News
The Staff and Students of Rancho Cielo are constantly learning, participating in the community at large, and making a difference.
Click here to find out what Rancho Cielo events are coming up soon.
Come to a Prospective Student Open House
At Rancho Cielo, young people can earn their high school diploma and a vocational certificate for free. Come to one of our Prospective Student Open Houses to learn more. The Open Houses will be held every Tuesday until the end of the semester. New students can apply throughout the year.
Space is limited due to social distancing protocols so please RSVP with Edna Valdez, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator, via email at evaldez@ranchocieloyc.org . No drop ins will be allowed.
Transitional Housing Residents in Monterey County Weekly
Check out our Transitional Housing residents in the Monterey County Weekly . In the article, they talk about what it's like to shelter-in-place on campus.
Thank You to our Amazing Volunteers!
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing volunteers for the work they do! The invaluable service hours they provide contribute to the continued success of our programs and students. Thank you to our volunteers for providing time and skills to Rancho Cielo. Over the course of this past year, our 300 volunteers have provided us with over 1,000 hours of volunteer work. Below is a brief list of how those hours were spent:
- Friday night dinners
- Veggie packing day
- Culinary Round Up
- Leadership garden
- Classroom volunteers ...
Distance Learning Launches at Rancho Cielo
Our campus may be closed but our students are still working hard to obtain their high school diplomas.
Over the last week, our staff has been making deliveries to our students to help them get prepared for remote instruction.
Each student received a Census bag filled with a Chromebook, charger, a letter from their instructor, a letter to their parents (in Spanish and English), remote instruction agreement forms, and a pen.
We continue to exercise precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our staff asked each student to pull out the form...
Rancho Cielo receives first ever "Best Of" win!
Here's a bright spot for your day- We received our first-ever Best of Monterey County win from the Monterey County Weekly!
THANK YOU for voting us "Best Ag Nonprofit" for our brand new ag vocational training program. We are so honored! Read about the rest of the winners here .
Also, please continue to support the Monterey County Weekly by receiving their daily newsletter. Sign up here .
UPDATED: Campus Closure Information
Today, John Muir Charter School announced that they will remain closed through April 10th. Drummond Culinary Academy, Rancho Cielo Construction Academy and Ag Mechanics & Electrical students will return to campus starting Monday, April 13th.
In accordance with the recent Monterey County Shelter-in-Place order, the Monterey County Office of Education (Silver Star Youth Program) has canceled classes until April 7th. Students will return to campus starting Wednesday, April 8th.
We will update you if the closure is extended.
Server of the Week is Alex!
Congrats to Alex, our Server of the Week!
Alex has shown incredible growth during his time at Rancho Cielo. He has great attention to detail! He is consistent, reliable, focused, and open to new challenges.
Here are a few comments from recent Drummond Culinary Academy guests:
"Witnessing hope in the eyes of the students made the whole experience perfect."
"You do a great job and students are learning/getting better every time we visit. 10 stars!!!!"
Great job, Alex!
Rancho Cielo Campus Closure Information
Dear Friends,
The health and safety of Rancho Cielo students, families, staff, and volunteers is our priority. We have been following the guidance and directives from the local, state, and national health departments to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). As of today, March 13, 2020, there are no confirmed cased of COVID-19 in Monterey County and we would like to do our part to help keep it that way.
Following the lead of the Monterey County Office of Education, which earlier today announced county-wide school closures, we would like to announce the following:...
Students Visit "We Care" Program at Soledad Prison
On Monday, March 9th, a group of Rancho Cielo students in the Agriculture & Construction programs attended the "WE CARE" program at the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) prison in Soledad, CA. At 5 a.m., the students hopped on a van driven by our coordinators to spend a whole day learning from CTF inmates. Our Rancho Cielo students donned orange jumpsuits and ate breakfast. They then went to go hear life stories told by inmates inside the Correctional Training Facility who were serving anywhere between 26 to 160 years of life in prison without the possibility of...
Rancho Cielo students star in Culinary Round Up to fund dreams
Rancho Cielo held its 11th Annual Culinary Round Up last Sunday, at Portola Hotel & Spa. The main fundraiser of the year for Rancho Cielo, a non-profit organization for underserved youth in Monterey County, raised over $400,000 that evening. The Round Up set record attendance of more than 500 guests.
Read more at the Culinarian Monterey Bay .