras as Superintendent in May 2024.

It’s hard to find the disciplinary history of for-profit colleges regulated by California. CalMatters is making it easier.

A report on the demonstration by dozens of Live Oak Elementary teachers, parents and students on April 2 advocating for urgently needed reforms to state education funding.

Nearly 60% of third graders aren’t reading at grade level. A new bill would require schools to use a phonics-based approach to teach students

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has regularly worked side jobs at Bay Area nonprofits to earn extra income because he says the state pay is insufficient.

Infrastructure issues at California’s public universities are hindering students and faculty’s ability to learn and work on campus. Lawmakers and system leaders are hoping more state support can help them bring down the $17 billion price tag to fix their academic buildings.

Facing budget shortfalls, layoff notices to dozens of teachers have been going out over the last two weeks.

In their meeting on March 28, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees heard from students and community members who spoke out in favor of continuing with the ethnic studies program.

The first two of eight planned wellness centers in local schools are opening at Harbor High School and Soquel High School.

More than 17,400 high school seniors last fall got the sweetest news any anxious student can get: Congratulations, because of your high school GPA, you’re automatically admitted to one of 10 California State University campuses of your choice — and they’re all relatively affordable.

A one-day strike has been called for April 1 by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union and the University Professional and Technical Employees representing service workers at UC Santa Cruz.

Across California, only one in five eligible college students receive CalFresh due to complicated requirements and an arduous application process. With two-thirds of students experiencing food insecurity, many campuses have started helping them apply for CalFresh.

For the last century, the money has gone to counties with large amounts of federal land that can’t be taxed. Congress failed to include it in the upcoming budget.

In 2019, his first year in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the Cradle-to-Career Data System, a new state entity that aims to track students’ progress from preschool through employment. The data system was supposed to release its first public dashboard last spring.

Some of California’s most acclaimed schools right now aren’t in elite suburbs or wealthy urban enclaves. They’re in a small city in the San Joaquin Valley, an outpost on Highway 99 surrounded by almond trees and orange groves.

Read on to learn more about the impacts of a system wide University of California hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures will impact the Santa Cruz campus.

Read on for more information about how cuts to federal education funding is already being felt in districts across Santa Cruz County.

After the Trump administration threw out policies dating back to 2011 limiting immigration arrests at “sensitive locations,” California colleges and universities are providing resources to support students, but can’t stop immigration enforcement from entering public spaces. Some advocates say more must be done.

Read on to learn more about a March 7 “Stand Up for Science” rally attended by hundreds of UC Santa Cruz students, faculty and research workers.