When ChatGPT was publicly released in 2022, students in public Santa Maria high schools weren’t allowed to use it on school-issued devices. The artificial intelligence ban created a discrepancy because students with cellphones or technology at home could still access the chatbot, but others couldn’t. Since 2023, the Santa Maria Joint Union High Schol District […]
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Posted inNews
Lompoc Teen Center offers financial, academic, and social support
Once the school bell rings every afternoon, between 20 and 40 middle and high schoolers walk through the doors of the Lompoc Teen Center on N. H Street. Staff offer rides to the center after school and back to students’ homes in the evening. Since 2022 the Teen Center has focused heavily on academics and […]
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Local high school students take part in nationwide walkouts to protest ICE
High school senior Addisynn Laliberte spent the night of Jan. 29 painting as many protest signs as her energy supply and CVS budget allowed. “I had some paint left over from projects that I was able to use but had to go buy some poster paper from our local CVS,” she said. “I encouraged people […]
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Stacking up: Lawsuits against Lucia Mar school district allege sexual abuse, negligence
San Luis Obispo County’s largest school district faces three lawsuits filed within the last six months alleging child sexual abuse, assault, and negligence at the hands of its employees. A Mesa Middle School student, a Grover Beach Elementary School student, their guardians, and two former students at Dana Elementary School filed separate complaints against the […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Maria nonprofit raises money for arts program
Corazón del Pueblo is fundraising for its Indigenous Youth Leadership Institute of Arts and Culture, a pilot program serving Indigenous migrant farm-working students. Funds will go toward the program’s last events and scholarships for the students. “We engaged 23 Indigenous farm-working students, providing them with opportunities to connect with others who are facing similar life […]