Central Coast High School

At the end of last year, we wrote about the power of the margins. These are the spaces we intentionally created for students to belong. They gave students room to build relationships and begin imagining different futures.

We ended our year with a saying about writing ... when you're done, you've really just begun.

This is true for schools too. Creating spaces for belonging wasn't the finish line. It was the beginning of becoming. Becoming a school where learning feels connected to life. Becoming a school where community is part of the classroom. Becoming a school intentionally designed around the futures our students deserve.

Great writing takes more than margins. And building a great school does too. That's what brought us to another part of writing that readers rarely notice...

Structure.

Every great piece of writing has one. It's the invisible framework holding everything together. It guides the reader from one idea to the next. Without it, writing feels ... well ... disconnected. Schools need structure too. It creates the conditions for everything else to happen.

The visible work, including certifications, community partnerships, a student-run coffee shop, bikes being built in the classroom, is what people see. This year, we're focusing on what makes all of that possible. We're reimagining schedules. Strengthening partnerships. Intentionally connecting learning to life beyond high school.

Every great story is shaped by its structure, and every great school is too. The next sections show how we're intentionally designing that structure for our students.

If structure is the invisible framework that holds everything together, then we had to ask ourselves a bigger question ...

What kind of school are we trying to build?

To answer that question, we talked with students, staff, families, and community partners. Together we explored what students need to be successful after graduation and what school could look like if it were more connected to life beyond our building.

One thing came through pretty clearly. Students wanted to understand how what they were learning today connected to their lives after high school. They wanted school to feel relevant to where they were going. Our staff, families, and community partners helped us identify the skills and qualities students need to be successful in college, the workplace, and life.

That feedback became the foundation for our Profile of a Graduate. This is a shared vision of what we hope every student leaves CCHS with. Once we knew where we wanted our students to go, we could redesign the structure of school to help them get there.

That's how our Monday Experience started.

What do we hope every graduate leaves with? Check out the graphic below to see what we landed on.

*The final design is still in the works, but we included this version here to give you a quick and easy look at the ideas shaping our Profile of a Graduate.

So how do you build a school that helps students become all of those things?

For us, the answer wasn't adding another program. It was redesigning the school day itself. Like many high schools, CCHS operates on an A/B schedule. As we looked at our schedule, we started wondering:

What if there was a day dedicated to exploration, career experiences, and hands-on learning?

And that's really just how our Monday Experience started. Each Monday begins with Advisory. We start with a class that is dedicated to creating the conditions for relationships and belonging. After Advisory, students choose a two-hour experience based on their interests. They get to explore things like automotive, cosmetology, bike building, construction, fashion, working in our coffee shop, and more. They learn new skills and get exposure to careers and internship opportunities.

After lunch, the focus shifts to Healthy Mind and Body and Future Ready. We realized students can have all the skills in the world, but if they aren't taking care of their physical and mental health, the rest doesn't matter nearly as much. This part of the day is about giving students the tools to take care of themselves and prepare for life beyond high school.

So what does Monday actually look like? Check out the schedule below.

On Monday mornings, our campus looks different.

Walk around CCHS and you might see students building bikes, detailing cars, designing clothing, working in our coffee shop, or building something in construction. After lunch, the campus shifts again. Boxing gloves come out, students head to the horses, music starts playing, podcast are recorded, and students learn about branding, marketing, and taxes, and others work toward getting their driver's permit. Every student also completes a drug prevention course through Valley Health Associates.

This one minute video was captured on the very first day we launched our Monday experiences. No staging. No months of practice. Just students trying something new and our campus starting to look and feel a little different. It's pretty amazing to see where it all started.

What do math, bike brakes, and a handful of tools have in common?

Our math teacher, Joseph Finnegan, helps connect our Bike Pathway back to classroom learning. Students discover that repairing a bike involves a lot more than turning wrenches. There's measurement, problem-solving, and plenty of critical thinking.

The person really bringing it all to life is Kevin Fobes, owner of The Good Natured Crank. Kevin knows just about everything there is to know about bikes, but what impressed us most wasn't his knowledge. It was how much thought he had already put into teaching our students. From our very first conversation, he was talking about setting up stations. Teaching a skill, then working individually with students. He wasn't just excited to teach students how to repair bikes. He was thinking about how each student would learn.

And the bikes themselves have a pretty cool story. Marina and Seaside police departments donated impounded bikes to our program, and our students are bringing them back to life. When they're finished, students can either use a bike as their own source of transportation or donate it back to someone in our community.

Sometimes the best lessons don't start with a textbook. They start with a bike, a toolbox, and a passionate community partner. Check out the video below to see it in action!

If you've ever attended an elementary school performance or seen the arts come alive across MPUSD, there's a good chance Jaqui Hope had something to do with it. When Jaqui came to Central Coast, she immediately started thinking about how we could bring more music to our students. And if you know Jaqui, you know she doesn't just have an idea and leave it there. She makes it happen.

Jaqui brought the Monterey Jazz team, Claire, Tammy, and Bobbee, to campus, and together with our staff and one of our students, we started brainstorming. Instead of bringing in a traditional jazz class, they asked: What would our students actually connect with?

And here's the coolest part. Students are now exploring Latin jazz and connecting it back to music they already know, including Bad Bunny and reggaeton.

That's Jaqui. She listens, asks really good questions, and then somehow finds the right people to make things happen. After meeting some of our student musicians, Jaqui even helped bring guitars and amps to campus.

Jaqui saw an opportunity to bring music to CCHS and made it happen. Our students are pretty lucky to have a Jaqui.

What do you get when you combine Belle's ability to see the good in everyone, Yoda' wisdom, and the calming energy of a day at Refuge Spa?

You get someone as special as Cori Rosenberg.

I first met Cori when she was working with my son through some challenges at school. As a mom, what stood out most was how deeply she cared. I remember thinking, every kid needs a Cori.

Fast forward to last year. Cori came to our Community Resource Fair, and we started talking about healthcare access and equity gaps facing students in Seaside. As part of her BSN program at CSUMB, she needed to complete a 90-hour public health rotation and asked if she could do it at CCHS.

And then we got even luckier.

We didn't just get Cori. We got Tania too. Two nurses who aren't simply here to complete their hours. They're looking at what our students need and how we build something that lasts after we're gone.

Right now, they're working on some pretty big things. They're helping us build out a comprehensive health curriculum that can be used long after their rotation ends. They're also helping us better understand the everyday health needs that can go unnoticed and build systems for connecting students with appropriate information and ongoing care.

Access really isn't just about having a nurse on campus for a semester. It's about building multiple ways for students to get the information, care, and support they need.

I used to think every kid needed a Cori. Turns out, we're lucky enough to have a Cori and a Tania.

What happens when you mix student learning, some pretty incredible cars, coffee and a DJ? You get Coffee and Cars at CCHS!

On October 26, it's competition time! Our auto detailing students will show off what they've been learning in a competition judged by local professionals. And the prize?

One student will earn a paid internship with Sam, owner of Foam Bros Detail.

And Nepantla will be open! Bring cash and grab a matcha, pour-over coffee, or honestly ... anything. It's all delicious.

And yes ... there will be some REALLY cool cars. And, of course, prizes! And best of all ... YOU ARE INVITED!

For the second time, Amber and the team at Valley Health Associates will bring our Community Resource Fair to CCHS.

Amber has a gift for bringing the right people together. She connects organizations from across our community and brings them right to campus, giving students and families an easy way to meet providers and learn about resources available to them.

It's our second fair, but the goal is still the same. We want to make support easier to find and easier to access.

On Friday, December 11, we're hoping to turn our Fashion Pathway into our first CCHS Fashion Show, giving students a chance to showcase what they've been creating and invite the community in to see their work.

We don't have all the details yet ... but save the date. This one could be pretty fun.

One of the best resources we have at CCHS is Enhanced Care Management, and even better, we have Nayeli helping our families navigate it.

Nayeli helps connect students and families to the things that can sometimes feel impossible to figure out on their own like healthcare, transportation, mental health support, appointments, community resources, and more.

Together, Nayeli and our CCHS team started pulling all of those resources into one place. It started as a way to help our students navigate “adulting,” but pretty quickly we realized ... our families need this too.

So now, once a month, Nayeli joins us for a parent meeting where families can learn about all of the resources available, ask questions, and get connected directly to support.

Sometimes having resources isn't enough. You need someone like Nayeli to help you navigate them.

Junnue Zarrouk, RTAC Coordinator at Monterey County Office of Education-

Have you ever had someone who gets just as excited about your work as you do? You mention needing funding for a new program, and the next thing you know, your inbox is filled with grant opportunities and links to applications. You mention a need for a student portfolio, and somehow a beautifully organized document appears. You share a reflection article and before you know it, she's already found a list of local publications that should hear the story. That's Junnue.

She's a thought partner, a coach, and a champion for the work. So much of what we're building at CCHS exists because Junnue is constantly working behind the scenes. She's sending articles to spark new ideas and connecting us with incredible people across California. The best part? She doesn't just cheer us on from afar. She shows up. If you've been to a CCHS event, chances are you've met Junnue. And if you haven't, I hope you do. She's pretty awesome!

Somewhere along the way, a great thought partner also became a great friend. This work wouldn't be possible without her!

Rita Burks, Principal at DLAMP

Some people don't just support their own school. They show up for everyone. That's Rita. She's one of the kindest people and cares deeply about her community. She's always been a thought partner and a constant source of encouragement. When she heard we wanted to build a student gym, she didn't hesitate. She donated weights, dumbbells, and kettlebells. She even donated a 3D printer. The world needs more Ritas!

April Flatley from Seaside Police Department and Katie Hirahara from Marina Police Department

Thank you to April and Katie for helping make our Bike Build class possible.They donated impounded bikes to our program, met with me multiple times to figure out the logistics, loaded everything up, and even delivered the bikes directly to our school. Those bikes are now in the hands of students who are learning how to repair, rebuild, and bring them back to life.

Sam from Foam Bros Detail

Thank you to from Foam Bros Detailing for sponsoring a paid internship for one of our students. Sam will be at Coffee and Cars scouting our detailing competition and helping select the student who will receive the internship. This is how powerful community partnerships can be. One connection. One opportunity. And one more door opened for a student.

Thank you for believing in what we're building at CCHS.

We started this newsletter talking about structure. Structure. Matters. Programs can come and go. Good systems stick.

But building a system that lasts means being willing to do something every writer knows well. Revise. Revision really means to re-vision, to look at something again. To see it from a different angle. Try a different structure. Move things around. Keep what works. Change what doesn't.

That's exactly what we've been doing with Mondays. We looked at our school day differently. We moved things around. We tried new ideas. We listened to students and partners. And we will probably keep revising as we learn more.

The long-term goal isn't to keep adding programs. It's to build these opportunities into the structure of CCHS so they become part of how we do school because the best work is never really finished.

When you're done, you've really just begun.

We Asked Students What They Needed. Then We Built Around the Answer

A reflection on how listening to student voice helped shape meaningful pathways, partnerships, and supports that strengthened belonging at Central Coast High School. This article was published on The 74 and LA School Report.

Central Coast High School's student-run coffee shop teaches practical skills in a real- world environment

Our work made the news! Monterey County Weekly recently featured Nepantla 831, highlighting our student-run coffee shop, community partnerships, and the people making it all happen at CCHS.

2025-2026 Community Schools Impact Report
A one-page snapshot of the partnerships, pathways, and impact shaping our community school.

Take a look behind the scenes at how our Community School work is built. Our Playbook includes our implementation goals, timeline, partners, team mapping, and the systems helping guide the work at CCHS.

@CCHS_Community

Our Instagram isn't meant to be perfectly polished or filled with flyers. That's actually the point. We want it to feel like CCHS. Real, light, fun, and centered on our students. Part of this work is changing the way people see alternative education and, more importantly, the students who attend them. The easiest way to do that? Let people see how great our kids really are. They. Are. Pretty. Amazing.

Community Partner Newsletter 2025-2026 School Year

• Quarter 1
• Quarter 2
• Quarter 3
• Quarter 4

We’re working to expand access to:

• Medical, dental, and vision services
• Career connected learning opportunities
• Have a different idea? We're all ears

We’d love to partner with you!

Let's Connect!
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Let's be friends on Instagram: cchs_community