Santa Cruz County Education Digest

The state is directly investing money for low-income students and all newborns to attend college. After two years, the program is still not widely known by the students who need the most financial assistance.

After University of California students were arrested or suspended for protests, student workers are striking at three campuses. The Office of President says the strike violates the union contract.

Two major forces are at play: Gov. Gavin Newsom scaled back his promise of increased financial support for Cal State, while university officials agreed to 5% salary increases earlier this year.

A plan is underway and funding sought to convert an unused 1.1 acre sports field at Del Mar Elementary School into a productive on-site farm.

In a decision released on May 23, a state labor board denied a request for an injunction against striking academic workers filed by the University of California.

UC Santa Cruz is developing housing for upper division undergraduate students and staff in the Delaware Addition on the Santa Cruz Westside.

A short shelter in place was declared at Aptos High School on May 21 after sightings of a mountain lion on campus were reported to staff.

UCSC researchers, with teams from the University of Texas and Monterey Bay, studied local sea otter use of tools such as rocks and other items.

On May 20, UCSC academic workers and students walked out of classes in protest of the UC system administration handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

The job action starting today at UC Santa Cruz isn’t about pay, but instead is in response to how UC deployed police to clear pro-Palestinian encampments on campuses.

Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the community school initiative with $4.1 billion in grants to connect students and their families to medical care, counseling and other services.

In the May 14 City Council meeting, the economic development department shared updated renderings of the library/housing/parking project at Cedar and Lincoln Streets, with construction to begin in early 2025.

In its May 13 meeting, the Santa Cruz City Council voted 6-1 to approve a controversial medical marijuana dispensary on Mission and Laurel Streets.

An introduction to new Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Heather Contreras.

The Scotts Valley Unified School District is looking into a bond measure on the November ballot to fund upgrades and improvements to classrooms and facilities.

Hundreds of UCSC students and faculty participated in a peaceful march to the Quarry where several dozen protestors set up tents.

Nine counties located more than an hour away from universities with teacher preparation programs face particular difficulties.

Santa Cruz City Schools is exploring the development and building below-market rate housing for teachers and other staff priced out of the county rental market.

Member Pal Garcia resigned from the Live Oak School District governing board.

Heiress Paris Hilton is on a mission to shine a light on the "troubled teen industry," a largely unregulated multibillion-dollar industry that is gaining public scrutiny for alleged abuse of vulnerable youths.

An update of meetings held between UCSC staff and Camper Park residents.

The move puts the fate of AB 2222 in question, but supporters insist that there is room to negotiate changes that can help tackle the state's literacy crisis.

A dinner and silent auction fundraiser for the Pajaro Valley Education Foundation is set to take place on Aril 18 at Jalisco's, 618 Main Street in Watsonville.

After bringing his story all the way to the University of California Board of Regents, a disabled UC Berkeley student has prompted the UC to ensure emergency evacuation chairs are in every multi-storied building in the 10-university system.

Former Santa Cruz city council member and county supervisor Ryan Coonerty has been named as the new Executive Directory, taking over from Interim Executive Director Dave Vincent.

An interview with Lucinda Lee Katz, the first grade teacher of the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Lau vs. Nichols.

California’s public schools depend on state aid for the lion’s share of their operational income. Two trends – declining enrollment and high absenteeism – are creating financial headaches.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources advisors has published a new website with information resources for small acreage landowners raising livestock.

California schools got $23.4 billion in federal pandemic relief money. Low-income schools that got the most may be hardest hit when the funds expire this year.

The board unanimously approved preliminary layoff notices at a special meeting Tuesday for the equivalent of 53 staff, or about 24% of full-time employees in the district.

EdSource asked students at California colleges and universities why they are choosing between online or in-person options.

Joel R. Primack, distinguished professor of physics emeritus at UC Santa Cruz, was recently announced as the 2024 recipient of the AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize, awarded to those who demonstrate significant contributions to science through their research, policy work or public service.
“As a young scientist, I was often advised that spending time on social and political issues would be career suicide, and that I should focus solely on research,” said Primack on receiving the reward. “But I take seriously the social responsibility of scientists, and I deeply appreciate being recognized both for my scientific contributions and for my efforts to broaden the opportunities for scientists and scientific societies to help solve the challenges facing our world.”
Growing up in Montana, Primack became fascinated with science from an early age. His concern for its social implications grew during the arms race, where he was instructed to hide under his desk at school as drill practice for nuclear bomb threats.
He would go on to study physics at Princeton University, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1966. Primack’s speech caught the attention of Oppenheimer — the theoretical physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb who was retiring as the head of Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study — who was impressed by his humanizing appeal of science.
“I wouldn’t have made such a speech unless I had had a lot of preparation,” said Oppenheimer in the June 15, 1966, issue of the New York Times.
Pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University, Primack was further inspired to seek science policy by his graduate adviser Sidney Drell, a critical scientific consultant of the U.S. government on nuclear weapons. He then started a series of workshops to educate students on political and social issues with physics professor Frank von Hippel, another rising leader in science policy.
These workshops led to the creation of a congressional fellowship program in 1973, which would eventually become the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows Program. The fellowship supports an increasing number of scientists and engineers in getting first-hand experience in policymaking with the federal government. Primack has established that with good ideas and strong conviction, even young graduate students can have a big impact, said von Hippel.
Primack continued his work in science policy as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University in 1970, when he founded the Union of Concerned Scientists and proposed the American Physical Society’s program of studies on public policy issues. He would also later create the APS Forum on Physics and Society, AAAS Program on Science and Human Rights, and the National Science Foundation’s Science for Citizens program that would be signed into law.
In the 1980s, Primack was a leading force in promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons. He served as a U.S. delegate to several Pugwash Conferences and even flew to Moscow to stop the Soviet Union from launching nuclear reactors into orbit. He believed that because many worldly issues are fairly technical, scientists and engineers have a social responsibility to provide practical solutions given their background.
Following his time at Harvard, Primack chose to start a faculty position at UC Santa Cruz in 1973 for its growing astrophysics prowess. He applied his knowledge as a major contributor to the Standard Model in Particle Physics to fundamental questions about the universe. Together with former UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal and professor emerita Sandra Faber, Primack’s research pioneered modern theories of cosmology.
Today, Primack continues to mentor young physicists and encourages them to shape the evolving state of our world using their expertise. Many of his students now occupy leadership positions, showcasing his meaningful impact on future generations.
“He’s been a really great exemplar of what a scientist should be,” said Faber. “An expert in their own field, [making] important contributions to society at large and in their own lives, and exhibiting honesty, integrity and authenticity.”