About 90 percent of Santa Maria-Bonita School District students fall into at least one high-needs category. They might be a foster youth, a special needs student, a second language learner, or part of a low-income household.
The district aims to better support students with a holistic approach called community schooling, made possible by more than $30 million in state funding distributed over five years. The California Community Schools Partnership Program aims to address those barriers to improve academic success.
“We know that the research consistently shows that children can’t learn effectively when their basic needs are not met,” Jose Segura, the district’s community schools coordinator, told the Sun. “So, if a child is hungry or stressed or worried about housing or struggling emotionally, under the best circumstances in the world, they still will struggle to perform academically.”
This is the first academic year under the district’s five-year grant cycle. All 21 Santa Maria-Bonita sites are hubs for the entire community, not just places where kids come to learn for the day. Segura said the initiative gives schools extra resources to transform campuses into places where students, families, and partner agencies come together for support.
For Santa Maria-Bonita, it means strengthening partnerships with local organizations and making new ties, too. One example is establishing a working relationship with the city’s Recreation and Parks Department, which can provide facilities for courses run by the district.
“They can get into corners of Santa Maria where we don’t have structures or buildings or space, so that we can meet our families where they are,” Segura explained.
Another new partnership is on the horizon with Dignity Health. Students and their families will have opportunities to take classes about diabetes awareness and other community health topics.
With more than 17,000 students, Santa Maria-Bonita is the largest school district in the county, Segura said. Each campus has students with different wants and needs. Right now, the district only has eight community schools specialists, but eventually every site will have its own. They’ll map current resources, identify gaps, and decide which programming best fits their students.
A notable part of community schooling happens outside of traditional academic hours. Additional opportunities for students might include participating in pottery, mariachi band, electronic sports, and web design.
“It’s listening to your community, listening to your students and parents and your teachers, and then from that developing kind of a roadmap for your school on how you want to be more engaging in extended learning opportunities,” Segura said.
The work means a lot to Segura. He’s a product of the Santa Maria-Bonita School District and has dedicated more than 25 years of his career to it.
“Today’s student is a mirror reflection of who I was and who my friends were, the people who were in my community,” Segura said. “How are we connecting what they learn in the classroom to the world in which they exist?”
There are four pillars to the state’s community school model: integrated support services, family and community engagement, collaborative leadership for educators, and extended learning opportunities. Schools in Buellton, Lompoc, Cuyama, and Santa Barbara follow the same model, Segura said.
Over the next few years, he hopes the grant will help create new opportunities for students and families without taking resources away from current programs.
“The grant money is on top of our regular funding, and it’s specific to community schools implementation,” Segura said. “We can be bold, be creative, be more adventurous.”
More information will be added to the district’s website as it becomes available. Check for updates at smbsd.org/service-areas/multilingual-services.
This article appears in April 9 – April 16, 2026.