Parenting/Education

Local employees and job-seekers at all career stages can take charge of their futures with Career Skills Institute courses through the SBCC School of Extended Learning. During November, several of these tuition-free short courses are geared toward improving management and workplace communication skills. The Career Skills Institute is endorsed by LinkedIn and focuses on providing training for the workforce in a unique, flipped-classroom setting, powered by Lynda.com.

The United Nations Association of Santa Barbara & Tri Counties has awarded its inaugural 2017 Santa Barbara Peace Prize to environmental leader Rinaldo S. Brutoco, founding president of the World Business Academy, now in its thirtieth year.

With approximately 263 million vehicles on the road, the United States is a country made up of drivers that trust their vehicles to get them everywhere as safely, reliably, and efficiently as possible. However, there’s a good chance a vast majority of these drivers may not know they’re unknowingly sacrificing safety, wasting money and time, and unnecessarily harming the environment along the way.

SBCC has once again received recognition for its outstanding educational programs. College Choice, a leading authority in college and university rankings and resources, ranked Santa Barbara City College at #9 for Best Online programs. The full ranking can be viewed here.

Santa Barbara Unified School District opened recruitment for the Director of English Learner and Parent Engagement, a position held by Dr. Jacqueline Mora since July of 2015. Dr. Mora was recently appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Education Services at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Recruitment for the Director of English Learner and Parent Engagement opened on September 28, 2017 and will close on October 27, 2017. 

Santa Barbara Unified School Board of Education will consider a policy change limiting interdistrict transfers at its regularly scheduled Board meeting on October 10, 2017. The policy change under consideration is a result of a district funding model shift to basic aid this fiscal year. Basic aid is when the district is in a position to generate more revenue through local property taxes than the State provides through traditional funding formulas.

Photo: SBCC Geologist and administrative assistant Libby Gans (left) and geologist and Professor Emeritus at UCSB, Dr. Arthur Sylvester

Bennett's Educational Materials will not be closing the store as previously reported, but instead moving into a different unit inside the Magnolia Shopping Center (next to Subway). The new address is 5148 Hollister Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. Our last day at our old location is September 30th, and the first day at our new location will be Sunday, September 8th. Thank you for your support and we hope to see you at our new location.

(Santa Barbara, CA) -- Wilderness Youth Project is proud to announce a community fundraising campaign to raise $250,000, 

Providence is pleased to announce that Caroline Corazza has joined the school's advancement team as the director of development.

Santa Barbara Community Academy Principal, Alicia Saballa-Santana announced she will retire on October 6, 2017 after six years of service with Santa Barbara Unified School District and 32 years in education. Saballa-Santana began her service with Santa Barbara Unified School District on September 2011 as Principal of Santa Barbara Community Academy.

Astronomy enthusiasts of all ages were in for a treat that was out of this world as the 7th annual AstroVaganza celebration returned to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Saturday, September 9th.

Enthusiastic, patient adult volunteers are needed to tutor learners in the Santa Barbara Public Library System’s free Adult Literacy Program. Tutoring changes lives by helping local adults learn basic skills, build work readiness, study for the citizenship exam, help their children, and achieve personal and career goals. The Library System will offer nine-hour training courses for new tutors in September and October 2017.

To help its resident families prepare for the upcoming school year, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing (PSHH) hosted a variety of fun and engaging activities for resident children over the summer, including nutrition, computer coding, STEM and other programs.

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse Docent Council is seeking applicants. Training for persons interested in becoming docents at the National Historic Landmark Santa Barbara County Courthouse will begin in early January, 2018 and go through mid-March. This is an opportunity to learn about the history and architecture of this special building and share the information with its many visitors from around the world. A coffee for prospective docents will be held in November. Applications are available at the Courthouse information booth or by calling Mary Ann Froley at 695-0524.

Santa Barbara City College welcomes newly hired full-time faculty members, who begin their tenure at the College this week. August 21 marked the first day of classes for the 2017-2018 school year and Fall semester.

Santa Barbara City College announced its selection of Kyle Rasmussen as Veterans Support and Resource Center Coordinator for the College. Rasmussen will head up support, outreach and marketing efforts for the Veterans Center, including managing the Veterans Administration (VA) work study program. He will provide non-instructional services to eligible veterans, reservists and dependents and their spouses. 

This fall, local employees and job-seekers at all career stages can take charge of their futures with Career Skills Institute courses through the SBCC School of Extended Learning. These tuition-free courses can be completed in a few weeks and earn you digital badges. Registration is now open for the 86 tuition-free classes offered throughout the Fall Semester. Students who wish to complete digital badges in a single semester are urged to register now to secure their spot in classes.

Anacapa School has made an astonishing comeback. Recent financial challenges led to a decision to close Anacapa School until an anonymous, unsolicited $1M cash donation from a source outside of the school’s donor community provided a vital financial lifeline. “Anacapa School has served Santa Barbara and the outlying communities through the years, and now we have been given the opportunity to continue our mission through this extraordinarily generous and much appreciated donation”, said Headmaster Gordon Sichi.

MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation is gearing up for the 2017-2018 school year and has just announced open registration for field trips featuring new educational programming to benefit teachers and students. Local parents can also register their children for a unique afterschool program focused on digital creativity, created in partnership with Katy Perry’s Fireworks Foundation, as well as an Innovators Camp scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving break.

Grimmway Farms announced the awarding of college scholarships to two recent New Cuyama area high school graduates as part of its annual Rod and Bob Grimm Memorial Scholarship Program. 

The Rod and Bob Grimm Memorial Scholarship Program is a company-wide initiative designed to help high-achieving high school seniors pursue their dreams of a college education. Award qualifications include superior academic performance, and all scholarship applicants must also have a parent employed by Grimmway Farms, a global produce leader.

Santa Barbara City College’s Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) will hold a graduation ceremony for over 125 students who have completed the Running Start, SPARC and Transition Programs.

The SBCC EOPS Summer Bridge Graduation will be held on Thursday, August 3 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Shoreline Beach Picnic Area. 

This ceremony will be celebrating the three Summer Bridge programs, which include approximately 70 students graduating from Running Start, 30 students graduating from Transitions and 25 students graduating from SPARC. 

SBCC students increase earnings after participating in International Business and Trade program

Santa Barbara, Calif., July 31, 2017 – Santa Barbara City College’s International Business program earned Strong Workforce Stars recognition in the Global Trade and Logistics sector for its International Business program because students who participated in the program boosted their earnings by an average of 55 percent.

More than 300 students from United Way of Santa Barbara County’s six-week Fun in the Sun (FITS) camp competed in the summer program’s Olympic games on July 21. Held at El Camino Elementary School, the games encouraged team building, leadership and problem-solving skills.

Registration now open, classes begin August 21

This fall, aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners enrolled at Santa Barbara City College can jump into the role and reality of business operations in our global economy through SBCC Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation’s Entrepreneurship classes. Fall enrollments are now open, and offered to all SBCC students regardless of academic discipline.

July 1 marked new additions to Partners in Education’s Board of Directors, including Santa Barbara City College President Anthony E. Beebe, PhD, EdD, who began serving as board president.

“Partners in Education’s mission to connect businesses and community members with ways to support education is personal for me,” says Dr. Beebe. “As someone whose own career path wasn’t always clear, I especially appreciate the way Partners creates opportunities to expose students to a wide variety of both higher education and career options.” 

Rebeca Mireles Rios is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education specializing in child and adolescent development. She received her K-8 Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and MA from UC Berkeley. Prior to receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Mireles-Rios was a middle school teacher in Berkeley Unified School District for numerous years.