As students and teachers head back to school across Santa Cruz County, Lookout Santa Cruz is getting ready for another year of connecting young people with the community they call home.
This year, every middle and high school student and teacher in Santa Cruz County can access Lookout for free – giving students an opportunity to follow the local issues affecting their schools, families and communities, while giving educators trusted local news and classroom-ready resources to bring current events into their teaching.
And that’s just the beginning.
Throughout the school year, Lookout offers classroom visits, educator resources, student journalism opportunities, storytelling projects and ways for young people to see their work and perspectives published.
Critical to the success – and growth – of our student and school programs is your support. All Lookout memberships help, but our new One-for-One Membership supports them best. Each membership purchase gives one membership to a local teacher! Sign up for one today, or upgrade to it, and you’ll be supporting this great work in the high schools and middle schools across Santa Cruz County. Or give a tax-deductible donation here.
Free access to local news for every student and teacher
Lookout believes every young person should have the opportunity to understand what is happening in the community where they live. Local journalism can help students connect what they learn in the classroom to the world around them – from local government and elections to education, health, environmental issues, arts and culture.
That’s why Lookout provides free access to its journalism for:
- All middle school students in Santa Cruz County.
- All high school students in Santa Cruz County.
- All Cabrillo College students.
- All UC Santa Cruz students.
For students, access means they can explore Lookout’s reporting, follow issues affecting their community and develop the skills to distinguish reliable information from misinformation — all while learning more about the place they call home.
For educators, free access is part of Lookout for Teachers, our nationally recognized program designed to make it easier to bring local journalism into the classroom. That’s why Lookout provides free access to its journalism for:
For teachers: Local news, ready for the classroom
Teachers are at the center of Lookout’s student engagement work.
This school year, we’ll again provide educators with free access, as well as a weekly Educator Resource Newsletter, highlighting Lookout stories that can spark classroom conversations and connecting teachers with discussion guides, lesson plans, news quizzes and other resources.
The newsletter is designed to answer a simple question: What’s happening locally that my students should know about – and how can I use it in my classroom?
Lookout’s educator resources include:
- Weekly educator newsletters featuring timely local stories and classroom resources.
- Current events discussion guides that encourage reading comprehension, conversation and critical thinking.
- Media literacy resources to help students understand how to evaluate and interpret news and information.
- News quizzes that make following local news accessible and engaging.
- Journalism and storytelling resources.
- Custom resources and requests based on individual classroom needs.
Sign up for the Educator Resource Newsletter
Bring Lookout into your classroom
Sometimes the best way to learn about journalism is to meet the people who do it.
This year, Lookout staff will once again visit classrooms throughout Santa Cruz County to lead workshops, answer questions and help students explore journalism and storytelling.
Classroom opportunities can include:
- Career talks.
- Journalism and media literacy workshops.
- The media and elections presentation.
- Science and communication workshop.
- Custom classroom visits based on a teacher’s needs.
We’re also continuing to develop partnerships with schools and youth-serving organizations throughout the county, creating opportunities for students to report, tell stories and engage with their communities.
Explore classroom visit opportunities
For students: Your voice belongs in local journalism
Lookout’s student programs are built around more than simply helping young people consume news. We want students to ask questions, report stories, explore issues and share their own perspectives.
Our Student Stories section gives local high school and college students a place to publish their work, accomplishments, opinions, experiences and reporting.
This summer, two student stories offered powerful examples of what young people can bring to the local conversation.
ADD SIMON AND SLOANES Stories here.
These stories are part of a growing collection of student voices that show the range of experiences, interests and perspectives young people bring to Santa Cruz County.
The Student Journalism Scholarship returns in November
One of Lookout’s biggest opportunities for aspiring young journalists returns this fall.
The Lookout Santa Cruz Student Journalism Scholarship will open for submissions in November.
Inspired by Lookout’s popular Unsung Santa Cruz series, the scholarship challenges students to identify and profile a local person who is making a positive difference in the community.
Students get the opportunity to practice interviewing, research, reporting and storytelling — and potentially see their work published on Lookout.
The top 10 stories will be published on Lookout, and the authors of the top three stories will each receive a $500 scholarship for an educational purchase.
More details and submission information will be available when the scholarship opens in November.
Learn more about the Student Journalism Scholarship
Why local news belongs in the classroom
For students, local news isn’t just about knowing what happened yesterday.
It’s about understanding how decisions made at city hall, the school board or the county level can affect their lives. It’s about knowing the people and organizations working to make their communities stronger. It’s about learning how to ask questions, evaluate information and participate in civic life.
And because students are future voters, journalists, educators, community leaders and neighbors, those skills matter long after graduation.
Lookout’s goal is to make trusted local journalism accessible to every student and teacher in Santa Cruz County – and then create meaningful opportunities for them to engage with it.
Whether you’re a teacher looking for classroom resources or a student looking to better understand your community — Lookout is here for you.
