As teachers made the move in 2014 to incorporate technology into the classroom because of the Common Core curriculum local school districts pushed their pocketbooks to get new buildings, classrooms, schools, renovations, and expansion plans into place.
Guadalupe Union School District has the goal of putting a tablet or computer near the hands of every student. Allan Hancock College is continuing the drive to expand on its campuses in Santa Maria and Lompoc. Santa Maria-Bonita School District passed the 16,000 student mark and voters passed a $45-million bond measure in this year’s election to build a new school and improve the district’s existing campuses. And the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District put new a new classroom building at Santa Maria High School and recently decided to sell $29 million worth of bonds to make similar improvements on its other campuses.
The year’s end also ushered in newly elected school board members, and looking back can give them an idea of what they have to look forward to: Time spent trying to catch up with technology and get ahead of a growing student population. All in all, there’s too much to include in a half page of space.
NEW DIGS
In April, the Orcutt Union School District’s board made the decision to move Orcutt Academy’s kindergarten through eighth-grade school from its campus in Casmalia (pictured) to Olga Reed Elementary School in Los Alamos because the Academy needed more room and Olga Reed had space to give. Teachers moved classrooms over the summer, and students started the 2014-2015 school year on a new campus.
AG ED
Patrice Mosby, Sandy Carty, and Debi Testa (from left to right) chat during Allan Hancock College’s open house in the school’s new winery. In November, the school showed off its new winery and announced plans to expand its wine and agricultural programs for spring 2015. Included in that expansion will be students doing everything it takes to make a viable commercial wine from growing the grapes to selling the bottles. Hancock is making improvements to existing facilities or constructing new ones with the help of Measure I, a $180-million general facilities bond passed by voters in 2006.
GRADES PORTAL
At the start of the 2014-2015 school year, the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District introduced the Aeries Parent Portal enabling parents to check weekly student progress.
RENEWABLE SCHOOLS
The Lucia Mar Unified School District broke ground in April on a district-wide green energy project that includes solar installations, more efficient irrigation, and energy-saving LED lights. Some of the solar installations went up over the summer.
Contact Managing Editor Camillia Lanham at clanham@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 25, 2014 – Jan 1, 2015.
