Back-to-School 2023-24 • Middle School Wellness Centers • Keeping Kids Safe at School • Fentanyl Town Hall Meeting • 2023-24 Competitions & Events • Binational Program Serves Children of Migrant Farmworkers • “Stuffing the Bus” for Homeless Kids

Ventura County’s new school year kicked off on August 8 in Oak Park, the first local school district to welcome students to class for 2023-2024. By the end of the month, all 20 Ventura County school districts, serving about 125,000 students, will have started their new year.

Educational agencies on both sides of the US/Mexico border are teaming up to provide summer learning opportunities for children of migrant farm workers in Ventura County. Students in grades two through six are taking classes in math, English and computer coding at the Bilingual Summer Institute, being held this July at Somis Elementary School. A unique aspect of the program is that two visiting teachers from Mexico are incorporating cultural enrichment into the lessons to help students learn abo...

The students graduating from Ventura County high schools in 2023 had anything but a typical experience. They were in the second half of their freshman year when the pandemic forced classrooms to close. They had to adapt to distance learning and all of the challenges that went along with it. Many faced the ordeal of seeing loved ones pass away or fall ill from COVID-19. And when in-person instruction resumed, social distancing and masking became a part of their daily routines. Despite it all...

Dillon May doesn’t hesitate when asked about the biggest challenge he faced during his four years at Moorpark High School. “Definitely the pandemic was a tough one, being locked up for all of that time,” he says. “Especially during high school when it’s supposed to be the most fun years of your life.”

Natasha Senjack’s high school counselor says she’s wise beyond her years, and it’s no surprise considering all she’s been able to overcome in her young life. Her troubles started when she lost her mom to cancer at age 11.

Osvaldo Jimenez is the son of Mexican immigrants who made sure he knew the value of education at an early age. In his elementary years, they took him to the local library for tutoring in English and math. And they worked overtime in their jobs at restaurants and construction sites to make sure he’d be able to attend college.

Graduating from high school at age 16 is impressive enough, but Brinda Garikapati is doing it after arriving in the US as a seventh grader who spoke little English. Brinda had been living in India with relatives before moving to Simi Valley to be with her parents.

Joey Hazlett was diagnosed with autism in sixth grade. “It makes it so that my brain is kind of running nonstop,” he says. “Even when I’m trying to stop thinking, my brain just comes up with something new to think about and it makes me hyper-focused on stuff.”

This story is part of a series of profiles the Ventura County Office of Education is presenting about outstanding graduating seniors in the Class of 2023. When Sinthia Cardenas landed the prime role of Wednesday Addams in the Ventura High School production of The Addams Family, it was a particularly meaningful accomplishment. Since childhood, she had struggled to pronounce her Rs and Ls and often found people had difficulty understanding her. Speech therapy and lots of hard work p...