In his last summer, in a burst of impossible energy, Santa Cruz writerJory Post wrote an essay every day. Post passed away in January from pancreatic cancer, and now several of his fellow writers have compiled his last pieces into a new volume of brief, tough, elegiac bursts. Titled Daily Fresh, this compilation of short pieces—fictional riffs, dreams, memories, eccentricities—pulses with the green flash at the author’s sunset. Sex, enemies, regrets, joys—nothing is off limits. Post gives us meditations on the word “verve,” the merits of the Gregorian calendar, a beloved editor he scolds as “Ms. Bossy Pants.” It is irresistible stuff, crisply observed.
With a Zoom launch for the book coming up on Friday, Nov. 12, I asked its editors to reflect on bringing Daily Fresh to life.
Kathryn Chetkovich: “I heard the pieces that make up Daily Fresh as they were being written—hearing the week’s catch was one of the agenda items of our regular Sunday morning visits—and I always looked forward to seeing how the various incidents and preoccupations of the week would get spun into the fabric of a fresh but finished essay. How Jory could begin with a single word, a memory, a “lightbulb” note in his journal, or an event in the world, and literally make something of it.
“In ‘A Shift in Focus,’ this double focus is explicit. The piece takes off from the ‘cold steel shaft piercing your brain behind the left eye,’ and it uses that intensely felt pain as ‘an entry into creativity.’ Taking that very process as its focus, the essay describes how it’s done—how it’s possible (sometimes) to ‘use the invasion as a starting point . . . have it connect to your brain and begin spewing words and thoughts from your fingers until sentences form.’ Soon we’re looking at the jay at the feeder and wondering about its navigational skills, and from there it’s on to the upcoming presidential election and a quick google search of the distance to Loma Prieta, which in turns leads to a childhood memory. The piece goes ‘sideways’ in ways that are classic Jory. And all the while, there’s his own awareness of just what he’s doing, using writing as a practice to both distract and focus his own mind. ‘Yes, this is really your only option today and every other day you have left,’ he writes. ‘So continue.’”
Paul Skenazy: “Editing Daily Fresh offered surprise after surprise. I knew a few of the essays from emails Jory wrote me in the summer of 2020 when he was at work on these pieces. Each one offered Jory the chance to wonder what he was wondering about, and to see where that wonder took him. Each essay looks at a different subject, often in startling ways. But there are continuities as well. Jory was dying; the chemo treatments were wearing him down; he had lost weight; he was in constant pain. The pandemic continued, isolating him from friends and family. His mother’s health was failing. The CZU fires raged; suddenly he and his wife Karen welcomed the newly homeless—four adults, two children, and three pets—into their home. These events commanded Jory’s attention, but don’t obstruct his view of the day, fresh if not always festive, before him. While primarily housebound, his mind and imagination traveled: to a childhood baseball game he loved to play, to learning to swim, to fried egg sandwiches, golf, his life as a teacher, friends named and anonymous. These characters, memories, and encounters offered the jumping off points for one leap of faith after another—each a daily effort to find, create, and maintain a curiosity about, as he titles one essay, ‘What’s Next?’”
Elizabeth McKenzie: “These essays represent so many facets of Jory’s incredible mind. But I’ll pick one. In ‘December 7, 1932—Santa Catalina,’ Jory admits to a fascination with small town papers and a website where they are archived. He lands on a date near to that of his mother’s birth, and soon we’re immersed in everything to do with Santa Catalina island the week of December 7, 1932. With Jory as our guide, we learn that the Cubs were holding their winter training there, that game fishers could have their catches taxidermied with ease, that the Hotel St. Catherine hosted a weekly ‘Avalon Night’ featuring a .65 cent buffet, that a collection of stories by Washington Irving was added to the high school library, that after a week’s stay the Barrymore’s left on their yacht, and that a Mrs. Orr was knocked down and seriously bruised by a large dog.
“In every one of these essays in Daily Fresh, Jory demonstrates his delight in unearthing the esoteric; he finds meaning in things others might overlook. And he communicates that delight and makes it contagious. Ordinary things become singular under his gaze. Jory read some of these essays to me on the very days they were written. I was amazed, as always, by his first draft skills, and emotionally in awe of his spirit. And it’s a privilege to be helping to bring out such meaningful literary work.”
There will be a launch party for ‘Daily Fresh’ (Paper Angel Press) on Zoom Forward on Friday, Nov. 12 from 5 to 6 pm.To register, go to santacruzwrites.org/events.
Since opening their current tour in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, Wavves has performed their brand of raucous pop-punk with sprinkles of rockabilly surf rock just about every night since; they’re scheduled to keep going at that clip until Thanksgiving. It’s hard to imagine that the last time the group performed live together was New Year’s Eve of 2019.
“I wasn’t going crazy about not playing shows, but I was definitely out of my element,” Wavves bassist Stephen Pope says before their Boise, Idaho show. “[Performing] is the only thing I’ve done for the last 15 years—it’s the only thing I’ve done as an adult is tour for a minimum of six months out of the year.”
Like most of the indie music world—those acclaimed and well-known acts who don’t need day jobs if they’re touring regularly—Pope had to get a “day job” as an Amazon delivery driver. Even Wavves’ volatile pop-punk poet, frontman Nathan Williams, had to move in with his folks in San Diego.
“I felt out of my element a lot of the time,” Pope says. “I don’t thrive on routine. I was thankful I was able to land a job during that time, but at the same time, it was driving me crazy.”
As demanding as it is to be on tour, Pope wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m wearing myself out, driving all day, playing in a different city every night and getting very little sleep,” he says. “People think touring in a band is like a holiday, but it is grueling work, and you’re always hungover. You have to be a psychopath to be in a band this long, but I feel like I’m back in my element.”
Wavves broke big with 2010’s King of the Beach, the outfit’s third record. It made several lists, including Pitchfork’s “Top 50 Albums of 2010.” The unpolished, hook-laden, garage rock nuggets in the vein of Dookie-era Green Day explode with more of an I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude. King of the Beach celebrated its 10th anniversary during the pandemic, and Pope says they’ll soon get around to doing something special in its honor.
Currently, Wavves is touring behind 2021’s Hideaway, their first LP since 2017 and their first record produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. After a stint with Warner Brothers, Hideaway also marks their return to Fat Possum, the label behind King of the Beach. Sitek initially connected with Williams through Instagram in 2019, inviting Wavves to record at his L.A. studio sometime.
“It’s humbling when someone like Sitek, who’s produced some of our favorite bands, like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, just comes to you and wants to work together,” Pope says. “[Sitek] became like a fifth member of Wavves. He helped write and played on songs; he wasn’t just a recording engineer; he would tell us if something sucks or tell us if something was really good or how to make something really good.”
Hideaway isn’t a significant departure from Wavves’ previous work; it’s more a return to form, a reminder of why we initially fell in love with the band. Per Sitek, the guys mainly used vintage equipment like a ’62 Fender Strat, which seems to summon doo-wop elements, early Dick Dale and even a dash of Hank Williams twang.
The record is drenched in Williams’ ever-present inner struggle and demons; the songs brim with juxtaposition, only adding depth. “Thru Hell” is a quick, upbeat jaunt with a scuzzy hook reminiscent of the Ramones. Williams’ lyrics are anything but cheery: “Like a terror taking over the Earth, like an atom bomb / Like the beauty of a mother at birth, like an animal.”
Wavves with Harmless play Sunday, Nov. 14, at Felton Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9, Felton. 8pm; $22 advance/$24 doors. Proof of vaccination or negative test (within 48 hours) required. feltonmusichall.com.
A year before the pandemic, local musician Henry Chadwick flew home from Southern California stressed out, overworked, and head buzzing with lyrics for a new song. What inspired the exhaustion was the musicians trade show NAMM, which he worked as part of Universal Audio. After a week of non-stop conversations, he felt the need to shut off completely. That is, except for the lyrics swirling in his mind that described his feeling coming off of this tiring trip.
“It’s a blast, but it was also overstimulation,” Chadwick says. “At the end of the week of a lot of conversations, you are left feeling like a little bit of a fool.”
The lyrics he wrote that day became “Bloodshot,” the opening track off of his new album, We All Start Again. “Bloodshot” is a melancholy folk-rock song that almost feels like a commentary on an ancient time, millions of years ago, when we all had busy lives, and no one imagined the world shutting down.
But back in 2019, Chadwick wasn’t just worn out from NAMM. For quite a while he’d been juggling a busy schedule that involved work, making music, touring, and no time for much else. When everything shut down in 2020, part of him felt relief that he could take a break. “Bloodshot” manages to capture the business of his pre-pandemic life, and the internal sadness it gave him.
“In 2019, and leading into the beginning of 2020, I was spread thin, and mentally exhausted,” Chadwick says. “It was a weird silver lining in the whole thing to get a chance to rest because all you were supposed to do was hunker down. The circumstances that created that were obviously not good.”
We All Start Again comes about a year after he intended its release. And it probably would have been an EP. At the end of 2019 he flew to Brooklyn to record six tracks at the now-defunct Refuge Recording Studio, an in-house recording studio owned by his record label Swoon City Records. Amid the pandemic, however, with there no longer being a rush, he and Swoon City decided to push the record back and expand it into an LP.
“The whole timeline just changed,” Chadwick says. “Take advantage of the restraints. Hunker down and work on stuff more. Everything shut down, so there was a lot of free time.”
The record is diverse, with some songs having been written before the pandemic, some written during, and some a blend. The tunes cover a range of emotions, with the pandemic songs tending to be calmer and evoking a greater sense of relief, juxtaposed with the stress and sadness of the pre-pandemic tunes. It’s also softer than his prior recordings.
“Sadness and melancholy, that’s always been in my music. But I have an impulse to sprinkle other things like anger or humor. [Now] it’s a pretty exhaustive world out there,” Chadwick says. “I like the idea of having a consistent sort of thread and sound running through a group of songs. And I wanted to make a pretty-sounding album that didn’t necessarily have to rock as hard. Next time I’ll make a full-on punk album. I don’t know.”
The album was finished for a while, but Chadwick didn’t want to release it until he could book a tour to promote it. His tour began on Nov. 5, including Mariposa, Sacramento, Chico, Blue Lake, and other towns. His final show on the run is right here in Santa Cruz.
“We’ll be getting warmed up for everybody,” Chadwick says. “Booking a tour was interesting because we had to book really far in advance and it’s trickier because restrictions were tight, and the numbers were sketchy. By the time we locked in the whole tour, it was like, it’s very fun. There’s a lot of towns we’ve never been to.”
Henry Chadwick performs at 9pm on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Avenue,Santa Cruz. $12/$15. 831-429-6994.
The Western Monarch Count has reported the return of over 26,000 Monarchs to the Central Coast, over 10 times the annual count of 2020 of 1,914, an all-time low. 20,000 Monarchs have been counted in Pismo Beach, 250 in Lighthouse Field, 300 in Natural Bridges. Pacific Grove, a private site in Monterey and a site in Ventura each have 1,000-3,000 so far, with reports from other sites coming in.
It has been reported that high winds have blown the Monarchs off their migratory path inland and south, resulting in the high concentration in the Pismo area.
There still is more time for arrivals before the annual Thanksgiving Count.
This is a joyous and very hopeful sign for humanity and the planet. Welcome Monarchs!
Fiona Fairchild
Santa Cruz
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Up here in the San Lorenzo Valley we keep having power outages and the other day an electrical engineer asked me to quote him on a battery backup system because he couldn’t work through the frequent blackouts. He claimed that PG&E has been retrofitting some new equipment that they rushed out to buy without thoroughly testing first. Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiter technology is designed to help mitigate risk by rapidly reducing electricity in a wires-down situation, reducing the potential for safety and electrical fire ignition events. Sounds good on paper, but it appears to drop out accidently and right now my neighborhood is having its second outage in 24 hours, first last night and now all day. I mention this because there’s a good chance this problem will increase knowing what a clown show PG&E runs. I’d encourage folks to reach out to their elected officials and the PUC and voice concerns because between PG&E and the equipment provider, someone has goofed and we deserve reliable power.
Carl Reuter
Land and Sea Solar, Santa Cruz
This letter does not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to le*****@*******es.sc.
Jacob Pierce’s front-page article “Street Fight” (GT, 11/3) gives pedestrians and cyclists downtown a boost, acknowledging the benefits a walkable and bikeable downtown will bring to everyone.
I wish that he’d be less biased about the hugely popular initiative, Our Downtown, Our Future. He even refuses to write the correct, full name of the initiative in the article.
Not journalism, Jacob, Steve and editors. The city-sponsored (Mathews’ gang) proposed mixed-use project added “an olive branch” to an atrocious parking garage and bait-and-switch Measure S library deception by adding affordable housing to the project. Good start; I’m glad power listened.
Now the voters will seal the deal with Our Downtown, Our Future. More housing, better Farmers Market, renovated historic library at Civic Center, cancelled unnecessary parking garage. Time to get the name of the initiative correct, Mr. Pierce.
Robert Morgan
Live Oak
[The article referred to the group as “Our Downtown,” a common shorthand of the name, but should have employed the full name on first reference. This error has been corrected in the online version. — Editor]
This letter does not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to le*****@*******es.sc.
Parents of young children around the county have been on edge for months waiting for a Covid-19 vaccine to be approved for ages 5-11 by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. First it was promised by the beginning of the school year, which would have eased fears considerably about the return of in-person K-12 schooling this Fall. But the date was pushed back, even as the Delta variant swept through the U.S. this summer. When Covid rates began to drop significantly in California in September and October, we still faced the unease of knowing that a huge percentage of school-age children were unprotected.
On Tuesday, Nov. 2, the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine was finally approved for kids 5 to 11. But as Guananí Gómez-Van Cortright reports in her cover story this week, Santa Cruz County schools are still in crisis mode, and there is plenty left to fix. Her story provides a sometimes unsettling window into the incredible challenges facing everyone involved in the system right now. For parents, there are even some things you haven’t thought to worry about yet. But my hope is that a fuller picture of the situation amid “the hardest school year ever” can bring understanding, empathy and solutions.
My grandfather was his personal gardener for years. Ralph Ray lived in Felton, a few minutes drive from Scotts Valley. Supposedly there is a photo of Mr. Hitchcock holding me when I was a baby. I’m still looking for that pic.
— Michael Ray
What an interesting story and I loved Hitchcock movies and the TV show growing up. I was just in Scotts Valley; I could see why Hitchcock lived there, because it is very secluded compared to Santa Cruz. The man walking into his shadow.
— Don Collier
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GOOD IDEA
PINS AND NEED
We were brainstorming cold-weather activities—yes, it will be in the 70s again Friday, but let us have this Fall moment—when we came across the Boardwalk Bowl’s food drive, Strike Out Hunger. Bring a can of food, bowl for free. It’s probably been a while since you’ve been to a bowling alley, but it’s the season of giving, so bring a can of food and catch us rolling with the bumpers up for the greater good.
GOOD WORK
POKING AROUND
More parents can see the light at the end of this nearly two-year-long tunnel, as schools around Santa Cruz County will be hosting vaccine clinics for kids in the coming weeks, following the FDA’s green light for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be distributed to ages 5 to 11. Find out how to schedule a vaccine appointment for your child at: santacruzcoe.org/vaccines.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“When are we going to stop putting up with the idiots in this country and just say it’s mandatory to get vaccinated? As I remember, when I went to school, you had to get a measles vaccine. You had to get a mumps vaccine.”
A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL! Christian Youth Theater (CYT) Santa Cruz is back with a captivating live performance of “A Christmas Story, The Musical.” Based on the hilarious and heartwarming movie classic that delights audiences around the world every Christmas season, this high-energy musical follows the charming, determined nine-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest for the holy grail of Christmas gifts: an Official Red Ryder Carbine-action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle. With dynamic music by Pasek and Paul (writers of “The Greatest Showman,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and more) and a riveting story by Joseph Robinette, this show is truly a magical treat for the whole family. CYT’s spectacular production includes every iconic scene, from the flagpole, to the leg lamp, to the pink bunny suit—this musical has it all! Kick off your glorious holiday season with CYT Santa Cruz at “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” coming to the new Performing Arts Chapel at Monte Vista Christian School November 12-14. Details and tickets available now at cytsantacruz.org. Friday, Nov. 12, 7pm. Monte Vista Performing Arts, 2 School Way, Watsonville.
CHARLEY’S AUNT Brandon Thomas’ side-splitting farce, Charley’s Aunt is playing now at Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theatre’s Blackbox Stage. Ela Delahy (played by Nichole Langmead) shares secrets with Lord Fancourt Babberley (Nathan Woodward) while Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez (Shannon Marie McDonough) eavesdrops. Performances begin on November 5th and run weekends thru November 21st. More info and tickets available thru www.cabrillovapa.com or call 831-479-6154. Rumor has it: they will sell out fast!
CELTIC TEEN BAND PROGRAM Teenage musicians ages 12-19 play in an ensemble, developing musicianship, flexibility, and musical creativity. Participants work on music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Norway, Sweden, and the United States, in addition to modern and more quirky pieces. Instruments welcomed include fiddle, viola, flute, tin whistle, pipes, cello, upright bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, autoharp, ukulele, Celtic harp, accordion and percussion. Students must have at least two years experience on their instrument, and must be able to read sheet music and chord symbols. The group meets twice a month Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-5pm at the London Nelson Center with fiddle teacher John Weed. Cost is free-$10 per session on a sliding scale. Potential students are welcome to come for a session and see if they like it—no obligation! More information and registration at CommunityMusicSchool.org/teenband. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 3:30pm. Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz.
HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE Holiday Open House at Stewart’s Floral. Celebrate the beginning of a joyous holiday season. Decorated Christmas trees, holiday gifts and home decor items. Featuring Mark Roberts Fairies. There will be refreshments, too. Call for more information: 831-479-0999. Saturday, Nov. 13, 10am-5pm. Sunday, Nov. 14, 10am-5pm. Stewart’s Floral, 1658 Soquel Drive #A, Santa Cruz.
LA SELVA BEACH BRANCH LIBRARY OPENING CELEBRATION AND HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR The La Selva Beach Branch Library will host activities for adults and kids indoors and on the patio. Teenage magician James Chan will walk among the crowd performing magic and card tricks from noon-1pm and 1:30-2:30pm. The Craft Fair will feature 26 vendors of fine arts and crafts. The Friends of the LSB Library will host a book sale inside the Clubhouse. LSB Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will host a bake sale and prize raffle to help fund community emergency response needs. Come and enjoy live music in the courtyard and great eats from local food trucks. Saturday, Nov. 13, 10am-4pm. La Selva Beach Branch Library, 316 Estrella Ave., La Selva Beach.
MOUNTAINFILM ON TOUR SANTA CRUZ Mountainfilm on Tour brings a selection of culturally rich, adventure-packed and incredibly inspiring documentary films curated from the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado. The tour will soon visit Santa Cruz with films that explore themes connected to Mountainfilm’s mission of using the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world. The Rio Theatre has been organizing Mountainfilm on Tour for several years and has been working with local schools to host Mountainfilm in Education to area students. Mountainfilm is a documentary film festival that showcases stories about environmental, cultural, climbing, political and social justice issues. Mountainfilm is held every Memorial Day weekend in Telluride, Colorado. Along with exceptional documentaries, the festival goes beyond the film medium by bringing together world-class athletes, change makers and visionary artists for a multi-dimensional celebration of indomitable spirit. We will be serving Sierra Nevada Sufferfest beer with a portion of proceeds benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank. Please check the Rio Theatre Covid-19 protocols before purchasing tickets; riotheatre.com. Saturday, Nov. 13, 7pm. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz.
OUTDOOR FILM SCREENING AT GREATER PURPOSE BREWERY: UNITED AGAINST HATE As part of the national United Against Hate Week movement, SCPL has partnered with Santa Cruz County United for Safe and Inclusive Communities to bring community members together through films, conversations and actionable opportunities to prevent hate violence and to build safe, inclusive environments where everyone can participate in public life. Join us at Greater Purpose Brewery for a free outdoor screening and engaging discussion of Not in Our Town short films. This curated list of films feature how dedicated people and community groups stood, spoke and acted against hate when hate crimes were committed in their towns. A facilitated discussion will follow each film to explore what, where, why and how Santa Cruz County communities can unite against hate. Special thanks to Greater Purpose Brewery for hosting this event in their outdoor beer garden and making provisions for us to move inside in case of inclement weather. Food and beer will be available for purchase. Proof of vaccination or a mask is required for entry into the taproom. Cheers! Sunday, Nov. 14, 6pm. East Cliff Brewing Co., 21517 E Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.
COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY PILATES MAT CLASS Come build strength with us. This very popular in-person community Pilates Mat Class in the big auditorium at Temple Beth El in Aptos is in session once again. Please bring your own mat, small Pilates ball and theraband if you have one. You must be vaccinated for this indoor class. Suggested donation of $10/class is welcome. Thursday, Nov. 11, 10am. Tuesday, Nov. 16, 10am. Temple Beth El, 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos.
CUÉNTAME UN CUENTO Acompáñanos para una hora de cuentos, actividades y canciones en español. Este programa es para niños de 0-8 y sus familias. La hora será miércoles a las 4:30pm. Nos reuniremos en el porche exterior. Cuéntame un Cuento se llevará a cabo en Capitola durante el período de construcción de Live Oak. En caso de mal clima, se cancelará la hora de cuentos. Join us for Spanish Storytime, activities, and music! This program is best suited for kids ages 0-8 and their families. Storytime takes place on Wednesday at 4:30pm. We will meet on the outside porch. Storytime will take place at Capitola during Live Oak’s construction period. In the event of bad weather, storytime will be cancelled. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 4:30pm. Capitola Library A Santa Cruz City County Public Library Branch, 2005 Wharf Road, Capitola.
DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ ANTIQUE FAIRE The Santa Cruz Antique Faire is on the second Sunday of every month. Vendors offer an eclectic blend of antiques and unique items, vintage clothing, collectibles, LP’s, clothing, furniture, memorabilia, home decor and more! Sunday, Nov. 14, 9am-5pm. Downtown Santa Cruz Antique Faire, Lincoln St. between Pacific and Cedar Sts, Santa Cruz.
FELTON TODDLER TIME Join Librarian Julie on our beautiful Felton patio for Toddler Time. Toddler Time is a weekly early literacy program for families with children ages 0-3 years old. Music, movement, stories, fingerplays, rhymes, and songs are a fun way for your child to learn. Let’s play and learn together! Make sure to bring something to sit on. We ask that adults please wear a mask. Repeats weekly. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 11am. Felton Branch Library, 6121 Gushee St., Felton.
GREY BEARS BROWN BAG LINE Grey Bears are looking for help with their brown bag production line on Thursday and Friday mornings. Volunteers will receive breakfast and a bag of food if wanted. Be at the warehouse with a mask and gloves at 7am. Call ahead for more information: 831-479-1055, greybears.org. Thursday, Nov. 11, 7am. California Grey Bears, 2710 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.
KNITTING AT THE FELTON LIBRARY Join us every Monday afternoon at the Felton Branch for a knitting party. All you need to do is bring some yarn and knitting needles. All ages are welcome. Monday, Nov. 15, 12:30pm. Felton Branch Library, 6121 Gushee St., Felton.
LA SELVA BEACH PRESCHOOL STORYTIME Join us for a fun interactive storytime. We’ll read books, sing songs and use rhythm and movement. This event is suitable for children ages 3-6 years. There will be an arts and crafts project to take home. This event will be held outside on the back patio. Please bring something to sit on and dress for the weather. Masks will be required. Repeats weekly. Tuesday, Nov. 16, 11am. La Selva Beach Branch Library, 316 Estrella Ave., La Selva Beach.
PRESCHOOL STORYTIME IN THE SECRET GARDEN Join us in the Secret Garden in Abbott Square at the MAH for storytime! We’ll share stories, songs and rhymes in a safe environment! This 30-40 minute program is intended for children aged 2-6. Do it yourself craft kits will be provided every week. Every other week we will feature STEM-related stories and concepts. Tuesday, Nov. 16, 11am. Abbott Square, 118 Cooper St., Santa Cruz.
R.E.A.D.: REACH EVERY AMAZING DETAIL R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for readers second-12th grade. Instructors are California credentialed teachers. Sessions are 25 minutes long. By appointment only. Contact SCPL Telephone Information if you have any questions: 831-427-7713. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 3pm. Capitola Library A Santa Cruz City County Public Library Branch, 2005 Wharf Road, Capitola.
R.E.A.D.: REACH EVERY AMAZING DETAIL @ DOWNTOWN R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for readers second-12th grade. Instructors are California credentialed teachers. Sessions are 25 minutes long. By appointment only. Contact SCPL Telephone Information if you have any questions: 831-427-7713. Thursday, Nov. 11, 3pm. Santa Cruz Public Libraries Downtown Branch, 240 Church St., Santa Cruz.
R.E.A.D.: REACH EVERY AMAZING DETAIL @ LA SELVA BEACH R.E.A.D. is one-on-one reading comprehension instruction for readers second-12th grade. Instructors are California credentialed teachers. Sessions are 25 minutes long. By appointment only. Contact SCPL Telephone Information if you have any questions: 831-427-7713. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 3pm. La Selva Beach Branch Library, 316 Estrella Ave., La Selva Beach.
GROUPS
ENTRE NOSOTRAS GRUPO DE APOYO Entre Nosotras support group for Spanish speaking women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets twice monthly. Registration required, please call Entre Nosotras 831-761-3973. Friday, Nov. 12, 6pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.
S+LAA MENS’ MEETING Having trouble with compulsive sexual or emotional behavior? Recovery is possible. Our small 12-step group meets Saturday evenings. Enter through the front entrance, go straight down the hallway to the last door on the right. Thursday, Nov. 11, 6pm. Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, 2900 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz.
WOMENCARE ARM-IN-ARM WomenCARE Arm-in-Arm Cancer support group for women with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic cancer. Meets every Monday, currently on Zoom. Registration is required, call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. All services are free. For more information visit womencaresantacruz.org. Monday, Nov. 15, 12:30pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.
WOMENCARE TUESDAY SUPPORT GROUP WomenCARE Tuesday Cancer support group for women newly diagnosed and through their treatment. Meets every Tuesday currently on Zoom. Registration required, call WomenCARE 831-457-2273. Tuesday, Nov. 16, 12:30-2pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.
WOMENCARE: LAUGHTER YOGA Laughter yoga for women with a cancer diagnosis. Meets every Wednesday, currently via Zoom. Registration is required, please call WomenCARE at 831-457-2273. Wednesday, Nov. 10, 3:30-4:30pm. WomenCARE, 2901 Park Ave., Suite A1, Soquel.
OUTDOOR
CASFS FARMSTAND Organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers are sold weekly at the CASFS Farmstand, starting June 15 and continuing through Nov. 23. Proceeds support experiential education programs at the UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems. Friday, Nov. 12, Noon-6pm. Tuesday, Nov. 16, Noon-6pm. Cowell Ranch Historic Hay Barn, Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz.
HISTORIC RANCH GROUND TOUR Discover what life was like a century ago on this innovative dairy ranch. This hour-long tour includes the 1896 water-powered machine shop, barns and other historic buildings. The vehicle day-use fee is $10. For more information, call 831-426-0505. Spaces are limited and early pre-registration is recommended. Attendees are required to self-screen for Covid-19 symptoms when pre-registering. Masks and social distancing are also required at all programs. Saturday, Nov. 13, 1-2pm. Sunday, Nov. 14, 1-2pm. Wilder Ranch State Park, 1401 Coast Road, Santa Cruz.
SUNSET BEACH BOWLS Experience the tranquility, peace and calmness as the ocean waves harmonize with the sound of crystal bowls raising vibration and energy levels. Every Tuesday one hour before sunset at Moran Lake Beach. Call 831-333-6736 for more details. Tuesday, Nov. 16, 6:30-7:30pm. Moran Lake Park & Beach, East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz.
At Watsonville High School, students packed the quad during the first few weeks of school while classrooms sat empty. There were not enough teachers to teach them.
And though Santa Cruz County schools reopened in August—after 19 months of pandemic distance learning—the turmoil is far from over.
“This year is much harder than even last year was,” says Travis Walker, a history teacher at Watsonville High. “We’re trying to carry on like school is normal, but at pretty much every level, we’re failing to make changes to accommodate for the new normal.”
“I’ve never seen teachers as stressed as they are now, never heard as many teachers saying, ‘I need to go on leave, I can’t do this anymore,’” says Casey Carlson, president of the City of Santa Cruz teachers’ union.
Most of the teacher vacancies at Watsonville High School have been covered since September by pulling other staff from their duties. While students are no longer stranded in the quad, 20 credentialed teacher positions remain unfilled.
And staffing shortages aren’t the only problem.As the pandemic drags on, schools must provide a complex set of Covid-19 precautions. Students need to catch up on the social and academic skills they lost during lockdown. The threat of the coronavirus lurks behind every joyful moment of in-person interaction.
Providing a glimmer of hope is the rollout of vaccines for children between the ages of 5 to 11, which began late last week. But it will take much more than that to provide teachers and students with what they need to succeed in the hardest school year ever.
Shot in the Arm
Children under 12 are currently the largest group of unvaccinated people in the U.S. According to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly one-third of infections in kids in the U.S. were diagnosed between August and October 2021—just as many schools across the country were reopening in-person. Even though children are less likely than adults to become seriously ill or die from Covid-19, they can still suffer from being infected, as well as spread the virus to vulnerable people in their families and communities.
County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah is optimistic about the uptake and impact of vaccines for children. In Santa Cruz County, 70% of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 are vaccinated against Covid-19, compared to 53% in California and 32% across the U.S. Sabbah predicts that as younger students are vaccinated, Santa Cruz County will see a downward trend in case numbers.
“We feel that it’s going to help protect them from, or minimize the risks of them, getting Covid, and minimize the risks to the community at large,” says Sabbah.
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education (COE) organized clinics so that parents can vaccinate their children in early November. The clinics are run by Inspire Diagnostics, the same company that has been operating testing services. Vaccines are available at clinics in elementary schools across the county.
Although Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Covid-19 vaccine requirements for students in October, Sabbah worries that some people misunderstood Newsom’s statement.
“I think there was some confusion in the community from parents, that this was something that was going to be required right away,” he says.
Mandating vaccines at the state level requires several steps, including approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Pediatrics Association. At the earliest, mandatory vaccines would come into effect for 7th-12th graders for the 2022-23 school year.
Carlson looks forward to the potential relief of vaccines for young students, but doesn’t think vaccination will have a palpable effect at the school level until it becomes mandatory. Teachers are not allowed to know if their students have been vaccinated due to medical confidentiality rules, and when Carlson walks onto campus, she feels nervous about the potential for virus transmission.
“I think until we have a vaccine mandate, there will be that anxiety,” she says.
Students head home after a day of classes at Mintie White Elementary School in Watsonville. PHOTO: TARMO HANNULA
Need for Support
To reopen safely, Santa Cruz County schools upgraded ventilation systems, set up accessible Covid-19 testing and hired mental health and social-emotional counselors. Schools in Santa Cruz County require masks as per the state mandate, and school nurses report and do contact tracing whenever a student in their school tests positive.
According to the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (COE), over a third of students have opted into weekly testing available through Inquire Diagnostics. The COE created an online dashboard to track cases in county schools and show the results of the testing program, and the numbers have been encouraging.
Covid-19 mitigation strategies are not the only efforts schools are making to support students as they return to class. They are also addressing the toll the pandemic has taken on social skills and mental health.
In South County, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) put together new programs to help ease the transition back to school. Psychologists and counselors developed a restorative start program featuring six lessons about identity, belonging and agency.
“We now have more social-emotional counselors, more mental-health clinicians within the schools than ever before,” says PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez.
As of this year, the district has 17 social emotional counselors (65% more than in 2019), 14 mental health clinicians (180% more than in 2019) and 22 school psychologists (27% more than in 2019). But even with the increase in counselors and programs, the demand for social and emotional support is staggering.
Walker says many of his students tell him they have not been able to secure appointments with counselors, and those that have are not receiving the ongoing support they say they need.
“Social-emotional counselors are overwhelmed by the need and can’t keep up,” says Walker. “I don’t know that I could say the restorative start has been particularly effective.”
Lost Time
Learning in person provides students with opportunities to reconnect with teachers and peers and access the housing, food, health and other support programs and resources that schools offer. But despite all these benefits, the transition back to in-person school is fraught. Teachers must grapple with the learning losses and emotional hardships students have endured during the pandemic every day.
“This year, the emotional needs, health, and safety of our learning communities is overwhelming,” says Nelly Vaquera-Boggs, president of the teachers’ union in the PVUSD.
Teachers must contend with helping anxious students catch up on skills lost during months of lockdown. Some kindergarteners and first-graders are attending school in person for the first time. They need to learn basic skills like raising their hands, taking turns, working in groups and even how to hold a pencil. Students and teachers are expected to catch up on the academic skills missed in the past year, while also covering new material for their current grade level. Walker says his students have told him they are struggling to navigate the complex social hierarchies of high school after more than a year in isolation.
But most of all, teachers are struggling because there simply aren’t enough of them to serve all the students in the county.
The county’s largest district, PVUSD, serves 19,000 students. They began the school year with 40 unfilled teacher positions. The result was situations like the one at Watsonville High School, where students spent teacherless class periods waiting in the quad. The district filled half of the teacher vacancies by hiring substitutes to work long-term, leaving fewer substitutes to cover daily absences across the county. Many substitute teachers are retired, a group that did not come back to teach this year because they are at a higher risk for breakthrough infections and severe illness from Covid-19.
Twenty vacancies remain in PVUSD, and 16 other positions have been filled by a teacher who was taken away from work they were originally hired for to cover the position. When a teacher is absent due to quarantine or any other reason, the district pulls other teachers away from precious prep time to cover those classes. When administrators and teachers doing district level work are pulled away from their original positions, it leaves all teachers with less support to do their jobs. This puts a great deal of pressure on teachers already struggling with the slew of extra responsibilities this year. Teachers at schools with the most vacancies, such as Pajaro Middle School and Watsonville High School, feel the strain every day.
“We just don’t have the people to effectively run a school right now,” says Walker. “[It’s] absolute chaos. Nothing works the way it should.”
According to Walker, quarantine and other Covid-19 related absences are especially hard for teachers, since the district did not renew Covid leave. This leaves teachers with a total of 10 paid personal or sick days per school year.
County superintendent Sabbah launched an effort to recruit new substitutes by lowering job requirements and publishing a call to community members in local media.
“We’ve been able to fill some of those substitute spots,” says Sabbah. “But there’s a need to really look at this long term and figure out how we are going to bring more teachers into the profession.”
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System released a statement reporting a 26% increase in teacher retirements in the second half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.In their retirement survey, 62% of members responded that they retired earlier than planned, with the top three reasons being challenges of teaching in the pandemic, not wanting to work remotely and not wanting to risk exposure to the coronavirus. In Santa Cruz County, there is currently an 8% teacher retirement rate, with only 3% to 4% new teachers coming in.
The lack of teachers and substitutes is not unique to Santa Cruz County, or even California—it’s a national crisis. The 2020-2021 school year left even the most dedicated teachers exhausted and reeling, and drove a surge of teachers to burnout, early retirement, and switching careers. But the teacher shortage is not a new problem solely caused by the pandemic: the number of new teachers joining the profession has been dwindling for years.
Teacher certifications dropped by more than a fourth between 2008 and 2016, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2019 report “The Perfect Storm in the Teacher Labor Market.” The pandemic worsened deep-rooted issues of low pay and deteriorating work conditions that were already driving teachers to quit and discouraging potential teachers from ever entering the profession. This has left classrooms empty and districts struggling to fill vacant positions. According to the Washington Post, school districts in South Dakota and Texas reported starting the school year with teacher position vacancies in the hundreds.
According to Walker, what Santa Cruz County teachers need first and foremost is to have all teacher positions filled. Then, they can use their prep time for everything they are responsible for beyond class: planning lessons, grading assignments, giving feedback, setting up classrooms and so on.
“It became clear more than ever before that the amount of work teachers do doesn’t fit into a school day,” says Carlson. “They work so far above and beyond what a school day is, and they need to be compensated for that.”
According to Walker, living in Santa Cruz County on a teacher’s salary is nearly impossible. He spends 60% of his income on rent and relies on support from his parents to cover basic living expenses despite having a master’s degree, working 50 to 60 hours per week and having taught in the district for four years.
The City of Santa Cruz teachers’ union successfully negotiated for a 2% wage increase for this school year, but Carlson points out that it is still not enough to keep up with 5% inflation.
Vaquera-Boggs had a second job for her first five years working in the district, and she and Walker both know teachers who work other jobs to make ends meet. Walker said he’s frustrated that the district is presenting the teacher shortage as a new issue created by the pandemic, when Watsonville High School has struggled to recruit and retain qualified staff since before he began working there.
“I plan on leaving next year because I just can’t do it anymore,” Walker says. “This district does not pay enough to live here.”
Time to Vent
As schools scramble to fill vacancies and staff struggle to support students and enforce pandemic precautions, reopening has also been nerve-wracking for parents.
“I’m pretty concerned about the schools’ approach to pandemic safety,” says Graham Freeman, whose sons attend Bay View Elementary and Mission Hill Middle School in Santa Cruz. “Literally three days and both my kids got Covid symptoms.”
Freeman took his sons to get their shots the day after vaccines for children were approved last week. But he still worries that Santa Cruz schools are not doing enough to keep students safe, especially when it comes to ventilation.
Santa Cruz County schools spent $4 million upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems before reopening this year. But when Freeman read the report, he was unimpressed.
“They really talked [ventilation upgrades] up in a way that the report didn’t support, so it made me skeptical of their claims,” he says. “They’re not testing in a way that will tell us if something stops working part way through the year.”
Freeman wanted to understand the day-to-day air quality when his kids were in the classroom, not just the one-time test after upgrades were installed.
Fresh airflow indoors is key to decreasing the risk of spreading Covid-19, which can become airborne when an infected person speaks or breathes. The Delta variant can infect someone in as little as 5 minutes of exposure. Measuring the concentration of CO2 in a room can show how much air is being inhaled from people’s exhalations. The lower the CO2 levels in an indoor space, the more fresh air is circulating that hasn’t just passed through someone else’s lungs.
Upon learning this, Freeman asked if his kids could bring CO2 monitors to check classroom airflow. Santa Cruz City Schools superintendent Kris Munro said that was not allowed, stating it would not be appropriate to have individual students monitoring air quality.
“I did it anyway,” says Freeman. He sent his sons to school with CO2 monitors smuggled inside their cargo pockets, determined to get his own air quality data.
Freeman is not alone. According to a New York Times article from October, parents across the country have snuck CO2 detectors with their children to monitor air quality in schools. The CDC says CO2 levels below 800 parts per million (ppm) are a sign of good ventilation and a reduced risk of coronavirus infection.
Freeman found that whenever his sons’ classroom windows and doors were open, CO2 levels were acceptable (about 700 ppm). But when windows or doors were closed and there was no longer a cross breeze, CO2 levels rose quickly. Within 5 minutes, they became higher than recommended.
“I’ve seen some fairly high spikes in CO2 reading—always strongly correlated with any time there’s a lack of a good cross breeze, such as when a classroom door is closed due to construction noise or a lockdown drill,” Freeman says.
Based on these results, Freeman has advocated for leaving classroom doors and windows open at all times, even as the weather gets colder or if there’s construction noise outside. Classrooms can have as many as 35 students, making airflow even more crucial for healthy ventilation. In PVUSD, building code does not allow portable classrooms built to alleviate crowding in schools to have windows that open.
Freeman feels that Santa Cruz schools have been dismissive of his findings. He continues to reach out to school administrators and advocate for the use of CO2 monitors.
“I’m trying to get indoor air quality monitors in as many classrooms as I can,” he says.
In addition to improving ventilation, Freeman would like to see schools enforce the use of standardized, high-quality masks for all staff and students. He also advocates for mandatory testing for all students, instead of the current optional tests.
“Otherwise, we’re just going to keep playing Whack-a-Mole with this sickness,” Freeman says.
Looking Ahead
Returning to in-person school this year has been a struggle, but also a relief. Students are reconnecting with essential services. Children get to learn and play with their friends again. Teachers, counselors and intervention specialists can address the losses students have experienced during lockdown and provide support.
“The focus this year should be on catching the kids up academically, supporting them socially and emotionally, and getting us through the year safely,” says Carlson.
For this year to be successful, schools will have to keep up and improve Covid-19 precautions, such as masks, tests, revamped ventilation and vaccinating young children now that they are eligible. They will also need to address the teacher shortage and find more effective ways to alleviate the burdens that reopening has put on educators. How Santa Cruz County schools navigate this school year is key to how the pandemic will shape the county’s future, for the good of students and the community at large.
This article was updated to correct the City of Santa Cruz teachers’ union wage increase.
[Warning: this article discusses domestic abuse. — Editor]
When it comes to preventing and ending domestic abuse, which has hit an all-time high in Santa Cruz County, it all starts with education.
Experts I spoke to repeatedly emphasized that educating children on how to process difficult emotions, educating our society on how to support victims of domestic abuse and even educating the abusers themselves are key pieces to addressing abuse.
“Many people have no idea why they behave the way they do,” says Jaime Molina, a local community activist who works on violence and trauma issues among youth. “And unfortunately, many people walk around not knowing how to acknowledge—or not even knowing that they carry—baggage.”
Reported incidents of abuse are on the rise. Monarch Services, which offers a crisis line for women who are experiencing abuse in Santa Cruz County, reported a 75% increase in demand for its services in 2020. Staff at the nonprofit call the trend a “pandemic within a pandemic,” and noted that in the past year there have been five femicides (defined as the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender) that resulted from domestic violence.
In California, one out of every four women has experienced some form of abuse from a romantic partner. And if they are women of color, the chance that they’ve experienced abuse increases. Monarch Services reported that during the past year, 1,107 victims were of Latinx heritage. The total number of clients Monarch Services served during this period? 1,632.
“We’re seeing increases in violence in our county and really throughout the country. And in particular, in communities of color,” says Kalyne Foster Renda, the co-executive director of Monarch Services. “The reason for that is that collective trauma, coupled with cumulative trauma, which includes historical trauma through generations, deeply impacts both the frequency of violence and the severity of violence.”
The reason why domestic violence occurs more prominently for minority women goes beyond race. The higher rate of domestic violence in ethnic minorities isn’t a result of one single factor; it’s related to a myriad of reasons like education, income and history.
“When we have folks that are experiencing racism, sexism and, importantly, poverty, their levels of violence are going to increase,” says Foster Renda. “And stressors relating to financial hardship disproportionately affect women of color.”
In fact, when talking about the prevalence of domestic violence in communities of color, acknowledging history is essential to understanding why it’s more common than in white communities, says Suzanne Falcón, an ethnic and Latino studies professor at UCSC.
“Violence has always been part of U.S. history. One of the things I always keep in mind is the ways in which violence evolves, and the way in which violence permeates generations,” says Falcón. “It has been affecting women of color, and communities of color, for generations.”
What’s also important is acknowledging the specific challenges each particular community faces, she says. For instance, with Indigenous women, domestic violence is related in part to jurisdiction issues, and not really having a clear mechanism of legal accountability, while factors in an immigrant community are likely more related to issues of citizenship.
“For women of color, there’s almost a constellation of systems that result in domestic abuse impacting them disproportionately,” says Falcón.
Rehabilitation as a Solution
When asked to describe himself, Victor Cubilla says that he likes to joke around a lot.
“I like to bust people’s chops, give people a hard time,” he says. “I don’t take myself too seriously and I don’t take other people too seriously.”
It’s true—he ends his sentences with chuckles, and given the opening for a joke, he doesn’t hesitate to try and lighten the mood with one. We are on the phone, but I imagine a friendly elbow jab would accompany his jokes.
He is also thoughtful with his answers, and surprisingly honest about his history of behavior.
“I felt like verbal abuse wasn’t really a thing, because I think I would personally rather get yelled at than get the belt,” says Cubilla. “But either way, they’re both unacceptable.”
Cubilla is the son of Mexican immigrants whose biological father left when he was a toddler. He lived in a home filled with emotional turmoil and financial struggles. His mother and stepfather each worked two, sometimes three, jobs. They tried to show up in his life, but the economical hardships, paired with living in a foreign country, led to volatile home life.
“When I was younger, what I said didn’t matter to my family, and I felt like it wasn’t listened to,” Cubilla says. “So I got used to yelling and saying mean things. That stuck with me into my adult life.”
Cubilla was mandated by a judge to enroll in Monarch Service’s Positive Solutions program, which aims to teach previous domestic abusers, perpetrators of either physical or verbal abuse, other ways to resolve conflict. It does this by helping bring awareness to participants’ emotions and giving them the chance to address past trauma. The program is based on the belief that abusive behavior is learned, and can be corrected.
All the men in the program have witnessed or been the victim of some form of physical or verbal abuse as a child. There’s an important link between witnessing abuse in the home and harming a romantic partner as an adult. Studies have found that men who witnessed abuse as children at home or were subject to abuse, are much more likely to resort to physical or verbal abuse in their romantic relationships as adults.
“One of the things that’s really hard around this population is that they have been a victim in their life, and they did not receive the services that they needed to heal whatever trauma that was,” says Foster Renda. “So then they do the behaviors that they have witnessed and they’ve known.”
And, perhaps most importantly, one of the primary concerns victims of domestic abuse have when reporting abuse is a fear that their partners will get into legal trouble, says Foster Renda.
“Our clients are telling us, ‘I want this family to stay together, I just don’t want the behavior of my partner,’” says Foster Renda. “We were also noticing that the person who does harm is jumping from relationship to relationship, and we’re serving all of their partners.”
So far, none of the people who have completed the program have been reported causing harm again. But the program is only 18 months old, and according to similar programs it’s modeled after, statistically, there will be a recidivism rate of 7%.
Still, the hope is that teaching abusers conflict-resolution skills, communication skills, how to better identify emotions and how to heal trauma will help address the source of harmful behavior, says Foster Renda.
“We’re not really taught that throughout our life unless we’ve had, you know, some kind of amazing teacher in our life, or parents that were clued into that,” says Foster Renda.
Education in Schools
Molina wants to help heal childrens’ trauma and thinks every student should be taught communication and emotional skills.
Molina works with Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA), which provides school and community-based counseling services to youth in Pajaro Valley. He also works with La Cultura Cura, a youth program that uses cultural practices and traditions to reconnect youth with a stronger sense of self.
He thinks some version of this program should be part of schools’ curriculum. Especially as students return to school and grapple with the consequences of the pandemic.
“Youth were freshmen when the pandemic started, and now they’re juniors and seniors. So what happened to social skills? Not all kids adapted well, and that’s contributing to the rising violence,” says Molina.
In May, the Department of Homeland Security warned that violence in schools would likely increase as students transitioned back to in-person classes. In retrospect, it feels like an eerie omen.
In late August, the Aptos community was left stunned after the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old high school student, an act of senseless violence County Sheriff Jim Hart had not seen in his 33 years in law enforcement. The next day, a 13-year-old middle schooler in Watsonville was arrested after police say she pulled a knife on another student, according to the Watsonville Police Facebook Page.
But violence in schools, like domestic abuse, isn’t new: the pandemic just exasperated what was already a worsening issue. Reported cases of bullying and harassment in K-12 schools have doubled each year between 2015 and 2017, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In a survey of students attending UCSC between the years 2017 and 2018, 48% of students reported feeling overwhelming anger.
“Oftentimes, we don’t know what makes us tick—especially when we’re young,” says Molina. “I focus on helping youth identify the trauma they carry and look at some of the things that might be affecting their behavior.”
Teaching emotional intelligence in schools is gaining traction around the country. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence is one institution that brings emotional education programs to schools around the country. One study found that teaching kids how to identify and address their emotions led to a 10% increase in academic performance, and another showed a 12% improvement in classroom climate after one year.
When asked if having a class that teaches emotional intelligence might have changed his harmful behavior as an adult, Cubilla says absolutely.
“That’s something that’s never really covered in any class, but what are you going to do if you get really bad news, and you feel like you’re going to blow your lid?” he says. “And I think that would probably help a lot, especially when you’re first forming your first relationships.”
Given the correlation between witnessing abuse as a child and harming a partner as an adult, we owe it to kids to teach them how to cope with traumatic experiences, says Molina. Especially when witnessing abuse at home is more common than you might think. Researchers estimate that between 3-10 million children are exposed to physical violence in the home annually. According to a study by the U.S. Office of Justice Programs, 60% of children have witnessed violence in their life.
“Change is absolutely possible. If we want to live in a community that is free of violence, it’s important that we heal traumas,” says Foster Renda. “When we allow poverty to be a normal part of our community, and for racism, sexism and all of those things to be present, then we also have the responsibility to heal that for folks.”
If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact any of the following organizations. Monarch Services offers a 24-Hour Bilingual Crisis Hotline, 888-900-4232, and has two locations in Santa Cruz County: 233 East Lake Ave., Watsonville, and 1509 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz. For the Watsonville Office, call 831-722-4532. For the Santa Cruz office, call 831-425-4030. The Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center also has a 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline: 866-269-2559. For information about their services, visit 303 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, or call 831-426-3062. There is also the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233.
