B L AN CA GARC IA
MAY 31-JUNE 7, 2018
presents
Global E-Commerce: The World Behind the Buy Button Wednesday, June 20, 2018 | 5:00 - 8:00 PM
Melissa MelissaO’Malley O’Malley Christian ChristianSmith Smith Carolyn CarolynMcCall McCall Director, President COO Director,Global Global President&& COO&& Initiatives Co-founder Co-founder Initiatives Co-founder Co-founder PayPal TrackR MineMine PayPal TrackR MineMineKids Kids (Keynote) (Keynote) Chris ChrisLueck Lueck CEO CEO FastSpring FastSpring
Andrew Andrew Schydlowsky Schydlowsky CEO CEO&&Founder Founder TrackStreet TrackStreet
Mike MikeSmith Smith CTO CTO FastSpring FastSpring (Moderator) (Moderator)
Global e-commerce has come a long way in a short time thanks to technology & services that enable small local organizations to work with large global organizations. Join us on Wednesday, June 20 as we will introduce experts from PayPal, describing trends in global purchasing and payments; TrackR, leveraging ecommerce to keep track of things around the world; MineMine Kids, retailing unique clothing for children worldwide; FastSpring, helping businesses around the globe grow through their cloudbased e-commerce platform; and TrackStreet, providing online brand protection and market analysis.
T h a n k Yo u t o O u r S p o n s o r s !
SPEAKERS
T h a n k Yo u t o O u r S p o n s o r s ! Thank You To Our Sponsors!
Rockwood, Santa Barbara Woman’s Club 670 Mission Canyon Rd. | Santa Barbara, CA
NEW SCHOOL: A recent workshop at La Casa de la Raza discussed ethnic studies as a high school requirement.
Will Schools Require Ethnic Studies?
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Learn more & get your early-bird tickets at www.mitcentralcoast.org follow us @mitefcc
Celebrating 11 Years!
he Ethnic Studies Now! Coalition’s annual block party, held at La Casa de la Raza late last month, kicked off with workshops on ethnic studies in academic settings and followed with food, art, and bands. The coalition is working to make ethnic studies coursework a requirement for high school graduation in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Currently, the district offers electives in Chicano studies, Mexican-American literature, and a class on societal power structures called Social Dialogues. However, not all students are aware that these courses are offered, said Fabiola Gonzalez, the coalition’s founder in Santa Barbara, adding that offering such coursework as electives “doesn’t guarantee money will be allocated … or that teachers are going to be properly trained.” Gonzalez launched the Santa Barbara chapter in 2015 after attending Cal State Northridge, where she majored in Chicano/a studies. “Every student deserves that opportunity
to be exposed,” said Gonzalez, who was unaware the courses were being offered when she attended Santa Barbara High. Gonzalez sits on the High School Graduation Requirements Committee and is working with the district to develop an ethnic studies program. When the proposal is ready, Gonzalez and the coalition will present the proposal to the district’s Board of Education as a voting item. The coalition cites multiple studies showing the positive impacts that ethnic studies courses can have on all students, including improvements in GPA, school attendance, civic engagement, and student-body cohesiveness. “There is a need [for students] to see themselves in what they’re doing,” Gonzalez said, adding that students are not calling it ethnic studies by name but are talking about courses that are more inclusive and reading literature that includes characters like them. “We don’t represent the community; we are the community,” she said. — Blanca Garcia
Latinos Tackle College Prep
A Tasting Experience in the Good Land Join us for a beautiful evening in the historic gardens of Rancho La Patera as you taste local wines, craft beer, delicious appetizers and luscious desserts from our local chefs. Celebrate with magnificent margaritas while you enjoy performances by the 2018 Spirit of Fiesta, Junior Spirit and Tony Ybarra, along with dancing under the stars with Area 51.
Thursday, June 21 Co-hosts
Special Thanks:
Tickets $70
All Inclusive Tasting
$45 Designated Driver Advance Purchase Price
21 and over
Sponsors include Goleta Chamber, Bella Vista Designs, Steve Golis, HomeBridge Financial, MarBorg Industries & more!
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THE INDEPENDENT
JUNE 7, 2018
INDEPENDENT.COM
P
arents with Future Leaders of America (FLA) wore black shirts with the hashtag #JusticiaEducativa—#EducationalJustice—at their forum last week at the Louise Lowry Davis Center. Half a dozen volunteer parents, led by FLA parent organizer Olivia Carranza, presented their eightmonth-long project on the reasons behind low college-attendance rates in the Latino community. The presenting parents and those in the crowd have kids across all grade levels, and they all express a great desire for their children to have the same access to college as their white peers. They identified that the largest deterrent between Latino students and entry to a four-year college or university was their completion of A-G subject requirements, defined as history/social science, English, math, laboratory science, a language other than English, visual and performing arts, and college-preparatory electives. To be eligible for a four-year, students must complete A-G requirements in high school. According to FLA, this information, more often than not, reaches students and
parents too late. Last year, only 43.9 percent of Latinos in the Santa Barbara Unified School District completed their A-Gs. This is an increase from the 2012-13 school year, when the figure was 29.8 percent. But it’s still not good enough, parents agreed. Parents expressed concern about students who speak a language other than English at home. Many of those students are classified as EL (English learners) or ESL (English as a second language) and placed in corresponding classrooms, unable to take college-prep coursework until they pass a proficiency exam that has been criticized as too rigorous by UC Berkeley’s Center for Latino Policy Research. Vicente Garcia, a lead organizer for FLA, was himself classified as ESL while at the district. FLA parents are proposing that the district align high school graduation requirements with A-G. The process to achieve this is underway, said school boardmember Ismael Paredes Ulloa. Until then, FLA parents said they will continue to educate other parents. —Blanca Garcia