School News & Information

What Are Home Prices in The Montecito Union School District Here in Montecito?

Unless you are sending your child to private school, the exact school district you purchase a home in is a major part of most families decision when buying real estate.  Here in Montecito CA., the biggest public school is Montecito Union and for most families they consider this a wonderful school.  Parents are very passionate about schools, so it is hard to compare exact pros and cons so I am not going to really talk about this here.  But if you are looking to buy a home in the Montecito... Continue Reading >

2011 Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Wrap up for The Peabody Elementary School District

The main areas for the Peabody Elementary School District encompass the neighborhoods of San Roque, some of the Santa Barbara Foothills and a stretch of Downtown Santa Barbara West of State Street.  For many people here in Santa Barbara, San Roque has become one of the quintessential "family neighborhoods" and has often been voted for as "Best Neighborhood" in a local paper's poll. Much of the housing in The San Roque area consists of older character single family homes.  Many of these homes are smaller in size running in the 900 to 1400 sqft range,... Continue Reading >

2011 Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update for The Monroe Elementary School District

The main areas of the Monroe Elementary School District encompass the neighborhoods of The Mesa, Campanil Hill and Yankee Farm and then stretches over and grabs a small swath of Downtown. The Mesa area in Santa Barbara stretches from the Santa Barbara City College on the east and extends two and one-half miles to Arroyo Burro County Beach (or "Hendry's/The Pit" to locals).  The Mesa is an extremely desirable neighborhood and has often been voted the "Best Neighborhood" in a local paper's poll. The Mesa would be considered by most "a family neighborhood"... Continue Reading >

2011 Santa Barbara Real Estate Market for The Adams Elementary School District

The main areas of the Adams Elementary School District encompass the neighborhoods of Samarkand, San Roque Gardens and Hidden Valley.  All 3 of these areas in Santa Barbara would be considered by most "family neighborhoods".  Most of the housing in these 3 areas are single family homes, but there are definitely a few condo and apartment complexes as well as some scattered income properties (duplexes / triplexes). In the Samarkand area of the Adams School District, the average price for a single family home tends to be between $700,000 and 1.1 million. ... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara Independent Schools List

Looking for the option of an independent school here in the Santa Barbara area...but need more information?  What is an independent school? An independent school is a pre-collegiate, non-profit learning institution governed by a board of trustees and supported by tuition revenue, charitable contributions, and endowment income. There are more than 2,000 independent schools, each with its own distinct mission, vision, values, and methods of teaching. Accreditation standards for independent schools are rigorous and are validated by a national commission. Independent Schools . . . • Set high academic standards and... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara, California Home Schooling Program

Having my little boy start just this last month at The Waldorf School, I have been looking into all options for education here in the Santa Barbara, California area.  One option that is becoming much more prominent here in the last years in Santa Barbara is the home schooling approach to education.  Rob Kuznia, a staff write from Noozhawk wrote a great article below that outlines where Home School Santa Barbara is at.  I have simply kept everything Rob Kuznia wrote here below.  Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at... Continue Reading >

Home Schooling Options for Santa Barbara Families

Impacted by the recent budget cuts in funding for our local schools, Santa Barbara announced plans this week to hold informational meetings for families that are interested in home schooling.  Colby Frazier, from The Santa Barbara Daily Sound, wrote an informative article this week if you would like more information about the exact plans the school district has for home schooling in the Santa Barbara area. Further Reading: Santa Barbara School Information - Research Santa Barbara Area Schools Healthier Food Coming to Santa Barbara Area Schools Search the Santa Barbara, Goleta, Montecito MLS for Free Santa Barbara Schools... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara CA Schools Hard Hit With Budget Cuts

Members of the Santa Barbara School Board came together this last week to deal with the unfortunate and hard issue of the historic statewide budget cuts for our public schools.   Ethan Stewart wrote an article in The Independent this week that summed up what took place during the meetings.  With the magnitude of this issue, KEYT news also has been covering the story as well as shown in this video posting. Further Reading: Santa Barbara School Information - Research Santa Barbara Area Schools Home School Options for Santa Barbara Families Healthier Food Coming to Santa... Continue Reading >

Healthier Food Coming to Santa Barbara Area Schools

School districts in Santa Barbara are changing school menus in an extended effort to provide healthier food to our children.  They are also trying to combat a well recognized obesity epidemic among young people in our country.   The Director of Nutrition Services says, "the old menu was made up of foods that were high in salt, fats and sugars."  To apply some of these changes, the districts are also reaching out to local growers and markets to provide a supply of fresh produce. View Schools in the Entire Santa Barbara Area View Local Video... Continue Reading >

Westmont College Expansion Approved in Montecito, CA.

Westmont College, located in high-end residential area of Montecito, CA., won a ruling in Superior Court on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 to allow the expansion of its master plan.  In the first stage, the plan calls for 165,000 sqft. of new building starting with The Adams Center for the visual arts, The Winter Hall for science and mathematics, a residence hall and a chapel.  Over the coming 20 years, current plans call for an additional 200,000 sqft. of building.  Construction of the first stage is scheduled to start in November 2008.  Scott Craig, spokesman for... Continue Reading >