Education Celebration - Santa Barbara County Education Office

2025 Education Celebration

The Santa Barbara County Education Office's annual gathering recognizing grant and award winners, educators, and supporting partners. The SBCEO Teachers Network was honored to celebrate our local schools and educators in May 2025. See details about our 2024 event HERE.

Read the press release View photos from the 2025 event

Presented by

2024-25 Grant & Award Winners

SB Teachers Federal Credit Union Crystal Apple Educator Awards

Certificated Specialists:
Amy McMillan, San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Alana Terrones, Santa Maria-Bonita School District

Classified Employees:
Allegra Perry, Mountain View School, Goleta Union School District
Nicole Zarate, Delta High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District

Administrator:
Celeste Pico, Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District

Elementary Teachers:
Dr. Terri Cecchine, La Honda STEAM Academy, Lompoc Unified School District
Anna Christine Thompson, Liberty School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District

Secondary Teachers:
Morgan Kavanaugh, Santa Maria High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Ronnie Tow, Santa Ynez School, College School District

Early Care & Education:
Anita Reyes Rolon, Children's Center Lab School, Allan Hancock College

Curriculum Project Grants

Julia Ambat, Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Project: Career Pathways Simulation: Bridging School and Real-World Skills

Paul Cuthbert, San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project: Sound Engineering with Wind Chimes

Gregory Eisen, Cabrillo High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Project: Discovering Ocean Biodiversity

Sharon Gallagher Tashjian, Manzanita Public Charter School
Project: C.A.R.E Conservation Adaptability Recycling Exceptionalities... Gardening on Wheels

Phoenix Plotner, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project: Media Literacy Through Interactive Gaming

Katie Nimitarun, Montecito Union School, Montecito Union School District
Project: Street Art for Activism

Ally Vellema, El Camino Junior High School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project: NGSS Mastery through Data-Driven Instruction and Hands-On Science Labs

Performing Arts Curriculum Project Grants

Sarah Barthel, Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Project: A Sense of Direction

Emily Libera, Dos Pueblos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project: Student Show- Elf the Musical!

Alyssa Prieto, Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Project: Welcome to my TED Talk - The Ultimate Collaboration

Shannon Saleh, San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project: One Acts Festival

Anthony Yi, Jimenez Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project: Buzz: An Introduction to the Brass Family

Bill Cirone Heart of Education Award

Teachnet Technology Grants

Justin Fraser, Delta High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Project: Bringing Games to Students

Ryan Hubbard, TOSA, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project: Using Remote Sensors to Facilitate Real Science Investigation

Amber Neely, Aliso School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Project: Coding with Ozobots to Retell and/or Summarize Familiar Texts

Christopher Silva, Pioneer Valley High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Project: Create A Movie Poster

Leise Thomason, Santa Barbara Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Project: From Atoms to Astronomy: Visualizing the World Through Simulations

Marvin Melvin Career Technical Educator Awards

Care for Our Earth Grants

Charlene Asmussen, Santa Ynez School, College School District
Project: Flourishing with Flowers in First

Dr. Terri Cecchine, La Honda STEAM Academy, Lompoc Unified School District
Project: Water Pollution Around Us

Jose Chicote, El Camino School, Goleta Union School District
Project: Flush Up or Flush Down!

Sydney Culbara, Orcutt Academy High School, Orcutt Union School District
Project: Water Conservation Workshop

Lori Leach, Los Berros School, Lompoc Unified School District
Project: Water Wise Warriors

Riccardo Magni, Pioneer Valley High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Project: Monitor Soil to Save Water

Kelly McDonald, Bruce Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project: Dancing the Water Cycle

Jennifer Rasmussen, Refugio High School, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District
Project: Drip Line and Garden/Planter Box Green House Tops

Raquel Ramirez, Santa Barbara County Education Office
Project: Restore Our Garden

Instructional Strategy Team Grants

Project: Leveraging Social Emotional Learning to Support Multilingual Learners (& Their Teachers)
Team Coach: Graciela Romero Martinez, El Camino School, Goleta Union School District
Team Members:
Nazy Tully, Monroe Elementary School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Graciela Rodriguez, Adelante Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Tiffany Gonzalez, Peabody Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District

Project: Use TPR to teach vocabulary, writing strategies and team writing
Team Coach: Dr. Terri Cecchine, La Honda STEAM Academy, Lompoc Unified School District
Team Members:
Ebony Young, La Honda STEAM Academy, Lompoc Unified School District
Karina De La Mora, Mary Buren School, Guadalupe Union School District
Julia Ambat, Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Doranjel Robles, Guadalupe Union School District
Stephanie Vo, Isla Vista School, Goleta Union School District
Jenna Amireh, Santa Maria High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Nichelle Wood, Manzanita Public Charter School, Lompoc Unified School District

Project: Bringing Play-Based Learning to the TK Classroom
Team Coach: Keri Kangas, Peabody Charter School
Team Members:
Angela White, Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Nora Salguero Mary Buren School, Guadalupe Union School District
Alyssa Prieto, Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District
Elise Perisho, Peabody Charter School

Project: Nurturing Resilience: Evidence Based Strategies for Nervous System & Emotional Regulation
Team Coach: Jackie Knechtel, Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Team Members:
Tricia Humbles, Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Brittany Slagle, Clarence Ruth School, Lompoc Unified School District
Cintya Diaz, Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Virginia Sun, Solvang School, Solvang School District
Renee Cazabat, Hollister School, Goleta Union School District
Phoenix Plotner, Santa Barbara Unified School District

Project: El Dictado / The Dictado
Team Coaches: Annabel Meza & Alexia Limón, Adelante Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Team Members:
Andrea Carrillo, Adelante Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Katrina Kuryliw, Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Erika Ruiz Santillan, Adelante Charter School, Santa Barbara Unified School District
Megan McCarter, El Camino School, Goleta Union School District
Christina Peña Eckert, Carpinteria Middle School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Kristina Garcia, Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District

Project: Implementing Montessori Shelf Work to Build Student Autonomy in TK
Team Coach: Allison Slauenwhite, Brandon School, Goleta Union School District
Team Members:
Lynn Seigel-Boettner, Vieja Valley School, Hope School District
Elizabeth Alvarez, Mary Buren School, Guadalupe Union School District
Loriann Mastromarino, Hollister School, Goleta Union School District
Patricia Ortiz, Joe Nightingale School, Orcutt Union School District
Emily Zacarias, Oak Valley School, Buellton Union School District
Sonia Sparre, Isla Vista School, Goleta Union School District
Alexia Vance, Hollister School, Goleta Union School District

Collaborative Learning Team Grant

Project: Ocean Exploration and Discovery
Team Members: Gregory Eisen, Christopher Ladwig, Michelle Poquette
Cabrillo High School, Lompoc Unified School District

Project: From Google To Canvas: Increasing Engagment at Light Speed
Team Members: Justin B Fraser, Erica Fajardo, Julio Molina, Gabrielle Perreault,
Delta High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District

Project: Reducing Visceral Fat with Resistance and Aerobic Training, and Nutrition Education
Team Members: Scott Nickason, Todd Noel, Gary Wilson
Ernest Righetti High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District

Project: Metric Measurement Milestones
Team Members: Leise thomason, Grace Butler, Grace Butler, Shalon Edwards, Nicole Ellis, Sophie Fink, Melissa Hagen, Aaron Martin, Jenny Witherell
Santa Barbara Charter School

Project: Arts Integration in Mathematics Lessons
Team Members: Alyssa Prieto, Sarah Barthel, Bree Jansen, Sarah Santiago
Lompoc High School, Lompoc Unified School District

Project: WIN Wednesday Task Force
Team Members: Davia Lee McNamara, Sara Calhoun Foss, Brianna Montoya, Kelsey Wellard
Los Berros School, Lompoc Unified School District

Multilingual & Multicultural Curriculum Project Grant

Sonia Aguila, Canalino School, Carpinteria Unified School District
Project: Flavors of the World: A Culinary Journey Through Language and Culture

Nicole Brady, Libbon School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project: Lights, Camera, Action, Write!

Herlinda Caro, Jimenez Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project: El Dictado

Vasti Molina, Jimenez Elementary School, Santa Maria-Bonita School District
Project: El Puente/Bridging

Patricia Villalobos, Ernest Righetti High School, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Project: Mi nombre y su historia

Thank you to our generous sponsors!

Thank you to our 2025 door prize sponsors!

Santa Barbara Teachers Federal Credit Union

Instructions for planting your wildflower seed mix:

All species in this mix are native to Santa Barbara County and should make for a nice mix of blooms:

California Poppie (eschschoizia Californica)
Narrowleaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
Punchbowl Godetia (Clarkia bottae)
Coastal Tidytips (Layia platyglossa)
Common Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium)

This mix will work best in full sun to light shade. Planting is best done in the Fall when natural rainfall can help with germination, planting off season can be successful as well if the area the seeds are planted is kept evenly moist. Even natives need additional water to take hold.

Remember: each site is different, but a general, rule of thumb is to loosely break up the soil where you plan to seed. Rake the seeds into the soil so they have even distribution across the seeded area. Ensure seeds have good contact with the soil. With some water, you should see germination in 2-4 weeks. Newly germinated seeds are delicate so take care in not letting the area dry out or become over saturated. With time the seeds should bloom into flowers that you, butterflies and other pollinators will enjoy!

Thank you to S&S Seeds in Carpinteria for assistance.

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