Who Are We?

The founders of Santa Ynez ABC Plus are local parents, students and community members who want to be involved in the educational health and growth of our community. We have quickly expanded to become a proactive group of not only parents but community leaders, business owners and friends who love and respect our beautiful valley, realizing that the ultimate long-term sustainability of our land, economy, our unique subculture and environment relies on the successful education of our children.

Why ABC+?

The abrupt cancellation of the IB Program over the summer of 2009 propelled the formation of the Academic Booster Club (ABC+). In July, by a 3-2 vote, the School Board of Education eliminated a premier challenging academic program for college bound juniors and seniors at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School (“SYVUHS”). The Board expressed support for the academic rigor that IB brought to our school, but three members voted to cancel the program for fiscal reasons. 135 students, 25% of all juniors and seniors, were adversely affected by the decision to cancel the program. Additionally, freshmen and sophomores who have the desire to excel, also lost an excellent opportunity to participate in the challenging IB program in the future.

On September 8, 2009, ABC+ asked the Board to reconsider their earlier vote to cancel the IB Program. ABC+ asked the Board to reinstate the IB Program for the 2010-2011 school year if sufficient funds could be raised to cover the costs of the program. After 18 speakers spoke in favor of reinstating IB, the Board passed the resolution by a unanimous vote.

ABC+ formed a California nonprofit corporation on September, 18, 2009.

ABC+ envisioned a public/private partnership and met the goal, with the help of an anonymous matching grant, raising $140,000 by the February 1, 2010 deadline; however, ABC+ was unsuccessful in reinstating the program. The school board voted no (4-1) as IB was not supported by a large percentage of teachers and counselors and ABC+ could not agree to the unreasonable terms required in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The above sequence of events will not deter ABC+ from advancing our mission to support academic excellence and insure rigorous and challenging academic programs for our motivated college-bound students.

What Will ABC+ Do?

• Support the Advanced Placement (AP) program
• Support Honor's curriculum
• Help provide supplemental educational materials that schools cannot afford for higher learning academic programs
• Provide scholarships for summer programs and college-bound juniors and seniors
• Help juniors and seniors with college application expenses such as:
  • SAT/ACT preparation course Fees
  • IB and AP examination fees
  • College application fees
• Support professional development & training for the teachers of these programs
• Support additional higher learning programs that the SYVUHS District Board of Education deems prudent

ABC+ Board of Directors

• Michelle de Werd, President
• Deborah Gioia, Chief Financial Officer
• Sharon Steel, Secretary
• Jourdi de Werd, Director