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.
Monterey County Gives!
Rancho Cielo offers an alternative educational environment, with vocational training, life skills development and counseling services. In addition to the successful vocational programs already on campus, like culinary and construction academies, our non-profit’s Big Idea is the brand-new auto/diesel repair program. The Auto/Diesel Repair Program teaches students how to inspect and repair vehicles, especially tractors and agricultural equipment. These in-demand skills, paired with the safe and affirming environment of Rancho Cielo, set these students up for lifelong success and meaningful work.
Thanks to your financial support you will help our students receive the...
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 .
Server of the Week: Ernesto!
Our Server of the Week is Ernesto.
This was his first time as a server and he knocked it out of the park!
A guest had this to say: "The food was great and Ernesto had personality plus!"
Congrats on a job well done Ernesto!
The Server of the Week is Kaylee
The Server of the Week is Kaylee!
Kaylee is very deserving of this honor. From Laura Nicola, Event Coordinator and Drummond Culinary Academy Instructor:
"Kaylee always does a great job. She’s consistent, and she has now stepped up into a new leadership role as our DCA Site Monitor."
Other guests to the Culinary Academy said:
"Amazing Service, Amazing Food.”
"Underpriced for the quality."
Great job, Kaylee! You're doing amazing work!
Culinary Round Up Live Auction Preview
Vote for us in the "Best of" nominations!
We are excited to announce that for the first time, we have gotten into the MC Weekly’s “Best of Monterey County” nominations! Thank you to everyone who voted for us during the preliminary round.
Now we need to win something!
Please vote for RANCHO CIELO in the following categories:
- BEST NON-PROFIT on page 1 (out and about page)
- BEST AG NON-PROFIT on page 2 (the ag page)
- BEST RESTAURANT IN SALINAS on page 4 (the restaurant page)
You must vote for 20 categories. Vote for the categories...