This Week on the Central Coast…
Monterey County offers help for teachers & Downtown gets artsy. A Salinas school won the Golden Bell Award & the city approved help for its unhoused. A Santa Cruz nonprofit is selling holiday gifts.
Monterey
Monterey County Offering Teacher Residency Program
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District partnered with Alder Graduate School to create a residency program that helps teachers earn a masters degree and teaching credentials in a single year. With teachers becoming harder to find, the program helps prospective educators get the qualifications they need to further their careers. Students of the program work in a classroom full time with a mentor teacher to guide them.
“The tuition for the annual program is $21,930. Benefits of program participation include:
$45,000 living stipend
$10,000 tuition reimbursement for math, science, Spanish, and Special Education candidates
Up to $10,000 in scholarships
Up to $40,000 in federal financial aid and loans
Earning a Master's Degree and Teaching Credential
Priority hiring for a full-time position in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District”
The application deadline is February 24, 2024.
Anyone interested can attend an informational session on Tuesday, December 12, on Zoom.
Qualifications and an application can be found at this website.
“The Island of Adobes” Planned for Downtown Art Installment
“The Island of Adobes” is a concept designed to turn Downtown Monterey into a hub for arts and culture. The project will highlight the various adobes of Downtown Monterey, turning each of them into galleries or research offices. The site of the Monterey Museum of Art will stay on Pacific Avenue.
Casa Gutiérrez will be renovated with new gallery lighting and will feature art from nonprofit organizations, changing a few times a year.
The Miller Adobe will be turned into offices, rather than a gallery. This will free up the space to be used for “mission-oriented purposes. “
The Monterey Museum of Art’s La Mirada location will be turned into an Institute for California Art where it will house its archives for study. Future plans for the location include “adult art instruction, seasonal public programming, community partnerships and site rentals.”
Salinas
New Program Expedites Medical Services to Unhoused People
Last week, Salinas City Council unanimously voted to allow a mobile crisis services pilot program. This will allow a mobile crisis unit to respond to calls and assess the situation rather than dispatch fire or police to the scene. “The team will provide face-to-face assessments, a follow-up in the first three days, and referrals to relevant service organizations.”
The mobile unit will be managed by the nonprofit Sierra Mental Wellness Group, starting on December 31.
A Local School Received the Golden Bell Award From the State
“The Bob Hoover Academy received the Golden Bell Award for their work in providing students with an exciting diploma track program.” The Bob Hoover Academy helps struggling high school students gain STEM knowledge and graduate while gaining hand-on experience in aeronautics.
The Monterey County Office of Education was also presented with the Apple for Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding programs that adapt with the students they aim to help.
Santa Cruz
The Homeless Garden Project is Creating Holiday Gifts
The Homeless Garden Project has been making candles, jam, and holiday wreaths with their own garden since 1993.
The trainees are paid for their work and talk about how encouraging it is to see their creations pop up around town. “It brings a sense of joy to myself because I make them and then you bring them to the community, to the store, so they get spread out through the community and it brings joy to people,” Jeremy Barker, a trainee of the program, said.
Evan Jones, manager of the Homeless Garden Project, says that 93% of the people who have graduated from the program have gone on to get jobs. 83% have gotten housing.
Products can be purchased at the Homeless Garden Project store on Pacific Avenue. All proceeds directly fund the organization.
Don’t forget to visit ZumZum Tea at a local farmer’s market! During the month of December, mention The Peninsula Report to receive a free sample with your purchase!
Old Monterey Farmers Market on Tuesdays
Carmel-by-the-Sea Farmers Market on Thursdays
Oldtown Salinas Farmers Market on Saturdays