RANCHO CIELO INC

Rancho Cielo is an educational and vocational training facility of choice in Monterey County, helping to grow the next generation of actively engaged community members. Our goal is for students to become thriving community members and productive contributors to our workforce with the power to advance economically. Specifically, upon graduation we expect that:
• Students are prepared to seek employment and upon hire, demonstrate good work habits on the job.
• Students re-engage in our community, as evidenced by working full-time and volunteering.
• Student are on the path to physical, mental, and emotional healing.
• Students have improved self-esteem and positive character and identity development.
• Students are self-sufficient and contributing members of our local economy.

Rancho Cielo is a safe place where young adults who have been unsuccessful in or aged out of other school settings can achieve a WASC-accredited high school diploma and obtain vocational training and certifications. Support is provided to our students through six programs:
• In August 2019, Rancho Cielo opened the 30,000-square-foot Ted Taylor Ag Vocational Center which provides valuable training for highly-skilled, living-wage agricultural jobs while providing a clear pathway to self-sufficiency for some of the most vulnerable young people of our community.
• The Drummond Culinary Academy is a ten-month program resulting in a culinary certificate and a high school diploma. Students can earn stipends.
• Construction Academy students earn a diploma and stackable certificates in construction via a nationally-recognized curriculum while building Tiny Homes and installing solar panels.
• Youth Corps is a crew-based employment and job readiness program designed to prepare young people for full-time employment while they maintain the Rancho Cielo campus.
• The Transitional Housing Village provides safe, on-campus housing for up to 22 current Rancho Cielo students or alumni who are continuing their education or working.
• The Silver Star Youth Program is an alternative ed high school for youth on probation.

At Rancho Cielo, youth learn how to get a job and keep a job. Our programming is unique in that it offers young people up to age 25 a chance to earn their high school diploma from WASC-accredited John Muir Charter School while also learning a vocational trade. Our programs represent a marriage between the needs of the industry for skilled workers and the needs of the community for living wage jobs for our youth, some very “difficult” to employ due to barriers and criminal backgrounds.

Employability skills training at Rancho Cielo addresses the “soft skills” needed to secure and retain employment. The intent is to ensure that students are properly prepared in the complex technical skills of their chosen occupation and in those skills that will help them successfully get and keep their jobs—skills that are transferable to any employment position.

Along with offering a chance to earn diplomas and jobs, we also work with students to achieve health and happiness. Monterey County Behavioral Health, Clinica de Salud, and a VNA nurse are regular presences on campus. In addition, Rancho Cielo programs and services are tailored to the population we serve. Students learn in a safe and supportive environment that affirms them, building self-esteem, connectedness, and belonging. We create an atmosphere where students can develop pro-social desires, a future orientation, enhanced health and self-esteem, and a connection to our community.

Since 2000, Rancho Cielo has been a safe place for disenfranchised youth to receive academic education working towards a high school diploma while also earning vocational certificates. Rancho Cielo’s program model is different than other youth development and workforce development programs for the following reasons:
• Collaboration- Our community of partners help make our program possible. Rancho Cielo students receive wraparound services that address their physical, social, emotional, and mental needs. This helps avoid duplication of services.
• Cultural affirmation- Rancho Cielo programs and services are tailored to the population we serve. Students learn in a safe and supportive environment that affirms them, building self-esteem, connectedness, and belonging.
• Network of employers- The programs at Rancho Cielo are influenced by our community. We work with local business/industry leaders to determine the greatest local employment needs and shape our programs around those recommendations. In Monterey County, agriculture, hospitality, and construction are the top industries and we train our students for living-wage jobs within these sectors. Advice from local business leaders helps inform our programs and services. They serve as mentors and, upon graduation, these leaders hire our students.
• Partnership with local educational institutions- We partner with two WASC-accredited school districts, John Muir Charter School and the Monterey County Office of Education, to provide academic instruction to our students. We also work with local community colleges, including Hartnell College, to map our curriculum into their courses, both with co-enrollment and articulation agreements.

Rancho Cielo is a leader in this respect. There are few, if any, youth development programs that offer services as comprehensive as those offered at Rancho Cielo for communities most left behind.

In addition, Rancho Cielo has a proven track record of success in helping students who have been unsuccessful academically find a way out of poverty through education and training that leads to economic opportunities and living wage jobs. Our programming is based on research that shows that one of the primary strategies to stem the tide of juvenile violence is education and jobs. The social cost savings of Rancho Cielo's model are enormous. One year of incarceration costs $149,000 whereas one year at Rancho Cielo costs $15,000. For 10% of the cost, Rancho Cielo gets twice the results—80% of our students stay out of trouble compared to 40% of youth offenders without the benefit of our program.

Last year we opened the 30,000-square-foot Ted Taylor Ag Vocational Center (TTVC). We are excited to report that we celebrated the Center’s first Ag graduating class this past June along with graduates from the Construction and Culinary program. These young people had to overcome many obstacles to get to the diploma finish line. But 29 of our students did it, despite the additional challenges that the COVID lock down created. There was an 89% recidivism reduction and 85% of 2018 graduates were still on a successful path after completing our program.

Next year, barring any delays due to COVID, we will open the final two wings of the TTVC—the Auto/Diesel Wing and the Ag Futures Wing. In the Auto/Diesel Wing, students will learn how to repair and rebuild engines. Once that skill is mastered, students will complete Snap-on courses leading to industry-recognized certificates. In the Ag Futures wing, students will work on innovative technologies in agriculture such as drones, automated weeders, remote monitoring of water and soil nutrients, and more. Like the other programs on campus, students will have access to caring mentors, culturally-affirming programs, and a variety of enrichment activities. Upon graduation from the TTVC, students will be prepared for living-wage jobs in our own community.

We are also leaders in our community. The Nonprofit Alliance of Monterey County recognized Rancho Cielo as "Non-Profit of the Year" for culturally affirming and enriching programming. In 2018, as a result of the Ranch’s program outcomes, the Monterey Peninsula Chamber also named Rancho Cielo “Non-Profit of the Year.” In 2019, the Monterey Peninsula Chamber named Rancho Cielo “Business of the Year” as a result of community confidence and good stewardship of gifts. The Arts Council for Monterey County has named Rancho Cielo a “2019 Champion of the Arts” for our commitment to incorporating arts education into the curriculum.