The Honor Roll

SB County’s Educators are United This occasional series focuses on education, learning, teaching, and instruction, with a special focus on Santa Barbara County. Anthony Ranii has been a tutor, teacher, curriculum writer, principal, and professional development trainer and is currently the superintendent of the Montecito Union School District. W hen Gwyn Lurie approached me to write an occasional series on education, I jumped at the chance. It combines two things I love: thinking about education and working with Gwyn (she served on the Montecito Union School [MUS] Board during my first two years and made me think almost as much as she made me laugh). I never would have suspected that my first piece would be on how the county’s schools are working to teach kids through distance learning, just as the many parents reading this never suspected that they would have to balance work and their kids’ education while sheltering at home. But here we are!

Facing the dual disasters of the Thomas Fire and the 1/9 debris flow required this community to use skills we never knew we had. To be clear, these were tragedies and I wouldn’t wish them on any community, but I also believe that those of us who came together during that disaster are somewhat more resilient and able to face this very different threat of COVID-19 more effectively.

During those disasters, I learned how important it was to clearly communicate when disaster strikes. Lately, I have been sharing four words with my work colleagues, parents, and students. Gratitude. I am overwhelmed at how flexible, giving, and resilient our teachers, staff members, parents, and students have been. Essential. We have to be clear-eyed as a society right now and stick to the essentials. As educators, we are balancing the health and safety of our society with the need to educate kids (both are essential). Values. Though we are living through unprecedented times, our values remain constant. Opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, COVID-19 is truly horrible: people are sick and dying, families are separated, businesses are struggling. That said, we also have an opportunity as educators to show our students how much we love them, to do our part to protect the health of the community, and to learn new technologies and pedagogies to help our students learn despite the challenges. Leaning In

Every educator in the county likely remembers where they were when they got the word that schools would be closing. County Superintendent Dr. Susan Salcido convened a phone call (this was a week before the ubiquity of Zoom came about) with all the superintendents as well as representatives from charter schools and private schools. Susan said it best: “Not one of us ever wants to close school. We know what it means to close school for students and for a community. We all leaned in and did what was needed for the safety of all.” “Children need to connect. Parents need to connect. We must build into our schedules opportunities for kids to see each other so they know they are not alone.”

We haven’t stopped leaning in. Susan has continued to convene educators across the county in Zoom meetings to discuss food distribution, digital instruction, and more. According to Susan, “Coming together across the county was the only way to go about it. That is who we are as a county.” You may not know that this is not true of every county. Even though county superintendents are not “the boss” of the school districts (locally elected school board members fill that role) in my experience there are many who try to be. Not Susan. Unfailingly generous with her time, Susan believes in shared leadership and bringing everyone together, and that’s certainly what she is doing right now.

In fact, all SB County educators seem to be coming together to solve problems. The first problem that needed to be solved was how to feed our students. It may surprise you that (according to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) 10% of people in Santa Barbara are food insecure. Here in South County, Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) opened many sites for food distribution, and even allowed students from MUS that received free and reduced price lunches to participate (yes, MUS has students who are food insecure!). SBUSD Superintendent Cary Matsuoka reminded me that, “Many families depend on [SBUSD] for breakfast, lunch, and dinner even in normal circumstances.” Goleta Union School District (GUSD) Superintendent Donna Lewis stated that these meals are “vital to the health

Teaching from a Distance

SB educators helped to get the kids fed, but then we needed to figure out how to actually teach these kids from a distance! Collaboration was once again key, and in this county, we all believe in sharing our best ideas and collaborating to support all of the county’s children. Across the county, packets were created, tech devices were distributed, hot spots were procured, and everywhere you looked there seemed to be a Zoom meeting or lesson starting. Like many of you, our teachers woke up one morning and had to figure out how to do their jobs while most of them were away from their workplaces, while their students were in their own homes, and (often) while taking care of their own families!

“I saw my teacher today!” exclaimed one child who was picking up a technology device from Dr. Anne Hubbard of Hope Elementary School District who personally passed out tech devices to her students from the district office. When her teachers began using Zoom for lessons, Anne was surprised at how impactful it was just for the students to see their teacher’s face. MUS is conducting Zoom lessons as well, and it has been remarkable to me how engaged students have been in these digital lessons, and how happy it made them to see their friends and their teacher. For teachers, mastering this new pedagogy has not been easy, but, in Anne’s words, everyone “rolled up [their] sleeves and dove in.”

I’ll be the first one to tell you, it isn’t perfect. In my opinion, distance learning cannot fully replicate the value of that personal interaction between student and teacher. This is especially true with the youngest students in the county. Can you imagine creating a distance learning lesson for a fiveyear-old? Let me tell you, it’s tough! That said, our students are worth it. Our teachers’ skills in this new methodology grows by the day and, for the most part, parents have been very supportive. Cary Matsuoka at SBUSD said the feedback “has been really positive, especially the master schedule for the secondary schools.” He noted how important the structure has been for families.

Social and Emotional Support

Alright, we fed the students, we taught them… the job is done now, right? Wrong. School is so much more. Dr. Anne Hubbard reminded me that in this “unprecedent

MONTECITO JOURNAL 19 ed time,” we need to take care of children socially and emotionally as well, especially as many are “picking up on their parents’ anxiety.” To that point, educators across the county are providing social and emotional supports. I conducted grade level social gatherings during spring break, and teachers and parents alike have hosted digital class parties. Last Friday we held our traditional “Friday Flag” on Zoom. Though social distancing keeps us apart, we are still united by singing our school song, and we all teared up at Kenny Loggins’ seemingly prescient lyrics: “I believe in miracles, you can see one here because we’re all standing together!”

Dr. Amy Alzina at Cold Spring School District told me, “Children need to connect. Parents need to connect. We must build into our schedules opportunities for kids to see each other so they know they are not alone.” She told me about how her 4 th grade teacher held a digital “Pajama Day” and the giggles she heard of the children in their PJs watching their teacher wearing his bathrobe while reading them a story (through Zoom).

And we’re still not done. What about students with special needs? We need to take extra care with them. Goleta Union School District Speech and Language Pathologist Rebecca Ito sent tools and tips to parents, but is also conducting one-on-one sessions with students through phone call and through Zoom. She is doing this while taking care of her own two school-aged children. She is successful in this, because of a, “strong partnership with my husband and strong relationship with my schools.” She reminded me to “cherish the hidden opportunities,” and to remember to run, play, and really connect with my own children while sheltering at home.

And there we are, back at that word again: opportunity. One of the most important things we try to teach students these days is the importance of being flexible, resilient, adaptable thinkers so they can cope with ever-changing circumstances. There may never be a more a better project-based learning lab than this one, and students, teachers, and parents all have the opportunity to deepen their grit and hone their creative problem-solving skills. Educators across SB county are also working to take this opportunity to show our students how much we care about their learning and the health of the community. To every educator in the county, and to all those parents out there that are our “teaching partners,” I am grateful to all you are doing. We truly are all in this together, so in this first article in this occasional series: we all made the Honor Roll! •MJ

9 – 16 April 2020 MONTECITO JOURNAL20 “In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts.” – Fred Rogers ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 14) that our local and state governments provide some relief too. This may be in the form of financial assistance or even help with permitting or intervening with other processes to reopen businesses quickly and mitigate the losses they’ve incurred.

How do you advise businesses regarding methods to safeguard what they have built and how to work through this situation?

This might not directly answer your question, but for context, Visit Santa Barbara is what’s known as a destination marketing organization or DMO (formerly known as a conference and visitors bureau), and because of that our core activities are related to marketing that promotes travel. To encourage responsible behavior, we’ve shifted our marketing focus to immediate local community needs, using Visit Santa Barbara’s social media channels and website to promote ways that visitors and locals can support area businesses and attractions from a distance.

For example, we’ve created guides to online shopping, delivery and curbside pickup services, virtual tours and online activities offered by local businesses, all aimed at people who are sheltering in place at home, whether visitors or locals. This is not only to generate support for our community but to keep people inspired by Santa Barbara’s unique qualities and dreaming of the day when it’s safe to travel again.

For the local industry, we’ve been sending out weekly updates to hotels and hospitality businesses that include links to resources and toolkits provided by organizations that focus on operational issues such as the California Hotel and Lodging Association and U.S. Travel, as well as sentiment studies. Other organizations, such as the Santa Barbara and Goleta chambers of commerce, in turn have provided resources for local businesses wrestling with issues such as securing loans.

What is most important for tourism operators and hotels to keep in mind as they weather the storm created by COVID-19?

In spite of the painful impacts to our economy, one day the crisis will end, and our industry will recover. To ensure that happens, we will need to work together to support our workforce and promote our destination again.

The good news is that recent surveys indicate there will be pent-up demand for travel after people have spent so many weeks and months of being homebound. Santa Barbara’s appeal is unique and enduring among destinations in California. Once restrictions are lifted, our region will be particularly well positioned to attract drive-market visitors, such as L.A. residents, who initially will be interested in getaways closer to home.

For now, it is critical for local residents to support our area businesses in whatever ways they can afford. If you need time away from working at home, consider booking a day rate at a local hotel. Support our many restaurants offering dine-out options and retailers with online portals. Buy gift certificates for hotels and businesses for future staycations and excursions for friends and relatives. And when it is safe to so, and our businesses reopen, I hope local residents will be tourists in their own backyard and provide a warm Santa Barbara welcome to visitors who do return. Our local economy depends on it. Cannabis and Toilet Paper in the Coronavirus Era

Thanks to the fact that California has deemed cannabis to be an essential part of the state’s economy, Santa Barbara County’s cannabis industry is one of the few major employers that isn’t either completely shut down or drastically downscaled during the COVID-19 pandemic. CARP Growers, which represents legally licensed Carpinteria cannabis farms such as Autumn Brands and Glass House Farms, has mandated that all members post special coronavirus safety instructions for employees in both English and Spanish.

“CARP Growers member farms set up emergency subcommittees very early and swiftly to address best practices and protocols for employee safety,” says spokesperson Peter Dugre. “These include on-site social distancing of six feet, masks, gloves, and temperature checks at entry, enhanced sick and family leave pay and staggered lunch scheduling to prevent grouping.” That said, even before the outbreak, hourly employees who handle, weigh, and trim the cannabis harvest, many of them working-class Latina immigrant workers, were already wearing surgical gowns, rubber gloves and facemasks, and those standard safety measures remain in place.

The group has also raised tens of thousands of dollars for its 93103Fund, which seeks tax-deductible contributions to help support local nonprofits feeding and sheltering vulnerable residents during the crisis. In just one week, thanks to a $20,000 donation from CARP Growers and other local donors, the fund has already swelled to $65,000. Meanwhile, Dugre adds, farms who are members of the association have contracted with local restaurants in a program called “Keep the Lights On” to provide free individually wrapped lunches to up to 1000 employees two days per week, something that goes a long way to support the county’s hard-hit dining industry.

The president of CARP Growers, Graham Farrar, is also the owner of Santa Barbara’s The Farmacy, a dispensary that is now offering online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery service, including to Montecito. Farrar believes that history is in the making right now, because this is the first major statewide health emergency where legal cannabis has been available to adults 21 and older. “Some people look sideways at the fact that cannabis has been declared essential,” Farrar argues. “But the fact is that California has a twenty-plus year history of treating cannabis as medicine. And now, what people want are toilet paper and cannabis, or so it appears. People are using cannabis as medicine now more than ever.”

As with the rest of the CARP Growers members, The Farmacy is participating in the “Keep the Lights On” program, providing free lunches to employees from nearby restaurants like Mesa Burger, as well as issuing checks to local nonprofits like Freedom Warming Centers, which provides shelter to the homeless when temperatures dip to freezing levels.

Farrar points out that there is well-documented research showing that cannabis can help fight anxiety and insomnia, two health problems that many people are suddenly experiencing now that they’ve lost their jobs and are stuck at home with no place to go. “We saw a big spike in consumption when people had fears that the supply would get cut off,” he explains. “Then we saw a small dip as people settled into the groove. Now, consumption is about 10% above baseline.”

To meet the extra demand, including from senior citizens who live in Montecito, The Farmacy tripled the size of its delivery fleet. For in-store pickups, the dispensary first allowed just 10 customers inside at a time, then only one customer per budtender, and finally moved to a system of express pickup – customers must order ahead of time – and delivery.

“We have an EPA-registered biocide that we clean the facility with multiple times a day and at night so we know we are operating in a sterile environment,” adds Farrar. “Every employee has their temperature checked and are screened before entering. For our staff, it relieves their stress, but they are also in a space where they recognize that the community is really grateful and thanking them for providing an important service,” says Farrar. “It’s working really well.” •MJ Graham Farrar (far right) donating a check to a local homeless program A “Keep the Lights On” food delivery