Student Support Services
Creating community solutions for student success.
Message from the Editor, Tiffany M. Smith:
Welcome to the first ever Student Support Services Newsletter. We are so excited to start
sharing with you all of the programs we have and the things that we do in our new newsletter. Many people do not get to see what goes on behind the scenes of our programs,
so it is about time to let you in on the magic. This first issue will be longer so we can introduce you to our staff. Our mission is to provide a conduit between school districts,
community resources and governmental institutions that support the overall mission of
the SCCOE through the development of programs, services and trainings that promote
school safety, youth employment/development, supportive services and community partnerships. Our vision is creating community solutions for student success. We believe that
strong collaborations with school districts, governmental and community-based agencies,
parents, businesses and a variety of other community members are vital to the success of
our youth. It truly takes a village to raise a child. By reading this newsletter and informing
yourself of our programs, you are helping us get one step closer to helping the youth in
need. Thank you, and enjoy.
Picture: Halloween group photo; theme, “Pregnant with Martine!” 2014
12 January 2015
1 Student Support Services Newsletter
to Homeless Assistance Program and expand
the Write Start backpack Project. By 1991, I
was hired full-time to administer SARB and the
homeless program. Since then, I have grown
many projects and people under my administration. My title was Coordinator SARB/
Homeless. In 1994, I created the County Teen
Peer Court Program and my boss at the time,
Mike James, told me that I needed to come up
Jo Ann Allen, I have worked at the Santa
with another name for what I do, as we cannot
Cruz County Office of Education since October
keep putting slashes behind my name for every
1989. Yes, that is the same month as the infanew program. Thus, the Student Support Sermous earthquake. The fact is, the first day on
vices Department was born in 1995 and in
the job, they sent me to Sacramento to a con2009 my title was changed to Manager, Stuference on school attendance—which was
dent Support Services. The department is pripretty hectic, considering the many road clomarily funded through grants and has housed
sures during that time. I had to go south and
over 28 different projects/programs. During
cut across Interstate 5 in order to go north. I
the past 25 years our department has written
was so nervous that when I stopped to get gas
hundreds of grants and brought in over $25
on the way back and check my oil, I left the oil
million dollars in funds to serve students, famicap resting under the hood of my car. With the
lies and school districts.
design of my car hood, I could not see that oil
I started my career in education in 1980
was being been sucked from car and spewed
when my son started Kindergarten at Live Oak
all along the interstate. I did not know this un- Elementary School. I quickly became an active
til the car stalled somewhere near Patterson.
parent volunteer and chaired many a comLong story short – I blew the engine out in my mittee. I organized and coordinated the annual
school carnival and the book fair, and I sold
car and had to be towed back to Santa Cruz.
popcorn at recess for many years. I was known
Great first week at work!
far and wide as the “Popcorn lady”.
My first job at the COE was working only
a few hours a week as a consultant to develop
the new County School Attendance Review
Board. In 1990, my contract was expanded to
include the development of the McKinney Ven-
2 January 2015
Andy Diep is a senior at UC Santa Cruz double-majoring in Legal Studies and Economics, currently holding 3 different jobs. Along with being a case manager for Santa Cruz Teen Peer Court, he is a Residential
Assistant at UCSC’s Crown College and the Student Advisory Board Liaison for the California Association
of Youth Courts (CAYC). He is from San Francisco, and hopes to open up his own youth court there after
he graduates.
Katie Scott is a sophomore at UC Santa Cruz, studying Sociology and Psychology. As the media intern for
all Student Support Services programs, she is working on developing and managing social media strategies for outreach. In her role she updates social media accounts regularly and creates items such as flyers and pamphlets to reach out to students, parents, and community members about Student Support
Services programs.
Jessica Mendoza is a 5th year student at UCSC, from Pasadena, California. As the outreach intern for
Santa Cruz Teen Peer Court, she is in charge of recruiting and engaging students for Teen Peer Court.
She reaches out to schools and sends flyers and information about upcoming trainings to school administration. Recently, Jessica attended the PVUSD Parent Conference at Watsonville High School, where
she reached out to parents who would like their children to be more involved in a program like Teen
Peer Court which would benefit them in terms of career choice and community service.
Milly Medina is a senior at UC Santa Cruz majoring in Human Biology, originally from San Bernardino,
California. As an intern for Students in Transition, Milly works with Nohemi Macias to provide mentoring, employment development assistance, and life skills to at-risk youth and families by connecting
them with community resources. She also networks with community members and entities to organize
activities for youth, and on a daily basis she manages tasks such as data management and entry, filing
and creating case notes.
Antonio Solis is a junior at UC Santa Cruz studying business management and economics. Originally
from the Los Angeles area, he has been working with Nohemi at Students in Transition for the past two
years. During his time with Students in Transition, he has helped coordinate and organize the tutoring
program, and is a tutor for students experiencing homelessness.
Erika Rubio is a third year transfer student at UCSC, studying psychology. Originally from Seaside, CA,
she transferred to UCSC this year from Monterey Peninsula College. As an intern with the Sueños program, you can find Erika tackling any task from filing paperwork, contacting worksites and clines, to
helping out with the WEX classes.
Amelia Bonilla is a third year politics and philosophy major at UC Santa Cruz. She is a new intern working with Celeste for Teen Peer Court.
11 Student Support Services Newsletter
Nohemi Macias, Project Coordinator and
here for the past 7 years, one case Nohemi
Homeless Liaison, has been working with Stu- will always hold close to her heart is when a
dents in Transition (SIT) for 7 years and Pre- homeless mom and teen daughter affected
vention & Early Intervention projects (PEI) for by domestic abuse were referred to her for
4 years. Nohemi meets with homeless fami- educational support. The daughter, then a
lies to provide both direct services and refer- junior in high school, was very shy and mererals to agencies which support their children’s ly shrugged her shoulders when asked what
education. She coordinates the SIT Tutoring college she would like to attend. After consulProgram, the SCCOE’s annual Write-Start
tation with the family, Nohemi enrolled the
Backpack Project, Santa Cruz County’s Annual teen in school and provided all school supHomeless Student Survey
plies and even clothing. The
Nohemi’s favorite part
and Point in Time youth
most crucial aspect, Noheof the job is making a
count (in partnership with
mi believes, was the tutor/
positive impact on
Applied Survey Research)
mentor she assigned to the
people’s lives
and is a member of both our
teen. Although the family
local Homeless Action Partcontinued to experience
nership and Homeless Management Inforhomelessness, the mentor was a constant asmation System. Nohemi supports school dis- pect of the girl’s life. The mentor, a UCSC stutricts with any necessary McKinney-Vento
dent at the time, encouraged her to apply for
Legislation clarifications and trainings for
the university—and now, she is an alum of
school staff and administrators, and coordi- UCSC!
nates and oversees our local Prop 63 grant
(PEI). Currently she oversees projects with
Positive Behavior Intervention Supports
(PBIS), National Alliance of Mental Illness
(NAMI), Live Oak Family Resource Center, Diversity Center, and Encompass Community
Services. A highly valued community member
here at Student Support Services, she says
her favorite part of her job is making a positive impact in someone’s life. Among the
countless memorable moments from working
In 1984, the district hired me as their
part-time school community attendance liaison, and later I was contracted as their school
facilities consultant—I assisted the Live Oak
School District in the writing and development of the Office of Local Assistance and
Office of State Architect phase one and phase
two applications for new schools that eventually resulted in the building of Shoreline Middle School.
who hired me at Live Oak), believed in my
skills and abilities to do any job. He saw the
skills I brought to volunteering as “Real skills”.
He told me “Someday I want you to see yourself they way I see you.” I did not know what
he meant until that day arrived, and my insecurities left, and my esteemed flourished.
WOW – I wanted to bottle that feeling up and
pour it over everyone who ever doubted
them selves. That is why I take risks on young
I have a strong volunteer spirit and love people “Paying it forward” from what Nate
taking on a new challenge. I have brought that gave me, giving them a chance to shine, when
others might not. I share Nate’s words over
spirit to this job. When I am up
and over again with all of the young
against someone telling me somepeople that have grown and flour“I believe all
thing cannot be done, I figure out
ished within my department.
a way to make it happen and get
work should
10 January 2015
3 Student Support Services Newsletter
the job done—many times with
energy and hours beyond the
requirements of the job…
especially if it something that I
feel passionate about, and I pretty
much feel passionate about everything I do.
be fun (the
volunteer
spirit)! If it is
not fun then
why do it?”
Over the course of my career here at
the COE, I have had many memorable moments, but the most memorable are those
when I take a chance on someone by either
hiring a young, inexperienced person or going
the extra mile for one our participants. This is
because someone took a chance on me, an
inexperienced and slightly insecure mom volunteering at school. At that time, I never
thought of volunteering as a real job, so I was
not worried about anyone firing me or evaluating what I did – I enjoyed every minute of
everything I did and put my all into it. Even
with all my enthusiasm for volunteer work, I
still did not believe I was worthy of a “Real
job”. However, Nate Wilson (the principal
I grow programs and people!
I believe all work should be fun
(the volunteer spirit)! If it is not
fun, then why do it. So far, I have
had a fun ride with a few hairraising dips and turns. But all in all
– I love what I do!
The Sueños Program strives to provide youth
with workforce development skills that will
prepare them for a competitive labor market
by providing the best supportive learning
environment in a classroom setting. The
Sueños Program is under the Workforce Investment Act, and with this support, the
Sueños Program is able to pay for the
youth to be placed in any work setting the
youth is interested in. The youth is mentored by a staff member of the worksite
and is given the best instruction on how
to be a good employee. The program
even provides the youth with a Ross Gift
Card for professional clothing and a bus
pass for transportation. The staff also encourages the youth to set attainable career goals, connects the youth to community resources, and helps youth establish valuable and lasting relationships. The Sueños
Program is committed to delivering services
to eligible youth in Watsonville and is driven
to help bring the future dreams of these
youth to fruition. The Sueños Team takes
pride in guiding and mentoring the youth in
reaching their highest potential.
[Picture: Darely Medina, Sueños Participant
Recruiting at Pajaro Valley High School]
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education
(SCCOE) has been serving the needs of homeless children and youth in our community
since 1989. Funded through a small grant
from the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the SCCOE Students in Transition
program began in 1995 and provides a myriad
of services to homeless children, youth, and
families; local school districts; and homeless
service providers. Our service strategies have
been identified as best practices in the USDE
Planning and Evaluation Service publication The Education for Homeless Children and
Youth Program: Learning to Succeed. SIT
made media headlines the summer of 2004
with the success of students enrolled in the
Alternative Education’s Vista Transition Program, and also for the Write-Start Backpack
Project.
Beatriz M. Muñoz, Sueños Project Coordina- success with staff and state that Sueños
tor, has been at Sueños for 12 years. She
played a significant role in their lives. I love
oversees the day to day operations/ funcit when youth share with us their excitement
tions of the program and makes
about having gotten a job, being
certain that all services are in
accepted to the university of their
“I
love
when
place and readily available to
choice, or simply having finally figyouth come
participants and meeting their
ured out what
career
needs. Beatriz’s nickname is,
they want to pursue.”
back and
“B,” and her favorite part of the
share their
job is interacting with the youth
success…”
and providing the needed support for them to reach their
goals: “Many memorable moments have accumulated through 12 years of service, but
those that stay with me are the ones where
former participants come back to share their
4 January 2015
The overall goal of the Santa Cruz County Students in Transition Program is to facilitate the
enrollment of homeless children and youth
into comprehensive or alternative public education programs, preschools and other academic enrichment programs; maintain their
enrollment; and ensure academic and/or vocational success into a self-sufficient lifestyle.
This is achieved by addressing the needs of
the whole child and family through collaborative efforts with schools, social service providers, institutions of higher learning, private
nonprofits, local business and industry, and
the community at large.
In December 2014, SIT had Project Rudolf for
the homeless families in the program. The
families were “adopted” and sponsored for
the holidays. There was a holiday party where
Santa himself distributed the gifts—thank you
so much Ken Thomson! There was a wonderful dinner provided by local restaurants. Students in Transition would like to thank all of
the amazing people who made this possible:
Leslie Kootstra — Nohemi Macias — Marilyn
Latorraca — Laurie Stewart — Julie Edwards
— Heather Hutchinson — Alison Gold — Milly
Medina — Melissa Castro — Alison Warner —
Jaclyn Fruzza — Tiffany M. Smith — Victor
Mora — Sarai Zayas — George Lopez, — Jo
Ann Allen — Carla Miller, — Janice Berven —
Spencer Takata — Christina Burkleo — Antonio Solis — Ken Thompson — Laura Peduto —
Tanya Salano
Thank You!
9 Student Support Services Newsletter
During her junior year of university she informed her supervisor, JoAnn Allen, that
she was not going to attend summer school
that year and JoAnn handed her the task of
coordinating the summer youth employment
program, Work4Youth, which is now in its
fifth year of existence.
favorite part of my job is going to Teen Court
and hearing the teens present their arguments. When I am able to hear the
thoughtfulness the teen attorneys and jurors
put into the cases, it gives me hope for the
future.”
“A memorable moment was when a teen was
Last school year, Celeste began coordinating sent to teen court for fighting, and when I
the Mock Trial competition for the county as read her essay explaining how they were no
well as began assisting in the coordination of longer going to fight but rather smother oththe Real DUI Court in Schools Assembly. “My ers with her kindness – my heart melted.”
petition scorers and are given specific scoring
criteria. The students are scored on team
Mock Trial is coordinated by Law Related Edu- sportsmanship, presentation skills, analytic
cation Programs in collaboration with the
ability, and team cooperation. Approximately
Santa Cruz County Bar Association, Superior 10 local judges and commissioners volunteer
Court of California Santa Cruz, and the Santa to preside over the competition; making deciCruz Trial Lawyers Association.
sions regarding the running of the trial, rulings on pretrial arguments, competition violaNearly 8,000 students throughout the state of tions, and announcing the verdict.
California participate in Mock Trial. Through
performance-based education these students
further their knowledge of our judicial system, history, content and conduct of our legal
system, analytical abilities, communication
skills, and team cooperation. Mock Trial
teams receive guidance in courtroom procedures and trial preparation from volunteer
attorney coaches.
Locally, over 20 attorneys volunteer as com-
Subscribe NOW! Just email sss.media@santacruz.k12.ca.us with
“SSS Newsletter Subscribe”
8 January 2015
Sarai E. Zayas, Sueños
Sueños participant. She went through the
Receptionist, has been program, was placed at the Sueños site for
working at Sueños for
her work internship, and later she was
five years
hired! For this reason, Sarai is a great role
now. Although Sarai is a model for the youth who come through the
receptionist, she also
program. Her favorite part of the job is
does recruitment for the when the youth come back and say, “I got a
program,
job!” or “I got into school!” A
meets with
memorable moment for Sarai was
The
the stuwhen she helped a single mom just
Receptionist
dents for
out of high school get into colwho does it
their assesslege: “The girl had always wanted
all!
ments, places the students in
to go, and she just needed a little
their classes, provides the
push.” Sarai helped her apply for
youth with supportive services such as help school, helped with finding financial aid,
with resumes, assistance with enrollment
and helped her register for classes: “She
with school, bus passes, and a Ross Gift
still comes back to tell me how she is doing
Card; and case manages the youth while
and how grateful she is for my help and the
making sure everything is running smoothly program.”
in the facility. Sarai herself started out as a
Francisco Estrada, Sueños Project Specialist, them grow, and having fun while going
has been with the Sueños Program with
through the program. One of the best parts
three years now. Francisco’s job is to help
about the Sueños Program for Francisco is
with grant-writing and making sure that the that the program adapts to the level of the
program stays compliant with the
student, “If a student comes in
terms of the grants already oband already has a lot of experiLoves
tained. He reviews applications to
ence compared with the othlearning
see who is eligible and invites the
ers, then we work with that
youth who qualify to attend an orienstudent to improve even furtheir ideas
tation. Further, Francisco leads the
ther on his or her professional
and seeing
orientations with the youth where he
skills and work experience.”
them
explains the requirements and degrow...
tails of the program in full. Along
with this, Francisco helps teach some
of the classes on topics like “Customer Service Training.” Francisco’s favorite part
about the job is working with the students. He loves learning their ideas, seeing
5 Student Support Services Newsletter
Marco Lucadano, Sueños Teacher, has been
with the Sueños Program for 21
years. Marco’s job is to teach a series of
classes for the youth. Over his time at Sueños, he has developed all of the curriculum
that is used to teach each of the classes. Some of the topics
for the classes
are: Hospitality, tourism,
customer service, safety
issues, how to fill out
timesheets accurately,
cash handling, computer
skills, resume-building,
filling out job applications, and interviews. If
the student already has
experience or has less
experience than the rest
of the students, then Marco works with
them one-on-one to make sure his or her
needs are met. Marco gives each of the stu-
Teen Peer Court is a program run by teens
for teens. The objective of the Teen Peer
Court program is to interrupt the developing
pattern of criminal behavior in referred juveniles by promoting self-esteem, motivation
for self-improvement, forming a healthy attitude toward authority, and increasing education.
Teen offenders between the ages of 13 and
17 who have committed a misdemeanor
crime have their cases heard by a jury of
their peers. Additional peers perform the
roles of prosecuting and defense attorneys,
bailiff, clerk and jury. A local volunteer judge
6 January 2015
dents mock interviews and mentors the students to make sure that each youth is getting
the wrap-around services and support for he
or she to succeed. Another part of Marco’s
job is marketing. Some of Marco’s most
memorable moments are when he first started at Sueños: “When we first
started Sueños, Jo [Jo Ann Allen,
Student Support Services Programs Manager] and I would
jump in my old truck and go visit
families at their homes to enroll
them in Sueños in the late afternoons and early evenings. Sometimes we'd get some steely
glares, but there was nothing like
seeing Jo in high heels strutting
past some wide eyed cholos at
one of the apartment complexes
and giving them a big, ‘Hi and how're you
doing?” [Picture: Marco with his daughter].
is the only adult directly involved in the
Court proceedings. The offenders assume responsibility for their behavior and accept the
consequences of their actions through community service work, serving as future Teen
Peer Court jury members, and fulfilling any
other creative sentence sanctioned by their
TPC jury. Cases heard in Teen Peer Court are
crimes such as shoplifting, possession of alcohol, criminal mischief, battery, and many
other misdemeanor offenses. Sources of referral are law enforcement, Juvenile Probation, and the District Attorney's Office. Once
the teen offender completes the sentence
they have received from the teen jury, the
referring agency is notified and the offender's record is erased.
If the offender does not complete their sentence, rejects the jury sentence, or reoffends, then their case is returned to the
appropriate referral source for prosecution.
However, TPC has a very low recidivism rate
of 5-6%, as compared to the traditional juvenile probation recidivism rate of 30%.
Celeste Gutierrez is a Project Specialist for the
Law-Related Education and Prevention Programs at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. She started working at the COE as an
intern while studying philosophy at UCSC. She
was recently hired on as permanent
staff December 2014. Celeste first started with Teen Peer Court (TPC) as a sophoTeen Peer Court provides an educational ex- more in high school volunteering as a teen
attorney. Each month she would defend or
perience for the offender and teen volunprosecute a different case. When
teers. The teens are given
"hands-on" experience with leshe started UCSC she was hired on
Teen Peer
gal processes, become familiar
as the TPC intern. Celeste continued
Court gives
with the court system, and have
to work with TPC, and her superviteens a
an opportunity to learn about
sors were able to see qualities and
voice...it’s a
various career options the
characteristics she was not able to
way for teens
court system has to offer. The
to have a say
offenders also learn about varisee. So, they began to assign her
ous career opportunities
in our
more projects. During her junior
through the community service
community.
year of university, she became the
they perform. Teen Peer Court
Chair of the California Association of
provides young people with a unique challenge and opportunity to demonstrate their Youth Court (CAYC) Student Advisory Comcapacity for self-government and responsible mittee. Soon after graduating college she becitizenship.
came the Student Advisory Liaison for CAYC.
Last summer, she became the Secretary for
In addition, the SCCOE's Teen Peer Court is
CAYC.
an active member of the National Associa-
tion of Youth Courts. TPC Director Jo Ann Allen is the co-chair of the National Research
and Data Committee. The purpose of this
committee is to expand funding and legislative support of Youth Courts throughout the
country by creating national standards for
program evaluation that will provide empirical evidence as to the successful outcomes
of Youth Courts from both quantitative and
qualitative data analysis.
7 Student Support Services Newsletter
Marco Lucadano, Sueños Teacher, has been
with the Sueños Program for 21
years. Marco’s job is to teach a series of
classes for the youth. Over his time at Sueños, he has developed all of the curriculum
that is used to teach each of the classes. Some of the topics
for the classes
are: Hospitality, tourism,
customer service, safety
issues, how to fill out
timesheets accurately,
cash handling, computer
skills, resume-building,
filling out job applications, and interviews. If
the student already has
experience or has less
experience than the rest
of the students, then Marco works with
them one-on-one to make sure his or her
needs are met. Marco gives each of the stu-
Teen Peer Court is a program run by teens
for teens. The objective of the Teen Peer
Court program is to interrupt the developing
pattern of criminal behavior in referred juveniles by promoting self-esteem, motivation
for self-improvement, forming a healthy attitude toward authority, and increasing education.
Teen offenders between the ages of 13 and
17 who have committed a misdemeanor
crime have their cases heard by a jury of
their peers. Additional peers perform the
roles of prosecuting and defense attorneys,
bailiff, clerk and jury. A local volunteer judge
6 January 2015
dents mock interviews and mentors the students to make sure that each youth is getting
the wrap-around services and support for he
or she to succeed. Another part of Marco’s
job is marketing. Some of Marco’s most
memorable moments are when he first started at Sueños: “When we first
started Sueños, Jo [Jo Ann Allen,
Student Support Services Programs Manager] and I would
jump in my old truck and go visit
families at their homes to enroll
them in Sueños in the late afternoons and early evenings. Sometimes we'd get some steely
glares, but there was nothing like
seeing Jo in high heels strutting
past some wide eyed cholos at
one of the apartment complexes
and giving them a big, ‘Hi and how're you
doing?” [Picture: Marco with his daughter].
is the only adult directly involved in the
Court proceedings. The offenders assume responsibility for their behavior and accept the
consequences of their actions through community service work, serving as future Teen
Peer Court jury members, and fulfilling any
other creative sentence sanctioned by their
TPC jury. Cases heard in Teen Peer Court are
crimes such as shoplifting, possession of alcohol, criminal mischief, battery, and many
other misdemeanor offenses. Sources of referral are law enforcement, Juvenile Probation, and the District Attorney's Office. Once
the teen offender completes the sentence
they have received from the teen jury, the
referring agency is notified and the offender's record is erased.
If the offender does not complete their sentence, rejects the jury sentence, or reoffends, then their case is returned to the
appropriate referral source for prosecution.
However, TPC has a very low recidivism rate
of 5-6%, as compared to the traditional juvenile probation recidivism rate of 30%.
Celeste Gutierrez is a Project Specialist for the
Law-Related Education and Prevention Programs at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. She started working at the COE as an
intern while studying philosophy at UCSC. She
was recently hired on as permanent
staff December 2014. Celeste first started with Teen Peer Court (TPC) as a sophoTeen Peer Court provides an educational ex- more in high school volunteering as a teen
attorney. Each month she would defend or
perience for the offender and teen volunprosecute a different case. When
teers. The teens are given
"hands-on" experience with leshe started UCSC she was hired on
Teen Peer
gal processes, become familiar
as the TPC intern. Celeste continued
Court gives
with the court system, and have
to work with TPC, and her superviteens a
an opportunity to learn about
sors were able to see qualities and
voice...it’s a
various career options the
characteristics she was not able to
way for teens
court system has to offer. The
to have a say
offenders also learn about varisee. So, they began to assign her
ous career opportunities
in our
more projects. During her junior
through the community service
community.
year of university, she became the
they perform. Teen Peer Court
Chair of the California Association of
provides young people with a unique challenge and opportunity to demonstrate their Youth Court (CAYC) Student Advisory Comcapacity for self-government and responsible mittee. Soon after graduating college she becitizenship.
came the Student Advisory Liaison for CAYC.
Last summer, she became the Secretary for
In addition, the SCCOE's Teen Peer Court is
CAYC.
an active member of the National Associa-
tion of Youth Courts. TPC Director Jo Ann Allen is the co-chair of the National Research
and Data Committee. The purpose of this
committee is to expand funding and legislative support of Youth Courts throughout the
country by creating national standards for
program evaluation that will provide empirical evidence as to the successful outcomes
of Youth Courts from both quantitative and
qualitative data analysis.
7 Student Support Services Newsletter
During her junior year of university she informed her supervisor, JoAnn Allen, that
she was not going to attend summer school
that year and JoAnn handed her the task of
coordinating the summer youth employment
program, Work4Youth, which is now in its
fifth year of existence.
favorite part of my job is going to Teen Court
and hearing the teens present their arguments. When I am able to hear the
thoughtfulness the teen attorneys and jurors
put into the cases, it gives me hope for the
future.”
“A memorable moment was when a teen was
Last school year, Celeste began coordinating sent to teen court for fighting, and when I
the Mock Trial competition for the county as read her essay explaining how they were no
well as began assisting in the coordination of longer going to fight but rather smother oththe Real DUI Court in Schools Assembly. “My ers with her kindness – my heart melted.”
petition scorers and are given specific scoring
criteria. The students are scored on team
Mock Trial is coordinated by Law Related Edu- sportsmanship, presentation skills, analytic
cation Programs in collaboration with the
ability, and team cooperation. Approximately
Santa Cruz County Bar Association, Superior 10 local judges and commissioners volunteer
Court of California Santa Cruz, and the Santa to preside over the competition; making deciCruz Trial Lawyers Association.
sions regarding the running of the trial, rulings on pretrial arguments, competition violaNearly 8,000 students throughout the state of tions, and announcing the verdict.
California participate in Mock Trial. Through
performance-based education these students
further their knowledge of our judicial system, history, content and conduct of our legal
system, analytical abilities, communication
skills, and team cooperation. Mock Trial
teams receive guidance in courtroom procedures and trial preparation from volunteer
attorney coaches.
Locally, over 20 attorneys volunteer as com-
Subscribe NOW! Just email sss.media@santacruz.k12.ca.us with
“SSS Newsletter Subscribe”
8 January 2015
Sarai E. Zayas, Sueños
Sueños participant. She went through the
Receptionist, has been program, was placed at the Sueños site for
working at Sueños for
her work internship, and later she was
five years
hired! For this reason, Sarai is a great role
now. Although Sarai is a model for the youth who come through the
receptionist, she also
program. Her favorite part of the job is
does recruitment for the when the youth come back and say, “I got a
program,
job!” or “I got into school!” A
meets with
memorable moment for Sarai was
The
the stuwhen she helped a single mom just
Receptionist
dents for
out of high school get into colwho does it
their assesslege: “The girl had always wanted
all!
ments, places the students in
to go, and she just needed a little
their classes, provides the
push.” Sarai helped her apply for
youth with supportive services such as help school, helped with finding financial aid,
with resumes, assistance with enrollment
and helped her register for classes: “She
with school, bus passes, and a Ross Gift
still comes back to tell me how she is doing
Card; and case manages the youth while
and how grateful she is for my help and the
making sure everything is running smoothly program.”
in the facility. Sarai herself started out as a
Francisco Estrada, Sueños Project Specialist, them grow, and having fun while going
has been with the Sueños Program with
through the program. One of the best parts
three years now. Francisco’s job is to help
about the Sueños Program for Francisco is
with grant-writing and making sure that the that the program adapts to the level of the
program stays compliant with the
student, “If a student comes in
terms of the grants already oband already has a lot of experiLoves
tained. He reviews applications to
ence compared with the othlearning
see who is eligible and invites the
ers, then we work with that
youth who qualify to attend an orienstudent to improve even furtheir ideas
tation. Further, Francisco leads the
ther on his or her professional
and seeing
orientations with the youth where he
skills and work experience.”
them
explains the requirements and degrow...
tails of the program in full. Along
with this, Francisco helps teach some
of the classes on topics like “Customer Service Training.” Francisco’s favorite part
about the job is working with the students. He loves learning their ideas, seeing
5 Student Support Services Newsletter
The Sueños Program strives to provide youth
with workforce development skills that will
prepare them for a competitive labor market
by providing the best supportive learning
environment in a classroom setting. The
Sueños Program is under the Workforce Investment Act, and with this support, the
Sueños Program is able to pay for the
youth to be placed in any work setting the
youth is interested in. The youth is mentored by a staff member of the worksite
and is given the best instruction on how
to be a good employee. The program
even provides the youth with a Ross Gift
Card for professional clothing and a bus
pass for transportation. The staff also encourages the youth to set attainable career goals, connects the youth to community resources, and helps youth establish valuable and lasting relationships. The Sueños
Program is committed to delivering services
to eligible youth in Watsonville and is driven
to help bring the future dreams of these
youth to fruition. The Sueños Team takes
pride in guiding and mentoring the youth in
reaching their highest potential.
[Picture: Darely Medina, Sueños Participant
Recruiting at Pajaro Valley High School]
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education
(SCCOE) has been serving the needs of homeless children and youth in our community
since 1989. Funded through a small grant
from the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the SCCOE Students in Transition
program began in 1995 and provides a myriad
of services to homeless children, youth, and
families; local school districts; and homeless
service providers. Our service strategies have
been identified as best practices in the USDE
Planning and Evaluation Service publication The Education for Homeless Children and
Youth Program: Learning to Succeed. SIT
made media headlines the summer of 2004
with the success of students enrolled in the
Alternative Education’s Vista Transition Program, and also for the Write-Start Backpack
Project.
Beatriz M. Muñoz, Sueños Project Coordina- success with staff and state that Sueños
tor, has been at Sueños for 12 years. She
played a significant role in their lives. I love
oversees the day to day operations/ funcit when youth share with us their excitement
tions of the program and makes
about having gotten a job, being
certain that all services are in
accepted to the university of their
“I
love
when
place and readily available to
choice, or simply having finally figyouth come
participants and meeting their
ured out what
career
needs. Beatriz’s nickname is,
they want to pursue.”
back and
“B,” and her favorite part of the
share their
job is interacting with the youth
success…”
and providing the needed support for them to reach their
goals: “Many memorable moments have accumulated through 12 years of service, but
those that stay with me are the ones where
former participants come back to share their
4 January 2015
The overall goal of the Santa Cruz County Students in Transition Program is to facilitate the
enrollment of homeless children and youth
into comprehensive or alternative public education programs, preschools and other academic enrichment programs; maintain their
enrollment; and ensure academic and/or vocational success into a self-sufficient lifestyle.
This is achieved by addressing the needs of
the whole child and family through collaborative efforts with schools, social service providers, institutions of higher learning, private
nonprofits, local business and industry, and
the community at large.
In December 2014, SIT had Project Rudolf for
the homeless families in the program. The
families were “adopted” and sponsored for
the holidays. There was a holiday party where
Santa himself distributed the gifts—thank you
so much Ken Thomson! There was a wonderful dinner provided by local restaurants. Students in Transition would like to thank all of
the amazing people who made this possible:
Leslie Kootstra — Nohemi Macias — Marilyn
Latorraca — Laurie Stewart — Julie Edwards
— Heather Hutchinson — Alison Gold — Milly
Medina — Melissa Castro — Alison Warner —
Jaclyn Fruzza — Tiffany M. Smith — Victor
Mora — Sarai Zayas — George Lopez, — Jo
Ann Allen — Carla Miller, — Janice Berven —
Spencer Takata — Christina Burkleo — Antonio Solis — Ken Thompson — Laura Peduto —
Tanya Salano
Thank You!
9 Student Support Services Newsletter
Nohemi Macias, Project Coordinator and
here for the past 7 years, one case Nohemi
Homeless Liaison, has been working with Stu- will always hold close to her heart is when a
dents in Transition (SIT) for 7 years and Pre- homeless mom and teen daughter affected
vention & Early Intervention projects (PEI) for by domestic abuse were referred to her for
4 years. Nohemi meets with homeless fami- educational support. The daughter, then a
lies to provide both direct services and refer- junior in high school, was very shy and mererals to agencies which support their children’s ly shrugged her shoulders when asked what
education. She coordinates the SIT Tutoring college she would like to attend. After consulProgram, the SCCOE’s annual Write-Start
tation with the family, Nohemi enrolled the
Backpack Project, Santa Cruz County’s Annual teen in school and provided all school supHomeless Student Survey
plies and even clothing. The
Nohemi’s favorite part
and Point in Time youth
most crucial aspect, Noheof the job is making a
count (in partnership with
mi believes, was the tutor/
positive impact on
Applied Survey Research)
mentor she assigned to the
people’s lives
and is a member of both our
teen. Although the family
local Homeless Action Partcontinued to experience
nership and Homeless Management Inforhomelessness, the mentor was a constant asmation System. Nohemi supports school dis- pect of the girl’s life. The mentor, a UCSC stutricts with any necessary McKinney-Vento
dent at the time, encouraged her to apply for
Legislation clarifications and trainings for
the university—and now, she is an alum of
school staff and administrators, and coordi- UCSC!
nates and oversees our local Prop 63 grant
(PEI). Currently she oversees projects with
Positive Behavior Intervention Supports
(PBIS), National Alliance of Mental Illness
(NAMI), Live Oak Family Resource Center, Diversity Center, and Encompass Community
Services. A highly valued community member
here at Student Support Services, she says
her favorite part of her job is making a positive impact in someone’s life. Among the
countless memorable moments from working
In 1984, the district hired me as their
part-time school community attendance liaison, and later I was contracted as their school
facilities consultant—I assisted the Live Oak
School District in the writing and development of the Office of Local Assistance and
Office of State Architect phase one and phase
two applications for new schools that eventually resulted in the building of Shoreline Middle School.
who hired me at Live Oak), believed in my
skills and abilities to do any job. He saw the
skills I brought to volunteering as “Real skills”.
He told me “Someday I want you to see yourself they way I see you.” I did not know what
he meant until that day arrived, and my insecurities left, and my esteemed flourished.
WOW – I wanted to bottle that feeling up and
pour it over everyone who ever doubted
them selves. That is why I take risks on young
I have a strong volunteer spirit and love people “Paying it forward” from what Nate
taking on a new challenge. I have brought that gave me, giving them a chance to shine, when
others might not. I share Nate’s words over
spirit to this job. When I am up
and over again with all of the young
against someone telling me somepeople that have grown and flour“I believe all
thing cannot be done, I figure out
ished within my department.
a way to make it happen and get
work should
10 January 2015
3 Student Support Services Newsletter
the job done—many times with
energy and hours beyond the
requirements of the job…
especially if it something that I
feel passionate about, and I pretty
much feel passionate about everything I do.
be fun (the
volunteer
spirit)! If it is
not fun then
why do it?”
Over the course of my career here at
the COE, I have had many memorable moments, but the most memorable are those
when I take a chance on someone by either
hiring a young, inexperienced person or going
the extra mile for one our participants. This is
because someone took a chance on me, an
inexperienced and slightly insecure mom volunteering at school. At that time, I never
thought of volunteering as a real job, so I was
not worried about anyone firing me or evaluating what I did – I enjoyed every minute of
everything I did and put my all into it. Even
with all my enthusiasm for volunteer work, I
still did not believe I was worthy of a “Real
job”. However, Nate Wilson (the principal
I grow programs and people!
I believe all work should be fun
(the volunteer spirit)! If it is not
fun, then why do it. So far, I have
had a fun ride with a few hairraising dips and turns. But all in all
– I love what I do!
to Homeless Assistance Program and expand
the Write Start backpack Project. By 1991, I
was hired full-time to administer SARB and the
homeless program. Since then, I have grown
many projects and people under my administration. My title was Coordinator SARB/
Homeless. In 1994, I created the County Teen
Peer Court Program and my boss at the time,
Mike James, told me that I needed to come up
Jo Ann Allen, I have worked at the Santa
with another name for what I do, as we cannot
Cruz County Office of Education since October
keep putting slashes behind my name for every
1989. Yes, that is the same month as the infanew program. Thus, the Student Support Sermous earthquake. The fact is, the first day on
vices Department was born in 1995 and in
the job, they sent me to Sacramento to a con2009 my title was changed to Manager, Stuference on school attendance—which was
dent Support Services. The department is pripretty hectic, considering the many road clomarily funded through grants and has housed
sures during that time. I had to go south and
over 28 different projects/programs. During
cut across Interstate 5 in order to go north. I
the past 25 years our department has written
was so nervous that when I stopped to get gas
hundreds of grants and brought in over $25
on the way back and check my oil, I left the oil
million dollars in funds to serve students, famicap resting under the hood of my car. With the
lies and school districts.
design of my car hood, I could not see that oil
I started my career in education in 1980
was being been sucked from car and spewed
when my son started Kindergarten at Live Oak
all along the interstate. I did not know this un- Elementary School. I quickly became an active
til the car stalled somewhere near Patterson.
parent volunteer and chaired many a comLong story short – I blew the engine out in my mittee. I organized and coordinated the annual
school carnival and the book fair, and I sold
car and had to be towed back to Santa Cruz.
popcorn at recess for many years. I was known
Great first week at work!
far and wide as the “Popcorn lady”.
My first job at the COE was working only
a few hours a week as a consultant to develop
the new County School Attendance Review
Board. In 1990, my contract was expanded to
include the development of the McKinney Ven-
2 January 2015
Andy Diep is a senior at UC Santa Cruz double-majoring in Legal Studies and Economics, currently holding 3 different jobs. Along with being a case manager for Santa Cruz Teen Peer Court, he is a Residential
Assistant at UCSC’s Crown College and the Student Advisory Board Liaison for the California Association
of Youth Courts (CAYC). He is from San Francisco, and hopes to open up his own youth court there after
he graduates.
Katie Scott is a sophomore at UC Santa Cruz, studying Sociology and Psychology. As the media intern for
all Student Support Services programs, she is working on developing and managing social media strategies for outreach. In her role she updates social media accounts regularly and creates items such as flyers and pamphlets to reach out to students, parents, and community members about Student Support
Services programs.
Jessica Mendoza is a 5th year student at UCSC, from Pasadena, California. As the outreach intern for
Santa Cruz Teen Peer Court, she is in charge of recruiting and engaging students for Teen Peer Court.
She reaches out to schools and sends flyers and information about upcoming trainings to school administration. Recently, Jessica attended the PVUSD Parent Conference at Watsonville High School, where
she reached out to parents who would like their children to be more involved in a program like Teen
Peer Court which would benefit them in terms of career choice and community service.
Milly Medina is a senior at UC Santa Cruz majoring in Human Biology, originally from San Bernardino,
California. As an intern for Students in Transition, Milly works with Nohemi Macias to provide mentoring, employment development assistance, and life skills to at-risk youth and families by connecting
them with community resources. She also networks with community members and entities to organize
activities for youth, and on a daily basis she manages tasks such as data management and entry, filing
and creating case notes.
Antonio Solis is a junior at UC Santa Cruz studying business management and economics. Originally
from the Los Angeles area, he has been working with Nohemi at Students in Transition for the past two
years. During his time with Students in Transition, he has helped coordinate and organize the tutoring
program, and is a tutor for students experiencing homelessness.
Erika Rubio is a third year transfer student at UCSC, studying psychology. Originally from Seaside, CA,
she transferred to UCSC this year from Monterey Peninsula College. As an intern with the Sueños program, you can find Erika tackling any task from filing paperwork, contacting worksites and clines, to
helping out with the WEX classes.
Amelia Bonilla is a third year politics and philosophy major at UC Santa Cruz. She is a new intern working with Celeste for Teen Peer Court.
11 Student Support Services Newsletter