FEATURED COLUMNIST
Opal Cliffs Home-Based Learning Model By Scott J. Turnbull, Superintendent, Soquel Union Elementary School District
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pal Cliffs School sits in a lovely location adjacent to Jade Street Park in Capitola. It’s a small facility opened in 2012 and originally served the district’s Transitional Kindergarten students. To create additional options for our community’s families, the school has undergone a transformation. Our district’s Transitional Kindergarten students are now served mainly at Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary School. This move was made to create an alternative education option at Opal Cliffs as we realize that flexible options are necessary to meet the needs of our families. This plan of action was initiated well before the onset of COVID-19 but was expedited by the pandemic. Why an alternative education site? Well, for some students and families, a traditional elementary or middle school setting
Jessica Kiernan
Suzanne Denham
suits them just fine. For others, alternative options are necessary for a whole host of reasons. Family schedules and student learning styles are just a couple of the main reasons we considered initiating an alternative education site. A traditional school setting is a very structured operation in terms of schedules. Again, that structured approach is a benefit to most of us. What about a family, though, that needs more flexibility but is still very committed to developing their child’s learning? That’s the question we wanted to answer with what became the Opal Cliffs Home-Based Learning Model. We started merely with a desire to create a flexible option for our district’s families for whom the traditional school setting was not a fit. Enter our district’s Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, Dr. Jessica Kiernan, who expertly spearheaded this most important district project. By listening to Lori Kearney
community input and leaning into her own professional experience, she created a vision for the school. The family would be the centerpiece of a child’s education in this vision. As the school district, we could support and guide parents throughout the process. To make this vision a reality, Dr. Kiernan needed an equally innovative staff. The district was fortunate that two such educators were up for the task. Ms. Suzanne Denham is a veteran SUESD teacher, having served most recently as a “Teacher on Special Assignment” for social emotional learning. Before that, she was a highly-respected primary teacher at Main Street Elementary. Ms. Lori Kearney had most recently run a highly effective computer lab at Main Street Elementary School with a particular focus on digital citizenship. Before that, Ms. Kearney had served as a very successful classroom and reading intervention teacher in our district. These two educators had the perfect set of skills in social emotional learning, technology, and quality instructional practices. We couldn’t believe our good fortune to have Ms. Denham and Ms. Kearney be the first two teachers of this new endeavor
Opal Cliffs School in Capitola is serving more than 60 students whose families chose a home-based learning model for 2020-21. at Opal Cliffs. We also have the benefit of expert office support provided by Office Manager Laurie Struckmeyer. These four amazing folks constitute a small but mighty team if there ever was one. After some intense planning time, the Opal Cliffs Home-Based Learning Model officially began in August of 2020 and has already served over 60 students, in grades TK – 8th, in its first year of existence! COVID-19 certainly presented its share of challenges in terms of starting up a new program. The timing also helped inform another need because our district had to transition to full-distance learning like most districts in the state. “Opal Cliffs” page 27
Soquel Creek Water District Unveils New Website; Annual Water Quality Report Available
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By Rebecca Gold Rubin
he month of May means that the spring season is really in full swing! It’s a time of new growth and rejuvenation — and for the Soquel Creek Water District, spring has brought a brand-new website that is streamlined, cleaner, easier to navigate, and designed to better serve our customers. Launched in May, the new website has the Rebecca Gold Rubin same URL that you
used for the old one: www.soquelcreekwater.org. But once you’re there, you’ll see an entirely new look-andfeel, countless major improvements, and more functionality. The new website is hosted by CivicPlus, the leading provider of local government websites. We’re thrilled to provide this new
24 / May 2021 / Capitola Soquel Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
website, and for you to try it out! One of the first things you may notice is a much more orderly layout and navigation. The new site’s intuitive search functionality and navigation menus make it easy for you to locate whatever it is you may be looking for from the homepage — from the latest news and updates, Board meetings, and conservation tools, to our WaterSmart customer portal, construction information, our Pure Water Soquel project, and much more. “Quality Report” page 26
