Santa Cruz County nonprofit Encompass Community Services announced Tuesday that it was stopping the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, but did not rule out resuming operations in the future. The organization has run Head Start locally since 1983.
Education
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Pianist Benny Green takes the stage alongside UC Santa Cruz Jazz Big Band on Dec. 7
The UC Santa Cruz Jazz Big Band is holding a concert on Dec. 7 at the Music Center Recital Hall, with guest artist Benny Green under the direction of UCSC music lecturer Charles Hamilton.
Posted inEducation
UC Santa Cruz extends faculty hiring slowdown in bid to close $80 million deficit
UC Santa Cruz will extend its faculty hiring slowdown to address an $80 million deficit, planning to hire only five professors this year and none next year while allowing its faculty ranks to shrink by about 11% through attrition.
Posted inEducation
UC Santa Cruz announces $750 million fundraising campaign through 2030
UC Santa Cruz has launched a public campaign to raise $750 million by 2030, building on the $360 million already secured since a quiet 2020 kickoff to support student programs, scholarships, research and new facilities.
Posted inLatest News
UCSC employees stage a two-day strike amid stalled negotiations
UC Santa Cruz employees represented by AFSCME Local 3299 are striking Monday and Tuesday, reducing dining hall hours, health appointments and bus service on campus.
Posted inEducation
‘Moral failure’: Parents, mental health workers urge PVUSD trustees to reject sweeping layoffs
Teachers, mental health clinicians and parents packed Watsonville’s City Council chambers Wednesday night to plead with Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials to scrap a plan to cut 160 full-time positions next month.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
As government shutdown ends, Santa Cruz County nonprofit scrambles to restart Head Start child care program
Encompass Community Services is scrambling to reopen Head Start, a federally funded low-income child care program, after the government shutdown and cuts to its annual budget caused the nonprofit to temporarily stop its services late last month.
Posted inEducation
Santa Cruz County schools hope new sports facilities will draw more students
Schools across Santa Cruz County are unveiling major athletic facility upgrades — from New Brighton Middle School’s new turf field to Watsonville High’s renovated bleachers and planned new turf at Scotts Valley High — aimed at improving student safety and boosting sports participation.
Posted inEducation
Pajaro Valley Unified school board to discuss plan to cut more than 160 positions at Wednesday meeting
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board will discuss a proposal Wednesday to eliminate more than 160 positions — including counselors, teachers, mental health clinicians and special education staff — in an effort to address a $15.3 million budget shortfall tied to declining enrollment and the loss of pandemic-era funding.
Posted inEducation
His students suddenly started getting A’s. Did a Google AI tool go too far?
Some teachers say that artificial intelligence tools, particularly Google Lens, have made it impossible to enforce academic integrity in the classroom — with potentially harmful long-term effects on students’ learning.